iTalk Part-2: How to start a start-up?
The Co-founder of Zenithec Techware, Mr Samveg Thaker was invited as the speaker in iTalk, an initiative by Innovation Cell of NIT Raipur to make the students aware of the start-up environment. If you haven’t read the first part yet, we would really appreciate it if you do. Also, if you are interested in knowing the story of the start-up that is helping other startups to advance technically, here is the Part-1 of iTalk session.
There are a few major points that one should keep in mind if they want to start a start-up:
- Is my idea executable?
Firstly, you should be aware of what you can do and what you cannot. We all know our skills. Don’t dwell upon an idea just because you thought of it. If you are not ready, firstly make yourself technically sound. - How to execute it?
Make a complete plan. Unless you make a plan, you will never be sure of the resources you will need. - Is the market ready for it?
Timing is most important in every start-up. Companies like Airbnb, Youtube and Amazon were successful because the timing of their execution was perfect. Market research is a very important aspect of a start-up. You need to understand the market and market strategies. - Investment is the last thing to consider.
Surely, it is required when you want to scale your product, but not while you are still in the prototyping stage. It’s obvious for you to think: “Why not go for investment immediately?”, then we would only advice you to escalate up to a position where the money is the only thing which is stopping you and remembers you should have a plan for every penny, you want as an investment !! - Work for a no-profit, no-loss condition for the first 5–10 years.
If you can do so with the same efficiency, then only you should go for a start-up. Patience is the key to success in a start-up.
Gary Vaynerchuk is certainly an idol for all of us. Some of the things we learned from him and we think are crucial for a startup:
#1: Do not think about the opinions of other people.
Because it actually doesn’t matter.
#2: Make sure the deal for your client is more profitable for him than it is for you.
Building a relationship with your customers is more important than the money involved because good relationships are ever-lasting.
#3: When you start earning, you stop spending.
That’s when you realize the true value of money.
The most important thing though is to actually EXECUTE! You can’t be fit by seeing someone do pushups. If you want those 6-pack or 8-pack abs, you will have to do those pushups yourself, right? Everything else is fine, but you need to execute your plan to actually make a change in your current situation.
The next article will cover the people who will be contributing to the startup and the success of your startup depends on those people. Yes, it’s your team. We’ll get some insights on how to find the right people and how to manage a team properly. Stay tuned!
