Thinking, “I haven’t figured out how yet, but it might be too late if I wait any longer,” I left my job without a concrete plan and impulsively got myself a one-person office in a co-working space.
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Starting a Startup, How Exactly?
With the thought, “I haven’t figured out how yet, but it might be too late if I wait any longer,” I left my job at the end of August without a concrete plan and impulsively got myself a one-person office in a co-working space.
At that time, with my capabilities and knowledge, I repeatedly hit walls when it came to commercializing ideas.
Nonetheless, these experiences seem to have been beneficial in hindsight. I’ll discuss the importance of experience later on.
Five Essential Ingredients for Startup Founding
I decided to write this post to help those like me last year who are desperate to start a business but can’t see a clear path.
From my experience, I believe the five essential ingredients for starting a startup are:
- Idea
- Technology (or expertise)
- Money
- People
- Passion (= execution) and perseverance
1st Ingredient, Idea
This is probably why many aspiring entrepreneurs dream of starting a business: “I wish my idea could come out into the world and become reality!”
I felt the same. While there may also be motivations like wanting to run your own business or dreaming of financial success, I believe at the core of any motivation is a vision for the idea.
Ideas Need to Become Plans
Actually, beyond just the idea itself, I think a strong attachment and vision for your idea are essential for any entrepreneur.
Since joining the startup scene, I’ve often seen people who lack strong affection and conviction for their item wavering and struggling to move forward.
Through several trials and errors, I’ve come to realize that an entrepreneur must finely craft the brilliant ingredient of an idea into a “concrete plan” with strong conviction and vision.
Turning an idea that you like into a “business plan” that others can also sympathize with requires extensive knowledge in the field of startups, endless insights, at least basic business knowledge, and above all, tremendous perseverance.
Experience Turns Ideas into Gems
If you’re in your twenties and dreaming of starting a startup, you should gain lots of experience.
Looking back, it seems the areas I could venture into were strictly limited to my past experiences, whether personal interests like travel or exercise or professional experiences.
Finding what you love or excel at and becoming an expert in that field appears to be a significant asset for later entrepreneurship.
Enjoying Experiences and Challenges
Personally, I found joy in the productivity/collaboration tool sector. After starting to use an iPhone and Mac, exploring and using various productivity/collaboration tools became a major joy in my life, similar to how others enjoy their mobile games.
By trying out various tools and understanding the philosophy behind them, I gradually refined my own work processing/management philosophy, eventually becoming known as a ‘collaboration tool maniac’ and reaching a quasi-professional level, even conducting related seminars at consulting firms.
Ideas Alone Aren’t Enough
It seems that sparkling insights alone are insufficient.
Novelists often compare writing a work to the pain of childbirth, and I think the process of an entrepreneur turning an idea into a business plan is similar.
However, I’ve seen many people jumping into the entrepreneurial fray with just an idea and no concrete plan.
Of course, if you’re an engineer who can develop the product, this step could follow at least minimal product development.
Nonetheless, a concrete business strategy and roadmap are essential not just for attracting investment but for the actual success of the business.
So, how do you refine an idea into a business plan that not only co-founders or early team members but also investors can nod to?
I plan to discuss this in more detail in future posts.
2nd Ingredient, Technology (or Expertise)
Depending on the business field, this can mean various things.
For instance, starting an AI deep learning tech startup without any technical knowledge or understanding of AI would be practically impossible.
The same goes for entering a distribution business as a complete novice in the field.
While most startups today are IT-related or incorporate some IT elements, I don’t think it’s mandatory for someone to have ‘software development skills’ to start an IT startup.
(though having development skills is undoubtedly a plus!)
If You Want to Start an IT Startup, Become a Developer
It’s true that it’s much easier for software developers to start an IT startup.
If you can create even a prototype yourself, it’s worth a thousand words to potential co-founders or investors.
But for non-developers like me who can’t write a single line of code, having a high level of IT literacy to communicate seamlessly with developers and about the product seems essential.
Excuses Won’t Cut It for Lack of Technical Knowledge
Even if you can’t code yourself, after being immersed in various IT services and continuously diving into related knowledge like a seasoned student, you should be able to propose product ideas that make sense to developers.
If what you’re saying sounds like nonsense to a developer, bringing on a good CTO as a non-developer will be tough unless you have a really close connection.
