You will learn what startup is and what are the stages of its development, as well as how to open your own startup project and where to look for investors for your business
Today we will talk about how to properly organize a startup.
Since we ourselves have repeatedly launched business projects, we will tell you what obstacles may arise at the initial stage and give you valuable advice on how to overcome them effectively.
1. What is Startup in simple words - definition and history of occurrence
During our short entrepreneurial career, we have opened several businesses and we understand that this is not easy. Now our site "HiterBober.ru" can be attributed to the concept of "startup".
So, first, let's figure out what startup is. The classic definition of a startup, given by the American entrepreneur Steven Blank (who, in fact, introduced this term).
Startup is a temporary structure designed to find and implement a scalable business model.
In simpler words, a startup can be defined as a new commercial project that is created with the aim of making a profit from a business after its successful development.
The term "Startup" is translated from English as "the beginning of the process", its "start". However, not every commercial project that has opened can be called a startup. Only a small part of business projects developing from scratch falls under this definition.
Classic startups have one characteristic feature - they have a unique (original, exclusive) idea. A real startup never copies already known commercial projects, but represents something radically new.
Example
At one time, Mark Zuckerberg's idea to create the Facebook social network was absolutely original and new: there were no analogues of this format on the Internet.
In recent years, the word "startup" has become very popular, although a significant part of the population does not use the term quite correctly.
By this concept, people mean the launch of almost any business, up to the opening of a new stall in the market. Often, a startup is used exclusively in relation to Internet projects.
In both cases, the definition can be correct: if an outlet on the market operates in a fundamentally new format that can be duplicated and used as a profitable business model, then this will indeed be a successful startup.
The same can be said about the online project. If you have launched a fundamentally new network service for serving the population via the Internet, then you have made a successful startup and become a promising network entrepreneur.
Startup- a recently created company or organization (sometimes not even legally registered), building its activities on the basis of innovative ideas or new technologies that have not yet been put into mass use.
The weaknesses of a startup include a lack of funding and a precarious position in the market. Abroad, such projects are most often created by students: sometimes such firms are called "garage" ones.
For the first time this term in application to a commercial undertaking was used in 1939 in the United States. At that time, almost all innovation and high-tech companies were based in the San Francisco area.
Several Stanford students, creating a new business based on a fundamentally new idea, called their business a startup. It was this business that eventually took shape in a successful and profitable company in the field of information technology called Hewlett-Packard or HP.
Today, the word startup is more often used for Internet projects. This is partly true, since it is the worldwide network that is the most promising modern commercial direction.
Without even thinking, you can name 5-10 successful Internet startups that have brought millions of profits to their creators with minimal initial costs. Suffice it to recall the already mentioned Facebook, as well as its domestic version - VKontakte and other social networks.
You can mention Wikipedia (the largest and most popular online encyclopedia), the YouTube video database, the Radical service for storing and quickly displaying your personal photos on the Internet, WhatsApp, Skype and other services for online communication.
2. Main stages of startup development
A startup must be successful and in demand in order to attract the target audience, and along with it, investors' money.
The main indicator of the success of a new undertaking is the readiness of business partners to invest their finances in it. A startup is not always based on pure commerce: it can be informational, humanitarian, scientific, but in any case it is promising.
The initial stage of work on any startup is creation of its prototype. As a prototype turns into a full-fledged product, a startup transforms, develops and scales. Under scaling is understood as an increase in the sphere of influence of the project associated with the investment of finance.
The ultimate goal of a successful startup is product sale a large corporation or the continuation of a profitable business as an independent company. There is another option - the withdrawal of the project's shares to the stock exchange and the expectation of its sale at the maximum price on the market.
For clarity, we suggest studying the following table, in which the stages of a startup are presented in more detail:
№
stages
Embodiment
Peculiarities
1
Pre-seed
The creators have a clear idea and understanding of what exactly the target audience needs
At this stage, there is usually no plan for implementing the idea.
