How can we establish a good IP strategy in the early stages?

If you really want to protect your IP, one way would be to file one or more provisional patent applications - the government fee is very reasonable, but try to ensure that your disclosure is as complete, accurate, and thorough as possible in view of the fact that your provisional application will serve as a basis for your later-filed non-provisional or PCT application, and for you to obtain the filing date priority of your provisional application, everything of importance that you want to protect by means of your non-provisional or PCT application must be present within the provisional application - if it is not, then you do not get the earlier priority filing date of the provisional application but only the actual date that you filed your non-provisional or PCT application.