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Stages of Startup Development

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Baliar Vi
Stages of Startup Development

Did you know that not every new business can be called a startup? To receive such a title, a project must have two important characteristics: innovativeness and scalability. Based on this, a startup is a business that acts as an innovator in the market and tests untested solutions (new technologies, products, services) while having growth potential.


Step 1: Find “your” idea

A startup can be called a business experiment based on a unique idea. And finding it can be harder than implementing it. To generate an idea that will work for you, you need the right approach:

  • Choose a direction where your interests, expertise, and knowledge intersect. It is important that you want to engage in this activity and understand the basic aspects.
  • Analyze what moments in this direction do not suit you that you are ready to complete their elimination on your own. It would be best to focus on problems that have not yet been solved.

You should have your own vision of the situation and the further path of the idea. Yes, according to the founders of Airbnb, initially, they did not have a common vision of the business, as they were focused on design and engineering.

Thanks to the unique concept of rental housing, the company managed to create a new niche almost from scratch. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.

It is better to form a clear vision of the project at an early stage and agree on it with the partner. And only after this is it worth moving on to testing the idea.

Step 2: Study the market and test the idea

According to statistics, only 1 out of 10 startups achieves the goal. And most often, failures are because the company offers a product that is not interesting to the audience.

No matter how innovative your idea is, this does not guarantee its relevance in the market. That’s why niche analysis is one of the valuable startup stages, without which it is impossible to do.

You can make sure that your idea has prospects in the current conditions using the following methods:

  1. PEST. This study covers a range of external factors that affect business competitiveness and the business environment. Analysis of 4 areas: political (situation in the country/region/at the international level), economic (interest rates, exchange rates, supply/demand), social (demography, culture, lifestyle), and technological (trends, government support for innovation).
  2. SWOT. The analysis aims to identify factors of both external and internal environment, which helps assess the ability of a startup to overcome difficulties. It refers to its strengths, vulnerabilities, weaknesses, external incentives for promotion (e.g., strong partnerships), and potential problems.
  3. Five Forces. The purpose of the method is to study the situation in the industry in-depth and draw up a business strategy based on the data obtained. Forces here are understood as factors that contribute to the formation of any market. As part of this analysis, the level of such threats is determined: the emergence of substitute products and alternative services; entry of new players into the market; the influence of suppliers; consumer influence; competitive fight.

In addition, you can conduct sociological research among target consumers (focus groups). With the help of social media analysis and surveys, you will find out what people think about your idea and whether they are interested in such an offer. Together, these methods will give the desired result.

Step 3: Take care of the security of the idea

It is one of the mandatory stages of startup development when there is no third-party support (public, government, financial) and the idea is not immune from reuse. In this case, you should proceed carefully and use reliable legal ways to protect the concept:

  • NDA: creating a safe environment for the dissemination of information. When concluding a contract with a contractor, fixing all the nuances associated with data exchange and reuse is necessary. The NDA restricts access to such data to third parties.
  • Patent: protection of the technical component. It also applies to ideas, algorithms, methods of implementation. You get the opportunity to make any decisions regarding the product: produce, sell, use. No one but you can legally manipulate the object. For 20 years, you become a monopolist.
  • Trademarks: Prevent copying of your product name, logo, company slogan. For this, distinctive symbols are used: ® registered, ™ not registered (this symbol is chosen for new products and when applying for registration).



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