There could be a number of reasons why a few startups work their way up and many just fail to exist. Some say “luck” works. Well, I say it all depends on your actions.
Take a look at case studies of startups, and you will know what I am talking about. One or more defining factors make success stories, as well as failures. However, ventures that succeeded in spite of mistaken decisions are extremely rare.
Here are cases of a few businesses that made the right moves.
Here’s what Successful Startups Have to Say
Have your bootstraps on!
If it’s your venture, put your money in. This helps not just to start running your business but also to get you into the investors’ good books. Trust is the key issue.
Grasshopper is a virtual phone system designed for entrepreneurs, catering to generate a professional image for businesses. It is one such startup which had negative cash converting cycle financing until they started spinning money out of their startup.
The founders of Grasshopper, David Hauser and Siamak Taghaddos, were college classmates. They thought about the significance of imposing a professional image before stepping into the business arena. Their initial investment came from personal savings, credit cards and family support.
No funds were raised and each resource was paid from the entrepreneurs’ pockets till the company started achieving its objectives. At present, Grasshopper has over 150,000 customers churning out mass revenues.
Never stop at a “no”
Ideas may fail, strategies may backfire, angels may reject your plan and resources may just turn their backs, but don’t give up. Startups always get to hear “no” from many, mainly funders. Nonetheless, if you are confident about your plan, adapt to the requirements if you need to, and keep at it.
Bullhorn, launched in 1999, is a SaaS provider that caters to employee-recruitment firms. It almost took a decade for Papas, the creator of the company, to recognize its potential.
Initially, Papas had failed in the attempt to develop the company as a platform to connect employers and freelance workers. Later on, for the sake of investment, he procured a project which was to build a database for a recruitment firm. Then onwards, Bullhorn has been on its way to profits and now aspires to reach a turnover of $150 million by 2017.
Be simple – start with what you can do
Startups that learn to make optimum use of limited resources grow faster.
In the initial stages, stick to the substance, but keep it simple. As you grow and mint money, you will have enough finance to improve resources, technologies and services.
Look at Facebook, for example. When Mark Zuckerberg had introduced Facebook to the virtual world, he kept it real simple: profiles, photos, walls, chats and posts. Later on, additions such as likes, shares, fan pages, games, apps and a lot more kept coming.
Market your company right
At times, more than the product, it is the marketing of the product that holds the ace. Branding, promoting and generating leads can all come through marketing.
Brian Morgan, the founder of Adventure Life, has done a more than commendable job advertising his company. He had spent around $11,500 on advertising in 1999 (launch year) and $33,500 in 2000. From the first year, since the company was born, Morgan has focused on the online visibility of his brand.
Understand the niche audience
Any entrepreneur will tell you that this is the best policy and the most essential tactic to have your venture running successfully. Get under the skin of your consumers, and know exactly what they want and need.
Facebook has yet again got it right. Not only did Mark Zuckerberg and his friends capture the needs of the audience by opening a friendly social media site, but also managed to keep up with the trend. As discussed earlier, the add-ons that are introduced every now and then keep up with the trends of the market.
Facebook’s customer engagement is proof of how important it is to understand the consumers and keep your products, services and technologies updated.
We are the “first of its kind”
It is definitely an advantage to introduce a first-of-its-kind business. But make sure you do have a market to sell to. The venture should neither be too early nor too late.
I am so tempted to refer to Facebook again. Though there were social media sites before FB, it’s this one that served the purpose of the needy consumer. It seems they got everything “just perfect.” There is too much of Mark Zuckerberg already in this article. Let us look at other triumphant entrepreneurs who launched first-of-its-kind companies.
The latest in the gizmo town is Android phones and the founders of this innovative operating system are Andy Rubin and Rich Miner. They opened their application platform to third-party applications, and these are made available to users. Android phones and apps have earned global recognition.
Having a brilliant idea and being passionate about it isn’t enough for your venture to succeed. Unless backed up with solid strategies and innovative execution, your idea won’t be given justice.
Competition is always moving to the next level, and the only way to survive is to stand out wisely.
Matt Davis a partner at Empire commercial Finance, a firm specializing in business mortgage Chester seeking to serve client of UK with ease. A company with expert professional commercial finance brokers providing financial support for your new start up business.
Photo credit: CC by Flazingo Photos