I
A Successful Entrepreneur’s Arsenal
f every entrepreneur thought of himself as a
startup founder, there would be a lot more
successful startups and a lot fewer failed entrepreneurs.
unexplainable
Raise capital continuously
It is quite evident that some companies have no chance
The problem is they don’t.
For
probability of success at the lowest burn rate.
of making it because they tried to bootstrap their
reason
many
would-be
operations since they are already short on cash and
entrepreneurs have a utopian belief that the rules of
have no time to raise capital. Businesses have to grow
business, finance and competitive markets don’t apply
and that can’t happen unless you’re constantly raising
to them.
capital for the next phase.
Sadly, they’re incorrect.
Solve the customer’s problem.
It doesn’t matter what product or service you have in
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is that
mind, what market you plan to address, or what type of
they come up with something they want to do that
customer you think you’re going to sell to, the rules are
doesn’t solve the customer’s problem better than their
always the same.
competitor. If you can’t come up with that, keep
The good news is it isn’t rocket science, but if you
don’t do certain things and do them right, you’ll never
looking. That’s the key to making it. First figure out
the problem. Then solve it.
get your startup off the ground.
Devise a differentiated strategy.
Focus on doing just one thing
You probably won’t nail it right out of the gate – few
Initially focus on demonstrating a concept. Then move
on to developing a product, followed by getting initial
customer traction, then phased production. A laser
focus on one phase at a time enables the highest
startups do – but sooner or later you’ll have to come up
with a unique strategy that nobody’s thought of and
customers can’t resist. Every startup either figures it
out eventually or fails along the way. It’s one or the
other.
PHOTO BY: CLYDE BARNETT
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