Planning ahead- How to use market data to determine future course of action.
A powerful brand presence is imperative for success in any industry. Understand where a brand stands in the market in terms of performance, positioning, awareness, equity and reputation among the customer and competitors overtime with BA insights. A holistic approach to track brand health parameters delivers meaningful strategic insights and adds rigour to tactical decision-making. Market research survey is useful to determine features and benefits that differentiates one from competitors. These are then translated into emotionally compelling consumer language. Customer satisfaction is a strong indicator of customer retention and overall business performance. Knowing the customers deeply is integral to creating a strategic marketing plan. This type of market research can help anticipate the consumer needs, spark innovation, personalise the marketing, solve business challenges and more. The more an entrepreneur understands each specific persona, the easier it is to focus on delivering personalised marketing and building loyal relations. It also helps in forecasting how new services introduced would perform in each segment. Usability testing is helpful when it is needed to detect early problems in early prototypes or beta versions before launching them. It typically costs far less to test a service or product beforehand than to put a flawed service out there. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
How To Story Tell And Effectively Pitch A Start-Up Idea?
Storytelling and presenting a concept are essential competencies to captivate the interest of partners, investors, and customers. For entrepreneurs looking to pitch their start-up ideas, stories are a very convenient way of passing those messages. Those concepts must have a chance of realisation and are grounded in reality. One needs to be aware of the difficulties of establishing a business and developing a strong business strategy. For example, to pitch a haircare company that customises the product, one can start by setting up the scene with some background information as to how they came up with this idea, the information and the purpose. This provides the investors a context of the idea that is being presented and gets them more involved. Secondly, how the product is useful to the end customer should be addressed. In the current example, the company has an online portal which collects the necessary details such as hair type, previous hair treatment, or any other hair-related issues that they are dealing with before giving the right product to the customer. Following this, the uniqueness of the product, or how the product is different from those similar ones existing in the market, should be put forth. This provides clarity regarding the potential market value of the product and the positive outcome or value the client will get from using the products. The data charts and statistics usually help explain the pitch in an easy manner. Additionally, data can be used to create urgency, address objections and support arguments. The telling the tale and formally presenting the data must be balanced. To create a balance between the two, it would be helpful to begin with an engaging narrative, followed by data that is selective and concentrated on the pertinent information that supports the narrative. Last but not least, tailor your pitch to your audience. You can’t be everything to everyone, so you need to be clear about who your target market is in order to ensure you’re speaking to the right people with your pitch. The audience will include your potential investors. They will want to know about the product market fit and potential sustainability in the current market situation. Going over those ideas would give some certainty and belief in the product or services. Showing that the idea has some momentum is a good way to convince investors. Investors and potential clients want to see that your concept is gaining some traction. This may be in the form of early sales, customer feedback, or collaborations with other businesses. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
How to build up your start-up team?
Despite the perfect plan and a brilliant concept, teams frequently triumph over single players. In reality, investors provide funding not just for the concept, but also for a start-up team, and this team may determine whether they choose to invest in your firm or one of the competitions. The key is to start with the self. Since the focus of the start-up is the founder and their, they should start by examining themselves. Since they will be in a leadership position, they need to figure out their fundamental strengths and flaws. Consider their contributions and how it’ll help the start-up. The skill set of the founder does not have to be exclusively technical. Another important note is to hire action-takers who can get the job done. On the basis of a concept, no business has ever succeeded. An idea becomes viable, profit–generating enterprise only after its implementation. Building a team that can really do things rather than just spouting off ideas is what is desired. A firm has many facets, and not every founder is multifaceted enough to handle them all. Therefore, it is essential that the gaps are addressed by an experienced team or person while creating a team for a business. The group’s efforts will work together more effectively when there is an appropriate team with the ideal mix of talents. Just like hiring people to form a team, the firing of employees who don’t contribute to the vision is equally important. The CEO of Zappos puts a twist to it. He offered new hires $2000 to quit the company, and through this, they were able to get rid of people who didn’t fit the company. However, this doesn’t really seem financially feasible, but it could still serve as an option. Making the most of the existing workforce is more important than having a personnel base while running a business. Companies should spend their time carefully assembling a team rather than hiring wildly. Execution of the great vision is the ultimatum. The core team is responsible for transforming the founder’s vision into an immediate, attainable and scalable objective. These objectives will be delegated to each unit, which will assume distinct tasks. To achieve these modest goals the team will pool its aptitude, ability, competence and knowledge. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
How to choose a co-founder?
