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10 Startup Mistakes You Should Avoid
veloztechform
subscriber Posts: 2 Member
“It is not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen” – Scott Belsky, founder of Behance.
Ideas are the core of any startup but are ideas enough for a startup to survive? Ask any successful entrepreneur and he will tell you that you need more than just ideas to make it happen. Most importantly, you need to steer clear of avoidable mistakes. In this article, we will highlight 10 mistakes that you should avoid if you want to make your startup successful.
1. One-Man Army
Who has ever been successful at anything with a one-man army? Hardly anyone. If you think you can go all alone and make your startup successful, you are gravely mistaken. Starting up something new is tough and without the support of a competent team, you would be quite at lost. The journey of a startup is full of ups and downs and you need a good support system in order to sail through the ordeals. Moreover, it is almost impossible to manage everything alone; you need a team for that.
2. Working With A Wrong Team
Just as you cannot work alone, you also cannot work with a wrong team. If you have been hiring without looking at the CVs, you are definitely making a mistake. A good team will play a decisive role in how your startup fares in the future. You may not need a big team but you do need a good team.
3. Starting Off Without a Mission Plan
Starting up something new sounds extremely cool nowadays, but being cool isn’t going to make your business successful. Only a comprehensive business plan can make a startup successful. If you are starting something new and do not have a mission plan, you are not going far with the idea. Why do you want to startup this business? Who will benefit from your business? What are your aims? Where will the initial finances come from? If you haven’t thought on these lines, you are already making a mistake.
4. Old Ideas
Does the world need another Facebook, or Google? No, it doesn’t because the one’s we have are already doing a brilliant job. When you start with old or redundant ideas, you are making a mistake right from the word go. You simply won’t find takers for something that’s already accepted. It is near impossible to beat Facebook or Google at their own games (unless you are a genius!). You should be offering something unique to consumers, something that is intriguing, never tried-upon ever before.
5. Mishandling Funds
Your ability to run a startup and make it successful can be easily gauged by the way you handle finances. Money plays a very important role in successfully running a startup. Right from the start you need to have your finances sorted. It is very easy to fall into the trap that you have money to spend, only to realize very late that your funds are fast dwindling. From spending in recruiting too many people in your team, to wasting money in unwarranted expenditure, these are mistakes you should stay away from.
6. Ignoring Importance of U-turn
Every idea may not see the light of the day but that doesn’t mean you have failed as an entrepreneur. But if you stubbornly believe that your idea will work, when everything around you is crumbling, you are making a huge mistake. You simply cannot ignore the importance of U-turning or pivot startup when your idea isn’t working correctly. This is what many successful businesses have done in the past. Twitter was once Odea, a podcasting platform, Yamaha started off as a piano and reed organ manufacturer and today it is into automobile manufacturing. Closer home, Wipro was not always into IT, but into food processing.
7. Delaying Unnecessarily
You would be making a mistake if you do not launch your startup at the right time. If you think that you will delay the launch until you are perfectly satisfied with everything – be warned, that day may never come. Perfection is a process and you can aim for it after the launch as well.
8. No Customer Base in Mind
This is another mistake you could be making without even realizing it. You must ask yourself whether you will find takers for your idea. Who will buy your product or service? Whom are you catering to? Will people easily find you? These are just some questions you need to have answers for at the very beginning.
9. Starting From A Wrong Location
You may not realize it at the beginning but location can easily become a deal-breaker for your business. Tell the investor who is interested in you, that you operate from a garage and see whether he still is interested in meeting you. Even if it’s a small office but if it’s in a proper location, it will make a lot of difference. It is a mistake to underestimate the importance of location.
10. Not Being Completely Involved
You can hardly expect to make a successful venture if you put in a half-hearted effort. Not having the determination to see the startup through till the end is a mistake you shouldn’t be making. Remember that it is your idea and only you can see it through till the end.
Ideas are the core of any startup but are ideas enough for a startup to survive? Ask any successful entrepreneur and he will tell you that you need more than just ideas to make it happen. Most importantly, you need to steer clear of avoidable mistakes. In this article, we will highlight 10 mistakes that you should avoid if you want to make your startup successful.
1. One-Man Army
Who has ever been successful at anything with a one-man army? Hardly anyone. If you think you can go all alone and make your startup successful, you are gravely mistaken. Starting up something new is tough and without the support of a competent team, you would be quite at lost. The journey of a startup is full of ups and downs and you need a good support system in order to sail through the ordeals. Moreover, it is almost impossible to manage everything alone; you need a team for that.
2. Working With A Wrong Team
Just as you cannot work alone, you also cannot work with a wrong team. If you have been hiring without looking at the CVs, you are definitely making a mistake. A good team will play a decisive role in how your startup fares in the future. You may not need a big team but you do need a good team.
