7 Things We Learned Running a Startup
What separates successful startups from less successful ones?
Part of living and working in the startup world is learning from mistakes, both your own and others’. Living in this world, you get the chance to see what differentiates the companies that ended up having success from those that ultimately failed, and with any luck, you can spot those lessons before making the same mistakes yourself.
1. Solve a real problem
Every single one of us has once had that crazy futuristic idea that would turn the world upside down. But in most cases, these ideas do not have a solid purpose other than being cool. Instead of trying to think of something amazing just for the sake of it, try to spot an everyday problem that is happening to you and people around you and work your way from there. It is extremely important that people can relate to the problem you are solving.
2. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas
It is commonly mistaken that you should not share your ideas with everybody. And to an extent, this is true. But it doesn’t mean you should not share at all. You will see how other people think and some of them may propose a ground braking improvement on what you already have. The point is, the idea doesn’t dissipate with sharing, it evolves.
3. Don’t get discouraged by having competition
Another thing people often get wrong is that you should’t base your startup on a certain idea just because it “already exists”. For example, first touchscreen phone was made by IBM in 1992. and the first iPhone wasn’t released till 2007. And we all know what happened to the cellphone industry after the invention of iPhone. In a 7 billion people world it is statistically almost impossible that nobody else is doing at least something similar, but just because they are, it doesn’t mean that your version of the certain product won’t be the one that will change the industry forever.
4. Take small steps towards success
Having a vision when running a startup is something that you must have in order to succeed. It is what drives you and your colleagues forward day after day. And it is not overly ambitious that your vision sounds like “In 5 years we are going to be the leading company in our field”. But you have to remember that you cannot achieve this overnight. You need to take one step at a time, make smart moves and scale up, and who knows, maybe you’ll reach your goal sooner than you think.
5. Question everything
Talking to experts and having mentors is always a good idea. There are a lot of people with successful businesses who are willing to help you and share their experiences. However, they only have limited insight into your business, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that what worked for them will work for you at all. You should always welcome a piece of advice, but know the advice often conflicts, so don’t take everything for granted.
6. Be prepared to make tough choices
Startups are like kids. They require all your attention, a lot of sacrifice and sleepless nights to try and raise them as best as you possibly can. And all the effort that you make, might soften you and make you less objective when it comes to making tough decisions. Sometimes you have to be the harsh parent if you want your kid to grow up an be a decent citizen.
7. Have fun
And last, but most certainly not least, is to love what you do. Building a company from scratch requires a lot of hard work and commitment. If you’re able to do something that you truly enjoy, you’ll have much more motivation to keep working. Startups require much more than a regular 9 to 5 job — make sure this is something you’re willing to do around the clock!
This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +443,678 people.
Subscribe to receive our top stories here.
