Creating A Startup Part 2: Beginnings and Expectations
Having founded a startup comes with a certain euphoria and expectations. You have an idea and you can’t wait to get started! However, founders often find themselves in unexpected situations, and things might not turn out as expected.
TLDR
The three co-founders — Remo Höppli, Charles Chojnowski, and Philipp Lötscher — share how they made their first steps with their company Earlybyte and give advice to future entrepreneurs:
- You don’t have to find the perfect start. Try something out and learn from the experience.
- Networking can be essential for new startups. People and other companies don’t wait for your idea, so it’s on you to present it to potential interests.
- Taking chances almost always comes with a risk, financial or otherwise. Make sure to find the right balance between taking on new projects and earning enough money to sustain your company.
- High expectations might lead to disappointment and failure. Make sure to think in steps and make at least one person happy instead of everyone.
Trial and Error — Don’t Try to Find the Perfect Start
“Try stuff out to find out what works for you and what doesn’t work for you” — Remo Höppli, Co-founder of Earlybyte
Before founding a startup, the three co-founders explain that it’s best to find an idea and then roughly define which direction you want to go, not the other way around. This includes, for example, the definition of your target audience and if you’re going to sell a specific product or service to people or to companies. There are many ways to go and setting a direction can be helpful later on.
Instead of planning the perfect start, however, Remo Höppli advises entering a trial-and-error phase. Having a direction is good, but sticking to this predefined direction at all costs can lead to high expectations and inflexibility. As Remo explains: “Don’t try to find the perfect start. Start doing something and try going in the direction you envision for the startup.” He further explains: “Think in steps and try to start small.”
Nothing is set in stone. So, instead of searching for the perfect start, you can do something and learn from its experience, be it successful or not. Charles Chojnowski rounds this up perfectly: “Work in a way that at least one person can benefit or have an additional value.”
Exploration Phase — The Importance of Networking
“Nobody is waiting for you” — Philipp Lötscher, Co-founder of Earlybyte
An exploration phase can look very different depending on the kind of company you want to create. Generally, it could be described as a time where nothing is really set, and things can be tried out in different environments.
To have a better idea about current needs, Earlybyte took part in some weekend-hackathons, where participants got a challenge on Friday evening and needed to present a solution on the following Sunday. Furthermore, you can also visit networking events or launch a social media campaign where you introduce your idea. There are no limits, really, except the budget maybe.
Networking, specifically, is crucial. Philipp Lötscher explains: “People won’t browse your website without you telling people that you exist,” referring to the phenomenon that making potential customers and investors aware of your existence is essential — “Nobody is waiting for you.” This means that founders have to take the initiative and present themselves and their company. Although this might sound obvious, having a network brings new and sometimes unexpected chances, especially in the beginning.
Managing Risks and Chances
“We had a company, we started networking, but we are only now finding our niche.” — Charles Chojnowski, Co-founder of Earlybyte
Taking chances also brings risks. As Remo Höppli says: “If an opportunity comes up, take it and do your best to work it out.” He adds: “ An idea can turn out differently than expected or blossom into something worth working on.”
His statement also implies that chances can lead to unexpected changes in the startup. Even though you have defined the direction you want to go, new projects and opportunities might shape the company in another way.
New projects almost always bare financial risk that should no be underestimated, particularly in the first few years: “You work a lot without lots of money and the outcome may not be rewarding,” Charles explains. There is a fine balance between taking on new projects and earning enough money to sustain your company. Too many chances bare too big of a risk which means that founders need to navigate and analyze their situation at any given point.
In the case of the three co-founder’s company, taking on new projects and risks was only possible because they didn’t work full-time on them. They didn’t go all-in, which led to slower growth but minimized the risks: “In case it didn’t work out, we had a job to fall back on.”
Remo further explains: “We had a vision but not really an idea,” which led them to take on smaller projects without knowing where to go. This, however, could be disadvantageous, as future planning is challenging, and things can change fast any time.
Possible Dangers: Expectation vs. Reality
Don’t expect to change the world from one day to another
Having high expectations might lead to disappointment and missed opportunities. As Philipp perfectly says: “What you do won’t affect people from the start. Make one person happy and go from there.”
It isn’t necessarily easier to create a startup with many founders
Usually, the more founders, the more visions and ideas, and the more challenging to define and agree on the startup’s direction. It is exponentially harder to find common ground when many people are founding a company. However, it also means that each person has to invest less and there are more skillsets complementing each other. Therefore, it is advisable to be aware of this fact when founding a startup.
What do you think? Are there other expectations founders need to be aware of? Tell us in the comments and clap if you liked the article.
About the Author
I’m a marketing and communication manager at a startup and study german and english language and literature at the University of Bern. My blog consists of articles about the startup scene as well as poetry and the expression of my love for literature.
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