6 Common Mistakes That Can Crush Your Startup to the Ground
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Working with startups and small businesses involves a lot of repetition, which pushes us towards excellence in our approach. It also imparts valuable lessons that can benefit a wider audience and prevent them from repeating the same mistakes. Below are named and explained some of the most common mistakes that we have seen startups (and not just startups) make. The costs associated with these errors can be significant, and if not addressed in time even lethal to your company.
However, by learning from these mistakes, we can pave the way for success.
Here are some valuable tips on how to avoid falling into these traps and ensure a smoother journey toward achieving steady and predictable growth.
It is important to point out that most of them are coming from the best intention, ambition, and great entrepreneurial energy, and without another set of eyes to look from a different angle sounds very appealing and traps easy to fall into.
Ramping up your total addressable market
While it is good to have a big market opportunity, especially if you are trying to raise capital, this is where entrepreneurs have to wear two hats – one for the investors and the other for the real day-to-day business. In the “real” world, outside VC board rooms and Angel groups, focus is everything. Out of all use cases pick one where your future buyers will be the most motivated to try and buy your product.Trying multiple, different ways to attract your buyers
Product-led growth, sales-led growth, and marketing-led growth are all 3 valid and legitimate approaches. Pick one! They all have their pros and cons for every particular product, and the decision of which one to choose is probably one of the most important decisions you’ll have to make, but not making it is almost certainly deadly for your go-to-market efforts. Jack of all trades is a master of none! And to grow your business as an entrepreneur, you have to be the master!Leading with product brand in your marketing
As appealing as it sounds, you are not Nike, Apple, Microsoft… No one says you will not get there, but start where you are at the moment, and in a way your future buyers can see and understand you. Start with the personal brand! You are the founder, the owner, and the one whose energy is pushing everything forward. "L’Etat c’est moi!" While in the case of Louis XIV, it wasn’t really positive (in political terms it symbolizes autocracy and absolutism), in the case of entrepreneurs it is absolutely to the point. You are your product/service! If you have authority in the market, people will want to try your product. If you don’t, well it’s a lot harder path… Your motivation matters! Your WHY is probably your biggest differentiator and best path to future buyers. Not to mention it is a lot easier to build a personal than company brand authority and influence.Chasing shiny things
Unless AI or some other cutting-edge technology is at the core of your product or service, don’t waste money on trying to look like you have it. The fact that everyone (including VCs and your other potential investors) is talking about it, doesn’t mean you should invest in implementing it right away. Also, buyers that are asking right away for the shiny features, are most probably not really buyers! Look at it from your own perspective, when you're looking to buy a product or a service, are the shiny features really the most important thing that will push you to make a decision? Probably not... Have it on the roadmap, sure! But at the early stage of company and product development, keep it simple and practical. Focus on the functionalities in your product that your potential buyers want and need. Not what you think they will need. No! What they actually want and need!In order to grow, we need to raise money
If I got a cent every time I’ve heard this… No, you don’t! Of course, there are rare cases where investors will actually put money in a business that is not making revenue, but my friendliest advice is don’t count on that. Investors will put money in a business that has the highest probability of maximizing their return on investment at minimal risk. Before you show them you are capable of, at least, reaching the break-even point on your own, you are way too risky.Hiring an agency to do all your go-to-market work
We’ve built an amazing product and just need to get it in front of people. Yeah, right… While it might sound like a brilliant idea, in reality, it never really works. You are, and you have to be in charge of your company's success! And whether you like it or not, you are the one who will define the success of your company! But, this is another topic that we will come back to in the weeks to follow…
Until then, enjoy running your business! Being an entrepreneur is probably the hardest, but at the same time, the most rewarding career choice!
