Startup 101 – An Ultimate Guide to Launching the Best Startup in India!

1. Startup 101 – An Ultimate Guide to Launching the Best Startup in India! Hello Startups! Acceleration and Growth is not a choice when it comes to Startups and not an easy feat., either. When I launched my startup for the first time, I was apprehensive about a lot of things – success, sales, teams, finances and a lot more. Over the years of establishing and running a successful startup company, my team has made the hardest of choices to deliver the best results! Having worked with several startup owners over the last decade, I realized that with the right motivation, startups emerge as brands in no time. As a digital marketing entrepreneur, and a Tech Enthusiast, I understand the ins and outs of running a company on the pedestal of growth, productivity and customer-service. What are you waiting for? Let’s begin the show. There is a whole extent of planning that goes into the formation and carrying forward of a startup enterprise - a journey that can be equal parts interesting, and daunting.

2. My Startup 101 Guide is the right place for you to begin your journey as an entrepreneur. Where do you begin? Firstly, let’s be honest. You are new to the world of business. Irrespective of your past experience, running an organisation is not a cakewalk. You would face competition not only from other new enterprises popping up, but also the already established business giants. While one can scramble to keep up with the competition posed by other startups, big businesses have the ability to hire, acquire and introduce new products or services with relative ease. These “Big Gorillas” can fall back on their resources, customer base and established brand awareness to cut off a new start-up within a short span. Carefully planned strategies ought to be employed by start-ups to combat any such set-back posed by the (over)saturation in the market while trying to harness the benefits posed by the nature of the competition. Branding and Marketing First impressions are an essential facet of the human behaviour to tap into, in order to sway consumer interest and brand loyalty in your favour. Branding is the decisive factor when it comes to why some startups are incredibly successful, while others are not. Startups need to connect with their target consumer base and persuade them to buy into their yet-to-be-proven solution.

3. User Experience A startup needs to understand the power of the visual over consumer behaviour and thus invest sufficient time and energy in the design and aesthetic of the website, the logo, the User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design as these are the factors that a consumer would associate with the brand image the startup is trying to create. Another design aspect to be kept in mind is the design of the User Interface (UI) of a software and website- making it appealing to the customers but never sacrificing on Brand Logos Logos are the centre on which the brand-image of a startup rests. Extreme care should be taken when conceptualizing and designing a logo, as this is the marker that will probably stick with the organisation throughout its journey. Uniqueness, clarity and appeal are factors that need to be kept in mind when designing a logo-one that would encompass everything the startup stands for and everything that it has to offer. It should be attention-grabbing, but not jarring. The emphasis falling on colours, typography and white-space. Target Markets The first step is to know your target market. Since products are made to sell, the goal of every startup is to sell and, by extension, to keep their consumers content. Once the target audience is determined, every other aspect should tie back to it. Connecting with your focus target market will lead to long-term success of the startup; therefore, it’s important to constantly receive customer feedback to determine how your target audience perceive your brand and products.

4. Visual Language The next step is to pull together visual language and writing that resonates. The image of the entrepreneur reflects on the image of the organisation. It is imperative that you refine your language so that you can easily define who you are and what you do- keeping it brief, but clear. When applied correctly, these elements can quickly define and communicate the mood and values one wants to give the target audience. Brand Personality The name of the startup company should clearly project the brand image. When it comes to visual branding, fonts, colours, logos, etc. they all contribute to the imagination and purpose. Images are easy to share across social media platforms and can offer a first impression of your company. Make sure your visual creatives reflect your brand vision, story and personality. How to Stay Ahead in the Competition? The market, at any given time, is oversaturated and many startups find themselves struggling as a result of insufficient funding and poor organisation. As a start-up, the competitive nature of the industry might feel overwhelming, but this very competition could prove to be a blessing in disguise. After all, it is competition that pushes one to maintain focus, keep innovating and persevere. There are, of course, cons to the same- with expanding the customer-base and sales figures that much more difficult. Carefully planned strategies ought to be employed by start-ups to combat any such set-back posed by the (over)saturation in the market while trying to harness the benefits posed by the nature of the competition.

