Can you guess what is common between Indian Unicorn startups? They all are tech startups or they have technology playing a central role in their functioning.
Venture Intelligence’s Unicorn tracker suggests that most of the Unicorn startups are foodtech, fintech, edutech, SaaS or e-commerce companies. Disruptive technologies like AI, ML, GIS, Geospatial Engineering are transforming industries.
India has emerged as the world’s fastest-growing startup ecosystem with over 70 startups making it to the Unicorn list. Most of them are founded by entrepreneurs who could foresee a technology solution to solve prevalent problems.
These are sufficient reasons to start your tech startup. Even without a technical background or huge funding, you can kickstart your business, survive and thrive. However, there are a few questions that you must ask yourself before making your first move:
- Am I addressing pain points?
- What is the future viability of the idea?
- What is my target audience? What are the chances of scaling up?
- Who are my competitors, and what USP will help me survive in the competition?
- How can I build my brand?
- What are my funding plans?
- What resources do I have, and what resources will I need?
When it comes to achieving success in business, only two things matter:
– Doing different things
– Doing things differently
If you are confident that your idea can achieve either of them, there is no reason you should hold yourself back from starting your own tech business. Once you have answers to these questions, you should prepare a road map that helps you achieve the envisioned success. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to start a tech company (and succeed!).
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Test the waters:
Research is turning the unknown into reality- Steven Magee
We may think our idea is great and capable of changing the world. Remember, others might not have the same opinion. Therefore, study the market carefully before you dive into the business.
Thorough market research will help you understand whether your solution can understand and address the pain point or not. Scan your competitors, understand their USPs, and try finding how your product or solution is different.
Ask yourself, is there a demand for the product you are planning to create? Or are there any future possibilities? Businesses can stand strong only on the foundations of sound research.
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Money matters:
Ideas are easy, implementation is hard. -Guy Kawasaki
Even if you are confident that your idea can bring you grand success, it all depends on the implementation. For implementation, you need money. You have to ask yourself whether you want to invest your money, or you want to pitch your idea to the investors?
Clarity over financial matters is extremely crucial for a startup’s success. Crowdfunding is another way of raising funds. Weigh your options carefully based on your current financial situation and prospects.
Kabbage Data, a leading global financial service, revealed that around 33% of successful small businesses started with the funding of less than $5000.
Let’s not forget that the seeds of tech giant company Apple were sown in a garage by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Whatever the amount is, if you have a good risk appetite, go on.
It means you can have all the profit by yourself. But, if you have other financial responsibilities on your shoulder, you can consider roping in other investors as well. Your choice will greatly impact the way the idea will turn into a reality.
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Create something that you can show:
We don’t want to push our ideas on to customers, we simply want to make what they want. – Laura Ashley
When people are spending money, they just don’t want imaginary products, they want solid results. That is why the startups that cannot exhibit what their products can do have slim chances of success. Before pitching your product to customers, create a model.
If it is software, create a demo of what it can do. It will encourage customers to put trust in your new product. You can use computer-aided design for creating a model of a product. For digital or software products, you can use wireframes or prototype platforms. Ensure that you check them a thousand times before releasing them in front of the world. The first impression is the last impression!
Launching a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) with basic features is a smart idea. It will give you an opportunity to understand the initial impressions of your product, and will also give you a window to correct your mistakes.
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Work towards building a brand:
A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. – Jeff Bezos
The brand is literally an image or personality of your company. It signifies a set of expectations customers have from your company or product. Right from the initial phase of your business, your aim should be to build a long-lasting brand. So, wisely choose a name for your company. Design a meaningful and aesthetically superior logo. Your logo should-
– Reflect on aspirations of your business
– Have a core concept and philosophy
– Look great in black & white and colours
– Be worthy of becoming a face of your business
– Provide quick brand recognition
The focus of brand-building exercises should be on enhancing consumer experience at all levels.
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Team up with the right people:
“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.”- Steve Jobs
Without talented people, you cannot turn your vision into reality. Once designing is done, find out tech geeks who can turn your concept into a reality. Make sure to join hands with people who are equally enthusiastic about making a difference through technology solutions. Tech is all about turning the unimaginable into reality. It demands passion and commitment to create tech products that create an impact at large.
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Anticipation is the key to success:
The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing- Tom Fishburne
Making a movie trailer is considered to be a more difficult art than movie-making itself. The success of a movie highly depends on the anticipation the trailer creates. In the same way, you have to create anticipation for the product or solution you are going to launch. The ideal way of highlighting it is-
– Discussing the current challenges
– Describing the void
– Introducing your solution.
This will give customers an impression that finally someone has understood their plights and found a solution. These customers are more likely to engage in a business with your startup.
Starting a business is a roller-coaster ride. You have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It is always wise to keep a backup plan ready if things do not go as planned.
Author Bio
Paresh Sagar is the CEO of Excellent Webworld, IoT, Web and Mobile App Development Company that helps startups and enterprises to enable mobility solutions. He has the best team of dedicated developers to hire that has vast experience of developing web and mobile applications. He’s an avid blogger and writes on all the latest technology trends.