3. Starting Off Without a Mission Plan
Starting up something new sounds extremely cool nowadays, but being cool isn’t going to make your business successful. Only a comprehensive business plan can make a startup successful. If you are starting something new and do not have a mission plan, you are not going far with the idea. Why do you want to startup this business? Who will benefit from your business? What are your aims? Where will the initial finances come from? If you haven’t thought on these lines, you are already making a mistake.
4. Old Ideas
Does the world need another Facebook, or Google? No, it doesn’t because the one’s we have are already doing a brilliant job. When you start with old or redundant ideas, you are making a mistake right from the word go. You simply won’t find takers for something that’s already accepted. It is near impossible to beat Facebook or Google at their own games (unless you are a genius!). You should be offering something unique to consumers, something that is intriguing, never tried-upon ever before.
5. Mishandling Funds
Your ability to run a startup and make it successful can be easily gauged by the way you handle finances. Money plays a very important role in successfully running a startup. Right from the start you need to have your finances sorted. It is very easy to fall into the trap that you have money to spend, only to realize very late that your funds are fast dwindling. From spending in recruiting too many people in your team, to wasting money in unwarranted expenditure, these are mistakes you should stay away from.
6. Ignoring Importance of U-turn
Every idea may not see the light of the day but that doesn’t mean you have failed as an entrepreneur. But if you stubbornly believe that your idea will work, when everything around you is crumbling, you are making a huge mistake. You simply cannot ignore the importance of U-turning or pivot startup when your idea isn’t working correctly. This is what many successful businesses have done in the past. Twitter was once Odea, a podcasting platform, Yamaha started off as a piano and reed organ manufacturer and today it is into automobile manufacturing. Closer home, Wipro was not always into IT, but into food processing.
7. Delaying Unnecessarily
You would be making a mistake if you do not launch your startup at the right time. If you think that you will delay the launch until you are perfectly satisfied with everything – be warned, that day may never come. Perfection is a process and you can aim for it after the launch as well.
8. No Customer Base in Mind
This is another mistake you could be making without even realizing it. You must ask yourself whether you will find takers for your idea. Who will buy your product or service? Whom are you catering to? Will people easily find you? These are just some questions you need to have answers for at the very beginning.
9. Starting From A Wrong Location
You may not realize it at the beginning but location can easily become a deal-breaker for your business. Tell the investor who is interested in you, that you operate from a garage and see whether he still is interested in meeting you. Even if it’s a small office but if it’s in a proper location, it will make a lot of difference. It is a mistake to underestimate the importance of location.
10. Not Being Completely Involved
You can hardly expect to make a successful venture if you put in a half-hearted effort. Not having the determination to see the startup through till the end is a mistake you shouldn’t be making. Remember that it is your idea and only you can see it through till the end.
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Comments
If you want to make your startup successful you must avoid the major mistakes that are listed below:
• Avoid working with the wrong team
• Don't work without a mission
• Remove old ideas
• Don’t sort your finance unsuccessfully
• No good location
• Not getting yourself involved
First of all, it will not be easy and there will be times where you will need support from friends and family. Do not go at it all alone.
Make sure the rest of your life is set up well enough to support you as you go through the entrepreneurial journey. You can't focus on your business if your life is in shambles not should you. Avoid taking on a ton of debt before and as you run your company.
Secondly, many startup founders think that they need a ton of money and people to make it work.
In my opinion, the best companies started very small and nimble. Reach out to investors for money and hire other people ONLY when you absolutely need it for growth.
Can you build a million dollar business with very little initial investment? Absolutely.
Its not easy, but you can definitely do it. Never underestimate the power of sweat equity and you have an unlimited amount.
Thinking money solves everything
Struggling entrepreneurs often think that if they can just raise another round of financing, their problems will be solved. But money doesn’t work like that. It can’t solve a fundamental issue with a business model, says Carter Cast, professor of entrepreneurship at Kellogg School of Management and venture partner at Chicago-based Pritzker Group Venture Capital.
Start to think as an entrepreneur!
It's a very good list. Thank you. I'd like to share two additional items:
Ignoring data:
You can’t just believe you’ll succeed—you need to actually crunch some numbers and figure out if you will succeed. There has to be data that validates that your big idea is real, or at least provides a leading indicator that it could be. Once you collect that data, use it to create key performance indicators or milestones to show your idea or business is progressing.
Underestimating how long sales take:
Sales take time. Many startups even think they can close a big enterprise account in three to six months -- but in reality, a deal like that can take more than a year. And if your business plan doesn’t account for that, you’re going to be in trouble.
10 mistakes done by startup companies,
Most of the points are my own and experienced in my job.
You have no marketing strategy.
When it comes to branding, pay a professional to design your logo, website and other marketing materials. You may know your product but your lack of knowledge in to how to represent it properly to your potential client can hurt you. Enter the market with a focused marketing strategy and first-class materials that will elevate your business to a professional level from your first appointment on.