A hands-on, practical roadmap to get from great idea to successful companyIn Disciplined Entrepreneurship: Startup Tactics, renowned entrepreneur and Executive Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship Paul Cheek delivers an actionable field guide to transforming your one great idea into a functional, funded, and staffed startup. Building on the ideas presented in the bestselling Disciplined Entrepreneurship, the author delivers a startlingly complete and comprehensive set of solutions you can implement immediately to advance your company to its next stage of growth.This is not a theoretical book. You'll find ground-level, down-and-dirty entrepreneurial tactics--like how to conduct advanced primary market research, market and sell to your first customers, and take a scrappy approach to building your first products--that keep your firm growing. These tactics maximize your impact with limited resources. You'll also discover:* Effective marketing tactics specific to early startups that go beyond cookie-cutter digital MarTech solutions* Tactics for designing and testing your product concepts yourself before investing limited resources in developing a fully functional product* Methods for equity distribution that minimize conflict and maximize investor returnAn invaluable resource for founders and entrepreneurs, Disciplined Entrepreneurship: Startup Tactics will also benefit any professional working at an early-stage startup or launching new products looking for concrete solutions to the most common and difficult problems faced by young companies and the people who work in them.

Foreword xvAcknowledgments xviiIntroduction to Tactics 1Stage 1 Foundations 24Tactic 1 Goals: Operational Goals and KPIs--Charting the Course to Major Milestones 27Tactic 2 Systems: Startup Tooling and Systems 39Stage 2 Market Testing 48Tactic 3 Market Research: Advanced Primary and Secondary Market Research-- Quantifying Qualitative Research 51Tactic 4 Assets: Developing Startup Visual Assets 77Tactic 5 Marketing: Proving Persona Assumptions with Digital Advertising 91Tactic 6 Sales: Early Customer Demand Generation 107Stage 3 Product Development 120Tactic 7 Product Roadmap: Building Your Product's Roadmap 123Tactic 8 Design: Minimum Viable Business Product Design 129Tactic 9 User Testing: Validating the Product Actually Works 143Tactic 10 Engineering: Transitioning from Product Design to Development 161Stage 4 Resource Acquisition 174Tactic 11 Legal: Incorporation and Legal Documents for Your Startup 177Tactic 12 Finance: Path to Greatness--Building the Financial Model and Setting Up the Piggy Bank 191Tactic 13 Pitch Deck Design: Pitch Decks for Startups 201Tactic 14 Fundraising: Executing Your Venture's Fundraising Plan 213Tactic 15 Hiring: Finding and Onboarding Your First Ten Employees 235Next Steps 251Educator Materials 261Index 263