As an aspiring entrepreneur, you may have dreams of one day building, growing, and running a tech startup. The idea of being your boss, making decisions that affect the success of your tech company, and nurturing your organization to success is a dream. However, how do you start a tech startup? There are countless blogs and articles on the internet that tell you what you need to start a business. But how do you go from an idea to something tangible, marketable, and marketable?
The purpose of this blog is to bridge that gap, take future entrepreneurs from idea to creation, hold your hand all the way, and reveal secrets of entrepreneurship you won’t find elsewhere. anywhere else. Starting a tech company can be very rewarding, but the need is huge and the worries are real. Doing it wrong and trying to do it all yourself can lead to working long hours, burnout, and making decisions that you may eventually regret.
Having said all this, however, the most important decision you can make when starting a tech company is getting started. Start immediately. If you’re waiting for the right time to launch, you’ll be waiting forever. Launching a tech startup is the best way to learn what you need to do. Build a product and continuously test it. Connect with others to learn more about your industry and start sharing what you’re doing. Creating a business and talking about it makes it real, giving you a new source of motivation every day.
So let’s get started. Let’s start by answering some important questions so you can start making that all-important leap into entrepreneurship as soon as possible.
Do you need a co-founder?
For that matter, building a tech startup or any startup is no small feat. In that case, should you consider finding a co-founder? There is no exact answer to this question. However, many people will make you believe that you cannot achieve anything on your own and those people may be right. When you run a business with another person, it’s essentially like entering into a marriage. This person will be your confidence. Someone is going on this crazy ride with you, so make sure it’s someone you trust and get along with. Someone with whom you can communicate easily.
As for whether you need a co-founder, consider the pros and cons.
Advantage
- Co-founders keep each other accountable
- They will encourage each other
- Each co-founder brings something unique
- Increase the number of connections in the business
- Co-founders share risks and responsibilities
- A co-founder can extend rich knowledge in business
Defect
- Bringing on a co-founder means you’ll have to give up equity in your business
- They may not share the same vision of the business as you
- Tension and friction at the top of the business are terrible for the entire organization
- It will test your friendship/relationship (if your co-founder is friend or partner)
- They can prove an expensive debt
Whether or not you need a co-founder depends entirely on how you plan to run your business and how large you want to scale it. If you are building a lifestyle business (a business that funds your lifestyle), a co-founder may not be necessary because you won’t want to give up a % of the revenue you earn. However, if your vision is to grow a multi-million dollar business with employees, multiple customers, and projects, then a co-founder is your real asset.
What is your value proposition?
As Simen Sinek says, “start with why.” Your value proposition (VP) is the why for your business. Why are you building this product/service/organization? Who is it for and what value can you provide them? How does your product differentiate from your competitors? For example, Slack’s value proposition is “Be more productive with less effort.” It shows customers exactly what they will gain by using their product demonstrating the value of the product.
VP is essential for many reasons;
- It gives you clarity as a business owner as to why you are building this product or service.
- It gives you clarity as a business owner as to why you are building this product or service.
- It tells you how you plan to differentiate yourself from your competitors, which is extremely important in an increasingly saturated market.
- The VP speaks to your target customers, making them feel that your product or service has been created specifically for them.
When creating a VP, ask yourself the following questions;
- What is your niche?
- How does your product provide value to customers?
- What problem does it solve for your customers?
- What is the difference between your product and your competitors?
How your product differs from your competitors is an important question you must ask yourself as an entrepreneur. Do you intend to do something cheaper and thus participate in a race to the bottom or have you found a gap in the market that you intend to exploit? Something we will answer in the next section.
What is your business model?
Choosing a business model is like choosing the kind of donut you want at Krispy Kreme. There are different types of models to go with, but you should only choose one. Do you want to be a pioneer or a disruptive innovator? Will you compete on price and volume, or do you want your product or service to differentiate itself from the competition?
Choosing the right model will help guide you in the desired direction and force you to make decisions based on your business strategy. Each of the above models has advantages and disadvantages, so let’s explore them in more detail.
