How to Start Startup: Steps, Strategies, and Tips

This helps absorb a new startup idea and get a hold of what others think.

Entrepreneurs are 40% more extroverted than others.

And we are beginning our discussion on how to make a startup from here to help you find out your zen.

So, to become an extrovert, you need to:

• Start talking
• Go Out
• Join groups and discussions
• Smile often
• Listen actively
• Be aware

Plus, founders with this trait are more inventive and creative.

On the scale of openness, the entrepreneurs are at a spot 20% higher than average.

Remember, it does not only take intelligence to start a startup. You must also know how to be creative.

If intelligence was the only thing required, Einstein or Newton would have set up empires.

This trait helps solve problems and complete challenges.

And trust us, you will face challenges in your journey.

But, there is nothing that a visionary entrepreneur cannot tame.

On average, entrepreneurs are 10% more intelligent than non-founders.

And to gain this ability, be creative, don’t move away from challenges, and socialize as much as can.

In other words, every experience is the grist for your mill.

And understanding the market is the first step in creating a business plan.

A startup market analysis requires 8 do-follow steps:

1. Secure and read market reports. Focus on the geographical regions and the performance of your industry.
2. Segment the market and then understand the data. Sometimes one industry has several verticals. Analyze their performance and know where your product fits best.
3. Understand your target audience if you want to get the most feasible answer to how to start a successful startup business.
4. Read the industry trends to comprehend the market sentiment better.
5. Make a list of benchmarking products in your domain. Look at their supply chain, customers, performance, and features.
6. Understand everything about your competitors. Look at their:
   • Customers
   • Business structure
   • Clients
   • Market size
   • Viable business model
   • Website
   • Solutions
   • Features
7. Always get information from the horse’s mouth or choose reliable sources.
8. Most important, don’t rush. Take your time.

For that, you require to develop some new technology or use an existing tech in your novel manner to disrupt the market.

If not this, then you are most probably entering the market with a product which is already there.

Do you know how to make charts and graphics?

If no, then start learning.

Competitor analysis is imperative to develop a market-fit product.

Start by self-evaluation:

1. What problems do you aim to solve?
2. How can you solve them?
3. Who is your customer, or who faces the issue?
4. Do you have a valid answer?

Always remember that the customers are not looking for the same solution.

They already have a solution.

Now they need something better.

Always include real-world evidence solutions in your market research.

The market size of collecting this kind of business evidence is estimated to reach up to $1.8 billion by 2026.

Lastly, to get an accurate answer to how to start a startup company, including your product’s economic, social, and cultural impact in the research.

How to do that will depend on case to case.

So, when you are thinking of an idea, always keep this in mind.

It will help you finalize how to start a tech startup company.

This is a game where perseverance and determination pay off more than your bank balance.

While creating an idea for your startup, do not hesitate to leverage other development models into your business.

Indeed, we are not asking you to imitate, but if some organization is already progressing with a model and fits with your business, imbibe it.

Creating an app can be complex, but these app development tips simplify the journey for you.

If you are copying your competitor’s word for word, you have already lost.

Hear this, in the 1950s, the average period of an S&P 500 company to stay on the index was 60 years.

Today, this time has come down to 20 years.

Strange, right?

If only these companies would understand the power of the customer perspective and innovate.

And here you are, looking for answers to how to make a startup company from scratch by cloning.

No, such an idea will only face the dust.

In other words, identify your competitive advantage, innovate, procreate, and enhance.

Go talk to your friends and family. Put forth a situation and ask them what they would like to have to solve it.

Identify the gaps that you can fill with your product. This will help you in creating a features list for the MVP.

Don’t stop here. And don’t fixate on your idea. If the need arises, be ready both mentally and monetarily to make the changes.

Use the internet.

Basically, the idea validation process has four aspects:

1. Define the Goals
2. Develop a raw product idea
3. Test the product
4. Validate

We have already covered points 1 and 2 in the above sections of how to start a startup business guide.

The feedback aspect covers the point 3. This is all a part of the feasibility study.

Now getting feedback from the web is convoluted.

It involves playing with all sorts of toys at once and then collating the entire pool of data to get your answer.

The best tools for a feasibility study or feedback, both user-generated and data-based, include:

• Google Trends
• Alexa
• LinkedIn
• Survey Monkey
• Google Forms

Also, use online data analysis tools to work faster and get better accuracy.

But until then, Fake it ‘til you make it.

