The StartupWheel®
A tool for advising start-ups
with a 360° perspective
All start-ups have the same challenges
How can they be overcome?
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
The StartupWheel® gives a 360° perspective on the business
- for both the advisor and the entrepreneur
The StartupWheel is a simple, visual and practical tool for
Alternative or supplement to the business plan?
business development. It is a dialogue tool that is used in
The StartupWheel is a tool for creating actions. It is
the one-to-one consulting of entrepreneurs and it gives the
designed to help identify the first decisions that need to be
advisor an overview of all the tasks necessary to start a
made and the most pressing actions that need to be
company and grow it. With the StartupWheel, the advisor is
better able to assist start-ups in
making decisions and taking
BUSINESS CONCEPT
CUSTOMER RELATIONS
action. In the StartupWheel, all
the business tasks have been
divided into four fundamental
Customer Portfolio
and
challenges: creating an
attractive business concept,
establishing a sustainable
organization, building long term
ship and
customer relations and
and Project
developing effective business
operations. The StartupWheel
ORGANIZATION
Facilities
prompts action by identifying the
OPERATIONS
most important areas to work
with. There are a total of twenty
carried out. The intention with the StartupWheel is not to
development areas that together provide a 360 degree
produce a complete and written business plan for all the
perspective of what it takes to create a successful company
areas. However refraining from writing a business plan
with potential for growth.
does not mean that no sort of planning should take place.
On the contrary, the StartupWheel provides tools that – like
From specialist to generalist
the conventional business plan – engage entrepreneurs in
As business advisors we bring years of relevant experience
idea creation, research, review, dialogue, decision making
from various backgrounds. Most likely this comes from a
and action planning. The StartupWheel does all this with a
specific industry or discipline. To be an effective advisor we
focus on short-term activities that can be carried out
must be able to use our own expertise and work with all
instantly.
kinds of new challenges. The StartupWheel provides tools
The StartupWheel can be used with a business plan. For
that help us give advice in areas in which we do not have
entrepreneurs who have already written a business plan,
special expertise - in other words, we become generalists.
the StartupWheel can be a tool for prioritizing and taking
instead of specialists and thereby our credibility as
action and for those who wish to write a business plan, the
advisors is strengthened.
StartupWheel can be used as a starting point for the
process.
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 2 | 8
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
3 tools that make us better advisors
As business advisors, a license to the StartupWheel will
give us access to a comprehensive toolbox - the Startup
Toolbox. The Startup Toolbox offers several different tools
for the consulting and advisory process. There are three
categories of tools: frameworks, inspirational articles and
worksheets. All tools are available both in print and online.
The advisor can have the entrepreneur read articles prior
to consulting sessions as preparation and to ensure the
entrepreneur has a certain awareness level before each
session begins. Additionally, it gives the entrepreneur the
opportunity to feel prepared for the meeting. All articles
have been published in the Danish magazine "The
Entrepreneur." A license to the StartupWheel includes the
right to freely distribute the articles electronically and in
print.
Frameworks that provide a common language
The first tool consists of 30 frameworks. These
frameworks are simple and visual models that provide an
overview of each theme in the development areas of the
StartupWheel. Sitting at the table with an entrepreneur, the
frameworks help simplify abstract ideas and challenges.
They help create a common language and shape the
conversation between two parties.
Worksheets that lead to action
The third tool in the Startup Toolbox is approximately 80
different worksheets. The Worksheets are simply designed
11 by 17 inch sheets that help the company make decisions
and produce action plans within each development area of
the StartupWheel. They have the characteristics of a
creative drawing board, as the entrepreneur in specific
terms can make notes on which actions need to be carried
out right now.
Inspirational articles that provide understanding
The second tool is a library of 25+ inspirational articles that
cover, in detail, all the areas of the StartupWheel. Each
article provides inspiration and simple checklists with
specific suggestions for action.
Markedsføringsviften
6 områder at se på i markedsføringen
Inspirationsartikel for vækstvirksomheder
Artikel #18 Version 1.3.
Udviklingsområde: Forretningsmodel (Gult udviklingsområde)
Tema: Indkomstkilder
TRYKSAGER
Visitkort • Brochurer • Foldere • Produktark • Prislister • Plakater • Præsentationer
modeshow, hvor prisen “T-shirt of The Year” blev uddelt.
Her kunne man måske tjene ekstra penge ved at sælge
medlemskontingenter til deltagere, som havde interesse i
at være med i brancheforeningen. Nu er der næppe basis
for en specifik T-shirt brancheforening, men
forretningsmodellen bruges selvfølgelig både i mode- og
tekstilbranchen og i mange andre brancher.
