As you grow your startup, it helps to have a little assistance. Although the journey may seem straightforward (idea, launch, scale), breaking it down into steps might help your company strategize its support at each phase. A new white paper by Startup Weekend, the famous 54-hour startup hackathon, can help, by revealing resources for each stage. 

1. Inspire. 
   After careful consideration, an aspiring entrepreneur realizes that they want to try their creative hand at actually creating something of their own. A person in this phase will realize that entrepreneurship is a viable work option and, despite the chance of failure, they want to give it a try. Useful resources at this stage include: university or MOOC courses, TED, Ignite, and other inspiring resources.
    
2. Discover.
   After some initial interest in becoming an entrepreneur, people in this phase will look to peers, mentors, or other experts to explore their option for creating their own startup. Building your own company with the potential to bring in income is an increasingly likely alternative to more traditional career paths. Useful resources: mentors and established entrepreneurs.
    
3. Action.
   Perhaps the most exciting and daring phase, an entrepreneur has decided to act and begins sharing their idea and attracting cofounders and key team members. Taking these first steps can look differently from startup to startup, but this step calls for more than just having an idea – you must start to act. Useful resources: Startup Weekend, Lean Startup Machine, Lean Launchpad, Founder Institute.
    
4. Startup.
   At this stage, an entrepreneur has crafted a basic team and solidified their idea with a possible way forward. This can be the most frustrating phase as an entrepreneur fumbles to iterate and find their stride and there is a high risk of failure. Useful resources: accelerators, incubators, reference to startup models (Lean Startup, Customer Development, Agile, Scrum, Business Model Canvas).
    
5. Scale.
   Startups at this stage face growth challenges after establishing their revenue streams and customer validation. Founders may have to find new team members and fire old ones. Some may look for funding at this stage, but not every startup needs it. Useful resources: Endeavor, Astia, VC groups.
    
6. High Growth.
   After ironing out the kinks, companies at this stage has a solid team, solid organizational model, and a clear path to growth after successfully tackling its initial mission. Most companies don’t make it this far, but if they do, useful resources include: networks or platforms for continued growth such as EO, NASDAQ, NYSE, or Inc.

Click on the image above for a larger image. Check out the full SW white paper here.