Common Startup Mistakes

When starting out startups tend to make mistakes that really affect the long term stability and growth of the company. Here are the most common startup mistakes:

1) Inadequate Research

This is one of the most common startup mistakes. New startups don’t conduct proper research before working on their idea, which is one of the most important steps in launching one. You need to know if there is a market or an audience for your idea and who your competitors are. What is the best course of action to take? Failure to do so will cause your startup to fail. At the end of the day, you don’t want to build something that nobody wants!

See: How to Start a Startup

2) Hiring poorly

You need to be really smart when you’re creating a team. Your team should be able to work well together. Hiring poorly divides your focus, as you’ll always be sorting out team issues. Ultimately, it’s sometimes just the one bad pick that causes the company to fail. 

Also, the hiring process should never be a hurried one. Startups often hire recklessly, which drains them financially. Don’t hire people because you know them, hire them because they fit the role and because their skill is required.

See: How to Build a Startup Team

3) Lack of focus

Not being focused is one of the earliest problems seen in startups. You need to focus on your customers and your product. That is it! Any other activities that you get involved in will only slow down the growth of the startup. Moreover, It is important that you focus on customers and not investors, since it is the customers whose activity affects the interests of the investors.

Furthermore, it is important to focus on identifying and solving a market need. Startups tend to focus only on building and not the audience.

4) Going solo

Almost all of the successful startups had a team behind them. If you try doing everything by yourself, your startup will definitely fail. You can not be an expert in every area and you really don’t want a burn out. 

A startup’s journey is exciting but it is also draining and exhausting at the same time. There are both highs and lows. You need emotional support and encouragement to make it through setbacks, which naturally arise. 

See: The Key To Building A Successful Startup: Don’t Go It Alone

5) Money handling

Founders often find themselves out of money or in debt after a while. Correctly estimating your financial needs is very important. Anticipate and create your financial plan according. 

Furthermore, controlling the cash burn rate is also imperative. Avoid getting carried away and try to grow slowly, rather than jumping onto everything.  Do not keep founder salaries and high wages for employees in the beginning.  

Spending recklessly at such an early stage may kill your startup before you even realize it. 

See: Startup funding explained

6) Failure to execute sales and marketing techniques

Startups at times focus on the wrong marketing channels. Matching your product with the customer, and then tracking your results is very important. You should also be aware of what your competitors are doing.

Moreover, you need a good strategic plan. Your sales will be driven from the success of your marketing plan. 

7) Ignoring social media

In the digital era, ignoring social media is out of the question. You need implementation of great social media strategies, and the sooner startups realize the importance of it the better it will be. Well planned social media strategies make or break the business.  

Read: The Benefits of Social Media for Business

8) Not Having the right co-founders 

Getting a wrong co-founder on board may kill your startup before it even hits off. You should have a partner that adds value to the business and compliments your skillset. They should be ambitious and passionate about the project. They shouldn’t just be around for a good paycheck. 

Avoid these common startup mistakes and accelerate the growth and success of your startup.

See: Startup CEO: Roles and Responsibilities