2
Seed - "sowing"
Market research, development of a phased plan, preparation for launch
It is desirable at this stage to think about the search for investors
3
Prototype
Creation of a working model of a startup
The prototype has only basic functions and is designed to work in ideal conditions.
4
alpha version
The product is already ready, but is used only by a small group for testing and identifying flaws
At this stage, adjustments are made and defects in the working model of the project are eliminated.
5
Closed Beta
The product has a fully functional status, a limited number of third-party users are involved
Investors and commercial partners have already been found
6
Open Beta
Users are actively involved, a large-scale promotion of the project is underway
Contracts are concluded with customers, the first sales of services and products are carried out
When the above stages are successfully completed, the product (project) is launched into mass use or production. It is clear that without attracting large third-party capital, a large-scale distribution of a startup is impossible.
That is why for any commercial idea, the investor is no less important than originality and novelty. Even the most ingenious projects need financial support.
Generating commercial ideas is not so much an inborn gift as it is a skill. Every reasonable person can become a successful startuper with minimal creative inclinations, which, as you know, everyone has.
Experts in the field of profitable startups believe that ideas for launching the latest projects can be found in everything that surrounds us. You just need to change the angle of view a little and abandon some of the generally accepted social judgments.
Most "serial entrepreneurs" have a special notebook in which they regularly enter fresh thoughts and observations. Over time, they can develop into interesting and profitable business ideas. We advise you to also have such a notepad or open a special file on an electronic device.
For greater efficiency in doing business, you can use and implement TRIZ - the theory of inventive problem solving.
And now - expert advice on creating your own startups
Let's start with a simple example:
Resale of Chinese goods with a large margin (300-800%).
You can buy goods in bulk in China or from a wholesale supplier in a major city and start selling them online. Often such a scheme is also called "Business with China" - a very profitable and promising direction in Runet.
The team of our site is personally acquainted with a successful entrepreneur in this topic. Zhenya not only has been running her business for a long time and effectively, but also teaches others about it.
If you want to launch your own startup in the near future and start earning 100-200 or even 500 thousand rubles in a few months - contact Evgeny and he will guide you by the hand on all issues of creating a successful business selling Chinese goods.
Be sure to check out the testimonial of the wife's students to be inspired by their success stories:
Stay up to date with new ideas, technologies and initiatives. Visit up-to-date resources, use technical and information novelties and everything that did not exist yesterday. Be at the forefront, think about products for the next generation.
To make our world the way it is (meaning its best features) was helped by those who did not cling to the past, but looked to the future. Our future includes portable gadgets, nanotechnologies, and machines that run on fundamentally different types of fuel.
Try to think in terms of the future. Do not think that these are empty dreams and fantasies: tie innovative ideas to real problems. Original and creative thoughts rarely arise on their own - they need to be stimulated by daily practice.
Tip 2: Become a pro at something
In the modern civilized world, there are many special areas where it is impossible for a person to get from the street. Nuclear energy, medicine, customs, professional sports.
Creating your own business in highly specialized areas is possible only after gaining experience in an employee of a company of this profile.
Become an insider - a person who studies a certain industry from the inside - and you can break into lucrative markets with the necessary knowledge base. The main thing is perseverance and a sincere desire to understand how everything works in a particular business area.
Example
Michael Bloomberg worked as an IT guy at Salomon Brothers. In the early 80s, he was fired, given a compensation of $ 10 million.
With this amount, he created his own firm, Bloomberg L.P., which provides commercial information to interested organizations and individuals. Now the company is the leader in its niche, and Bloomberg himself is 13th on the Forbes list and concurrently the mayor of New York.
Becoming an expert in some field or a master of some powerful tool is not so difficult. Just spend time on it - make a personal investment that will bring you profit for the rest of your life.
A well-known entrepreneur and specialist in personal development and business says that the best investment is to increase your own value and ability to earn.
Meet different people, talk to them, offer your help. Let as many people as possible know about your skills.
It's great if you become cool in several areas at once - for example, in medicine and trading, in stock markets and IT technologies. At the intersection of two different spheres, a lot of perspectives open up.
