How to make a startup become a scale up
About today… My background • Latest startup tech trends • The Nine Steps for Startup Success • 1. Expectations 2. The Idea 3. Cash is King 4. Technology 5. Team 6. UAT 7. Branding 8. Promotion 9. The Ongoing
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Latest technology startup trends
Expectations – what everyone sees
Expectations – what it can be like
Expectations – first up, the tough Timeframes vs reality - how long does it take to build a startup? • 90% of start ups fail in the first 5 years. • It’s really hard. • Takes longer than you think. Sometimes 6+ months for the first sale. • Plan for more time and money than you planned (add 1/3 contingency). • Technology builds take longer than service builds.
Expectations – startups are awesome Start up businesses are amazing Greater autonomy – be your own boss. • Lead the strategy and growth of world • changing solutions. Build dynamic modern teams with your own • culture. There’s plenty of wins along the way – great • start ups celebrate them. Relationships • Great long term networks. • You’ll learn and educate yourself.
Expectations – startup community The Brisbane start up community has great incubators.
The problem What’s the problem you’re solving? • Must be a world beating, globally scalable problem. • Think global from day one, test MVP in Australia but look global. • Has your problem already been solved in a different way? What will you achieve by doing your start up? • What is the solution to your problem? • Who will you impact? • What industries are you disrupting? • Who’s lives are you changing? • What makes your start up unique?
Research Research, research and then more research Don’t just Google it. • Check on possible competitors. • Look at surveys - Typeform, Google Surveys/Forms • Talk to different people, go to industry meet • ups/events, travel and listen. Don’t stop researching as you’re building your start • up or during the growth. Many people change and “pivot” during the start up – • so new research might be needed.
Research - customers Know your customers Who are they? • How many are out there? • What is their customer journey? • What typical personas are represented by them. • Where and how will you find them? • What are their emotional triggers to purchase? • What communication and engagement do they like? •
Cash is king Monetisation • How will your startup make money? • How much will people pay for it? • Watch out for 30% app store fees… What’s bootstrapping? • Beg & borrow – self funded from any money you have • Often means you go very lean in development and salaries • Will help speed things up as you don’t have long to prove it
Funding lingo Types of funding • Bootstrapping • High net worth individuals • Private equity (PE) • Venture capital (VC) • Angel investors (angels) • Bank/debtor funding – normally requires real estate equity • Cash funded - reinvestment
Technology “The Stack” • Microsoft vs Linux (open source) • Database - SQL vs mySQL • Server - Apache vs IIS • Code - PHP vs .NET • Apps - Objective C – iOS • AI - (C#, Python) • Hosting – AWS, Azure, VentraIP
Team’s build startups • Family & friends…you’ll need to work at it. • Go for a written shareholder agreement. • Set your purpose and values early. Technology team Onshore vs offshore? • Equity vs salary vs options? • Sales team Start selling from day one. • Monitoring BDMs - measure KPIs/KRAs • Investors & suppliers are part of your team too.
Team – culture from day one
UAT – user acceptance testing Don’t wait for the perfect product/service. Why is UAT important? • Bugs can mean reputation problems. • Users need to be involved and engaged – they test your MVP . Apps vs Websites Build a responsive website first. • Prove app on iOS or Google Play. • Apps can cost lots of money. •
Branding Start branding from day one… Founder is the best brand leader. • Network, present & talk to many people. • Try branding yourself first • Logo – Freelancer & Upwork • T-shirt – wear it with pride ($15) • Website - responsive before apps • Founder social media presences – FB, Twitter, Instagram activity
Promotion Build a multi channel plan • Digital / traditional / platforms / budget / timeframe • Match it to your customer personas and journeys Low hanging fruit – social & digital • Facebook still the “mother ship” • Build chat bots through FB Messenger • MailChimp for electronic marketing • Buffer for social management & shares
Promotion, cont. PR – it’s really important PRWire, SourceBottle, • When you have some more money, hire a trusted & transparent PR • agent. They’ll need the right contacts in your target industries. • They need to guarantee branding and engagement numbers. • They must show clear reports. •
Ongoing Test & learn, fix mistakes. Most importantly learn from them. Revenue is everything. Watch cash bleeds too. • Customers - type, behaviours & triggers. • Technology – always enhance the platform. Is the hosting coping? • Marketing – A/B split tests, dial up the channels that are performing the best. • Team – people & hiring tweaks. • Make it all about data – Analytics, dashboards & people pulse data. •
A final tip…
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