5. Focus on your Strengths Every product has a unique strength. A start-up would do well to realise the strengths and weaknesses of their indigenous products and marketing it accordingly. Evaluating of the USP is of primary importance. One can learn a fair deal by studying the promotional failures and successes of competing enterprises while developing one’s own products and marketing strategy. Stay Ahead in the Competition It is very important to scope out the playing field so that one may devise how to level it. It thus becomes imperative to monitor the competition and their activities. Social- media monitoring helps one to keep up-to-date with the recent developments in the sphere and how the competition is capitalising on it. Optimum Utilization of Resources It is important for a start-up to realise the full potential of the resources available and utilise them to their optimum. This is a factor that would undoubtedly help gain an edge over the competition. With efficiency and productivity tools like ADP, AdRoll, GetResponse, etc, start-ups can compete with companies twice their size. Data Awareness Businesses are all about numbers- costs, prices, market shares, revenue, etc.- thus making it imperative to keep track of one’s statistics, regardless of whether they show profits or losses. This is all the more important for a start-up since knowing exactly where you stand in the market, accurately gauging the consumer reach, realising the costs to achieve the objectives, are all very important. Having concrete figures at one's disposal also helps one set clearer benchmarks.

6. Sales and Customer Service The objective of creating a product is primarily to sell it. It is easy to get swayed by the process of product production and marketing strategies, but under no circumstances should a start-up ignore the power of a stellar sales-pitch that demonstrates value to the reader. The consumer is key, and customer services should be a priority. Considering any feedback-positive or negative, being open to suggestions and new ideas, addressing any problems immediately all cater towards building excellent rapport with the customers, thus boosting the brand image. Other Factors to Consider? Budget Forecasts The ideal way of going about it, is to first tabulate the actual budget - forecasts for sales and expenditure, and what your cash position will be each month. This should also include the capital costs. Then one should decide on the amount financing that the startup would require. The funding is then to be segregated according to its various sources and finally one may consider loans and overdrafts. Solopreneurship Founding a startup is hard, undoubtedly, and one can choose to go about it with a team or go solo. Being a solo founder, the entire onus falls solely on your shoulders - a situation that has some definite pros as well as some glaring cons. Usually a person is specialized in a specific field and it not only limits opinions, but also leads

7. to biased judgements. It is harder to brainstorm new ideas when working solo as ideating with a team is often more worthwhile than going at it alone. Decision Fatigue It’s very easy to make bad decisions, when you’re going at it solo. Decision fatigue often sets in when it is a sole person making all the major decisions. It is extremely draining, and it is very easy to have a lapse of judgement. Since there is no one to veto a bad idea, it can often lead to going forward with some ideas that not only will not help in the long-run but might even hurt the startup. There is a limitation on perspectives. Informed Hiring Decisions Having the right team is of the utmost importance as a bad hire can not only slow down growth but might even have a fatal effect on a startup. To create a strong team, each new hire (or promotion) should be made strategically, as the margin for error can often be quite small. Owing to the small size of operations, startups might not initially have a company ‘culture’ in place, but it builds over time organically. Considering that as a new startup, you might not have the time and resources to define specific job roles or organizational structure, it is highly advised that entrepreneurs make informed hiring decisions before launching the startup. Company Culture The company ‘culture’ is a combination of values, beliefs and behaviours developed over time. It is important to define the startup’s values and objectives and eventually when hiring, using these ideals as a sieve to narrow down the best fits for the

8. startup. It is very difficult to make the correct and well-informed corporate decisions, without being guided appropriately. This is where consultation services come into play, helping startups streamline and, carefully plan out their modus operandi, outline their various goals, addressing various hurdles in case of marketing, production, funding, etc. making the process of establishing a startup easier, while also helping maintain it in the long-term.