A lot of people dream of leaving their 9 to 5 jobs and becoming their own bosses by starting a business. This plan sounds exciting, but there is a lot more that goes into starting a business than just the idea and desire to do it. There are many challenges that come along the way. To become successful and kickstart your idea, you need to beat these challenges and reach your ultimate goal. You need a lot of determination, passion, funding, and efforts to make your dream idea a reality.
Bringing your tech startup idea to Successful
Let us look into the various tips that will help you launch your tech startup idea into a successful business:
Make Sure You Are Solving a Problem
Do you just have an idea, or does it solve an actual problem? Having an idea doesn’t mean that people will pay for what you will offer. That is why it is essential to pick up a problem and find out if people are willing to pay for its solution. Moreover, it pays off to research your target market in regards to the problem you are hoping to solve. Find out if the solution can be replicated and if it will be bought frequently. You need to provide a solution that people will keep buying from you, which in turn, will support your business.
Make Sure You Are Passionate About Your Plan
Having an idea that can solve many problems or a major recurring problem, and make money for you is a great thing. But, if you do not have a passion for solving the problem, this business idea will not take you far. It is crucial to love what you do. This helps you spend more time on building the business and making it successful.
Without passion, you are more inclined to ditch your idea during any hurdle. Consistent change in your main idea would not help you build a successful business. With passion, you will have the motivation to overcome all the challenges and stick with your idea. Passion is also important for customer service. Most customers might not return if they do not see your enthusiasm for the solutions you are providing. They will feel that you are not doing your best to help them with the problem.
Secure proper funding
Do you have enough money for your idea? How much do you need to kickstart and operate your business venture? One main challenge that every business faces is capital restriction. It is a serious issue that has to be dealt with on time so that the process doesn’t halt. Once you have determined the amount you need, select the most appropriate funding source:
Self-funding: If you have savings that can help, use that. You can take help from family and friends as well. Just make sure that you settle everything with the lender to avoid any disputes in the future. Have clear terms and get a lawyer to set up a legal document for the same.
Get a loan or help from the local startup programs: You can go to a bank with your business idea and apply for a business loan. Keep in mind that you will have to return the loan amount with interest, regardless of if the idea fails or not. On the other hand, you can research local startup support programs that are run by your state. This might lead you to great programs where you won’t have to pay back the aid you receive. That is if the officials feel that your idea is absolutely worth it.
Crowdfunding: If your idea is something everyone has been looking for, you can appeal for donations directly to your audience. Use social media to reach out. Create a Kickstarter funding campaign. Be clear about the plan that is persuasive. Once the audience is convinced by the idea, within hours, they will be able to gather the needed amount for the execution of your business plan.
Get investors: There are a lot of investors out there waiting to invest in the next big thing. Search for the investor network and take your business plan to them. You will end up finding someone who is ready to pay a huge load of cash to kickstart the business. However, be ready to offer your company’s stock in exchange for funding.
It is not wrong to choose two sources to help with your idea, but it is better not to do so. Having more than one funding source can bring in a lot of obligations that will create trouble in the future. Be smart about your choices.
Learn about the market
To get funding, you will need a clear business plan. And to prepare the plan, you will need to increase your market awareness. Research the following and add them to your business plan:
Target Audience: You have a problem and its solution. Now, look for the people who need this solution. Describe the target audience in terms of geography, psychology, demographics, observed behavior, and any other relevant factors. Add tables and charts to clearly display the various parameters. This will help you in creating the perfect customer experience strategy as well.
Competitors: Next, begin by researching companies that are already offering the solution to your target audience. Look at direct, indirect, and potential competitors. List all the competitors and then go into more detail to understand them better. Identify them by their: Business model, Capital raised, Yearly revenue, Client database size, Target group, Branding, and Valuation.
Use tools like Statista and Crunchbase for getting the capital raised and revenue data, and SimilarWeb for user base data. Other than this, gather additional information on each competitor based on the following parameters: The age of the business, Any big corporations backing them (for startups), The latest funding rounds, Their sales channel, Their marketing strategy. This will help you determine the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Use this to create a better solution than what the current market is offering. It will also help you understand where your company will fit in the market.
Market Study: Finally, you need to assess various aspects of the industry, including the size, value, and scope. It will help you create the sales forecast over time. Determine the market size and consider the following factors: Serviceable Available Market (SAM), Total Available Market (TAM), and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM).
Google and Statista can help you get this information for the industry. With all the details in place, determine how you will make your business a success story. Create a marketing strategy. Mention the tools, platforms, ads, supply chains, and retention strategies that you will use. Also, have a plan B prepared, in case plan A doesn’t go as intended.
Turn your research into an MVP
Since it is a tech startup idea, this step is an important one. It is about turning your research and solution into a prototype. A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of the main product that has almost all the features. It is created and given out to early customers to obtain feedback. This feedback will be used to make improvements to the final product.
The Software Development Life Cycle is a critical process for a tech business idea. By following the process, you will be able to produce a low-cost and high-quality piece of software within the shortest period. There are 7 different stages of the SDLC, and each stage plays a vital role in the software production process.
Begin by setting up your team based on the product’s nature. For instance, if you are working on a mobile solution, you need a mobile development team and not a website development team. Then, according to the preference of the team, select the methodology and development frameworks. From here, begin the design and development. Once it is ready, have the product tested before its deployment. While you deploy the MVP, make sure that it only reaches a few people from whom you can obtain valuable feedback regarding the same.
Once the feedback is obtained, create the final product. While the team works on the final product, get your company registered and start working on the marketing strategy.
Wrap up
There are a lot of challenges that will come your way. But if you are determined and passionate about what you are doing, nothing can stop you. Follow these steps to reduce the hurdles.