Author: John Knapp

The Value Creation Ladder is a planning methodology I’ve developed to help startup entrepreneurs create a roadmap through which their business can maximize growth. Like a foundation on which you build, each rung supports those above it. This is a hands-on planning tool to help entrepreneurs think ahead, so the decisions they make today support the business needs of tomorrow.

Rungs of the Value Creation Ladder:

1. Vision – The vision is the guiding principle, the reason the business exists. The vision is the rudder on the ship.
2. Solving Critical Problems – Businesses exist to solve a problem. Ideally, a problem the customer is aware of and one which either hasn’t been solved or one which your business solves way better than the incumbent solution.
3. Customers with Money – A profitable business needs customers with money they’re willing to spend. Customers you can reach and ones that are comfortable spending money to receive value. And of course, the more the merrier.
4. Founder – The source of the vision and the person who creates and builds an organization able to execute on the vision in order to meet a sizable market need.
5. Team – With solid rungs beneath this one, the type of people your business needs becomes clear. As the team grows, the qualifications and responsibilities will evolve but the foundational traits and characteristics of team members (which define the culture) should stay the same.
6. Differentiation – Any successful business stands clearly apart from – and is obviously superior to – their competition in the minds of their customers.
7. Product Family – Start by carefully choosing a point of entry from which to expand to serve more of the business ecosystem. (Amazon started with books.) You need a plan to enhance existing products and also to release complementary products while responding to evolving customers and markets. If customers don’t buy, re–invent until they do.
8. Intellectual Property – As a business grows, both trademarks and patents become increasingly important – you need both. Good trademarks prominently anchor the business brand in the customers mind and good patents protect key functional aspects of your business and pave the way for significant partnerships.
9. Traction – It’s obvious, a business isn’t underway until customers are buying. And a business doesn’t grow until customers continue to buy and new customers are coming onboard. By the way, recurring business is best.
10. Scalability – Businesses can hit a ceiling for many reasons – some never break through. The reasons might be technical, operational or managerial – or it might be due to market conditions, pricing or competitive pressures. Or maybe there aren’t enough customers that want what you’ve got. In any case, if you can’t break through, you’ve hit your limit. If you don’t think this through from the start and have a plan to break through and achieve meaningful scale, you’re not going to build a big business.
11. Profitability – It’s a simple concept: make more than you spend. You’re better off if profitability grows as the business grows so identify and seize economies of scale and create and deliver complementary products that share infrastructure.
12. Expansion – You may start to saturate your original market and further growth requires business expansion. Your solution depends on your business but you should have a plan to expand to other geographies, enter related verticals or acquire complementary businesses.
13. New Standard – If your product becomes the standard you can unlock significant value. If you can extract maximum value from each of the supporting rungs, and if your product delivers enough value and is worthy, you’ll have a shot at becoming the standard.

Create your Value Creation Ladder

1. Create a document you can share with the team.
2. Write a couple sentences for each “rung” that defines the value you create in each area.
3. Then, by maximizing the value you put into – and extract from each rung, you will enhance the value of your business.
4. Make sure the rungs on your ladder complement each other and fit into a unified whole.
5. Use your Value Creation Ladder to guide your decisions.
6. Keep your Ladder up to date as things change to keep it relevant.

Let me know how it goes, let me know how I can help!

I’ve always been an entrepreneur and always will be. I’ve also always enjoyed sharing knowledge and helping people grow.

For years, I’ve had one of those far away “someday goals” to help more people – in all parts of the earth – become entrepreneurs. More specifically, to teach them how to create value and freedom for themselves and deliver meaningful value to the world around them. And most importantly, to help them take action and succeed.

Now, as 2016 draws to a close, The XLR8U Project is launching to achieve that someday goal.

I’ve got a lot on my plate but this is important work so I’ll give it a go. Especially since this project is supporting some ambitious online learning plans I’m really excited about! Pulling those off will be a team effort which will deliver a lot of value to a lot of people.

Sound interesting?

In support of this broader effort, my team and I will be pioneering new learning techniques and advanced EdTech technologies to make sure we deliver the full measure of these very worthwhile plans.

Fun times!

Proceeds from The XLR8U Project will be invested in pursuit of these broader plans and we may launch a Kickstarter campaign or employ other fund raising strategies as well.

All for a very good cause!

Please follow our progress here and across social media and please show your support by telling your friends to check us out.

Onward!