5 Common Mistakes Made When Planning Tech Startups
If every tech company birthed in the mind of someone came to life, the world would be thrice the hub of tech than it is today.
Almost every individual on earth has had this thrilling moment where they believed they had come up with the best solution for a problem. Our brains have created maybe one or more paystack-like ideas, but only 10% of these ideas came to life. Many stopped in the head, and others crumbled at the collaboration and planning stage. The question is, why have many tech ideas died at the ideation stage?
HERE ARE 5 REASONS YOUR TECH IDEAS NEVER CAME THROUGH
So Much Thought Was Put In But Not Enough
For example, a phone allows you to communicate with anyone, even those who are thousands of miles away. Shopify – To decrease the time and money spent on developing a standard website. Flutterwave – To assist internet buyers in making payments for their purchases. Your concept should be able to answer the question “What does it do?” in one simple line.
For example, a phone allows you to communicate with anyone, even those who are thousands of miles away. Shopify – To decrease the time and money spent on developing a standard website. Flutterwave – To assist internet buyers in making payments for their purchases. Your concept should be able to answer the question “What does it do?” in one simple line.
The Idea Is Neither Sustainable Nor Profitable
Many ideas that managed to see the light of day are deprecated today. Such ideas get no investors interested as they do not see a reasonable future for it and would not want to waste their investments. Businesses may suffer, but still in that suffering, grows. Fun fact, many tech companies you see today are surging in the negative, but the point remains they are not where they were when they started, and their customers still find relevance in the products they offer. If your idea can answer this question, then it is good to go. In 4 years, would your solution still stay relevant and even have a wider solution base.
Competition Triggers Fear Instead of Challenge
This is one of the biggest challenges of prospective entrepreneurs. They assume that this idea is fresh and new, and they would be the only suppliers of that solution or product. But seeing other businesses offer that same product, plants fear instead of insight. Many entrepreneurs may take the petty route even when they continue the path by copying every single thing their competition does, and some even fall back. Competition should be a good sign because it shows that the product or service you are about to offer is possible and doable. All you need is good marketing to get your customers to you. Take paystack and Flutterwave as an example. These two businesses do well individually, even when they both offer the same service to the market.
The Startup is Only Product Driven
One reason why many startups stay in the start stage is that there are no members amongst the founders who understand the workflow of businesses. Commonly, 8 out of 10 tech-based solutions were coined by developers. As such, they are solely focused on building the product while neglecting other important areas of the business. For instance, the role of HR and Business Development is a case like this, ignored, and this single-handedly spells doom for the business at large as they are both very intricate departments in even the smallest startup. Assigning tasks, Meeting up deadlines, preparing budgets and financial reports and plans are areas of any startup that should be involved in the ideation stage of any startup.
Marketing Was Downplayed
Not taking into account the role of marketing in this day and age for any business is calling the devil over your dreams. Marketing acts as both manure and water to any business. Many tech ideas have died because the ideators believed their products would never do well in the market and may not be well-received by consumers.
Marketing is always either ignored or underrated, and this thought triggers discouragement and eventual death of the idea. The good news is, in 2021, anyone can sell anything. Any idea that is developed can reach its desired goal, so go ahead with putting together your idea, and while at it, prepare your marketing goals.
Have you ever had any tech-related business idea? Did it fall through or are you in your CEO seat? Let us know how it went in the comments.
A minimal viable product is an important component that is sometimes disregarded while putting together a technological solution. When you believe you have devised a solution, consider how you will market that idea to a layperson. Everyone should be able to tell what your innovation is right away.
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