"Become stupid." 10 tips on managing IT start-up from the founder of the service Virusday

You have the best idea in your life and you decided to try it on a startup. Well, that's great. A huge number of books on this topic, approaches to consumer development strategies and other information have been published. Held a bunch of courses and trainings.

This whole set contains the necessary knowledge and recipes. But this is only a tool that will help you develop a startup to a real business. In my personal conviction, anyone can turn their startup into a business. All you need to succeed - just do enough. After all, to be honest, a closed startup is not the fault of competitors, the market, or any otherworldly forces. Personally you are to blame for everything that happened - you didn’t work hard enough, you didn’t know enough, you didn’t study hard enough, you didn’t react fast enough, and you weren’t tough enough. The reason for your failure is yourself. You were not stupid enough.

Being a basic physicist, I hate inaccurate formulations, useless recipes, incompetent advice, and unverified data. The recipe of any startup is simple. Have you ever written a program for finding the roots of an equation using the method of successive approximations? If yes - you already know everything about business and startups. If not, then just read some brochure about the method of consumer development (This is one of the most stupid and incorrect terms I have seen in my life. Correctly say: "The method of successive approximations with testing on consumers").
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Its essence is simple as a dandelion: you invent something, do it, check the reaction of real people, if the reaction is positive (you receive more money than you do for a constant time interval) - you invent something and you do something else, if not, you take a step back, invent a new hypothesis and take a step again. The greater the number of iterations in less time you do - the more accurately you will find a solution, i.e. you will get to the people you need and start getting the maximum income.

However, the process itself is not so simple. More precisely, he is extremely bored and monotonous. The basic rule of a startup's survival and turning it into a working business is to become “stupid”. If you are already like this - you can go to the tips. If you are not "stupid" yet, I will tell you what I mean. In general, a startup is an interesting occupation only for employees and the first time (dream time) for the founder. As soon as you have assumed some kind of business model, you need to urgently stop dreaming and thinking. You urgently need to turn into a stupid and stubborn, meticulous sheep. Now your only task for many months (or years) is simply to carry out your startup solution program using the method of successive approximations like a machine. In no case can you relax and start dreaming - this you have done before. All you need for your startup is willpower and nothing else. The willpower that will allow you to remain a “stupid machine” until the time comes to rest on the laurels of zero profitability.

1. Is the market wild or not at all?

So, you have an idea. She is the best in the world. Absolutely exactly the thing you come up with solves some problem. Let's check your idea without spending a dime. Does Google know, or do you yourself, someone who solves this problem in a similar or some other way? If yes, then you are on the right track. If not, then there is no market. This, of course, does not mean that nobody needs your superfood thing, probably everyone will need it, but for this you have to tell people first about the problem. A start-up to develop a clever smartphone for some wild tribe living on the shores of the Amazon would look about the same. Your smartphone may be the best, but for those for whom you come up with it, there is no problem in their heads that it will solve. And there are no communication networks. And knowledge to use it too. For them, you are ahead of time, and hence the market.

I do not advise you to harbor any illusions that suddenly someone will give you +100.5 billion and will help create a market. In fact, everything will evolve along the path of being in the state with the lowest energy — that is, by itself.

Now let's understand what market you want to go: wild, or already established. Of course, it is safer to bring a start-up to the established market, but there you have to seriously compete right away. In the current market, everyone does about the same thing, prices are about the same, business models are almost identical (for example, the market of mobile operators). You have to make a small revolution - otherwise you will not win. Your happiness if the market you are targeting is still “wild”. Here you will immediately see a wide range of prices, a bunch of websites made on the knee with suggestions to solve the problem. Motivating people of each of your competitors will be different words. Business models will be different for everyone. You will see a bunch of low-grade organizations. All sorts of shameful old-fashioned tricks on the motivation to register, for example, the "eternal" timer with a countdown until the end of the action of some kind of action and other vomiting.

Well, your market was "wild"? Cool! This is your chance to get around all before the start, right in the locker room. If you are quite "stupid" and fast, you will have time to change clothes for the match and get out of the locker room first. You will even have the opportunity to close the door from the outside, so that no one else gets out of your field. Then at the stadium you will be alone and all the spectators will look only at you. Fortunately, it is at this time that they will know exactly what they came to see and what they pay for.

Calculate the volume of the market in your country and around the world (what if a startup starts up). If the market for the whole world, say, less than 50 million dollars - give up this occupation. Be honest, look for facts, even if it is difficult to do. For example, we needed to find out the exact volume of the market of protection and treatment of websites in RuNet and in the world. At first we tried to segment the domains of all levels (about 1.2 billion), but then we simply took the number of registered second-level domains, reducing the potential size of the market 10 times. Well, it was not exactly, but guaranteed, and the possible growth would always be more than calculated.

2. Study the hypotheses of business models of competitors

But let's gradually stop dreaming. We begin to study competitors, if any. If they are not already there, go to council # 3. Look at all your potential competitors that you can find. Write on a simple piece of paper of their business model. Estimate their conversion in money. If you see that their conversion is quite good, then do not invent the wheel, but just think that in your opinion you would improve in the service that they offer.

