Whether it’s a start-up’s new software platform or mobile application, it all begins with the founders’ vision and ideas. During the early days of establishing a start-up, it’s common to see a bit of evolution to the founders’ ideas and vision, which can certainly complicate matters because the first key hurdle in the life cycle of a start-up entails articulating the idea in a compelling manner for the investors who hold the power to make the vision a reality.
The Gap in Vision When Seeking Start-up Funding
When presenting your start-up’s concept or idea to potential investors, there are two obstacles to consider. Firstly, you must ensure that your presentation clearly articulates the start-up’s idea, market opportunity, and return on investment (ROI). Secondly, the prospective investors must accurately visualize the start-up’s idea and its role in its niche or industry. But unfortunately, there is often a rather significant and problematic gap between the prospective investors’ vision and the first rendition of the idea, called Version 1 (V1) or Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This gap can lead to a scenario where a startup fails to acquire the funds that they need to succeed.
So how do you ensure that your start-up’s vision is clearly conveyed to prospective investors, while simultaneously ensuring that those individuals possess an accurate understanding of the start-up’s idea or concept?
7T’s Foundation Program provides start-ups with an opportunity to create a visual, easy-to-understand solution for articulating the venture’s idea or mission before you’ve completed V1 or MVP.
“This can be a very exciting time, as the Foundation Program provides a ‘visual’ of the founders’ idea for the first time. Think of a first-time parent looking at their baby for the first time in a high resolution sonogram! What’s more, the founders are afforded an opportunity to tweak their idea or concept fairly early in the process, which is certainly preferable over the alternative — making an expensive shift in strategy further downstream,” explained 7T CEO and Founder Kishore Khandavalli.
He added, “The Foundation Program allows Investors and partners to visualize and navigate around the solution, which is far more compelling than simply describing a concept or an endless string of PowerPoint slides. Foundation Program participants dramatically reduced the amount of time it takes to get funding. The actual development process tends to be faster too, since you’ve created a prototype and a roadmap for the project.”
What Does 7T’s Foundation Program Entail?
Getting the ball rolling on a mobile application or software development project can be a challenge for a well-established corporation; start-ups face even greater obstacles. The task of fleshing out the requisite app / software development project requirements document can feel overwhelming, even discouraging some individuals from moving forward. The complexity can make company leaders feel as though the project is simply too challenging.
The custom software and mobile app development process can appear to be even more daunting in cases where you’re uncertain of what constitutes a realistic budget, timeline and project scope. You may not even be 100% positive that your project is fully viable from all perspectives, which is even more concerning if you’re founding a startup venture.
This is precisely where 7T’s team of experts can help with our Foundation Program, which is designed to provide qualified applicants with the guidance and insights they need to succeed with a mobile app or custom software development project.
“We’ve launched over 100 different platforms for well-established companies and we’ve worked with multiple successful startups too. This experience places 7T in a wonderful position to provide guidance to prospective clients who are uncertain of where to begin,” explained 7T President Shane Long.
How Does 7T’s Foundation Program Work?
The 7T Foundation Program is fairly straightforward. Our expert team will work with representatives from your company or organization to offer guidance as you prepare to choose a developer and start the app or software development process.
Let’s explore how 7T’s Foundation Program works, along with some of the advantages and insights you’ll gain as a result of working with 7T’s team on the multi-week collaboration.
Exploring Your Needs and Project Scope — The first step to a successful development project is to identify your project scope ( in the statement of work / scope of work or “SOW” document) and identify what constitutes a minimum viable product. There is much to explore when it comes to building a roadmap for your new mobile app or custom software platform — from how it will work and the features that you’ll include, to the required integrations, and even whether your development team will need to pioneer new technology for a never-before-seen functionality.
This part of The Foundation Program goes beyond listing off the desired functionalities and features. We’ll identify the different types of users and how they’ll be interacting with the platform. We’ll look at the different problems and challenges with your current systems and identify how this new technology can improve upon or solve those issues. There’s also the issue of what technology you’ll be using in conjunction with your new software platform or mobile app, such as Snowflake cloud data solutions like data warehousing and Sertics data lakes.
Discussing Your Budget — Your budget will have a significant impact on your development project. We’ll walk you through the basics, helping you to create a development plan that aligns with your budget (and any budgetary constraints that exist). For startups in particular, it’s common to see phased funding, which must be taken into consideration when planning a development project. We’ll lead the way as you consider funding availability and how you can achieve a minimum viable product with the available resources. Our team can help provide insight into what’s possible and realistic, along with brainstorming if the need arises.
Establishing the Timeframe — The timeframe for your project will be affected by a number of different factors, such as the nature of the platform, the complexity and types of features you’ll be including and the availability of funding. Some clients may be well-suited to a single-phase development project spanning a few months, while others may be best-served by a multi-phase project that’s completed over the course of an extended timeframe of a year or longer. The 7T team will offer guidance into what’s possible and what’s realistic for your project.
Complete Your Requirements Document – A requirements document is a detailed roadmap for the development of your mobile application or custom software platform. A mobile app / software requirements document is an essential and very detailed document that can take several weeks to compile. We’ll walk you through the process of creating this document and in doing so, we will examine your unique needs and provide feedback on what’s realistic and achievable.
When all is said and done, you’ll walk away with a fully fleshed-out requirements document, which will serve as a complete roadmap for the development project. We strive to guide our program participants so they’re well-informed and in a good position to proceed with their mobile app or software development project, whether they choose to partner with 7T’s development team or opt to take the project elsewhere.
Is the 7T Foundation Program Right for You? – A Free Consultation
7T is currently providing a free two-hour consultation session for start-up founders and entrepreneurs who believe that they might benefit from the 7T Foundation Program. Our goal is to give back to startups and established companies that are seeking to pursue new technology, in spite of the challenges of COVID-19 and beyond.
At 7T, we specialize in digital transformation through emerging technologies, as we integrate cutting-edge solutions into virtually every development project. 7T strives to solve problems and boost ROI through digital transformation. A large portion of our mobile app and custom software development work involves enterprise clients, who are seeking to expand, augment or streamline their operations with purpose-built technology.
Our innovative team integrates cutting-edge solutions into virtually every development project, whether it’s mobile app development, custom software projects such as CRM platforms and ERP development, or Snowflake data solutions, we’re ready to deliver collaborative, multi-phased software development services to clients in all business sectors.
7T has offices in Dallas, Houston, Chicago, and Austin, but our clientele spans far beyond Texas and the midwest. If you’re ready to harness the power of an enterprise mobile app, custom enterprise software platform, an enterprise mobile app and today’s most innovative technologies, contact 7T. We invite you to call our Dallas area offices at 214-299-5100.
