5 Key Elements for you Startup’s Success

Innovative startups are a key element in improving countries’ economy. They are the engine of growth and innovation and this is why all competitive governments try to facilitate their establishment.

In our era, characterized by technological transformation that is growing exponentially, it is mostly through startups that the entire economic system can speed up processes, responding properly to new challenges.

However, a startup is not automatically synonymous with success. It is an investment and just like any other investment, it has risks. Therefore, it is crucial that a startup features some clear, defined characteristics that should guarantee its success.

• Time to Market

Coming up with an innovative idea is an important success factor, but not as much as timing.
Time to market means that you have to place your product or service on the market at the right time. You can’t do it too early, when consumer demand isn’t ripe yet, but not too late either. In fact, other competitors could have already satisfied that demand and the level of competition could be too high.

• The right Team

If idea and timing are important, assembling a competent, motivated and cohesive team in pursuing the company’s objectives is simply fundamental for a startup’s success.

The market is constantly evolving. Hence, competition is increasingly higher. Therefore, it is crucial that your team fully understands and shares your vision, contributing to its execution with love and passion.

Another aspect that the most successful start-ups share is the ability of the team to adapt to customer needs.

The greater the versatility of the team, the greater the probability of the start-up’s success. As already mentioned, markets evolve day after day. In particular, the pandemics changed the whole landscape of the business world, accelerating the digitization of our professional sphere. Being ready to face any inconvenience is absolutely crucial.

• Passion

We briefly touched upon it in the previous section. For some it may sound like a cliché, especially if your only and sole goal is to make money. Unfortunately, achieving this goal without loving what you do is harder than you think.

Launching a startup will probably keep you awake at night. You’ll be driven most of the time, picturing yourself achieving your goals and ultimately becoming successful. But to do that you need to work hard from day one. You have to figure out how to raise funds, create and implement your service or product, define your audience, build a team and so on. It is a stressful process that could become unbearable if you don’t love what you are doing.

It is probably for this reason that a lot of successful startups are built with a social purpose. There are successful examples in several professional fields, with innovative companies selling products such as clothing pieces and handcrafted jewelry, or providing services in a sustainable way.

• Problem Solving

It’s probably not what you are thinking. While problem solving is one of the most useful soft skills a professional can have, that’s not what we are talking about here.

What we want to highlight is that sometimes entrepreneurs are so fond of their ideas that they don’t think enough about satisfying customers’ needs. However, without an actual need there’s probably no demand. And without demand your startup’s future doesn’t look so bright in terms of revenues. Eventually, there’s a concrete risk of failure.

• Business Plan

Making a business plan for your startup greatly increases the chances to reach your professional goals. In fact, your business plan defines the strategy for the coming years.

In addition, a clear business plan is requested by investors, who are the foundation of your company. Without them it’s very hard to raise money, especially in the beginning.

Also, an investor can be very helpful in researching the market you are aiming to, your business model, the marketing strategies and the acquisition of new customers that you would like to implement. In short, a good business plan can give you a clear idea of how much your project is worth.