How To Get Your Tech Startup Off The Ground? – The world of tech can feel intimidating if you’re starting a new business. It’s an incredibly competitive industry in which every venture wants to bring a new idea to the table, so if you want to start a tech company, you’ve got a long and potentially arduous uphill battle to fight. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
With the right know-how and a lot of dedication, you can get a tech startup off the ground. It takes a certain kind of entrepreneur to be able to see a tech startup idea through, but if you think you’ve got what it takes, we’re here to help. Here’s how you can get your tech startup off the ground.
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Make sure you’ve got the funding
Starting a business isn’t cheap. Estimates suggest that in the UK alone, it costs around £5000 for an initial investment, and that new businesses will spend an average of about £22,000 in their first year. Sometimes, you may struggle to secure that funding from a business loan, especially for a relatively risky tech venture.
If you do struggle, you could consider seeking out an unsecured personal loan, which would see the money directly into your account. You could then invest that money into your business and use part of your profits to make repayments. Other funding sources include digital asset investors, friends and family, and formal business loans. However you do it, just make sure you’re thinking about funding!
Build a bulletproof business strategy
Almost more than in any other business space, the tech sphere demands a bulletproof business strategy. It’s not enough simply to have a great idea and a solid product; countless businesses have failed even though their core is sound. You need to surround your central ideas with a business strategy that won’t fail.
To do this, examine your competitors and figure out what you have that they don’t. Base your business around this and make it the core of your ethos. Naturally, there is more to a strategy than this, but competition and growth are the keys to business success, so your approach to these aspects of your business will define your outlook.
Be innovative, but don’t obsess over innovation
There’s a common misconception in the tech space that innovation is all that matters. Simply put, this isn’t true. While an innovative new business idea will naturally attract investors, if you fill a niche that hasn’t been filled with tech that isn’t pushing boundaries, that’s still a great foundation for a business.
It might sound a little pretentious, but people are at the core of any successful business. Think about what your customers require and how you’re going to provide it for them. If the tech you’re using to do so isn’t cutting-edge, it doesn’t matter; businesses rarely succeed simply because they’re at the forefront of innovation.
Only hire when you need to
As a smaller business, pulling the purse strings is going to be of paramount importance to you. This means not hiring staff unless you absolutely must. Use freelancers when you can, and perform as many day-to-day business tasks yourself as possible. You’ll know when it’s time to start increasing the size of your operation.
When it does come time to hire new staff, be sure to be discerning in your hiring process. It’s better to hire a single incredibly reliable member of staff than to pursue people who look too good to be true (and often are just that). Keep your tech startup lean and mean.
Get your demographics straight
Every business caters to a particular demographic. Even businesses that look like universal providers – Amazon, Google, Apple, et cetera – have demographics they just can’t reach. As a small business owner, it’s vital you do demographic research for your tech startup to find out at whom you’re aiming your service or product.
Once you know who your core audience is, it’s time to start conducting market research to find out how to pitch your brand to them. Look at your competitors and how they’re structuring themselves. Don’t simply ape them, but do take tips from them and see if there are any areas of their presentation on which you can improve.
Keep customer service front and centre
Any great tech business will tell you that in this industry, customer service is crucial. There are going to be a lot of customers who want to know how your tech works and what to do when it isn’t performing properly, so make sure you’re ready to field a lot of questions about your business.
This is one area in which you may not be able to avoid hiring staff. Good customer support personnel are one in a million; even if you’ve got your business’ best interests at heart, you may not be cut out for customer service work. Customer support is the beating heart of any business, so whatever you do, make it a key part of your strategy.
Don’t compete with the big guns
When you’re first setting out, you might have big dreams of taking on Google, Microsoft, or other tech companies like that. Any business owner will tell you that this can only ever be a dream. These companies are so colossal that they absolutely dominate their fields, and very few companies can ever hope to compete with them.
Instead, try offering a niche they don’t. If you’re creating a search engine, for example, don’t just make it a broad-appeal offering like Google; focus on a smaller segment of the market instead. Whatever your idea for a tech startup is, make sure it exists alongside, and not in direct opposition to, the market titans.