Start-ups are quite a hot topic at the moment. Many grow extremely quickly and are highly profitable or get snapped up by some of the larger players for vast amounts of money. Other crash and burn, some quickly, others die out slowly. Very exciting times, we live in.
There are many lessons to be learnt from those that have already tried, those that fly as well as those that fail.
The single most important thing is to actually start. It is also the hardest part.
If you want your start-up to be a success, consider these 4 points.
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- Start with An Idea
It stands to reason that the first and most import part of creasing a startup is to have an idea, a good one and an original one. If it is not original, it has to be better than the ones out there. Think about things that really interest you and you know a fair bit about. It will be hard to get passionate and creativity if the startup idea does not excite you.
Look for something you can make easier for people or something you can make work better. Forge the old ways of doing business and create something people need and want. Just look at a few or the often quoted, huge success stories like Uber or Airbnb. They have revolutionised industries that have been around, fairly unchanged for many years. However, they relieve a pain, do it better than the old systems and they work. Be brave with ideas and be creative.
If the best idea does not come to you immediately but you have a few potential thoughts, go for it. You will learn a lot from working on it. If it fails, at least you have learnt valuable lessons. If it works, great. Many of the best start-ups came after many previous failures.
- Break It Down
Break the concept down into components and start small. Get the basics 100% and build from there. You need to learn as you go along, adding features and tweaking along the way. You are entering new territory with a startup so you will not think of everything at once and you will not get all aspects spot on from the start. Accept this and adapt accordingly.
If you try to start too big it might overwhelm you and either not launch or run into difficulties very early on. You want to slowly build up your systems, processes and reputation as you go. Once you have worked out the initial kinks, you can start expanding.
If you start with a major bang and there are many teething problems, it will be hard to overcome that perception in the market. Rather keep it simple and grow as you get it right.
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- Discuss and Gather Feedback
Do not miss this crucial stage. It is vital for a number of reasons yet many people neglect to do this. Failure to share the idea and enlist feedback is often the cause of startup failures.
You need to get the concept and workings across to relevant people to test and measure their reactions and comments. It will help immensely with fine tuning the idea. Often, we become so wrapped up in the workings of it that we lose sight of what the market actually wants or expects.
Another valuable thing you will get from this exercise is motivation. It will encourage you to see others reactions to the concept and drive you to continue and perfect it. After some time without external feedback it is easy to lose focus and motivation.
Hearing people express desire for the idea is an important need. This is based on feedback from many people involved in start-ups. The product does not have to be complete in order to do this.
- Trust Your Instincts
You have come a long way but it is important to finish properly. Now it is time to trust your gut feelings. Apply the feedback to better the idea but make you rely on your own instincts as well.
Start-ups require passion, dedication and bravery. Use this advice from people that have done it, learnt the lessons along the way and ultimately made it.
