The 10 greatest fears of startups
First, to start is daunting and to experience each situation is even more frightening, however, is a sense of fear and conquest and there are certain things that are not described in books. Just live to experience.
Many people interpret the word “entrepreneurship” as something motivational when it should be a word related to the administration. Undertake means managing resources (time, money, people), feelings, decisions, fear, euphoria, symptoms, vision, behavior, among many other things, even things you never thought it would be a problem for you.
This world is not perfect. Your partner will not be the person you waited (sometimes can surprise you positively or negatively), your product may not be what people need or understand at the time, and your focus should be what customers need, and adds values to it, not your company.
It is therefore necessary to understand certain fears and concerns that you will probably have to face, and for this, there is a behavior that is acquired, but one learns daily called leadership. After all, what are these fears?
- Am I able to start a Startup?
This world is full of fads, and somehow, the word “Startup” has become a fad. The vision that many have about is that Startup is a small company consisting of nerds or people who are creating something innovative (or not) … and that’s the biggest problem. Eric Ries has a correct statement about what is a startup: “A startup is a human institution designed to create new products and services under conditions of extreme uncertainty.”
Understood the definition of Eric? What was the word that jumped over the eyes? It was certainly the “uncertainty”, and it is.
This is one of the conditions under which you should be prepared to start a startup: Be certain of uncertainties, and this involves uncertainties regarding:
* How long will it take to develop a product;
* How long my money will sustain me (when you do not have investors);
* How, when, where will start?
* What is my plan B?
* What is my plan C?
* What are my fixed expenses and variable ?
Do I have psychological conditions to live under stress? Stress is a condition, which may be temporary or constant, but to be able to avoid such stress, just put into practice the planning, so before starting a startup, put everything on paper and focus on what you cannot afford, and start planning how to handle these situations.
2) Attracting investors
If you are not afraid on this subject should have. Attracting investors is not as simple as it sounds, what should be obvious, it goes by unnoticed. Gone are the days where investors used to invest only in an idea or simply in words. When I talk about investors I speak professionals rather than family or friends.
With each passing day, investors are becoming increasingly critics, and rightly so. We read a lot about dozens of successful startups, however, Websites and magazines doesn’t addresses the respect of thousands of startups that fail, and when a startup failure, if there was investment, investors lose. As much as you have an idea of turning shit into money, investors want to see results and not words thrown to the wind. So if you focus on results, investors will be a consequence;
3) My partner is not someone that I expected to be
And certainly will not be that person you expected to be. Generally, we think that our partners will be a replica of us. They will have the same desires, thoughts or concerns. It would be a perfect relationship, but it is not. See the cases of successful startups and see if the partners board remains the same. This happens very often due to various reasons, including:
* Lack of understanding between what is to be friends and what is to be a member;
* Lack of commitment;
* Lack of assertiveness, and this trait is linked to leadership.
Leadership is one of the best “tools” for coping with stressful situations between partners. Be assertive and logical: Argue properly and you will never be wrong.
4) Is our product ideal?
It is unfortunate that many “entrepreneurs” do not have a certain kind of fear regarding this matter when this issue should be high on the list. Your startup will not plant a seed that will result in a tree to make money. You have to sell something to gain, and what you intend to sell need solve a problem or create a benefit, not just the short term. Think of it this way: I want to make money in the short term or plan to offer something organically sustainable? Orkut was a success, and AOL as well. Remember, for you to sell something, someone has to buy.
5) What to do when our competitors are better than us?
Imagine, your competitors certainly are in the market more time in than you. They have knowledge, skills, infrastructure, money, experience, potential contact and a household name nationally or worldwide. What to do in these situations? Have you stopped to think? Offer something that can overcome the need for someone, work strategy way: Offer something to solve a problem that your competitor didn’t paid attention. Do not limit yourself, however, do something bigger than your competitor, even if it takes a little longer. Orkut was replaced by Facebook, so we believe in this market there is no stability.
Would like more comment on other topics but, I’ve written a lot for today. I will give sequence in a next chapter.
Take a time to think and act on these topics that have been found.