Start with conducting online surveys, sending emails, and interviewing people.

With these things, you will have to extend an arm out and reach the people.

In the next step of how to validate and start a startup, we will see another method.

Make sure your business strategy stays on track with insights from this CLTV calculator — it’s a handy tool for adjusting your approach as needed.

Landing pages and advertisements are connected.

You post ads on platforms like Facebook about your product and see how many people have visited the landing page to know more about the product.

Add good CTAs to inspire the users to engage more and give feedback.

Here, it is all about A/B testing the product and identifying its market fitness.

There is a flood of tools in the market that can help you create landing pages and connect them with email marketing.

Again, collect the data to read the market’s pulse.

Start with one and if the need arises, move to the other.

But, if you have got your answer, do not waste resources on the other.

Hit the waters.

• The PoC involves:
  • Research
  • Interviews
  • Landing pages
  • Ads
  • Emails

As the name suggests, here you are not focusing on building the actual product or even the MVP.

It is all about gathering proof for your concept.

You think this way: I have an app idea and built a plan for its development and deployment.

That is great.

But before deployment, do you have everything in favor of your product or not?

That is PoC for you.

However, the USP of this method is that it also includes the technical part of the development.

If it’s an application, you will also have to list the SDK and other technologies required.

• Prototype

After PoC, start making the outlay of the product and decide how it will look.

These are the things that you might use for your advertisements.

Prototypes include dealing with the UI/UX part of the development.

It also helps in identifying the features and making heat maps according to the customer’s preferences.

The best part about the prototype is that it is a PROTOTYPE.

There is no rule saying that you have to stick to the prototype. It can change as many times as you want.

But the changes must occur by keeping the end-user in mind.

We would recommend knowing about the Wizard of Oz prototyping.

This is an integral part of any new product development and receives an honest, detailed, and actionable review.

• Most Viable Product

At the end of the entire process, you will lay your hands on the MVP.

MVP is vital if you want to understand how to start a tech startup company.

This is the step when you capitalize on all the previous research, market understanding, customer profiling, and features inclusion.

But, this part of how to make a startup company comes only after identifying the core features of your product.

Without that, do not create the MVP, as it will not deliver the true value. Plus, you will not get the accurate cost of MVP.

Developing an MVP will also help you secure funding (more on this later).

It gives the potential users a chance to use the product, test it, and review it.

So, this also helps you fine-tune your product as you grow and gain more traction.

Not only startups, but even the more established companies like Sony thrive on constant product updates.

Case in point, the previous version of the Sony AS 7 III did not have a flip screen and an HDMI port. But, they added it in the upgraded version because the customers and fans demanded it.

Similarly, you are building a startup, and your only hope is to accept the product by the users.

Ergo, listen to the feedback, implement the changes, and then you will have a minimum viable product in your hands.

Having two founders is better from almost every perspective.

• Management
• Revenue Sharing
• Responsibility Sharing

Sometimes, three can also work, especially if you have a large scale production or it is too technical.

But anything more than three is calling for chaos. It can lead to frequent clashes and indecisiveness.

Especially in how to start a tech startup company, 2 founders will be great.

Our easy-to-use ARR calculator is ideal for SaaS companies looking to track revenue growth.

He says that to build a team utilize the Business Model Canvas.

This is a concept that contains nine crucial aspects of every business.

So, if you can paint your business into this model, you will get an overview of the responsibilities and layout of the project.

From here, you can get yourself a team.

Thinking about offshore development? This guide explains how to hire an offshore dedicated development team.

They might come under eligibility.

But to get yourself a founding team, look for communication, respect, trust, adaptiveness, and diversity.

To identify the understanding and communication levels, use the DISC test. It gives a better picture.

If anybody doesn’t know, how can they buy or subscribe?

So, initially, your campaigns should only talk about the product and what it means for the people.

For this, you can choose one or more than one of these methods.

1. Referral programs
2. Blogging
3. Infographics
4. Social Media Contests
5. LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram Ads (Make ads for the stories section, wherever applies.)

Ready to build the next big social platform? Learn how to create an app like Instagram.

Use the appropriate methods to drive traffic to your product.

These things also depend greatly on the customers.

For instance, Tinder wanted to attract and convert the local customers.

To achieve this, they planned parties in California. The people attending must have Tinder installed on the phone.

And just like that, Tinder’s user base grew by 15000 accounts in one night.

