Let’s start with the not-so-encouraging part. There is only about a 10% survival rate for any startup, meaning 90% of them don’t get to celebrate their first year. The encouraging part is a 10% chance of your business surviving past its first few years of start and even thriving.
Most businesses fail to thrive for different reasons, such as not making products appealing to their audience. And tech startups are not just the regular business you start without doing in-depth research and comprehensive plans.
Okay, maybe you can’t get it all figured out from the start, but with a solid game plan and adequate knowledge of your target audience and the market, your startup stands a chance of surviving and thriving.
For any startup, financial support is key to its survival. And for a tech startup, if anything, you will need more money; there are microloans to help you raise enough cash to keep your startup running.
So, let’s get rolling on how to kick start your tech company.
What Are the Skills You Need for a Tech Startup?
There are lots of opportunities in the tech space, and as such, there are diverse skills and tools available. Your niche and the kind of products you are marketing will determine the skill and tools you will need. However, there are some basic tech skills and knowledge that you should possess before starting a tech company. Let’s consider a few;
Basic Programming Skill
Although some new careers in tech don’t need coding, the essential skill you need to become a founder of a tech company is Programming. You need programming skills virtually for everything in the tech space, ranging from product management to designing customer support, amongst many others.
Front-End Development Skills (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript)
Similarly, to better enhance your chances of starting well, you need these specific front-end development skills. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript give you more leverage on creativity and designing.
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel helps you keep track of your sales and growth. A similar app is called the Google Sheet. It makes it easy to understand the factors driving sales and growth. You make accurate predictions and decisions with knowledge of this software.
Data Collection and Analysis
Data analysis is essential for business purposes. It helps you make informed decisions on different issues like customer support, marketing plan, and product sales, among others. Data analysis is an important skill to possess if you want to start a tech company.
Other skills include WordPress, Search Engine Optimization, social media marketing, crucial skills, etc. Unfortunately, these skills don’t come cheap; they require both dedication and, of course, a lot of money to learn. If you need financial assistance to keep your business running, you can make microloans.
Tips to Start a Tech Company
Is It Feasible?
It sounds ordinary, yeah? But, unfortunately, that’s the part most startup owners leave out. It’s okay to have the perfect business idea, but is it viable? Is there a market for the product? These, and many others, are the questions you must provide answers to.
Break your ideas into bits, and see how feasible your idea is, and you might end up realizing not starting a tech company is better for you. However, if your idea/product is viable and the market is penetrable, then get on to the next tip.
State a Minimum Viable Product
A minimum viable product is like the basic functional version of your product. What are the features your product is designed to solve? Your MVP should comprise all of these features. Defining your MVP can be a little challenging, especially if you are trying to solve a problem that not only you feel the pain. In such a case, you may need to bring some persons on board to help you define the MVP.
Validate Your MVP
When it comes to starting a tech company, you need to be as factual as you can be. As said above, ensure your product solves a problem and improves people’s lives. Another thing you want to consider is the market and competition. Your product validity helps you determine if you can stay ahead of competitors or not.
Hire the Best Team
You can not do it all. Even if you have all the needed skills, you will still need people to help with different things. Hiring the best hands available to help with market analysis, risk management, traffic generation, accounting, and operations, amongst others, is key to starting a successful tech company.
The only downside to this is that hiring can be challenging, particularly true for tech companies. Not only are there a few available software developers, but also, they are costly to afford. That’s one primary reason why tech companies are expensive to start. There are microloans to help you fund your startups.