ANNONCER
Markedspladsen
Dagblade • Fagmedier • Magasiner • Håndbøger • Postkort • Outdoor media • TV/radio
DIRECT MARKETING
Direct post • Direct mail • Telemarketing • Kundebesøg
Kortlægning af spillerne i markedet
22 kilder til indkomst
FELT
FORRETNINGSMODEL
Vareproduktion
PROMOTION
Merchandize • Messer • Events • Sponsorship • Vareprøver • Product Placement
ONLINE MARKEDSFØRING
Webside • Blog • Webportal • Netværkstjenester • Sociale medier
NYE INDTRÆNGERE
RIVALER
PRODUKTIONSFORRETNING
Outsourcing
BESKRIVELSE
Du designer et produkt, men outsourcer hele produktionen til en anden fabrik og
fakturerer kunderne produktionsprisen med tillæg af medgåede omkostninger og en
margin.
Som iværksættere er det ikke tilstrækkeligt, at vi får masser af idéer. Vi skal også kunne
Du producerer og leverer et produkt, som andre har designet, og fakturerer kunderne
Licens produktion
en pris, der også kan dække det beløb, du betaler til licensgiveren.
tjene penge på dem og finde frem til den helt rette forretningsmodel. Men
hvilke
Du designer et produkt, men lader andre om at stå for produktion, leverance og salg,
forskellige muligheder har vi for at tjene penge på den gode idé?
Royalty
og fakturerer producenten en royalty på antal producerede eller solgte stk.
‘GODE
KONKURRENTER’
KOLLEGER I ANDRE
MARKEDER
PUBLIKATIONER
Bøger • Artikler • Elektronisk nyhedsbrev • Eget magasin • Rapporter
Andre
spillere
Af David Madié, stifter af og direktør for Growth Company.
Grossist salg
Du indkøber varer fra forskellige producenter og videresælger dem i mindre mængder
til forhandlere, som du fakturerer en pris, der dækker omkostninger til bl.a. lager og
logistik.
Du indgår en agenturaftale om et produkt og sælger en vare som leveres og faktureres
Der er stor forskel på at have en god idé og have en god
Mindst 22 forskellige forretningsmodeller
Agentur (evt. import)
af producenten, og fakturerer producenten en aftalt salgsprovision.
forretningsidé. Forskellen består i, om man har fundet
Når man skal vælge sin forretningsmodel, handler det ikke
Du starter en butik og indkøber varer, som du sælger med en fortjeneste, der bl.a.
frem til en god forretningsmodel for, hvor pengene skal
handel
blot om at finde frem til én enkeltDetail
model
- snarere handler
dækker butiksleje, personale og annonceringsomkostninger.
komme fra, og hvordan der skal tjenes penge på idéen.
det om at finde
frem til flere. De bedste
HANDELSBegrebet “forretningsmodel” er ikke et hverdagsord, og
Du lægger dine varer i kommision hos en forhandler og fakturerer først forhandleren,
forretningsmodeller
er oftest en kombination
FORRETNING
Kommision af flere
når varen er blevet solgt.
det bruges også tit på flere forskellige måder. Den mest
forskellige måder at fakturere kunderne.
enkle måde at forstå en forretningsmodel på kan være at se
Abonnementer og
Du indgår aftaler om løbende eller gentagne leverancer af en vare, og fakturerer
på, hvordan en virksomhed skriver
licenssalg
kunderne et fast aftalt beløb pr. måned, kvartal eller år.
fakturaer. Det er nemlig på
Du koordinerer en leverance til en kunde og viderefakturerer leverancer fra
“De bedste forretningsmodeller er enViderefakturering
kombination af
fakturaens enkelte linjer, det
underleverandører med en fortjeneste, der skal dække håndteringen.
flere forskellige måder at fakturere kunderne.”
fremgår, hvad kunderne i sidste
Salg og udleje af
Du sælger synlig reklameplads i forbindelse med din forretning og fakturerer kunden en
ende betaler for, og hvad
reklameplads
kontaktpris (pr. estimeret eksponering) eller en pris efter annoncestørrelse.
forretningen dermed består i. Det kan f.eks. være, at der
For de fleste iværksættere vil det være naturligt at
Du erhverver dig en professionel viden eller en faglig kompetence og fakturerer
sælges enten produkter med en stk. pris og/eller
anvende mindst fem forskellige forretningsmodeller
Timesalg
kunderne efter det tidsforbrug, du anvender på opgaver for dem.