Having a co-founder is like having someone who shares and speaks your language. Someone who would brainstorm with the founder and at the same time challenges them. They would collaborate with the founder at every stage to resolve the primary issue at the foundation of your business offer. A few characteristics that are required as a parameter when one is looking for a co- founder are firstly, complementary temperament. If the founder is of reserved or introvert then the co-founder should be someone who is charismatic. Finding someone to fill in the gaps surrounding one’s personality traits will enable the partners, clients and investors to notice the balance and gain from it. Therefore, having a diverse founding staff is the key to finding the right co-founder. The second feature is Self-sufficiency. Unlike the co-worker or employee, the co-founder is unique. They must be completely trustworthy and independent. They must be someone who runs almost entirely without your participation. Of course, anyone in the organisation would fit the bill for this perfect description. However, this is a must for the co-founder. The third feature is shared motivation and vision. The passion, vision and values as an entrepreneur drive every choice the founder makes since they are the cornerstones of your everyday life. Therefore, it is essential that the co-founder be as committed to the cause as the founder is. It’s crucial to collaborate with a person the founder knows and can trust. A long-term connection may assist in jumping ahead of the learning curve of the tight partnership, which can occasionally take years to create. Familiarity makes talks go more swiftly and facilitates trustworthy cooperation. The next feature is to adhere to complete honesty. It is crucial to be able to communicate honestly with your co-founder. The founder should be able to discuss difficult topics openly with one another, such as money, failure in career, mental stability, and so on. Therefore, having an honest, professional companion as a co-founder is very important. The fifth feature is risk distribution. VCs prefer to invest in low-risk businesses. When considering potential co-founders, it is important to consider how each one will specifically increase or decrease the financial risk of business. Additionally with risk distribution having multiple co-founders seem to have worked efficiently. Some of the successful companies such as Twitter has had four co-founders. Therefore, these are some of the characteristics and traits that are seen in a co-founder. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
5 Government Policies And Schemes Relating To Start-Ups In India
According to the government, start-ups are important in generating innovation and economic growth. Various ministries and departments have implemented programmes to assist start-ups financially, infrastructurally and regulatorily. The goal of these schemes is to create a community and an environment where these start-ups can strive. So, if you’re looking to work on a start-up, knowing such a scheme would be beneficial during the early stages. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
Elements of due diligence that startup founders must pay attention to
It is a procedure by which an investor in a business, asset or organisation examines the target’s financial records to support its worth and determine whether there are any issues on which it needs more information or which should be used as a basis for renegotiating the price. Firstly, it’s finance. Each investor will want a copy of the past financial record. One shall be required to transmit general ledger, balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, and other financial records. The investor wants to ensure that the company does not have any unusual circumstances that might make it a poor investment, such as being completely indebted. The second is Intellectual property. Angel investors will want evidence that the company has the right to the Intellectual property that is being developed. Patents, trademarks, Copyrights etc are vital for showing that the company can sell the products that were pitched. The third one is Information on any outstanding litigation. If the company is in any lawsuit, it will invariably have to produce documentation about them including potential outcomes. An investor will need to consider this before coming on board for credibility. The fourth is Revenue streams. Investors would dive deeper into the key revenue streams. They will ensure that the revenue streams will continue to grow in the future. The fifth is the Cap table which is the capitalization table. It needs to be examined by an angel investor to make sure it isn’t over diluted. If the company has previously accepted sizable contributions, one should be ready to discuss them more and persuade the angel investor that their position will not experience the same amount of dilution. The sixth is Market. Investors will look into various factors during the due diligence process in addition to the company. Further, they would be interested in the viability of the market that the company is entering and the overall position in it. The last is Equity structure. Startups often have complicated ownership structures. Multiple co-founders, angel and early-stage investors may all have equity. Additionally deals struck with them might also include conditions that will influence how the firm is perceived at the current stage of funding. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
