Building a successful startup in today's dynamic landscape is more challenging than ever. With political shifts, economic uncertainties, global changes, and the rapid impact of AI, scaling a business demands exceptional resilience and foresight.

I've had the privilege of working with hundreds of entrepreneurs worldwide, helping them navigate these complexities and achieve their personal and professional aspirations. It's been incredibly rewarding to witness the growth of so many innovative ideas, fueled by brilliant business plans, unwavering dedication, and the relentless hard work founders pour into building sustainable companies from the ground up. Their efforts create significant value for themselves and investors, while also addressing critical problems facing both business and humanity.

Every entrepreneur's journey is unique. The motivations behind starting and scaling a venture are deeply personal, and there's a wide, healthy variation in their missions, visions, and execution strategies. This diversity is a strength, as starting a company is a high-risk endeavor with many paths to success. We deeply respect the hard-working entrepreneurs who are prepared to take on that risk.

Through these experiences, I've observed several common traits among the most successful leaders: hard work, strong leadership, sharp focus on priorities, robust technical and growth skills, effective recruiting abilities, and the capacity to foster a high-quality culture.

Ultimately, a good startup advisor's mission is to empower entrepreneurs to achieve the goals they set out to accomplish.

To that end, we've refined a document we've been circulating since 2015, it changes a bit every year but we keep the same title: 'How to Create a Successful Startup in 2025.' This guide provides a foundational framework for founders, entrepreneurs, and investors like Tyre Angel to evaluate a company's strengths and weaknesses and strategize for scale.

If you're seeking our assistance to scale your business, we ask you to thoughtfully answer the following questions in writing. We've consistently received positive feedback on this exercise, as the process of articulating your thoughts in writing often brings clarity, highlights strengths, and helps solidify your commitment to achieving your goals.

Your Startup Vision: Questions for 2025

Updated July 2025 

Company Information:

  • Name of Company:
  • URL:
  • Incorporation Date:
  • Company Type of Incorporation:
  • Number of Full-Time Employees:

Questions:

  1. Are you currently working on this business full-time?
  2. Do you possess domain knowledge that provides a competitive advantage in this industry?
  3. Why do you want to start this company?
  4. What problem are you looking to solve?
  5. Why is now the right time to solve this problem?
  6. Have you thoroughly considered the personal and professional implications of working in a startup environment?
  7. Do you have a co-founder?
  8. If so, what is their role?
  9. What kind of company do you aspire to build?
  10. What are the tangible goals you've set for the company over the next 12-24 months?
  11. Do you have a concise 3-page business plan or an investment deck that clearly outlines your business structure and future?
  12. Can you provide a monthly forecast for the next 12 months in spreadsheet format, including: new and total customers, new and total revenue, cost of goods sold, standard business expenses, profit/loss, and employee headcount?
  13. Have you identified three advisors you can meet with quarterly to help you scale?
  14. How will you know when you have proven the concept sufficiently to make your effort an investable company?
  15. Have you ever raised capital before?
  16. Do you have access to friends & family capital to get started and bridge through the proof-of-concept stage to an angel round?

Scaling a successful company is a multi-year commitment, but with a strong mission, clear vision, dedicated work ethic, and the ability to focus on priorities and a mindset of  continuously learning, you can achieve remarkable success.

Good luck !
Dan Tyre

Written by Dan Tyre

Dan Tyre is an authority on inbound marketing and sales and has become a regular public speaker, blog writer, mentor, and coach for those who want to harness of the power of inbound marketing to improve their bottom line. He joined HubSpot as a member of the original team in May of 2007 as the first salesperson for the company. Since then, Dan has held various positions in sales, sales management, recruiting, training, and expansion of the HubSpot sales team.

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