Death By Foolish Decisions - Startups Beware...!

A broad definition of death would imply a cessation of all activities of an entity. The statistics at failory.com mention the following information from the following magazines. This article is aptly named, "Death By Foolish Decisions..! For A Startup.

There may be legit reasons as well for a Startup to fail but I personally believe that there is no reason bigger reason for failure than complacency in a business. Every problem begins from that point.

Every Startup Founder believes that they have the greatest idea in the world and the idea is of incredible value. Most forget that the world is a BIG place and each of us are just miniscule elements in a dynamic world of realization, decisions, action and consequence.

At any given time, a number of people are running with a similar ideas as yours, may not be exactly the same but trust me when I say this, rarely are there unique ideas, there are only improvements upon those ideas that exist.

Startup Failure Statistics

• 9 out of 10 startups fail?(source:?Startup Genome ?- the 2019 report claims 11 out of 12 fail).
• 7.5 out of 10 venture-backed startups fail?(source:?Shikhar Ghosh ).
• 2 out of 10 new businesses fail in the first year of operations?(source:?Bureau of Labor ).
• Only 1% of startups become unicorn firms like Uber, Airbnb, Slack, Stripe, and Docker?(source:?CB Insights ).
• The success percentage for first-time founders is 18% (source:?Exploding Topics ).

Some of the reasons of a Startup getting Killed are....

Assumptions....The word itself begins with an ass. Don't become an ass (donkey) and make assumptions. Many are used to making decisions based on hearsay, rumors, lack of knowledge or information. Information is considered information only when there is factual and verified data. There is nothing faster that kills an enterprise than someone at the top making assumptions and acting upon them.

So Don't make Assumptions....

The Herd.... don't follow it or become it. There is insanity in following others especially in business. You may make short term gains but eventually you will lose out. Learn to see for yourself, analyze and realize what you are observing and then make decisions if your gut agrees with it.

Despite what everyone says, logic and gut both need to agree for me to make a decision.

Don't follow the herd.....learn from it...

Bootstrap....Conservation, while prioritizing spend is the name of the game here. Do everything to empower your money. Every Rupee counts. Find ways to solutions to your problems by collaborating, hiring contractors, consultants and other experts who may not be required on a regular basis but rather for interim solutions. Lean is the game for the first few years. A loyal, focused team that will deliver results is the first priority that will help you put processes in place. The rest will sooner than later fall into place.

Bootstrap for the first few years....

The Brand.... Create a Brand that has recall by pushing hard on getting the message out there to your market. Do not go wide but rather focus on niche marketing. Niche marketing is less expensive, will offer faster ROI and an easier conversion in respect to sales conversions.

Create a Brand for Yourself....

Merit.... can only be the focus while hiring your team. Do not hire people you know or are comfortable with or you will regret it sooner than later. Keep all relations away including friends. Business has its own code and demands its own pound of flesh. Any compromise in quality of team selection will lead to a internal failure that you may not be able to afford during the inception years of the business.

Become a Meritocracy...

Team.... A Great Team is necessary. The core team whom you can rely upon without question or doubt. Build it with care. Try looking to create a legacy for that is the long term perspective which will help you select the right people for the job. Keep a close eye but give them your freedom. Keep them well rewarded both in the short and long term so that they belong.

Create a Team...

The Vision.... Your vision has created the business. Give it focus. Keep up the birds eye view and look long and short, high and low, forward and to the past working on the perspectives and keep tweaking your service portfolio, methods and outreach until you find the right mix. You will start seeing results when you are in fact reaching out to the right market with the right product or service.

Have a Vision...follow it...

Business Plan.... Have a Business Plan at the outset. Let it not become your crutch but your wings, allowing you the leverage to tweak it when you encounter turbulence. A business plan is not gospel as many claim it to be and neither are projections. A business either evolves or dies because time, market, product, service requirements are all dynamic and all need to be aligned to reach a successful goal.

Get a Business Plan in Place....then keep tweaking it as you grow and achieve milestones....

Quality Of Service.... QOS is absolutely important and so is the timing of delivery along with the quality of results. Never compromise on the same. The only reason your business exists is to serve your clients to the best of its ability. Give your clients your best at all times.

Maintain Quality of Services...

What do you say? Would you like to add something more to the above...?

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Raj Sukheja is the CXO of Red Mammoth Ventures LLP., Mumbai and consults for?#business ?and?#finance ?for small to large company's worldwide. He is an?#author ?#writer ?#speaker ?#mentor ?calls himself?#evolutioncatalyst ?#evocat ?and is a?#thinktank ?cum?#financialconsultant ?offering?#consultingservices .

Disclaimer of Liability. The Author shall not carry any liability for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages arising in any way out of the use or distribution of this article as this article is a perspective of the Author and not to be deemed as any or specific advice to anyone from the Author.?The Author is neither directly or indirectly implying any person, community, business or organization. All articles are meant to educate and examples are simply examples, any coincidence is incidental and purely that - a coincidence.

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