Why Startups Fail: And How Yours Can Succeed


Startups that carry out a detailed and thorough market research before setting up shop are more likely to succeed when compared to startups that dive into their business without carrying out a thorough market research. Market research helps startups become aware of the risks associated with setting up a business in a particular market. As a startup owner, if you are well-versed with market trends, risks and opportunities, you are more likely to leverage these trends and opportunities to help grow your business.

Having a good understanding of the market is important in order to take some business decisions. Not only does it give you a good insight into the current scenario of the market, but it also lets you cater to your target audience better, thus, improving your business and brand.

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Want some quick information? Published by Jonathan Aufray at March 14, This is because a product tends to appeal to different buyers who might have varied goals and needs. Saying that a third of startups survive 10 years or more is far from the reality of non-backed startups. Indeed, these examples are the ones I see happen often and I believe many entrepreneurs can relate. So, being able to create and plan a revenue model is without a doubt a characteristic you need to succeed as an entrepreneur.

It is essential for startup owners to define their brand mission and vision before starting their business. Why is this important? Because until and unless you are aware of what is it that your brand is trying to achieve, it will be difficult for you to plan out steps for your business to get there. Everything your brand does must be aligned with the vision and mission of your brand. This includes everything from customer service, to the actual sale of your product, all the way till keeping in touch with your customers.

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One of the best things you can do in order to become a successful startup is to target a small market. Large markets with well-established businesses and firms make for a very competitive environment. This environment has players with a lot more experience and knowledge and therefore is not the best for a startup to flourish. Instead of promoting your startup to a larger market, consider marketing your startup to a smaller market initially. This will give you a good idea as to what your audience is in need of and whether they are willing to consume your products or services.

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Whether your brand is established or a startup, it is essential that you deliver a good user experience to your users. As a startup, it may be a little more difficult to deliver as good an experience as a well-reputed brand, but it is important nonetheless. Instead of focusing on increasing the number of customers, your brand should focus on giving an unforgettable experience to your current customers.

Focus on creating a genuine loyal customer who sticks with your brand for a long time. It may not increase numbers initially, but it does add a lot of value to your brand.

One of the most important things a startup can do is consider and collect detailed, honest and valuable feedback. For a startup, the most important activity in the initial stages should be that of fine tuning the products, services and experience offered to its customers. The bottom line for success for any brand or business it the quality of the product or service offered by it.

If your product or service is not up to the mark, your business is likely to fail. Considering feedback in a positive manner can help you improve your products and services for your own customers. This will also make sure your customers respect you for considering their feedback seriously. Many startups believe that focusing on work all day is bound to give out better results. But this is not the case. As a startup owner, you must understand that successful entrepreneurs often invest in culture building activities within the organization to grow a sense of comradery. There are also investors which will only bring lots of headaches by interfering with all aspects of your business, making it a challenge to run your company.

Thus, you need to study at the overall value beyond the money that investors will bring to the business. When investment is concerned, the most money is not obviously the better choice. Raising too much money might not sound like a real problem. But, there are startups that raise too much money right from the start only to use everything up faster than necessary. Or, they raise too much money and have unrealistic goals from the investors.

Startups have to remember that too much funding right from the beginning could mean the death of your business. The trap here is that funders are going to spend a lot without focusing enough on the income. As you design the amount of money you plan to raise, think of 18 months or two years. Some startup owners think that they can survive without the help of investors. But, the truth is, having investors can make difference to reach success.

No matter what your startup is, it is important Not compulsory, though to have investors. They can help you when it comes to capital or investment. Since you are a startup, there are many things you want to improve to reach your goals. If you have investors by your side, it is much easier to take action of your plans and create more products or services to offer.

Although finding investors is not that simple, you can attract some by presenting the whole concept of your startup and your aim. Networking at startup events, contacting or joining incubators and accelerators will help you get in touch with investors. You need to be prepared with an elevator pitch, a pitch deck and if possible a business plan and financial projections.

Once you presented your business plan effectively, expect that you will get some investors who will be interested to work with you. More often than not, most startups concentrate on creating a business model and ignore the importance of revenue model. This was working before where platforms like Twitter would get as many users as possible with the idea to create a monetization system or revenue model after.

A few years ago, this was easier than now.

Why do Startups fail? - Bikash Barai - TEDxIITKharagpur

Investors want revenue more than just a large user base. Finding a revenue model later on is not a solution. For instance, Twitter's business model still remains broken nowadays. So, being able to create and plan a revenue model is without a doubt a characteristic you need to succeed as an entrepreneur.

A revenue model will help you generate revenues. This also helps you identify which source of revenue to pursue, how to price the value, what value you can offer, and who will pay for the value. It also determines what service or product will be created to generate revenues and ways in which the service or product will be sold.

Without a clear and well-defined revenue model, your startup might struggle because of the costs that you will not be able to sustain. Through having the best revenue model, a startup may concentrate on a target audience, establish marketing plan, fund development plans for products and services, and start to raise capital. Majority of startups will tell their clients that they are their main priority, yet only some actually focus on what their users really need.

