Theory of a Successful Startup
Good day, Habr!
I’ll write a basis for any startup.
Before starting a startup, you must answer the following questions.
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You are planning:
Imagine that you are a participant in a 30 km marathon race and you mean that you need to run during the day, but you haven’t been told where the finish is ... every second startup starts like that - they know they can run, but they don’t know where they are running or where should they stay. Set a clear goal for which you will run after the start.
Of course, you must believe in your exceptionalism and think that you are the first who thought of this idea, but nobody has canceled google search yet - this is a common mistake of startups. No one says that being second or third is bad, but you should know your competitors in person, and not blindly believe that they are not there. For example, Uber and Facebook were not the first in their niche, but they offered a highly competitive product after the market matured.
What is your uniqueness? Is the market ready? How will you scale? What is your monetization model? etc.
The more questions you ask yourself, the more understanding you will have. Your task is to answer questions and explain this to a 6 year old child, if he understands you, then you understand what you are talking about.
We all heard the saying: “time is money”, but in this case it’s the truth. Your idea may be innovative, and as soon as you enter the market, competitors may appear on the one hand, and on the other hand you can come up with an innovative product that the market is not ready for. In 2013, google presented its augmented reality glasses (AR), but the project failed due to the fact that the market was not ready - there were no applications supporting this technology, the battery life was short, etc. And so, in 2018, rumors appeared that Apple launched the AR glasses project, and Facebook is actively developing virtual reality (VR) technologies. It turns out that 5 years after the first announcement, the trend has just formed. It turns out that the word “time” has a direct and figurative meaning in the development of your startup - before the release, you must analyze the market in order to choose a good exit time, and after entering the market, time will draw you in.
There is a saying that a successful startup leader should have a microscope in one eye and binoculars in the other eye. And these “points” are necessary for analyzing and choosing a business strategy, and the process of attracting money to your startup will depend on it.
A motor boat is more likely to come first during the calm and this forms its trend, its wave, but it needs more fuel, and it has risks that the motor may stall, there will not be enough fuel, etc. Such a strategy pushes you to be a market leader and not count on profitability in the early years. Uber is a good example of this strategy - in the early years it suffered enormous losses, but the inflow of investments grew and the seizure of the taxi market increased, and their goal was to become a market leader, and after that they began to integrate into related areas in search of payback, for example, a delivery service food and ambulance call service.
A sailing boat is more likely to become profitable from the first day and you analyze every step you take, and you always have several options, but you must wait for the tailwind, wait for the market to mature. A good example of such a strategy is Apple, which released the iPhone when the market was ready, because it did not come up with the first buttonless phone, but offered a product that was thought out to the smallest detail. Of course, ideally, as mentioned above, you should be able to change your strategy as you develop, if the conditions change, you should have “glasses” with different lenses.
Today, investors are increasingly paying attention to the advantages that a startup owns in comparison with its potential competitors. The advantages can be territorial, tax, technological, logistic, labor, you can also have connections with the right people, etc., because your advantages reduce your time costs, and time, as we know, this is your main resource. For example, you are a famous person and it is much easier for you to advertise your startup on social networks and media.
Of course, this sounds simple, but many car startups are trying to invent their own “wheel”, although they came up with the idea of a new engine. For example, the same Mercedes was a supplier of spare parts for Tesla cars, and Apple orders screens from Samsung.
You don’t have time to do your own and it’s not rational, the more you concentrate on something else, the more competitive your product will be, and the more investors will pay attention to your startup. Know that many corporations like to work with startups, firstly, it is cheaper for them, and secondly, they conduct a review of the startup market and look for a new trend.
You need to be able to rebuild - to continue the family business, which was passed from father to son, it’s good, but do not forget about companies such as Nokia, Blackberry, Vertu, etc. that have missed the trend without a button-type phone format, and also continued to develop your software, instead of switching to the Android platform. You need to monitor demand or create your demand, and if demand falls or does not grow, then you need to change the product or market. There is nothing eternal, any product has a life span and this applies to startups and your ideas.
Thank you for your time!
I’ll write a basis for any startup.
Before starting a startup, you must answer the following questions.
')
What is success for you?
You are planning:
- Get IPO
- Sell your startup
- Create a family business and leave to posterity
- Etc.
