Dave McClure: Startup Confusion of How

Posted by admin on Monday, May 18, 2015

Dave McClure Money Quotation saying Start up is lost and confused about how to make money and every aspect of business — until no longer a startup. Dave McClure said:
 

 

“A ‘startup’ is a company that is confused about
 

1. What its product is.
2. Who its customers are.
3. How to make money”
 
— Dave McClure

 

 

In this quote, Dave McClure is offering a tongue-in-cheek definition of what characterizes many startups in their early stages. When he says startups are “confused” about their product, customers and business model, he means they are still experimenting and figuring these core aspects out as they work to develop and validate their business idea.

McClure is suggesting that in the startup phase, there tends to be a process of trial and error involved in properly identifying the product/market fit, the ideal customer segments to target, and ultimately how to generate sustainable revenue and profits.

His definition captures how startups operate more through exploration and iteration than fully formed plans. It emphasizes the learning process startups go through early on to determine their strategic direction as a business.