NiravDoshi, CFO, The Rose Group of Companies, 0
Startup a company which is a young entrepreneurial, scalable business model built on technology and innovation, which believes there is demand through disruption of existing or by creating entirely new markets.
3Ps must for Startup CEOs Passion, Patience and Positivity are crucial for the advent of startups.
Few critical factors for a startup CEOs:
Resources & Finance
The cost of launching a startup today is much lower than it used to be ten years ago. With open source technology and low cost cloud based tools, the barriers to launching a startup are at their lowest. While technology is open and affordable, skill is still required to build, manage and market a product. Gone are the days wherein you require office space, IT infrastructure, computers and talented resources to launch a startup, internet has made the world smaller each day with best of the talents that can be accessed with few clicks.
Availability of finance is critical for the startups and is always a problem to get sufficient amounts. Scaling of business requires timely infusion of capital. A number of finance options ranging from family members, grants, angel funding, venture capitalists, crowd funding etc. are now available. Proper cash flow management is critical for the success of the startups.
Guide & Mentor
Startups often are unable to mould and execute the idea keeping all the different trends and factors in mind. They need to know the insights of the industry and develop strategies accordingly which will help them to gain a competitive edge and differentiation. Mentor can help them to add valuable inputs from industry experts and leaders with the relevant expertise and experience in the industry they want to operate in. An honest and unbiased evaluation is needed to break the ice and address the problems better. Lack of adequate mentoring/ guidance is the biggest challenge which could bring a potentially good idea to an end. Studies show that mentored founders have a much higher startup success rate and nothing can substitute the value of a mentor.
Creating awareness in markets
Selecting the correct marketing strategy and mix is very critical for the Startups to create the awareness of the product/services. Marketing channels can be divided into 2 groups active(e.g. advertising through social media like Facebook, Instagram etc.)and passive(e.g. content marketing through blog post, research conducted) which
is also known as inbound and outbound. The situation is more difficult for a new product as the startup has to build every thing from scratch given the constraint of budgets team and limited resources.
The market is fierce and there is intense competition for gaining large market share. Startups face competition from the companies which have dominated in the market making it difficult for a new player to survive and numerous other companies which are launching in the market with their innovative solutions to consumers. Competition possesses challenges of survival although this competitive environment can help to work aggres sively and efficiently as they have no room for errors. Startups should research and plan their ideas, create a unique product or service, execute the business model and monitor the performance from time to time.
Revenue
Severalstartups fail due to poor revenue generation. As the operations increase, expenses grow with reduced revenues forcing startups to concentrate on the funding aspect, thus, diluting the focus on the fundamentals of business. Hence, revenue generation is critical, warranting efficient management of burn rate.The challenge is not to generate enough capital but also to expand and sustain the growth. There are various ways and means to sustain and grow revenues, like 1)selecting best revenue channel e.g. Websale, Direct sale, Channel partners, Affiliate revenue model, Subscription revenue model, Retail sale etc. 2)Taking feedback and customer reviews to align the product/services. 3)Focus on repeat customers 4)Review pricing structure and offer discounts, rebate and complimentary products 5) Review your online presences etc.
Exceed customer expectations & Branding
The next most important factor is gauging the market needfor the product, existing trends etc. Innovation plays an important role, since, that the startup has to fine tune the product offerings to suit the market demands. Also, the entrepreneur should have thorough domain knowledge to counter competition with appropriate strategies. Due to new technologies that are emerging, the challenge to provide over and above an earlier innovation is pertinent. An effective branding strategy is another factor that can help startup flourish at a faster pace. Branding demands paramount attention as it gives an identity and occupies a space in the consumer's minds.
Nirav Doshi is a CA and having experience of 2 decade working across various sectors and industries. He has recently featured in Top 50 Financial leader of India 2021.
The market is fierce and there is intense competition for gaining large market share. Startups face competition from the companies which have dominated in the market making it difficult for a new player to survive and numerous other companies which are launching in the market with their innovative solutions to consumers. Competition possesses challenges of survival although this competitive environment can help to work aggres sively and efficiently as they have no room for errors. Startups should research and plan their ideas, create a unique product or service, execute the business model and monitor the performance from time to time.
Revenue
Severalstartups fail due to poor revenue generation. As the operations increase, expenses grow with reduced revenues forcing startups to concentrate on the funding aspect, thus, diluting the focus on the fundamentals of business. Hence, revenue generation is critical, warranting efficient management of burn rate.The challenge is not to generate enough capital but also to expand and sustain the growth. There are various ways and means to sustain and grow revenues, like 1)selecting best revenue channel e.g. Websale, Direct sale, Channel partners, Affiliate revenue model, Subscription revenue model, Retail sale etc. 2)Taking feedback and customer reviews to align the product/services. 3)Focus on repeat customers 4)Review pricing structure and offer discounts, rebate and complimentary products 5) Review your online presences etc.
Exceed customer expectations & Branding
The next most important factor is gauging the market needfor the product, existing trends etc. Innovation plays an important role, since, that the startup has to fine tune the product offerings to suit the market demands. Also, the entrepreneur should have thorough domain knowledge to counter competition with appropriate strategies. Due to new technologies that are emerging, the challenge to provide over and above an earlier innovation is pertinent. An effective branding strategy is another factor that can help startup flourish at a faster pace. Branding demands paramount attention as it gives an identity and occupies a space in the consumer's minds.