By Fernando Berrocal

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When you launch and develop a brand-new startup, you need to acknowledge that the odds are stacked against you. Regardless of your startup’s industry, according to various figures gathered by experts in the area, the realistic odds you encounter to survive through only the first year of operation are around 10%.  Clearly, with these odds, success is something you and your team should pursue with vigor and enthusiasm. 

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Your best course of action is to join a successful startup accelerator–there are a multitude accepting applications from startup founders. Having the necessary knowledge and expertise is often less than sufficient for startups to seize the opportunity to succeed; accelerators lend the extra support needed to launch and/or scale effectively.

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Business accelerators provide you with some important advantages. Accelerators can be conceptualized as a graduate-level university course.  You must pass a rigorous application procedure that evaluates the present state and the foreseeable potential of your business before being finally accepted. If you're selected, get ready to participate in a program that will educate you on best practices for everything relating to the successul launch and scaling of a startup.  From developing your product (or service) to getting a successful round of funding, an accelerator can provide industry know-how and tailored guidance. These programs also give members the chance to interact with–and gain knowledge from–a business network of several advisors, business mentors, and investors.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged many individuals around the world to quit their regular jobs and become self-employed. Thus, a new variety of business challenges have also been created, such as inability to meet with a large number of people, supply chain limitations, and time zone barriers.  These factors have made starting a business harder than ever. That’s why accelerators are even more crucial to small businesses today; fledgling enterprises have to work twice as hard to navigate the catastrophic effects of the pandemic. More than ever, the success of startups depends on a clear, transparent, and unified vision that makes use of decentralized business units that can develop and adapt under their authority. Adaptability is an essential part of uncertain business and economic environments. Businesses that can easily pivot around these issues are more likely to overcome the hurdles, and join other successful startups.

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By being more flexible than your competitors, you may increase your overall adaptability.  One of the primary considerations for startups looking to increase adaptability is employing flexible staff members. For example, hiring business contractors rather than full-time staff members offers a heightened ability to maneuver in terms of managing projects and financial resources. As a result, a business has more leverage to juggle both future projects and its funds. While a contractor's hourly rate can be more than that of a staff member, the firm will save money on perks and taxes. Depending on how the firm develops, using contractors also makes it simpler to grow workloads. High fixed expenses may force a startup to follow a specific path. Although it costs more, flexibility allows for more versatility. It is difficult to emphasize how crucial sound financial management is to a startup's success. Missteps in this area are frequently identified as one of the main causes of failure for startups.

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Another crucial factor to consider is how your customers perceive your business. The success of a startup depends on more than just creating a useful product or service; it mainly involves finding a market for it. Managing client perception is frequently the largest obstacle between product development and product sales. Reframing the market's understanding of its requirements and motivations is frequently necessary to advertise a product effectively, especially for startups.

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Finally, as a startup entrepreneur, try your best to keep your attention on the demands of your potential clients. Startups who take part in an accelerator program will discover that one of the secrets to success is maintaining a focus on the demands of the client. Consider the following question: Why are you creating a product and/or service that your customers aren't enthusiastic about? And maybe a more significant question will be: Why are you attempting to market that product as a business? As a startup, you must create something incredible that solves a problem or satisfies a need of your consumer base. Regardless of the target market for a startup, this advice is very valuable to you. Being enthusiastic and showing everyone that about the objective you seek to accomplish is crucial for drawing in both investors as well as customers.

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Meeting a customer's requirements frequently entails offering a service or product that enables them to complete a task more effectively (without having to pick up new business skills). Every customer seeks products and services that will improve their overall performance. Businesses that can offer that kind of goods won't have any problem obtaining future customers. The majority of business entrepreneurs are aware that nothing can ensure their success. However, several things may be done to improve the chances. Some actions can be done to get any business closer to joining the one percent of companies that eventually thrive–whether that entails utilizing the resources offered by an accelerator, or acquiring the essential knowledge and skills in another method.

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Ready to bring your startup to the next level? Apply to MassLight’s next batch. MassLight supplies capital and a dedicated tech team. We take equity in return. Have questions? Refer to our FAQ page.

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