Errors That Can Kill Your Startup

Basically, mistakes are one of the things that most people avoid, including people who are engaged in start-up businesses or startups. As a new business, startups should minimize mistakes to keep growing and developing. But the fact is that even though mistakes have been avoided, mistakes always come, they can even cause bankruptcy for a startup.

Basically there is only one reason that allows startups to fall and then go bankrupt, which is not making what users need. In the writing, Co-Founder of Y Combinator Paul Graham explained there are a number of other reasons that could potentially make a startup crash. Here are eighteen of those errors:

Single Founder

Basically there are no problems with startups that have single founder, but there is multiple founders always give reasons to rise from adversity. Spirit esprit de corps which in the end tied it all together. Every founder will think “I can't let my friends down”. A power that is the most powerful in humans and will be lost if only alone.

Bad location

Cities are one of the important aspects for the growth of startup startups. Look for a city that provides an industry and supporting ecosystem for your startup. Good cities always have people who are sympathetic to your startup. Make sure you choose a city that the people you are recruiting are interested in.

Marginal Niches

Most startups develop small or marginal ideas to avoid competing with other competitors. Something that ultimately leads to difficulties to develop. It's good to try to execute big ideas at the risk of competing with competitors. At least the competition gives you a chance to think about coming up with bigger solutions.

Derivative ideas

Many startups come up with the idea of ​​a clone of an existing startup. That is one source of ideas, but not the best. Try to find ideas from problems or complaints that existing startups can't solve.

Stubbornness

Not always the idea from a startup goes smoothly to the gate of success. You have to be familiar with updating ideas to be able to sustain startup. New ideas can be adopted as long as not too often and make sure they have been validated. Always listen to your users' suggestions for every implementation of new ideas.

Recruit programmer the bad one

Programmer is a determining factor in a startup. Behind a successful startup there is always a programmer who does his job and translates ideas well. you recruit programmer the bad one ? Be prepared to be faced with a messy schedule, a product that doesn't fit, and all the technical hassles that will occur.

Choosing the wrong platform

The debate about platforms is an interesting one in startup development. Starting from the media, programming languages ​​to what technologies will be used is one of the important things in a startup. Same as programmer, the error in determining the platform can result in technical complications that lead to user inconvenience.

Launch delay

Most startups reveal many reasons for delaying the launch of their products. Though there is something that requires being first. There is no application that immediately appears with a hundred percent condition. Some of them improve it with user input. Some of the issues that cause launch delays include working too slowly, not really understanding the problem, still being afraid of dealing with users, and excessive perfectionism. So start thinking simple and get started fast.

Launching too fast

Maybe a late launch has more potential to bring down your startup, but launching too early has the same risks. The danger lies in your reputation. If early adopters are dissatisfied with your product, they will eventually be reluctant to return to using your product. There are at least two things to keep in mind before launching a product, first it's self-serving and something that can be gradually expanded to become a whole project and then can be done as quickly as possible.

No user specifications

In developing a business it is important to know exactly who will be the users. Details about the targeted users are very important, such as male or female, adult or adolescent, and so on. You need to know exactly who and what your users want. If you can't figure it out, you're on the wrong path.

Getting too little money

Startup funding is measured by time. Every unprofitable startup has time left before their money runs out and eventually stops operating. So if you get money from investors make sure you get enough money to move to the next step.

Spending too much money

It's hard to tell the difference between spending too much money and getting too little. One way to find out is to compare with other startups. One of the things that absorbs the most money is recruiting lots of people. So you have to pay attention to the policies in recruiting people and make sure you are hiring the right people.

Getting too much funding

Not too much, not too little, so everything must be within the limits of reasonableness. The risk of getting too much funding is time. Once you take a lot of money the harder it is for you to change direction.

Poor investor management

As a founder, you should pay attention to your investors as they may have useful insights. Don't let investors run the company for you. One day investors will leave you alone. So good investor management is needed to minimize the problems caused by investors.

Sacrificing users for profit

Users are one of the most important things in business. Creating something that users need is something that is “safe” for your startup. Many large companies put users first before the business model, because for them it is more difficult to make what users want than to make a profit.

Don't want your hands dirty

An idea is just an idea if there is no validation of how good it is. You should go down and get some user feedback from your product idea. With user feedback you can measure how well your idea was received and what you could do to complement it.

Disputes between founder

Besides you can't be founder single, commitment must also be owned by every founder in a startup. Most startups fail because of disputes that arise in the middle of the road, so always make sure that commitment is established between all of them founder in your startup.

Half-hearted effort

In all cases it is recommended to work and strive with all your heart. Sincerity is needed to overcome the problems that are often present in startups. Working half-heartedly will only make your efforts come out less than optimal. So make sure you are serious about getting your startup up and running.