We are excited to share a new feature by Oxford University about HelloAdvisr and our CEO Ed Lee.
In the article we had a chance to share our journey, and our vision for how startups can build thriving sustainable ventures. We are grateful for all the support we have received for our work to see innovative builders close the value gap to grow thriving sustainable ventures that contribute to their communities and the ecosystems they operate.
One important takeaway shared in the article is the introduction of our “value debt” concept. With our experience with hundreds of startups and companies around the world, one of the most common threads we see if the misalignment between value delivered and value received.
This value misalignment has significant impact for a fast-moving growth venture specifically in terms of their trajectory and resources required to achieve that path.
The most obvious is the impact on revenue traction and pathways to profitability. When a company under-values their product this leaves potential revenue and profit on the table. This should not be confused with revenue or price optimization. This is foundational and several steps before optimization. The challenge is in articulating value through a proposition and price. For too many startups, this is a step that is needed, but rarely taken.
Value debt also impacts a company’s competitive positioning and utilization of resources. Lack of clarity around what is the value for the solution created, but equally what drives that value for customers puts pressure on a company’s ability to position competitively. We see this manifest in a feature race with competitors, without a more mindful appreciation of what creates benefits for customers and differences between them.
Related, but separate is the associated costs for supporting value debt. One of the biggest areas is in acquisition costs. Less insight into customer segmentation driven by willingness-to-pay, pricing, and value drivers creates a gap in how acquisition costs are targeted and utilized. This also influences the acquisition strategy a startup can and should pursue.
Read the full feature using this link here.
Updated: July 16, 2021
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