6 Steps to launch a Successful Start-up!

A start-up’s journey from conception to delivery

The journey of an entrepreneur bootstrapping his startup is in many ways similar to that of a first-time mother. They both undergo a lot of hardships, self-imposed restrictions, countless pieces of advice from all and sundry, frequent bouts of pain (mental and emotional pain for the entrepreneur though) and a 24x7 commitment towards ensuring a healthy delivery after those 9 months.

As a start-up owner and consultant, I can’t stress enough on the importance of due diligence before coming out with your venture. The first and foremost thing to deal with is the creation of a structured business plan wherein you should try to cover all perceivable aspects of your business for the first three years. These days the lucre of launching a start-up is way stronger than what it used to be a decade back. There are plenty of investors and angel investment firms that keep coming up with media stories of new ventures and then there are the captivating success stories of big buck start-ups. Let me tell you right here that though the end result can be grander than what you expect at the beginning, but, this journey is no walk in the park.

The start-up bubble is about to burst

Live under no illusions, the investments are drying up and the perceived to be unique ideas, are becoming far too common at an astronomical pace. There have been so many unicorns that promised the skies and after burning billions of dollars of their investors ended up being duds. This has made most investors tighten their purses and those who are willing to invest are often demanding stronger control over the management of the start-ups. Therefore, you should be ready to boot strap for the initial stages especially during those 9 months or else you might end up joining that 60 % of start-ups which shut shop within the first year of operations.

It’s not as if the environment has suddenly grown hostile to start-ups, but, just like the dot com bubble of the late 90s, the startup bubble is approaching the bursting stage and investors, as well as entrepreneurs, are now becoming realistic with what they should expect and what they should deliver.

Let me enlist the key aspects that you need to be absolutely clear about so that your venture is thriving and ready to take on the world after those nine months:

1.      Create a Business Plan – You must create a detailed business plan for first three years with all bases covered. You must eliminate all ambiguity about what exactly is your product/service going to be. Where you are sourcing the raw materials/inputs from and what exactly is the competition status in your domain. Knowing well is akin essential for doing well. 

2.      Create a detailed Financial Plan – Prepare a carefully thought out financial plan for the first one-year minimum wherein you manage all expenses out of your pocket even if the business doesn’t earn a single rupee. At times what happens is that a business owner takes into account expected revenues/financial assistance from investors while planning the upcoming salary, operations, and other expenses and if any delay happens in investments or revenues are not generated then the business flounders. Therefore, be extremely clear about your plan B and be ready to bootstrap at least for first one year.

3.      Completion of incorporation and all legal formalities - A properly founded business with legalities covered is likely to boost investor confidence about the commitment and far-sightedness of the founders.

4.      Create a Manpower strategy - You must chalk out a manpower plan and have the requisite expertise in the field that you are entering. Initially, you would be a one man team in many ways with few or no hires to support you, there has to be absolute clarity on how everything will be done.

5.      Create a branding and Marketing Plan - No matter how ground breaking your idea is, it is worth nothing if you can’t take it to the right audience during the incubation stage. Therefore, it is imperative that you should have a clear marketing plan ready with a strong emphasis on digital as that’s the medium which will take your message further and at lower costs.

6.      Be mentally strong and focused - Mental strength is essential as, during those 9 months, you will encounter plenty of hurdles. There will be unforeseen bottlenecks and delays in getting the paperwork and formalities done or the sales may not happen as per the plan devised by you prior to hitting the market. If your product is a machine or a software then there is every chance that it might face glitches or fail to perform as per expectations. There could also be adverse situations created by social/governmental situations and it is not impossible either that you may fall sick or get distracted on the personal front during the crucial one man army days which might stall the progress. Therefore, you have to be absolutely focused towards your goal.

 Summing up, the key to start-up success is to plan well and plan well in advance.

Remember ‘Rome was not built in a day’.

Best of luck!