Tips for starting your startup
Getting started with their own idea, founding a company and leading it to success — that is the dream of many entrepreneurs who want to found their own start-up.
However, the path to success is not always easy and there are a few hurdles to overcome. These hurdles will also lead you to make mistakes. Mistakes are by no means a shame; they are actually important in order to learn from them and thus improve. Nevertheless, you should try to avoid mistakes as much as possible, as they cost time and money, which can lead to unnecessary problems, especially in the early stages of founding a company. That's why in this blog article, we give you six tips to avoid mistakes when starting your startup.
You can also look forward to two exclusive tips from our CEO Christoph Jentzsch. Christoph gained experience as an entrepreneur with the successful exit of his Web3 startup “Slock.it” and has also worked as a business angel ever since.
customer orientation
No matter how good your business idea may be, it's worthless without customers. That's why your customers should come first when making decisions about your product, service, or business model. Particularly when developing products or services, it is crucial to pursue a customer-oriented approach. The aim was to solve a specific problem faced by customers as to what they are willing to spend money on. Identifying this problem and aligning the development of the product or service with it is essential to be successful.
Profound target group analysis
As an inventor of a business idea, it goes without saying that you are convinced of its functionality and that potential customers are willing to pay for it. In reality, however, your target audience's perception may differ. As mentioned in the first tip, it is crucial to solve a problem for your customers. For this, it is essential to know your target group and their characteristics. A comprehensive target group analysis should therefore be a high priority when founding your startup.
Unfortunately, such target group analyses are often only carried out superficial, and the problems identified by customers are based on gut feeling rather than on facts. However, a well-founded and thorough target group analysis is of great importance in order to target the needs of customers. It is also important to note that the target audience and its characteristics can constantly change. The analysis should therefore be regarded as an ongoing process that is repeated regularly.
documentation
Documentation plays a crucial role in startups, although its importance is often underestimated. Especially in the chaotic initial phase, it makes it possible to build a solid corporate structure that is valuable in product development and process optimization and can increase efficiency. Good documentation is also essential when drafting contracts and shareholder meetings to avoid misunderstandings. In addition, knowing the company figures and processes is part of a professional presence. Comprehensive documentation not only preserves valuable knowledge, but also improves team collaboration and strengthens the trust of external partners, investors and potential customers.
An overview of your finances
Sooner or later, your startup is going to need financial resources to grow. It is therefore of great importance to always keep track of your financial situation. As an entrepreneur, you should be able to immediately answer questions such as the value of your company, the investments of the various parties and your sales figures. Investment opportunities can come as a surprise, and the ability to react confidently in such moments can make the decisive difference in whether a deal is made.
It is also crucial to know your key figures in order to be able to make well-founded business decisions. This is exactly where Tokenize.it comes in: It helps you digitally record your cap table. This allows you to keep track of your finances and company investments.
Take advantage of every funding opportunity
”As a founder, you're always selling. If a business angel wants to invest, then you should give him the opportunity immediately, not just in the next planned round.” says Tokenize.it founder and CEO Christoph Jentzsch.
As mentioned in the previous tip, investment opportunities can arise at any time, and as a founder, you should always be prepared to bring potential investors on board. Receiving funding is always a high priority for founders. In the best case scenario, you close the investment while you are still talking to the person. But how do you close an investment in just a few minutes?
With Tokenze.it, you can create an investment offer completely digitally within minutes. You can send the investment offer to the person via a link. The investing person can digitally agree to the offer and invest promptly. This means that you are completely independent of traditional financing rounds and can react immediately to investment opportunities with business angels.
Invest in your team
Staff costs are likely to be the biggest expense for your startup, but saving on salaries can be a big mistake. A competent team and outstanding talent are crucial to ensure the success of your startup. Especially in difficult phases, a solid team can make the decisive difference in overcoming crises.
Finding qualified professionals and retaining them is often a challenge for startups, as they may not be able to compete with the salaries of large companies. It is therefore advisable to think about employee participation in order to motivate and retain your team in the long term.
Christoph Jentzsch also supports this thesis: “As a founder, you have to put together a team that has all the skills to complete the mission. Making startups successful is a supreme discipline, which is why you need a very good and motivated team. Because you often can't afford this at an early stage, employee participation is essential.”
In this context, Tokenize.it offers an ideal solution to digitally and clearly connect your team to your startup participate.