serviceydelser, der faktureres efter timeforbrug. Og måske
samtidigt, og for nogle kan det være en fordel at anvende
Du leverer en ydelse og fakturerer kunden en fast pris for hele ydelsen, eller en pris der
vil det fremgå, at kunden betaler på abonnementvilkår,
op til 10 eller endda helt op til 20 Ydelsessalg
forretningsmodeller
er bestemt af det ressourceforbrug, der medgår til leverancen.
eller at der indgår faste priser på bestemte ydelser. Men
samtidigt. Figuren “Kilder til indkomst” på næste side
med hvilke forretningsmodeller kan man bedst tjene penge illustrerer 22 eksempler på forskellige forretningsmodeller,
Du etablerer en organisation eller et netværk og fakturerer deltagerne et
Event salg
medlemskontingent for en periode.
i sin virksomhed?
og der findes sikkert
endnu flere.
SERVICE
FORRETNING
Kontingenter
Institutioner
Medier
Organisationer
Finansiel indkomst
Selv som finansiel virksomhed vil man i princippet kunne
tjene penge i T-shirt branchen, selvom det nok hører til
sjældenhederne. Man kunne forestille sig en
udlejningsforretning af dyre designer T-shirts (det findes
for solbriller, tasker og brudekjoler), og man kunne måske
sælge dyre T-shirts med en afdragsordning, hvor man
tjener penge på renteindtægterne fra kreditforretningen,
ligesom forhandlere af fladskærms-TV gør det. Det ville
Du udvikler, producerer og leverer et produkt samt fakturerer kunderne
produktionsprisen med tillæg af medgåede omkostninger og en margin til fortjenesten.
Du producerer varer på bestilling og fakturerer kunden en individuelt beregnet pris på
hver leverance.
-på de gode idéer
Ordreproduktion
ANDRE SPILLERE
FINANSIEL
FORRETNING
Du udvikler et projekt, som kan opnå støtte fra fonde eller offentlige institutioner og
fakturerer disse en aftalt sum, som skal dække alle projektomkostningerne.
Fundraising
Du udvikler et butiks- eller servicekoncept og fakturerer kunderne en franchise fee og
evt. en royalty som en procentsats af den omsætning, de opnår på forretningen.
Franchising
Du investerer i noget udstyr, som du udlejer og fakturerer kunden en lejepris per.
periode.
Udleje og leasing
Du lader dine kunder betale for din vare eller ydelse gennem en afdragsordning og
fakturerer en rentesats på den kredit, kunden løbende har.
Kreditforretning
Du sælger i samarbejde med et forsikringsselskab en forsikring, der medfølger den
vare eller leverance, du giver, og fakturerer kunden en forsikringspræmie.
Forsikringssalg
Du investerer i varer eller aktier og sælger dem efter en periode til en højere pris, der
bl.a. dækker de omkostninger, du har haft i forbindelse med investeringen.
Investering
Du investerer i varer eller aktier og sælger dem efter en periode til en højere pris, der
bl.a. dækker de omkostninger, du har haft i forbindelse med investeringen.
© Copyright 2008 Growth Company ApS. Licenseret til Væksthus SydDanmark.
Mere information på www.growthcompany.dk og www.vhsyddanmark.dk.
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 3 | 8
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
All start-ups have the same challenges
- that’s why they can be overcome
It may sound like a very crude generalization to say that all
start-ups have the same challenges. Would a service
business have the same challenges as a production
business? Would the furniture industry have the same
needs as the IT-industry? And how about the differences in
the challenges experienced by the early start-up and the
growing company? Of course certain conditions are
different. However, all companies have one thing in
common, they must all develop great products, hire the
right people, get the right clients and be profitable. The
StartupWheel provides an overview over these four
fundamental challenges.
To create an attractive business concept
The yellow segment of the StartupWheel holds
the areas to work with to create an attractive
business concept. In an advisory session the
advisor and the entrepreneur would consider
issues like: how to design the company's
products and services in relation to certain customer
segments, create the right business model, and how to
relate to the competition. The development areas in the
yellow segment are focused on design and development of
the business idea, product portfolio, business model,
customer portfolio and the company's market position.
To establish a sustainable organization
It is not sufficient for a start-up to have an
attractive business concept. It is also
necessary to assemble the right team of
owners, employees, and partners. This is the
focus of the second segment, the red segment
in the StartupWheel. The organization is the foundation for
the future development of the start-up. As advisors we help
the entrepreneur answer questions like: how to assemble
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 4 | 8
the right owners, how to find the right employees, and how
to form the right partnership agreements. The
development areas in the red segment of the StartupWheel
concentrate on designing the internal structure of the
start-up and the focus is on areas like owner group, board,
employees, business processes, partnerships, and legal
issues.
