How to Write a Mission Statement

Your mission statement is a short description of why your company exists. It should explain the value of your company and product to the important people who are involved with it, like customers, investors, employees, and job candidates.

Articulate the vision of your company and set it within a wider context. Your mission statement should have an inspirational element to attract stakeholders and spur them into participation, and it should be broad enough so as not to stifle innovation or future strategies. Don’t lock it down to a specific technology or market segment.

When to write your mission statement

The first steps to writing your mission statement happen during the customer discovery stage. Later, when you reach the customer validation stage, you will refine your mission statement.

Customer Discovery

A mission statement is a way of describing why you started your company. It should tell people what your product is and who you are selling it to. Having a mission statement can help keep your company focused on its goals and why it exists. Your mission statement is a sentence that tells people what your company does. It will change over time as you learn more about what you do, but each time you change it make sure there is a good reason for the change.

Customer Validation

Once you reach the customer validation stage, you will need to develop your company positioning. Your mission statement will guide your positioning, so you need to make sure your mission statement is competitive. This means that when you create your mission statement, you need to include how your startup is different from other companies in the same business. Make sure that the statement still accurately reflects why you are in business.

Compare your company's mission statement to the statements of other companies in the same business. See how yours measures up. Think about whether there is anything you could do to make your company's mission statement better. As you learn more about your customers and what they want, and as you learn more about your product, use this new information to improve your mission statement.