5 CHALLENGES IN EXECUTING A STARTUP

Whats an idea ?. An idea is something that changes
the perspective of how a process is dealt. It could be a revolution or
it could be something simple which changes the way a core problem is
dealt. When you have an idea, you feel that its the best in the world
and its going to change the way people solve a problem,

But is it always so ?.

Challenge 1 : The Team ?

Now you have your idea, but you don’t know how to go ahead with it.
The first step is to determine you team and then build a detailed plan
around it. This is a pain area because you need the right people to
handle the right roles. You will need a mix of talents in terms of
technical know how  , creativity and of course someone who can bullshit a
lot.

Challenge 2 : Where to start ?

Now just don’t start building your stuff without having a detailed case study. The reason is simple :

“What <you> think people need is not what they actually want”

To get to know what they actually want , get a list of leaders in
the target industry and talk to them . As you talk,  fill in the
requirements and then try to shape your product around 100-200 case
studies. The more the case studies , the better the product . 

Makes sense ??.  

  Challenge 3 : Deciding the Architecture

At this stage you have created your requirements and probably mock
designs of how your product is going to look like.  Its time to choose
the best shape in which you are going to deliver your product. There are
many constraints taken in to account

1. Is the product going to be same for all customers (No customization  ) ?
2. Is the product going to be on cloud or on premise or both ?
3. What are the target users / installations you are aiming at ?
4. If its a cloud product , whats the traffic you are expecting ?

This is not it , you have to add more and more questions and try to
answer all of them to decide the right architecture. Talking to people
who are successful helps in identifying the right kind of architecture.

Challenge 4 : Sales Solves everything

 Finally, It all comes down to sales. The process has to be
systematic and requires some prerequisites before you actually start
working on it.

1. Once you have decided  your release date, try to have all sales materials ready by the time you are ready to launch
2. You should be ready with materials for  at-least 3 years of life
   cycle of the product. For eg: Launch date , Launched week, One month
   after the launch, After first milestone achievement etc.
3. Make sure you have presence in all social networking platforms
   and try to reach out to maximum people before your launch. Use the
   contacts effectively once you have launched the product.
4. Try not to hire someone to do the sales part for you. Dedicate
   some time to understand your clients and change your sales plan
   accordingly. You may use external help once you are settled, but not
   during the starting phase.
   

   Knowing what your client needs is as important as knowing your product.

5. Send periodic emails to potential customers to make sure your product is still alive and rocking  .

Challenge 5 : Stay Focused 

This is the hardest part of it. Stop working on multiple things and
focus on what you think is the best for you and your company. The key
factor is to stay focused on the product that you have launched and
make it better every day. This happens with continuous sales or
bringing on board and investor.