Pioneer: There is a proverb: “The early bird catches the worm “. In business terms, many people assume that there will be certain benefits available to organizations that move first that will not be available to those that enter the market later. The advantage of the pioneer model is that it allows an organization to establish a dominant position that other companies then struggle to overcome. However, the downside is that there is significant risk because demand for your product or service is not yet proven.
Disruptive innovation: The business world definition of shaking up an industry. When abandoned, a groundbreaking innovative product or service can have devastating effects. Disruptive innovation refers to a product or service that threatens to replace existing traditional offerings in the market. The upside can be extraordinary, with disruptors blowing up the world and having free reign over an industry. The downside is that it is heavy on research & development, which can increase your costs and carry significant risks. One of the most famous examples of a disruptive innovator is the iPad, which took over the massive laptop industry.
Cost leadership: With cost leadership, you guessed it, all your focus is on costs. It’s a race to the end between you and your competition to see who can offer the cheapest price without being seen as being too budget conscious. Cost-leading consumers often sacrifice product or service quality in exchange for something more affordable. Walmart is a prime example of a cost leader. Cost leadership can make companies extremely competitive. However, choosing this model will require intense focus on making your company as efficient and streamlined as possible to protect those meager profit margins.
Differentiation: In contrast, the differentiation model attempts to persuade consumers to pay a premium for a product or service with unique features. Organizations following this model are keen to showcase their marketing and branding on the unique features that make their products better than the rest. Apple is the market leader in this model, presenting its products as the best on the market. New features and materials every year convince consumers that their product is different from the competition and therefore worth paying more for.
The business models don’t stop there. However, you might also consider Bricolage, Footholds, Blue Ocean Strategy, Fighting Brands, or even Joint Venture. No matter which model you choose, your market research is key to finding which model will have the most significant impact.
Who are your potential customers?
Defining your ideal customer base is essential for startups. The reason is that it provides focus on who you’re building your product for, what they’re struggling with, and where your customers are. Let’s say you try to create a product or service for everyone. You will end up building something for no one. Understanding this quickly and in the early stages of your business will save you a lot of time and effort in the future. Many startups fail to identify their ideal users, which will create a big problem for them before launch.
So how do you define your customer base? When founding a technology company, founders and investors of startups should start by answering these questions;
Who are your potential customers?
Defining your ideal customer base is essential for startups. The reason is that it provides focus on who you are building your product for, what pain they are facing, and where your customers are. Let’s say you try to create a product or service for everyone. You will end up building something for no one. Understanding this quickly and in the early stages of your business will save you a lot of time and effort in the future. Many startups fail to identify their ideal users, which creates a huge problem for them before launch.
So how do you define your customer base? When founding a technology company, founders and investors of startups should start by answering these questions;
- Name?
- Sex?
- Year old?
- Location?
- Customers’ wishes?
- Pain point number 1?
- Pain point number 2?
- What magazines do they read?
- What packages do they subscribe to?
- What is their experience in this industry so far?
- What is their background?
- What are their current skills?
- And why do they need your product/service?
- What part of the customer lifecycle are they in?
- What kind of product/service are they looking for?
- What do they want to achieve with your product or service?
When doing this exercise, start by envisioning the type of people you want to attract and use your product or service. Giving them a name and even finding a photo on Google Images of what they look like is a compelling way to give you clarity on who you’re building your startup for. While you’re unlikely to find someone who perfectly fits the description of your dream client, the above exercise will create a personality strong enough to attract the right audience to your brand. time to let you know their location.
So how to implement the project?
Brainstorming your idea is one thing, but starting a tech company is another. While your strengths may lie in leadership, management, and marketing, do you have the skills to code your product or service, which is essential when you’re starting a tech startup? Building a tech startup is the sum of its parts, and you need a variety of tech skills on your team to successfully build your product.
Where do you find such a team? Do you need a Project Manager? How can you make sure your developer team understands the difference between coding new technology applications or software? Let’s take a look at each question below, starting with Project Management first.
Do you need a Project Management Team Leader?
An integral part of any business, project management is the link between dreamers and developers. A project manager has the tools and experience needed to turn your ideas from notes on the page into a final product within the specified deadline. A good project manager can inspire, motivate, and plan weeks in advance while maintaining a budget, managing communications and product so you can be sure your product Will be ready to deliver on time.