Tip 3: Find a Problem You Can Solve
Look around and fix what prevents you from living, working or relaxing. Pay attention to such problems for which you cannot find a ready-made solution, since one (the solution) may not exist.
It often happens like this: you have a company that is facing certain difficulties. Another company is created that eliminates such difficulties. Successful activity leads to the fact that the second company becomes more profitable and larger than the first.
Example
The world-famous image storage site Flickr came about when it needed a convenient way to host custom images online to run an online game.
Now the system has millions of clients, and no one remembers the game itself.
Tip 4. Strive for continuous service improvement in different areas
Try to improve everything that surrounds you, because there are no limits to perfection. You pay special attention to those things that cause hostility or hatred in people: finding housing and parking, obtaining documents, transportation, visiting doctors. Think about how you can solve these problems more efficiently.
It may be worth bringing in the latest technology to improve existing algorithms for everyday activities.
Consider, for example, how smartphones can help workers in large enterprises perform their jobs rather than hinder them. Or how in the digital age it is possible to solve the problem of queues in public institutions.
Remember that monopolists and large state structures have no incentive to develop. Challenging established systems is difficult, but not hopeless. Some world-famous corporations appeared precisely due to the desire to make the service more comfortable than that of competitors.
A significant part of today's successful companies were at one time derivatives (and some practically clones) of other successful undertakings. The most famous examples are Amazon and Ozon, Facebook and VKontakte. Even credit systems (cards) are a domestic version of the foreign analogue of Capital One.
Consider what can be added to existing commercial projects to improve them. Maybe you should find new, cheaper ways to implement or radically improve the service. Such innovations are often much more profitable and more promising than buying ready-made franchises. About that, we already wrote earlier.
Tip 5. Find a product for new markets
New markets appear all the time, but not everyone has time to track them. Mass products from large corporations are constantly creating many promising directions for developing their own business.
The most illustrative example is the creation of Microsoft by Bill Gates. The company was founded to sell home computer software released in 1975 by MITS. The mass product has become the starting point for the promotion of one of the most successful business projects in the world.
4. Invest in a startup and find funding for your business
All major investors are aware that “dark horses” promise the maximum income - unknown startups from young and talented, but penniless entrepreneurs.
In the Russian Federation, as elsewhere in the world, startups are financed by venture capital organizations and so-called “business angels”.
Venture funds dispose of other people's money - mutual funds (mutual funds), assets of insurance companies or pension funds.
“Business angels” are representatives of private capital who independently choose the objects of financing and invest in promising undertakings.
It is in these two directions that novice startups should move in search of investments. You can also involve relatives, friends, government funds. Oddly enough, in Russia the help of relatives is the second category in terms of investment in promising business ideas.
Another productive method of finding investors is participation in forums, conferences, competitions held by venture capital companies and other commercial structures.
5. Examples of successful projects - TOP-5 startup ideas
There are many examples of successful startups. Every year the direction of commercial thought changes. Today, coworking and Internet applications are relevant, tomorrow they will talk about private kindergartens or private recruitment agencies.
The following startups are the most popular today:
Organization of a cargo transportation agency working with the active involvement of Internet technologies. A very promising direction, given the fact that more and more people are shopping in online stores.
Organization of sales or intermediary activities through Avito (the most popular free classifieds service in the Russian Federation). Many people want to sell some thing, but do not have time for this: an intermediary can take over the organization of sales for a certain percentage of the proceeds.
Organization of a private kindergarten. Many parents do not want to use the services of municipal institutions, fearing a lack of attention from staff. In a private company, children are given more time, in addition, it is possible to regulate the length of time the child stays in the garden.
Creation of convenient systems for converting electronic currency into cash.
Creation of effective applications for quickly hosting and launching online stores for sales through social networks.
This is just an approximate list that can be supplemented ad infinitum. You can find a more profitable and interesting option for yourself: you just have to get creative and make some effort.
