7 Steps To A Succesful Startup

7 Steps to a Successful Startup

The Characteristics of an Entrepreneur

 They are comfortable “living in fog.”

 They are able to assemble a team of people to follow them.

 They show persistence and determination.

 They have conviction.

 They have passion.

Abstract: A true entrepreneur works constantly on ideas, chiseling away at them until they are working and fundable.

Essential Preparation Steps for Every Entrepreneur

 Why do I want to do this?  Am I clear about my personal and professional motivations?

 What is the unmet need?  What market shall we target?

 How big is this opportunity?  What is the market size?

 Who else is trying to meet this need? What about our approach is different and unique?

 How will I make money (who will pay me)?  Do we have a scalable business model?

 Why us?  Do we have a team with the right experience, vision, and commitment?

 Why now?  What about market dynamics makes NOW a good time to act?

Step 1— What is the Unmet Need?

Every business should offer something that prompts people to part with their hard-earned money, either to solve a problem or to fulfill a desire. The most successful startup businesses identify a need and then provide a solution, rather than coming up with an idea and then trying to find a market for it.

Techniques:

 Talk to people

 Perform a simple survey on the Internet

 Employ some students or freelancers

Step 2— How Big is This Market?

You must define your market segment correctly in order to size it correctly. Market size is simply how much people spend (or are likely to spend) every year to buy the kind of product you are creating to solve their problem. Always look for “proxies”—examples of how other companies in your target market succeeded—so that you can justify your assessments.

Step 3—Can We Create Differentiated Market Positioning?

Step 3 is all about understanding your differentiated market positioning—in other words, what makes you or your product or service different from other companies offering similar products or services within your target market. To succeed, you must be different in some way, offering one or more of the following:

 Better quality

 A cheaper price

 Easier to use

 New capabilities

 A new way of buying

You should also take into account the fact that existing companies are always redeveloping products and creating new ones, so be aware that your competition may at this moment be working on a product that will compete with yours.

Step 4— How

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