Moreover, if that CTO isn’t very product-oriented, it’s likely that you, as the representative holding the vision and ownership of the product, will face many difficulties.
In short, while directly creating the core technology yourself might not be essential, having a significantly higher level of technical understanding than the average person definitely is.
3rd Ingredient, Money
This might be where most aspiring entrepreneurs hit a wall.
Good or bad, having an idea is something many people dreaming of starting a business have, and with more people learning to code and understanding technology, overcoming the technical barrier might seem possible.
However, figuring out where to get the initial capital for the business was a real challenge for me just a year ago.
Investment Comes to Those Who Are Prepared
Looking back, raising initial business funds might be relatively easier for entrepreneurs in our country compared to other aspects.
Reflecting coldly on my past self, who vaguely contemplated starting a business while working a year ago, I’d say I was lacking in ‘passion (= execution),’ the fifth ingredient for starting a business.
If asked, “Did you really look into all the ways and means of raising funds thoroughly?” I couldn’t have confidently answered yes back then.
If you’re reading this and worried about initial funding, especially if you’re in a situation like my past self, unable to bootstrap from the 3Fs (Family, Friends, Fools), I have to ask you the same question.
Did You Seriously Look into Funding Options?
While there might not be many guides systematically covering initial funding for aspiring entrepreneurs, a deeper search will reveal quite a lot.
I’m not writing this to nag, but I plan to discuss methods of funding for aspiring entrepreneurs in more detail in a future post.
If you can’t wait for that post, I suggest searching the internet right now!
If you can’t find enough information online for some reason, having the courage to ask for help from anyone who might know a bit is necessary.
Many entrepreneurs, including myself, are buried in work 24/7, so while a quick reply might be hard, I personally feel compelled to help those who show genuine earnestness, reminding me of my past self.
Utilizing Your Network
To add a bit more about asking for help, I hope you’ve become accustomed to leveraging all kinds of networks to ask for assistance whenever needed since your early days as an aspiring entrepreneur.
Of course, asking for help shouldn’t be abrupt but should consider the other person’s needs first, offering something they need, and possibly creating a synergy — a kind of ‘technique for asking for help.’
Even so, the basic attitude that a prospective entrepreneur and early startup representative should have is to be ready to humbly and sincerely ask anyone for help.
And this request for help will inevitably be met with rejection and sometimes cold disdain. Becoming familiar with this is, I believe, the destiny of an entrepreneur.
If you’re afraid of rejection and can’t ask for help, handling the rejection and indifference from investors, customers, and even team members after starting a business will be difficult.
The Difference Between a Club and a Company
Reflecting on my past experiences, transitioning from a club or gathering level to a real ‘company,’ if you’re not a college student or a recent graduate who can live on a small amount of money or allowance, having a solid plan for funding is a very effective means to evolve a passionate gathering into a startup team.
Even if you manage to gather a few team members interested in your idea, moving with passion alone might work at first, but it’s hard to expect the same level of enthusiasm from your team members as you have.
Of course, spreading this passion is also part of the entrepreneur’s role.
Especially by the late twenties, considering career and livelihood becomes necessary, so demanding vague passion from those you want to work with might be too ambitious.
The CEO Bringing Home the Bacon
Essentially, one of the biggest tasks of an entrepreneur is to bring in the necessary money for the business, whether sooner or later.
This often starts building trust among team members, and by distributing salaries, even little by little, you start to resemble a ‘company.’
After all, if you can’t secure basic living expenses, pushing forward with any grand vision will be challenging.
So, if you’re thinking of starting a business as the head, it’s pretty crucial to thoroughly figure out your funding game plan and convince those you want to start this journey with that you’ve got a solid strategy in place!
I’ll wrap up this post here. Chances are, a lot of what I’ve talked about today might already be familiar to you, but I will come back with more detailed and informative content next time!
I plan to dive into two aspects I personally find crucial for entrepreneurs: people and passion (= execution ability) & perseverance.
To everyone dreaming of launching their startup, I hope you’ll one day project your vision onto the world.
I’m working hard every day fueled by that very dream!
Let’s all keep pushing forward.
If you spot any mistakes in the info above, don’t hesitate to give me a shout!
Thank you 😊
💚 Your cup of coffee is a big help in running my blog 💚
☕ Buy me coffee please ~ ^_^ buymeacoffee.com/Eva ☕
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