Kyle and I took some time to submit our Compeet idea to YCombinator for their annual funding run.

It was the type of thing that started out as “let’s give it a shot.” Admittedly, I was doubtful at first but Kyle convinced me to go through the application.

After we were done, I felt like we had done a great thing. Putting your idea to paper and challenging it with the right questions is a useful exercise regardless of the potential for venture capital. Sometimes, I get so caught up in the work that I forget to step aside to set the pace and the direction.

I listed some of the good questions below. Are you asking the right questions about your business? Are you taking the time to challenge your idea(s)? As a business owner, you set the tone and the vision. While getting the day to day business done is important, I’m becoming convinced that my role needs to evolve more into planning and business development. But hey, that could be a little of The E-Myth talking.

Some solid questions from YCombinator that I wanted to share:

• What’s new about what you’re doing?
• What do you understand about your business that other companies in it just don’t get?
• How long will it take before you have a prototype? A beta? A version you can charge for?
• What might go wrong? (This is a test of imagination, not confidence.)
• Why would your project be hard for someone else to duplicate?

Are you asking the right questions? Can you quickly delegate the work you have currently so that you can answer them? More importantly, are you stuck in stagnation? Then, if you don’t plan for your business, who will?

Tags:

Provide some enlightenment of your own - leave a comment, or trackback.