What do scalable startups such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon have in common? Each scalable startup was funded by investors. And not only that, each of the aforementioned startups developed a profitable business model that brought in extraordinary return on the initial investment. Obtaining funding for investment in a scalable startup is a tough task. It is estimated that only 1-2% of first time applicants/startups succeed in obtaining funding from investors. In other words, 98-99% of startups fail to get funding for their businesses while pursuing their dreams. Without funding, the vision of a scalable startup will remain a pipe dream which results in a serious waste of resources especially time and talent. In this presentation, "25 Investor Questions (IQs)" are presented in six categories or "Toll Gates" for Business Model Profitability. Deeply understanding and continuously answering these 25 IQs would dramatically increase the chance of a startup to obtain funding. In 2007 and as a first time applicant/startup, I used the approach of the 25 IQs to obtain an investment of US$400,000. If I could do it, you can do it too. All you need to do is to continuously answer and diligently present your responses and lessons learned based on the 25 Investor Questions (IQs) ... at the right time! http://goo.gl/FCGSKV

1. 25
INVESTOR
QUESTIONS
(IQs)
for
BUSINESS
MODEL
PROFITABILITY
Visually
Organize,
Manage,
and
Test
Ideas
for
Improving
Business
Model
Profitability
#4ROD.
Dr.
Rod
King.
rodkuhnhking@gmail.com
&
hLp://businessmodels.ning.com
&
hLp://twiLer.com/RodKuhnKing
1.
Problem-­‐SoluVon
Fitness
1.1
What
is
the
main
physical/intellectual/emo6onal/spiritual
task
or
Job
To
Get
Done
for
the
customer
segment
(archetype)?
1.2
What
are
the
top
3
problems,
challenges,
constraints,
barriers,
or
trade-­‐offs
before/during/aGer
the
Job
To
Get
Done?
1.3
What
are
features
of
the
product/service/business
model
that
resolve
the
top
3
problems
or
trade-­‐offs
of
the
targeted
customer
segment
(archetype)?
2.
Value
ProposiVon
Fitness
2.1
What
is
the
Value
Proposi6on
for
the
customer
segment
(archetype)?
2.2
How
likely,
on
a
scale
from
0
(not
likely)
to
10
(highly
likely),
would
customers
purchase
product/service
based
on
the
Value
Proposi6on?
2.3
How
is
the
Value
Proposi6on
similar
to
that
of
compe6tors?
2.4
How
is
the
Value
Proposi6on
different
from
that
of
compe6tors?
2.5
How
does
the
(minimum
viable)
ad/product/service/business
model
embody
or
reflect
the
Value
Proposi6on?
2.6
To
what
extent
does
the
Value
Proposi6on
help
engage,
acquire,
and
retain
targeted
customers?
3.
Product-­‐Market
Feasibility
3.1
What
hierarchy
of
jobs
or
tasks
does
the
product/service
help
the
targeted
customers
to
do?
3.2
What
is
the
minimum
viable
market
size,
value,
share,
and
growth
rate
for
the
product/service?
3.3
What
is
the
minimum
viable
product/service
for
delivering
the
primary
func6onality,
benefit,
or
delight
to
the
targeted
customers?
3.4
What
is
the
level
of
compa6bility
between
main
func6onality
of
the
product/service
and
the
customer’s
core
jobs
to
get
done?
3.5
Through
what
channels
and
rela6onships
would
the
product/service
be
delivered
to
the
targeted
customers?
3.6
What
are
customer
experiences
as
well
as
level
of
loyalty
(Net
Promoter
Score)
for
the
product/service?
4.
Revenue
Model
Feasibility
4.1
How
does
the
business
make
money:
What
are
minimum
revenue
streams
and
volume
of
revenue
for
the
business?
4.2
How
does
the
business
increase
revenue
as
well
as
customer
value
(experience)
and
loyalty?
4.3
What
are
alterna6ve
means
such
as
profit,
revenue,
and
business
model
pa[erns
by
which
the
business
can
increase
(recurring)
revenue?
5.
Resource-­‐Based
Feasibility
5.1
What
physical/intellectual/emo6onal/spiritual
resources
and
competences
of
the
business
model
are
valuable,
rare,
inimitable,
and
non-­‐subs6tutable?
5.2
What
is
the
cost
structure
as
well
as
cost
of
resources
for
(a
minimum
viable)
business
model?
6.
Business
Model
Advantage
6.1
What
is
the
profit
margin
(Return
On
Investment)
for
the
business
model?
6.2
What
are
the
compe66ve
strategy
and
tac6cs
(including
switching
costs
and
network
effects)
for
the
business
model?
6.3
What
is
the
trade-­‐off
of
the
compe66ve
strategy
or
business
model?
6.4
How
disrup6ve
and
scalable
is
the
business
model?
6.5
How
does
the
business
con6nuously
discover
and
solve
Big
Urgent
Market
Problems
(BUMPs)
especially
in
an
environment
of
great
uncertainty?