The Startup Checklist: 25 Steps to a Scalable, High-Growth Business 2nd Edition

This revised and updated edition of the bestselling startup guide is designed for a very specific type of business starter: the 21st-century entrepreneur deliberately setting out to create a scalable, high-growth business in a world driven by artificial intelligence. This is a business that incorporates AI at every stage, from ideation to exit; a business that will hire employees, issue stock options, raise money from outside investors, grow rapidly, and eventually either be acquired by a larger company or “go public” through an initial public offering. Starting that kind of business gets very complicated, very quickly, and making even small mistakes at the beginning can cause problems at every later step along the way.

These mistakes include the fundamental (starting a business that just doesn’t make sense in an AI-powered world) to the painful (linking up with people whose interests are divergent from yours) to the tragic (getting equity allocations wrong at the beginning and never being able to recover), all the way to the really, really expensive (making simple mistakes at the incorporation level that result in five- and six-figure clean-up costs the first time a serious investor is thinking of supporting you).

This book is your one-stop checklist to starting up right in an explosively changing world. It assumes no prior knowledge about business or technology―just a strong desire to create something seriously big, and to do so in the most effective, most efficient, and least expensive way possible. David S. Rose, a serial entrepreneur who is one of the world’s leading startup investors, walks alongside you throughout the process, providing the background you need to understand the whys in addition to the whats and the hows. He takes you step-by-step through the practical tasks of starting up a high-growth venture, introduces you with QR codes to the very latest AI-powered tools and technologies, and gives you a peek behind the curtains of the angel investor and venture capital worlds.

New to this edition is comprehensive guidance on leveraging AI throughout startup creation―from AI advisors and automated competitor analysis to AI-powered legal, HR, and analytics functions―plus updated tools and practices for building an Exponential Organization.

Among the concrete steps covered are:

• Translating your idea into a compelling business model
• Leveraging AI tools and platforms through every stage of building your company
• Allocating equity among your startup team
• Incorporating as a Delaware “C” corporation
• Recruiting your boards of Directors and Advisors
• Measuring your business with AI-powered data analytics
• Establishing a stock option plan
• Understanding the funding process
• Crowdfunding with online platforms
• Negotiating investment term sheets
• Reaping the benefits of success through acquisition or IPO

Start your venture the right way, with The Startup Checklist.

Praise for THE STARTUP CHECKLIST

“Finally! The indispensable instruction book that takes you from your Big Idea to a Big Exit. In his inimitable wise and witty style, David takes founders through the nuts and bolts of how to start a company that can successfully make it all the way to the finish line. I’m giving copies to all of my entrepreneurs!”
―BARBARA CORCORAN, Business Expert and Star of ABC’s Shark Tank

“I work with hundreds of first-time entrepreneurs and The Startup Checklist is the clearest, most useful resource I have seen for someone considering starting a scalable, high-growth business. Experience may be the best teacher, but right behind her is David S. Rose.”
―ANDREW YANG, Founder and CEO of Venture for America and Author of Smart People Should Build Things

“David S. Rose has seen it all, over many years and across thousands of companies, and then, to the great benefit of the rest of us, has distilled the essence of what it takes to succeed. I can’t say strongly enough how much I feel that following the checklist David has created will help you make your company more successful.”
―BILL GROSS, Founder of Idealab

“Everyone knows that a great business starts with a great idea. But the journey from a great idea to a flourishing, profitable business is a lot longer and thornier than most people realize. I can’t imagine a more experienced, savvier, street-smart guide along the way than David S. Rose’s The Startup Checklist.”
―HOWARD L. MORGAN, Co-Founder, First Round Capital

“This book is an absolute must for anybody looking to start a high-growth startup and get funding. David is an institution among high-tech angel investors, who brings his experience on both sides of it (as startup founder and angel investor) to play in this practical, realistic book.”
―TIM BERRY, Author of Business Plan Pro software