However, in the startup world, many founders become project managers, personally managing the development and progress of their minimum viable product. If this is you, there is some great free software available to help you succeed in the early stages of development. Such software includes; Asana, Trello, ClickUp, Monday.com, Backlog & Jira.
How will you build your product?
As we talked about this here. When considering building your technology product, you first need to decide how to build it. Will you use a minimal viable product development company or a team of freelance developers? Are you going to build it using Agile/SCRUM methodology or specifically? How about a minimal viable product or a fully featured product? Every tech startup has to answer these questions, and if you’re unsure of your answer, then I recommend finding a co-founder and building a team to help you.
Do you need a minimum viable product (MVP)?
A minimum viable product is one that has only the main or most essential features. This is the basic version of an application or software and includes the features that the target user needs. Companies, especially tech startups, prefer to release their MVPs ahead of the full-scale version. This allows them to determine the viability of the product and makes the development process faster and more efficient.
The MVP development process follows a “build-measure-learn” approach, which means that a tech startup can create an app or product and improve it as they test the market with dream customer support. A technology company will build a product, release it to the market, and gather invaluable, needed feedback, which they will use to change and iterate the product for growth. their way to achieve success.
Whether or not you need an MVP isn’t even worth asking. Trying to build a fully featured product without testing your application or software product first can result in a very costly error. Trust us on this when we say you need an MVP, and by starting here first, you’ll save yourself, your investors, and your customers a lot of headaches later. This.
Should you build a team to develop your product?
Every tech startup needs a talented team of passionate tech developers to start building an MVP. By bringing on a team of developers to help create your MVP first, although your costs may increase, the roadblocks, errors, and problems you may encounter will decrease. You can be confident about the quality of your product or service because you are hiring professionals.
When building a team, there are a few things to think about;
- Be sure about the type of person you want to hire. Not only do they have to be talented and have the right skills, but they also have to fit the company culture and be easy to work with. You don’t want to build a bunch of selfish developers who are hard to work with and often don’t understand your product or what you’re trying to build. Successful companies can balance this step and always find talent around them with the necessary technical skills.
- Look to hire a variety of talents and skills. Developers come in all shapes and sizes. Some have expertise in different coding languages, while others are UI/UX experts. A successful tech startup will diversify its talent pool enough to reduce the number of technical problems it is likely to encounter.
- Hire people who are smarter than you. This age-old adage is an elusive concept for insecure entrepreneurs, but hiring people smarter than yourself, will save you time learning the concepts needed for your company to grow. Your tech startup is successful. Filling your startup team with capable developers, marketers, and professionals is a surefire way to not only challenge you, but improve your business dramatically.
What’s the best way to get feedback?
When bringing a product to market, gathering feedback is essential for startups. Starting a technology business is challenging enough, but doing so without initial user feedback is a shortcut to failure. This is one of the most important advantages of MVP. A good MVP will always provide your business with solid feedback consistently to improve your product for the benefit of your users.
Once you’ve developed your MVP, launch it to a small group of your ideal users so they can identify bugs, features they like and dislike, and stay within specifications. Your software is ready. When doing this, one thing to think about is your ego. Are you going to let your ego get in the way when you release your product? Creating a product makes entrepreneurs extremely biased. It’s hard to think that your product or service might not know exactly what customers want. However, when it comes to building a technology business, only one opinion matters: the customer. Keep your ego in check.
When it comes to testing your product, do it regularly. There is never an end goal. User requirements and needs will always change; Your job is to keep up with them, creating and developing your software according to your users’ desires. Think of your product or service as an ever-evolving product. If you ever get to a point where you believe your software cannot be improved, then you have a serious problem and you will find that your business will start to decline rapidly. ABT – Always Test.
Should you start a tech startup in stages?
Launching a product doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a long, drawn-out process that takes advantage of different sub-groups of customers who are ready to buy and try your product in different stages. The point is, try to locate these users to understand exactly what each type of customer wants.
