There are 150 million startups in the world today with 50 million new startups launching every year. On average, 137,000 startups are emerging every day.
Surprised? Well, the total number is intimidating, but when we further see the number of successful startups amongst these is far too less. Many startups buckle under the sheer pressure of competition and lack of funds.
Smooth seas never made great sailors and an entrepreneur couldn’t know better! Starting a business from scratch, putting everything at stake, building a business one step at a time, and dealing with setbacks at the same time can be exhausting and mind-numbing.
The best solution here can be the knowledge on how to build a Minimum Viable Product. The risk to lose it all and the constant stress to outdo the competitors can take a toll if you are not prepared for these challenges. Given below are the most common challenges startups face repeatedly –
Challenge 1: Capital
If you are a startup, be prepared to be cash strapped at some point in time or other. Unless you are extremely lucky, you will feel your cash inflow receding and further impeding projects and delaying important tasks like hiring, rolling out products, running new offices, etc.
You will also need continuous funds to carry on company tasks like marketing, software, or product development and pay salaries. Also, cutting back expenses can prove detrimental at this point since the focus of the company should be entirely on growth and scaling up.
Thus, be prepared to bring in investors simultaneously and manage your inflows and outflows well.
Challenge 2: Fierce Competition
The corporate world can be an intense battlefield. Big corporations often keep startups on their toes with no margin for error. If you are an online business the competition increases manifold.
Therefore, startups need to play aggressively and punch through their weight to gain much-needed recognition amongst the groups of ever-challenging and expanding businesses.
At each step ensure, that the product or service you are offering has to be unparalleled in respect to quality and price. Do not give a chance to your competition to undermine your product or offer something better. Stay ahead and ruthlessly driven to deliver the best.
Challenge 3: Ignoring Marketing and sales analysis
Word of mouth marketing is the strongest way of marketing but it isn’t enough. Only after repeatedly being made aware of a product, will the customer move to purchase it.
This is where marketing steps in. Reaching an audience, subconsciously convincing them to invest in your product can be achieved only through solid marketing.
Many times, startups ignore this fact while getting carried away with supplying demand, expanding companies, and venturing into newer territories. They also forget to map their sales effectively which otherwise could give them deep insight about which product is working for the company and which isn’t.
Marketing and sales analysis is required to be repeated periodically and in short intervals. This can help you understand your sales and brand value better.
Challenge 4: Unrealistic Expectations
The initial success of a startup can lead an entrepreneur to believe that anything is possible and he/she starts expecting way too much, prematurely.
Bigger revenues, more offices, and so on are many of such expectations which can lead to focus wavering and company crumbling under reaching impossible goals.
Startups need to keep in mind to have expectations based on their growth potential, resources available, market scenario, and many such factors.
Challenge 5: Hiring
A company will function and function well only by its employees. If your team lacks synergy, the company will be at a considerable loss with projects running behind and deadlines not being met. A team should be able to coordinate amongst itself.
In order to develop a highly successful team culture, organizations in general – and startups in particular – need to hire passionate, efficient, and smart working candidates.
From a pool of aspiring individuals, selecting a suitable candidate that fits the job well enough is a herculean task. Make sure you do it sharply.
Also, when hiring a suitable candidate, remember one golden rule: Birds of a feather flock together.
Challenge 6: Cyber Security
Every now and then we see an Instagram reel showing how a small business owner lost their account hacked into, and their years of efforts lost. Only a few accounts can be recovered and a further few can save their progress.
Good cybersecurity is the new insurance for every startup with an online presence. With hackers waiting to steal data and progress from you, full-scale data security can ensure that your accounts are powerfully protected and your data secure and unbreachable.
The rate of cybercrimes has increased dramatically during the past couple of years. The percentage is going to increase in the coming years as well.
Unauthorized access to startup’s sensitive information, employee records, bank accounts’ information, or any other related information that is deemed important for the survival of a tech startup, they are at risk.
To safeguard the all-important online data, companies need to invest in robust and military-grade security systems in place.
Challenge 7: Winning hearts and minds of Customers
The customer is royalty. Winning a customer’s trust is one of the most important challenges that startups have to work on. With a highly satisfied and loyal customer base, startups can scale hugely and in a short time.
Customers are the real force behind a startup’s success. Their word-of-mouth power and their presence on social media can give tech startups an edge against all the traditional businesses.
With globalization and digitalization are at a breakneck speed, challenges like these are bound to increase in coming years. Businesses, especially startups, will have to prepare well if they want to see their company reaching new heights. Careful planning and execution can help them grow unhindered.
Learning certain tips and tricks can keep startups ahead of their peers and help build a successful business.