To build long term customer relations
With an attractive business concept and the
right organizational foundation, the start-up
has a strong basis for development and
growth. However, a start-up also has to be able
to sustain customers and to develop new
customer relations. This is the focus of the development
areas in the green segment of the StartupWheel. Here our
dialogue is concerned with how the start-up should
manage the daily business development and how to most
efficiently communicate with current and future
customers. Focus is on the development areas: network,
marketing, sales, public relations, and branding.
To develop effective business operations
When the start-up has built the foundation for
creating strong customer relations, the last
challenge is to be able to deliver and to
continue to improve the operations. This last
area - business operations - the blue segment
is about this. Here the advisor and the entrepreneur
consider how the company can increase its productivity and
how it can obtain positive cash-flow and finances. The
development areas in this segment have to do with the
development of the company's management accounting,
financing, deliveries, IT-systems, and facilities.
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
The StartupWheel is more than just a check-list
The StartupWheel is more than just a list of tasks and
themes. What sets the StartupWheel apart from other
business development tools is the idea that four key
activities are necessary to grow a start-up: To obtain
overview, create progress, maintain passion and to
establish a community.
Overview provides confidence
For an entrepreneur, an overview is necessary, because
the lack of it can be a mental barrier - one, that can
potentially block the
starting of important
activities in the startup. In order to have an
OVERVIEW
PROGRESS
overview, it does not
only involve having a
360 degrees
perspective on the
business but also that there is an overview of all the
development areas in the StartupWheel and an
understanding what they involve. For the entrepreneur
and the advisor the StartupWheel provides quick tools to
ensure an overview is achieved. With this perspective,
confidence to take action is established.
Progress provides a successful experience
It is necessary for the entrepreneurs to make decisions
that manifest themselves into concrete action. The danger
is that the entrepreneur spends too much time analyzing which rarely leads to real change. With it's action-oriented
worksheets, the StartupWheel enables the advisor to
systematically help the start-up in determining the next
step and taking action on it. This provides successful
experiences that again further encourage more initiatives.
Passion provides productivity
Passion might be the most important resource in the startup, especially when the start-up is young and there is still
not enough money, employees and systems to keep it
going. This is why it is crucial for the entrepreneur to keep
up the passion within the group of owners and other key
people. The StartupWheel supports and strengthens the
passion, both by being
a creative and visual
tool, but also by the
wide degrees of
PASSION
COMMUNITY
freedom in the way the
toolbox is used. When
the entrepreneur
follows his energy and
intuition, there is a much greater likelihood that passion
can be maintained. Productivity is fueled by passion, so
more things are done faster.
Community provides competence
To build a company requires a lot of different skills and
resources that no entrepreneur can come up with on his
own. That is why it is important to establish a community of
people around the business, including advisors,
employees, lead user customers or advisory board
members. The StartupWheel encourages the entrepreneur
to create a community in all development areas. With the
right partners, the start-up will be able to master all
twenty development areas of the
.
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 5 | 8
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
Use the StartupWheel in your own way
One of the reasons that the StartupWheel has gained such
popularity among start-ups and advisors is the wide degree
of flexibility the toolbox represents. Using the
StartupWheel in the advisory process does not mean that
the advisor cannot use other tools as well, or that the
start-up must follow a fixed and rigid process. Rather, the
StartupWheel suggests
that we as advisors use
our own judgement to
evaluate how the
StartupWheel is best
used with each
individual start-up.
Business advisors today
often choose to use the
StartupWheel in one of
three different ways. It can be used as a diagnostic tool to
identify problems, as an opportunity map to identify new
opportunities and it can be used to evaluate the current
skills and competences in the start-up.
Approach number one: Diagnosing problems
The StartupWheel can be used as a diagnostic tool for a
start-up that is not growing or developing in the way the
entrepreneur had intended. By producing a 360 degree
screening that shows how well the start-up is doing within
each of the development areas, the entrepreneur gets a
better understanding of where he needs to focus his
energy and which problems need to be solved right now.
After this, the advisor will be able to assist in prioritizing
tasks.
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 6 | 8
Approach number two: Mapping opportunities
The second way in which the StartupWheel can be utilized
is as a check list of new opportunities for the start-up. The
company might already be productive and growing and the
entrepreneur might want to identify new opportunities to
further develop the
company. With the
StartupWheel, the
advisor can help the
company obtain an
overview of where
opportunities exist, how
to get started and
identify the steps to get
there.