It is not a good idea to ignore the feedback of your clients, even more if you are a startup. If you want to gain the loyalty and trust of your customers, make sure that you know how to pay importance on their feedback. Whether it is positive or a negative one, assure them that your startup will do its best to improve the service to provide them the highest possible level of satisfaction. Do you want to avoid startup failure? Regardless of the type of startup you have, timing is everything.

So, if you fail to market at the right time, you will surely end up shutting down your startup in the long run. Startup owners should remember that timing can make a difference in marketing their products and services. Wrong time to market your services or products might just cause you loss of investment. For example, if your startup is a clothing line and you offer winter clothes on a hot summer season, expect that your target customers will ignore you.

This can sound like a silly example and you probably wonder: Bad timing will take you nowhere but failure. So, decide on the perfect time to market and you will see the difference. In my personal opinion, this is probably the main reason why startups fail And by being passionate, this is how you can make your startup succeed. If founders are only interested on the profits they will earn and not because they believe that their idea will work, they can easily lose traction.

Passion is crucial and should be part of your 'entrepreneurial anatomy'. If you are not passionate about what you do, you will give up when difficulties arise. If you really want to see your startup grow and gain more profits in the long run, you have to believe in your idea and you should be passionate in everything you do.

In this way, you can be assured that your startup will work and would grow according to your plan. Some think that establishing startup anywhere can work. Well, for others, it can, yet oftentimes, a startup should avoid choosing a bad location. There is no exact definition for bad location as it depends on what you are going to offer to your target customers.

The main benefit to be well located is being able to interact with your audience as well as knowing the environment they are into. If you want your startup to work, you should do your best to choose the right location for it. Aside from timing and having a revenue model, the right location is also an important factor. Remember, a location can either break or make your startup grow.

Even for big companies, networking is a crucial part of their marketing strategies. With startups, having no networking will just lead you to the path of failure. Networking is essential in a way that it can help you connect with people whom you can be your potential investors or clients in the end. You can also connect with fellow entrepreneurs who might become partners, co-founders, mentors or friends who will help you when needed.

Networking is not that hard, even if you are shy: It includes getting into an area or an industry, which is legally complicated. Some startup owners did not heed the lessons of other failed startups. Without learning mistakes from the legal issues have encountered before, you might lose in the long run. So, before you enter a new venture, know the different legal challenges you might face and think if these are worth the risk or not.

This is one of the top reasons why startups fail and by tracking competitors you can definitely make your business succeed. Tracking your competitors will not only help you know the things you should change on your business, but also you will be able to avoid the mistakes that they have done before, giving you an edge over your competition. Also, competitors might become partners in some cases if your solutions complement each other.

Experts recommend avoiding high competition as much as possible. If there is a lot of competition, this probably means the market is huge. For instance, if you go to industries like blockchain, fintech, IoT, biotech, VR, drones, AR, AI or machine learning, you will have a lot of competition. Of course, you can go to these industries but in these industries, choose a niche that is not overloaded. You need to find a niche and have a clear value proposition to differentiate yourself from the competition.

The sale price can be everything for consumers. Your price should not be too low or too high. But, how to know the right pricing?

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Experiment and studying the competition. First, you need to check what competitors do. Then, you also need to calculate your costs in order to offer a price that covers your costs and if possible make you some profits. You also need to experiment your pricing until you find the right one. Not all products are appreciated by every consumer out there. Consumers purchase products if these offer some benefits and have a purpose. Also, other consumers check for if the product is user-friendly. Therefore, when creating products for your startup, make sure that these are user-friendly, offer benefits, and resolve their problems.

You need to ensure the user experience is great and simple. To do that, you need to test your products by a few people in your industry: However, bad work-life balance can be the reason why startups fail as this can make startup owners burn out, which can lead to losing passion and motivation on their startups. Try to maintain a good work-life balance. Have fun sometimes and enjoy your quality with your friends and family without thinking about running a business.

This will help you relax and fuel up your body with the energy you need to accomplish your daily activities. Many people believe you should keep hustling and have hour work weeks when being an entrepreneur. Some weeks you might have that amount of work but you should not work that many hours every week. You should do your best to avoid startup stress and burnout. So, what are the main reasons why startups fail and how yours can succeed? You can save your startup from failure! Today, we saw 27 reasons why startups fail and how yours can succeed. Keeping those reasons in mind will help you determine which things you should prioritize and help you succeed in your chosen industry.

Just make sure to start with a good business plan and use the best marketing strategies for your startup. All you need is dedication, passion and commitment to your startup.

27 Reasons Why Startups Fail and How Yours Can Succeed

No matter how good, smart and efficient you can be, you need people to surround you and help you. At Growth Hackers, we help startups, small businesses and entrepreneurs succeed by guiding them along their entrepreneur journey. If you need any help with your business, if you are scared your startup might fail and if you want your startup to succeed, contact Growth Hackers and we will start to help you from today. Grow your Startup Now! I help startups, SMBs and entrepreneurs grow with digital marketing and growth hacking. I am passionate about startups, growth hacking, inbound marketing and entrepreneurship.

You can follow me on Twitter: GrowUrStartup or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Market research

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