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Written by: Peter Minkoff
Success and startups rarely go together. In fact, with two-thirds of startups failing, it makes sense that so many innovators are reluctant to ever kick-start their business or start pursuing investors. The journey might be an arduous one, and there will always be massive amounts of competition in the startup world but running a business on the cutting-edge means making a difference. It’s the dream for so many aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators.
Before you start, you should learn as much as possible about scaling your business, optimal growth strategies, funding options, and the learning curve that comes with every startup. Here are a few tips to help you build a successful startup from the get-to and enable it to thrive in this competitive environment.
Raise enough capital
Investors are not around every corner, and landing one doesn’t mean that you’ll get access to endless funds for your business. The struggle to attract investor attention starts with how you present your business idea, and how you showcase the clear funding allocation for every goal moving forward. To get the capital right off the bat, you need a powerful presentation of your business plan, as thorough and detailed as possible.
You also need to present exactly how you intend to invest in your startup, and how the money will generate profit – and when. Compelling evidence in favor of success is the only way to get investors to pour funds your way, instead of granting their available wealth to your competitors.
Build a team of experts
You might be the key person with the innovative spirit and the one who came up with the idea for the startup, but you also need to hire the right people to bring that idea to life. In the startup world, that means being swift, effective, and exact. Focus on narrowing down your selection of candidates, but also don’t prolong the process – they’ll go to someone else if you do.
Look for experts whose knowledge can contribute to the project, but also people with enough creativity and curiosity to withstand the ever-evolving nature of working with a startup.
Embrace ongoing education
Even once you find and hire the right people and you start working on developing your business model and the product, learning will remain essential. You and your people will need to keep advancing in your fields of expertise. To handle each individual project under your startup’s wing, make sure to provide certified project management courses to get you the latest skills and methods in the field.
Project management is one of the core abilities every startup needs to master from day one in order to succeed. Effective PM means implementing the most advanced PM tools and processes, but also ensuring business-wide productivity under certified supervision. Add to that, your individual departments will need to stay in the know and upgrade your strategies as times and trends change.
Make sure your product has an audience
The goal of every startup is to solve a particular customer problem – or it should be. If you’re focused on the product itself and nothing more, you risk failing to develop a brand that actually has a clear spot in the market. Doing your research from day one should be your top priority, to find out what you can do to adapt your idea to the needs of your customers.
Conduct thorough market research, including your target customers, competitors, and overall industry trends. Recognizing potential market gaps will give you a clear idea of how you can position your business more effectively.
Market your startup properly
Even the most brilliant startup products will end up forgotten if you don’t have a marketing strategy that helps you elevate brand visibility, authority, and engagement. From creating a social media strategy for your startup, all the way to developing a robust content strategy, your startup needs to build a strong presence.
Marketing helps you differentiate your business and gain the right level of exposure. Building traction and audience interest is what will end up making your business truly profitable.
Startups are inherently risky, and while you’re working on perfecting your business, there’s someone out there doing their best to out-bid you in the market. Stealing the startup spotlight is a process, and while your product might be impressive as an idea, you need to make sure that your strategy will enable you to grow a viable business out of that idea. Use the suggested tips to get started, so that your business can see the light of day.
Related: 7 Keys To Scaling Your Startup To Be The Next Unicorn