Approach number three: Evaluating competences
The third way in which the StartupWheel can be utilized is
to evaluate skills within the group of owners and key
employees, whereby the advisor helps the entrepreneur
find out which competencies are missing in the start-up
right now and where more knowledge is needed. This also
enables the advisor to refer the entrepreneur to relevant
contacts within his own network of specialists or to
alternative sources of further training or knowledge. This
StartupWheel approach helps the advisor connect the
entrepreneur to the right resources for the needs of the
company.
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
The StartupWheel saves time in the advisory process
Due to the large degree of flexibility in the use of the
StartupWheel, each advisor can design their own,
individual advisory process. However, one method that
many advisors choose is as following:
1st meeting: 360 degree screening
In the first meeting the advisor presents the challenges in
the twenty development areas in the StartupWheel. With
the entrepreneur, the first work sheet is completed with a
diagnosis of the issues or a mapping of opportunities. This
will give the entrepreneur an overview and the opportunity
to decide which themes to focus on in the following
advisory process. The 360 degree screening will most likely
also result in instant inspiration for a number of small
activities that the entrepreneur can carry out right after the
meeting. In this way, the entrepreneur experiences a result
right away.
2nd meeting: decisions and action
Based on the outcomes of the first meeting it will be
decided which development area or themes will be the
focus of the advisory process. The purpose of the second
meeting will be to identify which decisions need to be made
and which next step actions need to be initiated for the
startup. Some advisors choose to send an inspirational
article and the appropriate framework to the entrepreneur
prior to the meeting to prepare the dialogue with terms,
and example challenges. A common language is created
and time is spent more effectively.
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 7 | 8
3rd meeting - follow up on the action plan
The third meeting will focus on monitoring and following
up on the progress of the action plan that resulted from
the second meeting. It is not unlikely that the entrepreneur
has not managed to complete all the agreed action items.
Usually ambitions surpass resources. However, most likely
the time has been spent on more urgent development
areas. The task for us as advisors, though, is to clarify
which items on the action plan are still relevant. We must
also try to find out why the entrepreneur postponed
completing the action items - often we see, that he did so
because he was unsure of how to go about the task. 4th meeting or later - concluding the advisory
process
During an advisory process the entrepreneur will work with
a number of different tasks. Decisions will be made, some
of which will be carried out, while others will change. As
the advisory process reaches its conclusion, a status of the
results can be made displaying what has been achieved.
The StartupWheel can be used for this. By having the
advisor and entrepreneur use the very worksheet that was
used at the start of the advisory process, the process will
end with a 360 degree status update. The 360 degree status
assessment, can be the basis for a dialogue on how the
entrepreneur should further proceed to continue the
process of developing the company.
StartupWheel®
THE STARTUPWHEEL® - WHITEPAPER
How to get licensed
More than 150 business advisors use the StartupWheel on
a daily basis. It is being used in advisory processes with
several different types of institutions and companies who
help start-ups develop and grow. The StartupWheel is also
present in a number of different countries including
Sweden, Netherlands, The United States, Greenland and in
Denmark and more than one thousand start-ups have
received advice using the StartupWheel in the process.
Join us in finding the best way to help start-ups
make decisions and take action
The StartupWheel is based on user-driven development.
All certified business advisors around the world are invited
to help develop the StartupWheel. As a licensee, you are an
essential part of the continuous development of the
StartupWheel.
Get a license for unlimited use of the StartupWheel
and the Toolbox
As a business advisor, you can obtain a license for the
StartupWheel by participating in a two-day Certification
Course where you will be certified in using the
StartupWheel. At this course you will receive the binder
with all the worksheets and you will be provided access to
the StartupWheel Online where all parts of the Toolbox
have been made digitally available. During these two days
you will be introduced and trained in using the tools of the
StartupWheel and its methodology, and you will get the
© 2010 Startup Company NYC Inc
Page 8 | 8
opportunity to network and exchange experiences with
other business advisors.
About Startup Company
Startup Company is a training company that develops tools
for advisors to help entrepreneurs start and grow their
business. We have years of international experience in
helping companies create platforms for growth - a task
that requires developing your mindset as well as your
business. Startup Company was founded in 2003 by David
Madié and has the subsidiaries Growth Company and
Export Company.
Further information
For further information about the StartupWheel and the
license agreements, contact Startup Company:
NEW YORK CITY:
153 Roebling St., Suite 4W
Brooklyn, New York 11211
Telephone 1 (917) 741 0061
Fax: 1 (646) 395-1540
COPENHAGEN:
Rued Langgaards Vej 7
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Telephone +45 70 22 35 65
www.startupcompany.com
www.startupwheel.com
StartupWheel®