This is why it is important to have a phased product rollout, which an MVP can help with. The MVP will always help ensure that your product is ready for the next set of users, all of which have varying degrees of acceptance in terms of product quality. When developing an MVP, always consider the different stages your ideal customer is in. Doing so will allow your software to be better tailored to your users’ needs and benefit your technology business overall.
What is the early stage for early adopters?
To better understand different customer segments, check out our blog post here. In the early stages of startups, Innovators and early adopters are important customers providing critical technical and marketing feedback. Early adopters and innovators are often younger customers with disposable income who are willing to take risks on new products, services or software. The feedback startups gather from these early adopters can be the launching pad needed to help market their tech business to broader and less risk-averse customer segments. riskier.
How will you work on your marketing strategy?
By answering all of the above questions, you will now be in a much better position to start marketing your technology business. When looking to create a go-to-market strategy, it’s essential to think about the following business areas that will become the base layer for your brand:
- Color board
- Logos
- Voice
- Copywriting
- Character
- Brand building
All of these will quickly provide an image for your brand that potential users can associate with. Entrepreneurs must think about how to position their brand personality, often determining exactly what value consumers will gain from their product and how that product differentiates it from the competition. By recognizing who your ideal customer is, what value your product can bring to them, where they stand, and using feedback from your MVP, your go-to-market strategy can more likely to attract important customer segments.
Do You Need an Investor?
Finding investors to help fund your project can be extremely difficult. Not only do you have to keep your business open to scrutiny, providing forecasts, your current financial position, and your operations, but pitching and baking can quickly become a chore. so scary. You also face the possibility of giving away part of your business in exchange for investment. While this can be a scary prospect at first, when you find investors you need to remember that with that money comes a wealth of knowledge and experience. Some investors give you their money, but they also bring their networks and business intelligence, which can be the difference between a growing tech startup and one that doesn’t. development.
The first step when looking for investment is to prepare a pitch deck. You will have to face the fact that you need to put on a brave face and present your business and ideas to a room full of influential people. Your pitch deck will need to stand out and can sometimes be the difference between success and failure.
Next, research the Venture Capitalists (VCs) you want to work with. Go online and find people in your industry who have experience working in a similar market. Remember, a good VC will be able to connect you with people in the industry who can help your business grow, so you’ll want a VC who is interested in your market. You can also start by reading blogs written by VCs, aimed at helping startups navigate the VC world. Blogs like Both Sides of The Table by Mark Suster & Vator News are great places to start.
Getting people into your business to sit on your board is not a decision that should be taken lightly. There are other ways to finance your business, either by starting up or getting a business loan from a bank. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. However, the wealth of knowledge, expertise and relationships that investors can bring should not be underestimated. There’s a reason why most of today’s wildly successful companies are backed by a wide range of investors. It’s a great way to launch and scale your business quickly.
Success
Who doesn’t want long-term and sustainable success in their business? While there are a number of other factors to consider in the long run, you can ensure that your startup and team are on track for success by answering all of the questions above. Of all the points mentioned, using MVP to test your startup product in a step-by-step process not only benefits your users the most but also keeps your developers happy . heart. For entrepreneurs, it’s hard to understand exactly what users always want. However, you can be confident that your startup is on the right track through constant testing and iteration.
Starting a business is a long process that requires dedication and determination to face failure and overcome it. Having the right talent, managing your cash flow and considering the long-term future of your business are all key areas needed for success.
A tech startup is a growing project; you will always have to stay up all night working on your project, experiencing success and failure, and challenging you more than you can imagine. But it’s also your child, and like all parents, we want to see that child grow up to be something we’re proud of. We’re willing to invest the time and effort necessary to keep our business running, and by answering the questions in this article, you’re already one step ahead.
Nissim de Babani
Nissim is the Vice President of Marketing and Co-Founder of Global Citizens Technologies, an outsourcing company based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He believes in connecting cultures and technologies and spent most of his adult life in Canada, Israel and Vietnam to realize this vision. He has more than 15 years of business experience in these areas. He is an entrepreneur and investor, and his passion is business development in the tech startup environment. He can’t start his day without a cup of natural mint tea and he loves spending time traveling with his kids.
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