People say 90% of startups fail, 30% of which fail in the first two years. But how does the rest of the 10% succeed where others fail? What’s their secret? If you study the stories of successful startups, you’ll begin to understand what the secrets to startup success are. Many startups in Bangladesh understood it and have benefitted from it. So if these following 4 aspects are present in your startup, success will soon be knocking at your door.
1. Ability to Grasp Current Trends
There are countless businesses that had great ideas but were too early for their time. Ever heard of SixDegrees.com? It was one of the first social networks of the world. The idea was ingenious, connecting people all over the world, but the timing wasn’t. The organization was, unfortunately, a decade too early.
Having the ability to know what consumers want is probably the most important aspect of any startup. You need to know what people want right now, how long that demand may sustain, and if it’s profitable to market. Only by fully grasping the needs and demands of people can any business succeed, not just a startup. So, if you are someone who doesn’t act on impulses, takes time to analyze the situation and the future, your startup has a stronger chance to make it to the top.
2. Understanding Your Limits
So, now that you know what people want, it’s time to analyze if you have the means to do business on that front. And by ‘means’ we don’t just mean the finances; rather, you need to check all aspects of the business. Figure out if you have the necessary resources to get the business running, find the perfect commercial space according to your budget, secure a steady supply of your product/service, plan out your future growth, and calculate your sustainability in the field.
Businesses and startups that fail to understand their limits don’t survive long. Like Icarus, who flew too close to the sun only for his wings to melt away, startups that stretch themselves out burn out quickly. That is why having a proper understanding of your capabilities and limitations as a business will protect you from falling victim to the common pitfalls. They will keep your expectations and over-optimism in check while giving a clear view of how to move forward.
3. Learning from Mistakes
If you look at today’s great organizations that began their journey as a startup, you’ll see how they learned and overcame their mistakes and challenges. No matter how much we plan things out, things can always go awry. Expecting to not make any mistakes at some point in time is naïve, especially for startups. The planning, the calculating, the preparing; all of it helps us avoid bigger mistakes and minimize the impact of things that are unavoidable. The most important thing is to learn from mistakes. As a business, you need to understand what went wrong, how it came to be, what could’ve been done to avoid it, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes in the future.
4. Knowing When to Change
Changing with time and demand is the final key to any startup’s success. The business world is ever-changing and evolving. New technologies, policies, and a new way of doing things are regularly introduced or innovated and brings about a lot of change. Having the flexibility to change along with the tide and restructuring your operation if necessary will bring a new wave of success that may have been previously unattainable.
Startups that don’t know or refuse to change fail after a couple of years. They stubbornly stick to what they ‘think’ is the path to success even when faced with a mountain of evidence that says otherwise. Take Kodak for example. They were a giant corporation, not a startup. But their refusal to accept the digital camera led to their downfall.
So, do you and your startup have these 4 aspects? If you do, chances are that your business will soon be climbing the ladder of success. And one day, you will be looked upon and studied by a new crop of startups, trying to figure out what the secrets to startup success are.
