Failure is a normal part of life. As an entrepreneur with a lot of resilience, you probably know that better than everyone else. But failure in a startup is different from watching a business into which you’ve poured the whole of your soul and energy fail can be devastating or even fatal.
With 90% of all startups guaranteed to fail, you must understand the steps to create a successful company before investing too many hours or dollars. The odds of success are always vague. However, these tips from the Startup Genome Report will give your startup the best chance of success:
1. Find out the cause and be able to understand your clients
“Most successful entrepreneurs are motivated by the impact of their work, not by knowledge or experience.” — Startup Genome Report. It takes time to achieve success as well. Notalways, “overnight achievement” can result from dedication and determination.
If you’re looking for your business to be successful, be sure to believe in your company’s mission. If you’re only looking to reach the goal of becoming a millionaire, then you’ll be nowhere. Follow these steps to identify a relevant issue and resolve it:
- Be specific: Be personal. Define and comprehend the actual problem you’re trying to resolve. Look at the issues people face and the current efforts to address these problems. Develop products that consumers “need” instead of “want.” Instead of running around with ideas, find solutions.
- Be truthful: Be brutally honest with yourself and your team. Think about all the things that could fail. Do not befrightened by the risk of failure,and be willing to change your strategies.
Even if you’ve already established a business, you should reevaluate your goals and vary your approach depending on what is most appropriate.
- Do not be afraid: Instead of spending long hours in front of the computer, test your ideas by speaking with customers. Try to comprehend as much as you can:
- What is the significance of the issue that you’re trying to fix?
- Do people (whom you’ve spoken to) contribute to solving the issue?
When you are confident that you understand who your customers will be and what you can do to satisfy their requirements, the chances of success will increase dramatically.
2. Be aware of the market and willing to change plans
” Startups that pivot at least twice or once can raise 2.5x more funds, have 3.6x higher growth in users, and are 52 percent less likely to proliferate than startups who pivot more than two times or do not pivot in any way.”
After defining the problem and reaching out to prospective customers (i.e., those you’re solving the problem for), Analyze the market in general:
- What are your main competitors, and how does your proposed solution differ from the existing ones?
- Is the market big enough to support expansion?
- Is the market growing or shrinking?
- Are there any hurdles to admission?
- Are you a business that is flexible and capable of pivoting when required?
Spend time researching trends, communicate with potential customers frequently, and be flexible to pivot as needed. The sooner you can adapt to changing situations, the less likely your chance of failure in the startup.
3. Create a strong team and keep learning
In the words of John Maxwell said, teamwork is the key to making dreams come true. Being a trustworthy and dedicated team is crucial to a successful company. Solo founders may be successful, but they typically take much longer to achieve this. Solo founders are 3.6x longer to reach the scale stage, compared to an initial team of two and have 2.3x more likely not to pivot.
- Form a balanced team that allows you to think quickly, plan brilliantly, and scale effectively. The founders tend to be reluctant to delegate work, but if you’re a “jack of many trades’ make sure you have people you can depend on. Balanced teams with only one technical founder and one business-focused founder raise 30 percent more funds, have 2.9x greater user growth, and are 19 percent more likely to grow too quickly than founders with a serious business or technical background teams.
- A strong team is only complete with a good mentor. Spend time developing long-lasting relationships with advisors. In the end, coachablefounders are significantly more appealing to investors and are more successful.
Startups with supportive mentors who can track metrics efficiently and gain insight from thought leaders are 7 xs more likely to raise funds and experience 3.5x more users.
4. Make wise choices and stay clear of burnout
Premature scale is probably the main reason startups fail to be less successful. They are often defeated early in the startup because they are too far ahead.
Entrepreneurs tend to grow too fast in a rush to expand the size of a business or to expand the already existing business. In the end, they cannot sustain their business or are exhausted. They realize, far, much too late, they start were not prepared.
To avoid burnout, be sure to pace your own pace. Startups that grow too fast fail at the speed of light. Startups require 2-3 times more time to establish their market’s legitimacy than most founders thinks. This under-estimation causes pressure to scale up too fast.
Final words (Do these things):
- Learn about market trends and analyze them. Do you think it is sensible to expand in line with your business’s financial projections?
- Engage your customers. Have you addressed their comments and concerns? It is crucial to please existing customers.
- Create a solid business plan. Look for concrete evidence to prove that expansion is logical. Expand gradually but be aware.
- Never be afraid to listen.
- If you’re looking to invest, you should know what the investors want and move forward in line with their expectations.
“Success” and “failure” are subjective concepts and can mean different things to each person. However, sometimes, failure can be an opportunity to learn from it. According to Steve Jobs, “Fail frequently and quickly because failures can help you succeed.”
While failure initially is not ideal, a failed or sunk startup could still lead to an intelligent and ultimately successful entrepreneur. Therefore, be confident in yourself, keep going, and follow the correct steps to make your dreams a reality!