Funding Stages For A Bootstrapped Startup
Funding stages for a bootstrapped startup can be classified into 7. The beginner stage starts with some saved money or money borrowed from friends or invested money. For instance, the founder continues to work on his main job and at the same time starts a company. Generally speaking, the pre-seed fundraising stage describes the initial stage of a startup’s activities. The term “bootstrapping” refers to the pre-seed investment phase. Simply said, it refers to utilising one’s own resources to expand the business. Entrepreneurs who are just output their money into the business and work to expand it as much as possible. The most common pre-seeding investors are: – Startup Owners – Friends and Family – Early-Stage Venture Funds We may think of the seed funding stage as the planting of a tree. The “seed” that ideally permits each firm to grow is the original investment. The company will ultimately grow into a “tree” if you give it the right water, which is a solid business plan, combined with the entrepreneur’s commitment. Seed funding enables a firm to cover the costs of product launches, get early traction through marketing, start key recruiting processes, and do further market research for building product-market fit. At this point, the entrepreneur needs to begin learning about the fundraising process and establish his contacts with angel investors and venture capitalists. Traditionally, angel investors and venture capital companies provide the majority of the Series A investment. They are not looking for companies with “great ideas,” but ones with sound business plans. The series B investment stage enables businesses to expand in the market in order to satisfy the varied client expectations and compete in markets with high levels of competition. Series B funding is frequently headed by series A investors, including a crucial anchor investor who aids in luring further investors. The main distinction is the emergence of a fresh breed of VCs that focus on funding well-established firms in order for them to continue to outperform expectations. Startups that receive series C investment should already be on their growth trajectory. These firms look for additional investment that might aid in the development of new goods, expansion into untapped areas, and the acquisition of other struggling startups in the same sector. Investors are happy to support profitable firms throughout the series C investment stage. They expect to make a profit that exceeds their initial investment. The startup’s quick growth is the primary goal of the Series C fundraising round. If a company is exploring a merger with a rival on fair terms but hasn’t yet gone public, series D funding could be an option. This type of investment provides entrepreneurs with the most practical options and enables them to address problems when they merge with another firm. This procedure is frequently used by growing startups that require additional capital, whereas in the case of an established business, the owners exit either partly or wholly by offering the shares to the public. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.
What is the Minimum viable product and Product Market Fit?
The minimum viable product or MVP is the most basic version of the product which the company wants to launch in the market. By introducing the basic version to the consumer, companies want to gauge the response from prospective consumers or buyers. Firstly, it will have sufficient features for customers to buy the product. There will be some form of product feedback in it. Finally, the product must have sufficient potential benefits for consumers to accept it first. The fundamental notion is that they want to modify the final product based on consumer feedback and usage scenarios. This would enable them to pick up on hints and provide what people are looking for. Before spending a significant amount of money, it will be helpful for them to test the concept with actual users. Enables them to discover what messages and messages don’t connect with the target market of the organisation. The question is what is going to tested, why should it be test it and how? By doing MVP, the product is not being done, in reality customer feedback is received. For instance, if we put out a product as an MVP and there wasn’t a good reach amongst the audience, we save 6 months of development. It will allow us to enumerate the key characteristics and take that data which is useful to modify our hypothesis. Product market fit is when the entrepreneur identifies the needs of the market and brings about a solution to meet the needs. Venture catalogues offence want evidence of product- market fit before investment. When a product is produced to solve a legitimate consumer problem and finds a market, it opens up chances for both business expansion and upselling to current clients. Any entrepreneur will have these concerns, whether people are willing buy it and whether the product will sustain in the market. Conducting Surveys will help measure the percentage of the users’ importance towards a new product. Apart from these number and percentages it gives a deep insight into the tangible understanding of the customers and how they feel about this product. Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.