How to Scale from $10k to $10M: The Power of Small Wins in GTM and scaling startups

This post was originally posted on my LinkedIn profile blog in 2014 with the title: If I Were 22: Think Smaller. I thought about it recently, re-read it, and decided the message is still great for Founders working on their GTM Strategy.

Whether you're working on your first Minimal Viable Product (MVP), working toward Product-Market Fit, or scaling B2B startups I recommend the quick read.

---

A close entrepreneur friend of mine once told me his advice for getting started in entrepreneurship.  Looking back on experiences, and at the histories of successful entrepreneurs I know, his advice seems to be spot on:

“You start small. Get a 10k win. Then, a 25k win. Then, a 50k win. Next thing you know, you’re looking at an offer for 500k for your latest company and you actually start to see how you can get to 2, 10, 50 million and above. From there, there’s no stopping you.”

This week’s LinkedIn Influencer posts to 22 year-olds have been great. They cover all sorts of advice for many types of professionals. I’m writing this for one group in particular: The Makers. If you have the desire to start something, whether it is within a large company, or as a founder, then this post is for you.

The concept is sexy: Be a visionary and become a billionaire!

Go big! Get really rich, really fast. That’s how it’s done, right? Most beginning entrepreneurs are fascinated with the idea of building and selling a big company.  Starting entrepreneurs often have some grand vision that involves a new product or service that no else has come up with. It’s a super unique idea and it’s going to spread like wildfire… That is, if you can achieve that grand vision.

Being too set on big thinking is a great way hesitate.

When you only think big you fail to recognize the first steps towards the vision that are much more achievable. The result: procrastination and hesitation. The big vision is often too difficult for most to digest.  It’s nearly impossible to immediately know how to make a billion dollars. Verify that the market could be there, but don’t think too much about the billion-dollar solution. If you do, the most likely scenario is that you never even get started. So, break off some small pieces of that vision into things we can build and sell right now.

I actually mean “right now”… or, at least, in the next few months. Yes, I would love for Tesla, Google, and Uber to create a partnership right now that allows self-driving cars to drive me to work, pick up my meals, stop at the dry cleaners (whose location they already know because Google Maps tracked me looking them up in the first place), and take me on mini-road trips at the swipe of a finger. Also, just for painting the full vision, a drone flies out of the back hatch of the car and up to my apartment window so I don’t have to walk downstairs…Gasp. We’ll have to wait a little bit for that. For now, I guess the car-hailing app will do.  That’s what we’re shooting for. They all started smaller, and you should also to just get moving.

Advice to the 22 year old me: Think smaller. The big results will follow.

Small wins get you moving.

Thinking small allows you to get started faster, with more focused effort, on a task that is more digestible, less frightening, and more likely to be executed successfully in a reasonable time period.  Thinking small keeps you focused on what is immediately necessary.  It gives you permission to stop thinking and just get moving!  Yes, I know you want to change the world. And, I believe you can. But, let’s stop researching and start making calls.

Small wins build momentum.

When you get one small win you become thirsty for the next. Better yet, you become thirsty for the next, bigger win. In addition to that, others see your success and want to tag along. Let them! People are force multipliers that provide leverage for your success, which again gets you closer to the big vision.  In addition to that, small wins create proof points.  The likelihood of someone taking big bets on you is much lower than small bets, and you need people to bet on you. Small bets are like cracks on a windshield: once they get started, they spread fast!  If you want investors or experienced employees to join you on your journey you have to show them the way. Start by carving a narrow path now that you can later turn into a freeway.

And guess what, there is something interesting about big companies…

Here’s the clincher, big companies are nothing more than a bunch of smaller things pieced together, or a small repeatable process that has been replicated and repeated many times. The result ($$$) is a compound effect of something much smaller at the company’s core.

Here’s the take away:

Everything is achievable when you break it down into its core components. Tackle them one-by-one and celebrate the successes of each. Before you know it, that big vision will start looking a lot more achievable and your success becomes a matter of focused repetition rather than herculean efforts.

---

Are you stuck in the 'Grand Vision' phase of your Go-To-Market strategy? Let’s find your first $10k win. Book a GTM Strategy Audit.