Launching a tech startup is exciting but very challenging. Yes, there may be tons of amazing opportunities but there is no doubt that the saturation of the tech market makes it even more difficult for one to climb the ranks. To standout in an ever-challenging environment, there are steps and guidelines and little helpful tips that one must practice. So, whether you’re planning to kickstart that tech adventure, or maybe you have one already in its early stages, this article is supposed to help you with things you need to know as a tech startup in 2024.
- ASSESS THE WHY!
Ideas are beautiful. Even better, ones that involve setting things up and making them work. However, why are you building a startup? What is the motivation behind the move? The answers to these questions could be the difference maker on days when it becomes very tough. Remembering why you started in the first place will always be a huge motivator when you tire. So, whether you’re about to start or you already have one, ask yourself why you started this journey in the first place and make sure you didn’t just get into it for reasons such as the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), or to make instant wealth. Startups require serious work and dedication, and you must be willing to put in the work. Are you passionate about the problem, the product, the service, the customers? These are questions that would help you assess and re-align your interests to make sure you’re not just in it for superficial reasons.
Try to match these questions with your desire with other factors in your life such as family because a startup will take a lot of your time and energy.
2. STUDY YOUR MARKET AND VALIDATE THE IDEA.
It was Benjamin Franklin that said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” You can never go wrong with proper study. Sometimes, the difference between an idea planted in the ground and one that grows is study. Know your market, know the target customers. These things invariably help you understand your product better and how it suits them. Some people have built startups without doing adequate research or proper surveys and when it came to selling, they were stuck because they didn’t understand what should drive their startups. Yes, you have an idea, but it’s possible a hundred others had that idea before you. Some of them succeeded and some failed. There are reasons why. Study their successes and failures and pinpoint what you can change and improve on.
Read books, find leaders in your market and speak to them via LinkedIn about your idea and customer base. Get yourself a mentor, it goes a long way. Conversations with them could go a long way in helping you. Find out where there is a cluster of your potential customers, insert yourself there and be active to understand them better. This helps you validate your idea, to bring it to life. It would also give you an idea on what your marketing strategy would look like. Validation can come from anyone with sufficient knowledge of how you want to run the business model. Take Bishop Bisa for example, a civil engineer and real estate agent. When he nurtured the idea, he didn’t just run with it, he shared it and talked about it with an experienced mind to get feedback. See how valuable talking about your startup can be. He can now see the potential pitfalls he could meet along the way, and pointers that can save him money and guide him.
3. WHAT DO YOU DO ABOUT FUNDING?
This is one of the most asked questions when it comes to building a tech startup both for newbies and veterans. The funding. It is not a secret that funding for your startup is crucial for growth and is what keeps the company going. A lot of people have gone into startups with the idea that they MUST raise funds by any means. Raising funds for your startup is strategic, do not just rush into it. If you’re just starting out, bootstrapping is a very good way of starting with minimal risk. Bootstrapping is the process of founding and running a company using only personal finances or operating revenue. You could also source funds via other conventional means such as Family and Friends, angel investors, loans, grants etc. Joining an accelerator program is also a good way of not just getting funds but receiving valuable mentorship guides. You can meet potential investors and people who will train you on the intricacies of owning a tech startup. You can always find accelerator programs that are available in your area or region and are relevant to the tech startup you have in mind. These programs offer a lot of value.
For tech startups in Africa looking to receive funding from the diaspora, Kaoshi Network is your best bet for cross border money transfers. We enable you to receive money from over 40 countries to Africa and vice versa. So, if you are receiving funding in foreign currency, you should use Kaoshi Network for your transactions.
4. YOU’RE NOT ALONE; BUILD A TEAM!
No man is an island. In as much as you feel the energy and vigour to carry out all your plans, you must seek helping hands. Build your team. Your team is your greatest asset and is key to ensuring success. Therefore, you must choose them carefully. Take your time to hire the right people. Bring in people who are smarter than you and are as hungry as you to see the vision thrive. As a tech startup, you can start with 5/6 team members (A product manager, 2 Engineers and a designer). These are the people who are core to what your brand needs at the time.
Hire people who have certain levels of experience, a tech startup isn’t a place for people to come and try their hands for the first time. A lot of startups have hired newbies and spent more time teaching them than getting proper output. You want to get ahead as quickly and efficiently as possible. You could also have an ownership structure among team members that allows them to own a percentage of the business for a start.
5. ESTABLISH AND PROTECT.
It is important to make sure you are registered and certified before putting out any product. This is helpful because it makes your customer base trust you more. Get registered with the body that oversees tech startups in your country or region. This can help you secure and protect your intellectual property (IP) and set up a good payment plan. Consider patents and copyrights to protect your product. Consult with a lawyer to make sure you have all necessary things in place. Plenty startups aren’t registered and will find it difficult to grow without properly following the rules.
6. WHAT ARE YOU SELLING AND HOW ARE YOU SELLING IT?
UNDERSTAND YOUR PRODUCT! This is very important and is the bane of everything you’ve been striving to put together. This is ideally where you want to put a lot of your energy. The mistake a lot of tech startups make is not giving a lot of attention to the viability of their products. You must consciously invest in making a very good product. Build a minimum valuable product (MVP). This is a good place to start as you don’t have to do everything all at once. This won’t let you focus. Start small and scale up then iterate your MVP based on user feedback. This will help you avoid unnecessary spending on features you may not need at the present. It is best to optimize on what you have first and grow from there.
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” — Peter Drucker.
No matter how good a product is, it is just another product without effective marketing. There is a wealth of media you can leverage to push that product. It is all about picking the one that is cost effective and is viable for you. There are so many great tech startup products we do not know because of poor marketing. Consider things like, high quality content, ads, seo, podcasts, communities, newsletters, social media, product hunt, campaigns. From the get-go, ensure you’re always marketing. Let people see you, let people know you and your product.
Building a tech startup or running one comes with its challenges. But by assessing why you want to do it in the first place, studying your market and validating your idea, understanding the dynamics of finances, putting a team together, securing your IP, and robust marketing, the journey becomes infinitely easier than you’d expect. Every successful tech startup started with an idea and with a lot of determination, they turned that idea into reality. You too can navigate its complexities and excel.