3. Think of your business model or take someone else's

Are you gradually becoming "stupid"? Good. Now you have a creative business to invent an exact recipe for getting a lot of money from people. Your startup starts with pointing a finger at the sky, i.e. with the assumption of what people will pay you for the great millions. Your guess will definitely be inaccurate. But this is exactly the whole point of the startup and the method of successive approximations. You will definitely find the exact solution, but you will start with the wrong one.

If you like someone else's business model, then just take it. In this case all your strength will be in the service itself.

4. Make the first version of the service more convenient than your competitors can offer in a year

Remember that it is desirable for you to run out the first from the locker room. But if you still do not have time to close the door behind you, then try to make your fitness and clothes much better than your competitors. In this case, you will have time for a more serious improvement, while others sew themselves sleeves and gain muscle mass.

Make the first version of the product that embodies the business model you have invented. Try to make it as good as possible. Here, my opinion differs from the opinion of the authors of modern books on startups. If you have guessed with the business model or got close enough to the solution from the first time, the service, which is qualitatively different from the competitors, will give you a titanic handicap. In addition, making a crooked product under the pretext of a startup, you can die if someone suddenly enters the market with the best service. Make a "start" on the quality of at least a year in advance. Then you can spend most of your time on an iterative improvement of the business model, and not on patching holes and replacing the giblets of the service.

5. Save by any means.

So it is time to finally turn into a "stupid robot." First of all, after launching, you will be able to reduce all expenses for a startup emotionally. No loosening. Your main task now is to bring it to self-sufficiency. It's boring and tedious, but you have to do it. The only alternative is the death of a startup.

6. Calculated the conversion, made an assumption, upgraded, counted the conversion, left or rolled back

Act like a robot. Choose a conversion (or conversion funnel) that turns visitors / registered users into money. Focus on the following indicators. If you count on a large mass of users and do Freemium, then your maximum 3% conversion of registered users into money. If you decide to make a "premium" product, then your conversion should not be below 7%.

After you have considered the first conversion, try to think of ways to improve it. They do not necessarily work, but with each method that fails to work out, the chances of coming up with a worker will be greater. Make changes to the business model and service. Do it quickly. In the early stages, your maximum modernization step is two days. You will be given two more days to evaluate changes in your conversion. If the conversion has increased - leave the changes and invent a new one. If the conversion has decreased - roll it back and think of something better. Do not brake, do not think - just work.

7. To hell with venture funds - invest your own and take from friends

We live in Russia. I can not speak for the rest, but in my eyes all startups who took money from the funds collapsed with a crash. Actually, their life fit in one year from the date of receipt of investment. In Russia, a disgusting examination, the money can give a "unleashed" business model. Of course, when your startup fails to become self-sustaining, no one will say bad words to you, beat and take away property. You simply will not have more money to develop and maintain a sinking ship. And you will spend a lot of time and effort on getting these investments instead of working with a business model.

Take yourself to a startup of your acquaintances or acquaintances of your acquaintances with money. Of course, this is not so simple. Do not be greedy, but do not insult the meager share in yet zero business of your friends. They ask for 50% - give it back. So far your startup is worthless and your main task is not to save a large share of “nothing”, but to make it profitable. No one is fighting for excess money, all quarrels stem from their lack. And try not to take in your companions "boring" or useless people. Clearly divide responsibilities. There is not any difference in receiving money from the fund or from a useless person. The fund in this case looks much more attractive.

8. Develop the core and keep in a hot reserve 2-3 spare versions of the business model.

You do not think that everything will turn out smoothly from the first time. Of course not. You will find yourself on the brink of ruin several times, your competitors will throw up unpleasant surprises (I’m talking about their updates and development). All go to the same goal, but you still have to reach the first.

Think of two or three spare business models in case you suspect that the investor’s money will run out before the start-up is self-sustaining. Let it be some contracts that you can sign and start working on them within 1-2 weeks. For example, you can provide any services related to your startup.

This, of course, will slow down your development, but you will have a little more time to bring the project to self-sufficiency or to search for additional investments. Keep in mind that nobody will give you money at this stage if your model shows low conversion. If your problem lies only in the number of users, and the calculations of the market volume are correct, then you will receive the money.

9. Pull the startup to zero

Do you remember why you should have become "stupid"? It is for the withdrawal of a startup to self-sufficiency. If your conversion is good (as you think), then the only reason for which you do not pay off can only be the number of your users. Recalculate the volume of the market. Segment your users. Understand where they come from.

If we are talking about the “wild” market with you, that contextual advertising is definitely not for you (as well as not for us in due time). Use news and thematic resources, share on social networks, create interesting articles (always remember about the type of readers on a particular resource). Try to enter into any partnerships with large companies, albeit without profit for you. Tell people about it. Your only problem is awareness and the absence of an organized market. Tell people not so much about yourself, as about the problem itself, which you solve. Ensure that the problem becomes relevant for your potential customers.

Do not worry. You are not acting alone. Your competitors are doing exactly the same. They themselves will help you organize the market.

10. Drink a beer and decide who you will take next.

Well, now you pay off. For a while, you can drop the mask of the "stupid robot" and drink a beer. Relax a bit. You did the impossible. The hardest thing you have behind. Now you can sleep off and relax.

But do not wean your “stupid" image too much. You will soon have to go to a new path. If you pay off, then the business model works. You after all have taken care of that your startup could easily be scaled? You do not need to hire a number of employees directly proportional to the profits?

Now you need to find a really serious investor to expand. You are ready? Then go ahead!