So, go where the customers are.

If they are global, run campaigns that connect the global user to your product.

Segregate the audience and then target them.

Here are the top 12 places to find your customers as per the Founders Institute.

Create your own Tinder-style app. Discover everything you need to know about how to make an app like Tinder.

For advertisers looking to maximize exposure, our CPM calculator helps manage costs while reaching more people.

Sometimes, the feedback will not be verbal.

Haven’t you heard, actions speak more than words.

That is why set up measurement tools.

Get the metrics and understand them.

Know what it means by:

• Bounce rate
• CTR
• CPI
• LTV
• Net Promoter Score
• Churn
• Page Views
• Number of Users

And so on…

Tracking customer retention is essential, and this churn rate calculator can help measure your customer loyalty.

For verbal feedback, you already have the questionnaires made for the surveys.

Modify them to include the product information and ask the users how they would engage with your product.

It is about knowing what your customers want.

All of us have seen the one guide that talks about why startups fail.

Without looking at reasons in here, understand that nothing works in a vacuum.

The real reason for a startup’s failure is not one. Rather it is a combination of more than one factor.

And it is not immediate.

One of the reasons can trigger the sinking drop.

But something must have been building up in the shadows that gradually brings everything down.

So, take care of all the aspects and work accordingly.

Whatever data you have gathered from the awareness campaigns, use that to convert.

Conversion means that you need to ace various sorts of marketing methods.

• Content marketing
• Digital marketing
• Emails
• Search engine optimization
• Social Media
• PPC

These are the web-based methods and more conducive for a country-wide and global audience.

Discover how to take your business worldwide with these 6 tips to help your startup gain global recognition.

For a local audience, you can also try;

• Radio ads
• Print media
• TV ads

But, the engagement with these may differ and even disappoint sometimes.

Always remember these three things;

• If you cannot do it, hire someone who can.
• Always have a marketing budget, either fixed or goal-oriented.
• Maximize your Return on Investment

The focus is on building value. And that is the key to how to build a successful startup.

Have you ever thought that any restaurant that serves the best food in the town does not go out of business?

Why is that?

Yes, because they serve good food.

When the product is good, people pay

It seems strange, but it’s true.

Look at Apple.

People line up to buy the new iPhone.

Why?

Because they provide value as no one else does, and it pays.

Use the right marketing channels to create virality for your product and generate authentic, honest, and reliable value.

Understand that you cannot stick to one product.

Update constantly.

For this, always create a hypothesis for your product and test it.

Here’s how to test the hypothesis:

• Blog about it and read the response.
• Put questions on forums and websites like Quora.
• Go for pre-orders
• Test advertisements
• Use more than one website.
• Beta Testing

Testing the hypothesis means that you understand what your customer wants.

You run an ad about a potential new feature and record its response.

If the response is good, you can add it. If the response is not good, drop it.

You gain metrics from all the online marketing channels.

Every single figure that you include in your campaign is essential and has a role to play.

In other words, these figures are the representatives of your audience’s concerns.

So, get the metrics, record them, and analyze them.

These steps are the repetition of what you did earlier.

But now, you have some data in the background and have a better understanding of the target market.

While learning how to smarlty start a startup business, you need to understand the customer.

Without that, you are only shooting blind arrows and hoping that it hits the bullseye.

So, if you want to do it right, record the metrics, analyze them, and implement the changes.

Not only the investors here are potential buyers, but they are also sources of free advertisements.

Therefore, put your product out there for the small investors to see and complete how to perfectly start a startup.

Planning a crowdfunding platform? Learn what goes into crowdfunding website development.

Angel Investors come to your rescue like an angel and fund the entire project single-handedly.

They might reel in one of their friends too.

The benefit with angel investors is these are the people who can say, “been there, done that.”

Most of these investors were once looking for the answers to how to start a tech startup company.

They were successful, and now they have tons of money from their last venture.

Since the angel investors are more relatable, they will understand you better and look at the founder more than the money.

But, you must study and pitch your investor accordingly.

In any case, be true, honest, and realistic.

They invest heavily, and once they do, your startup will certainly get a lot of attention.

But reaching and attracting them is easier said than done.

Plus, the Venture capitalists part comes later in the journey.

Probably after 3 to 4 years.

So, let’s focus on sustaining for four years first.

Accelerators are not only great for getting funds.

But they also help with:

• Networking
• Mentorship
• Getting access to opportunities