1/ A startup is an evolving relationship between technology, users, and capital.
2/ Startups must grow in three areas: output, impact, and value.
2A/ Advancement on the “Output” axis indicates the startup’s capacity to turn capital into technology.
2B/ Advancement on the “Impact” axis indicates the scale of user adoption.
2C/ Advancement on the “Value” axis indicates the startup’s ability to monetize usage.
3/ Startups cannot advance along each axis independently.
4/ All layers of a growth must be connected.
4A/ Connective tissue is required to produce technology that users will embrace.
4B/ Connective tissue is required to attract users who will pay.
4C/ Connective tissue is required to reflect business learning in the development process.
5/ A startup, sometimes intentionally, becomes off balance when advancement is not equal across all axes.
6/ A startup with Tech Equilibrium produces technology in a tight feedback loop with user interaction.
6A/ A startup on the Users side of the Tech Equilibrium line faces technical limitations in handling user growth.
6B/ A startup on the Capital side of the Tech Equilibrium line produces technology with invalidated demand.
7/ A startup with User Equilibrium has an equal value exchange with its user base.
7A/ A startup on the Tech side of the User Equilibrium line does not sufficiently monetize its audience.
7B/ A startup on the Capital side of the User Equilibrium line dampens user growth with over monetization.
8/ A startup with capital equilibrium is building a technology with proven business value.
8A/ A startup on the Users side of the Capital Equilibrium line is allowing a successful product to stagnate.
8B/ A startup on the Tech side of the Capital Equilibrium line is prematurely scaling its product development operation.
9/ VCs supply startups with artificial Capital Equilibrium so they can focus on growing output and impact before trying to capture value. They bet that user equilibrium can be created late in the game.
10/ While startups may intentionally lose balance on the way, they must ultimately find complete equilibrium to sustainably grow.
What does your startup look like? Visualize it with this template.