Imagine that you are a participant in a 30 km marathon race and you mean that you need to run during the day, but you haven’t been told where the finish is ... every second startup starts like that - they know they can run, but they don’t know where they are running or where should they stay. Set a clear goal for which you will run after the start.
Why hasn't anyone done this yet?
Of course, you must believe in your exceptionalism and think that you are the first who thought of this idea, but nobody has canceled google search yet - this is a common mistake of startups. No one says that being second or third is bad, but you should know your competitors in person, and not blindly believe that they are not there. For example, Uber and Facebook were not the first in their niche, but they offered a highly competitive product after the market matured.
Why you and why now?
What is your uniqueness? Is the market ready? How will you scale? What is your monetization model? etc.
The more questions you ask yourself, the more understanding you will have. Your task is to answer questions and explain this to a 6 year old child, if he understands you, then you understand what you are talking about.
1. Time is the main resource of most startups
We all heard the saying: “time is money”, but in this case it’s the truth. Your idea may be innovative, and as soon as you enter the market, competitors may appear on the one hand, and on the other hand you can come up with an innovative product that the market is not ready for. In 2013, google presented its augmented reality glasses (AR), but the project failed due to the fact that the market was not ready - there were no applications supporting this technology, the battery life was short, etc. And so, in 2018, rumors appeared that Apple launched the AR glasses project, and Facebook is actively developing virtual reality (VR) technologies. It turns out that 5 years after the first announcement, the trend has just formed. It turns out that the word “time” has a direct and figurative meaning in the development of your startup - before the release, you must analyze the market in order to choose a good exit time, and after entering the market, time will draw you in.
2. Choosing a business strategy for a motor boat and or sailing boat
There is a saying that a successful startup leader should have a microscope in one eye and binoculars in the other eye. And these “points” are necessary for analyzing and choosing a business strategy, and the process of attracting money to your startup will depend on it.
A motor boat is more likely to come first during the calm and this forms its trend, its wave, but it needs more fuel, and it has risks that the motor may stall, there will not be enough fuel, etc. Such a strategy pushes you to be a market leader and not count on profitability in the early years. Uber is a good example of this strategy - in the early years it suffered enormous losses, but the inflow of investments grew and the seizure of the taxi market increased, and their goal was to become a market leader, and after that they began to integrate into related areas in search of payback, for example, a delivery service food and ambulance call service.
A sailing boat is more likely to become profitable from the first day and you analyze every step you take, and you always have several options, but you must wait for the tailwind, wait for the market to mature. A good example of such a strategy is Apple, which released the iPhone when the market was ready, because it did not come up with the first buttonless phone, but offered a product that was thought out to the smallest detail. Of course, ideally, as mentioned above, you should be able to change your strategy as you develop, if the conditions change, you should have “glasses” with different lenses.
3. Feel free to use your obvious advantages.
Today, investors are increasingly paying attention to the advantages that a startup owns in comparison with its potential competitors. The advantages can be territorial, tax, technological, logistic, labor, you can also have connections with the right people, etc., because your advantages reduce your time costs, and time, as we know, this is your main resource. For example, you are a famous person and it is much easier for you to advertise your startup on social networks and media.
4. Concentrate on what you do best and outsource everything else
Of course, this sounds simple, but many car startups are trying to invent their own “wheel”, although they came up with the idea of a new engine. For example, the same Mercedes was a supplier of spare parts for Tesla cars, and Apple orders screens from Samsung.
You don’t have time to do your own and it’s not rational, the more you concentrate on something else, the more competitive your product will be, and the more investors will pay attention to your startup. Know that many corporations like to work with startups, firstly, it is cheaper for them, and secondly, they conduct a review of the startup market and look for a new trend.
5. Be flexible
You need to be able to rebuild - to continue the family business, which was passed from father to son, it’s good, but do not forget about companies such as Nokia, Blackberry, Vertu, etc. that have missed the trend without a button-type phone format, and also continued to develop your software, instead of switching to the Android platform. You need to monitor demand or create your demand, and if demand falls or does not grow, then you need to change the product or market. There is nothing eternal, any product has a life span and this applies to startups and your ideas.
Thank you for your time!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/461617/
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