Understanding VIRAL
VIRAL stands for “Venture Investment Readiness and Awareness Levels”
VIRAL is a pathway of nine levels a company goes through, up to a successful liquidity event. As you grow your business, VIRAL is a self-awareness tool to assess progress, identify key milestones you need to hit to raise your next round, and ultimately build a profitable business with successful exit.
VIRAL outlines eight categories of a business that investors typically evaluate. Entrepreneurs have to hit milestones in each of the eight categories to level up.
Below you can see a grid showing the nine VIRAL levels a startup progresses through, and the eight business categories that entrepreneurs must focus on at each level of their development.
At bottom are links to detailed descriptions of each level containing outlining the kind of due diligence questions investors tend to ask at that level, and milestones entrepreneurs need to complete in order to attract their next round of funding.
VIRAL 1: Getting the Band Together.
You’ve got a team that is ready to go. Your Detailed Results: Match Me! What investors at this stage are likely to like about your
VIRAL 2: Setting your Vision
You’ve got a team that is ready to go, and a vision you’re excited about. You likely don’t have revenue yet, but you’re starting to
VIRAL 3: Validating your Product
Yes! You’ve validated that a customer wants your product or service. You likely have a little bit of revenue. People are buying what you are
VIRAL 4: Attacking the Market
You’ve validated that your product or service is worth investing in. You’ve defined your market, and now you’re planning on how you’re going to attack
VIRAL 5: Solidifying the Business Model
You’ve got a revenue model in place and are making money. Your team has strong sales and operations capability and you’re actively building a strategy
VIRAL 6: Getting the Product To Customers
You’ve got an awesome product and you’re getting ready to scale up. Your Detailed Results: Match Me! What investors at this stage are likely to
VIRAL 7: Reaching Product-Market Fit.
You’ve got strong positive unit economics and your inbound leads are now exceeding outbound leads. You’re now looking to scale up. Your Detailed Results: Match
VIRAL 8: Scaling like Crazy.
You’re scaling quickly in multiple markets (customer segments, geographies, or sectors). Revenue is growing above industry standard and your customer base growing faster every month.
VIRAL 9: Master of your Destiny
You’re #1 or #2 in your market and on the verge of a profitable exit for investors, with multiple acquirers actively pursuing you. Your Detailed