With one in five start-ups in the UK failing to survive their first year, ensuring your business thrives is no easy task. The last two years have been challenging for the economy, from COVID-induced lockdowns to looming economic recession. In the crypto industry, against the backdrop of a “market dip”, start-ups must adopt the right strategies to remain afloat.
The hard part is knowing what to do to succeed – the execution follows. New founders and beginner CEOs must ensure they have the tools, vision, and community in place to give their businesses the best possible chance of success.
Having recently celebrated our first anniversary – which meant setting up and ensuring our business remained afloat during COVID – we know a thing or two about the steps that any start-up should take to survive its first year and beyond. Abiding by a few simple principles will give your start-up the best possible chance of succeeding.
Unique proposition
A business that creates a long-lasting legacy is one that conceives an innovative idea from the outset. This is usually one that disrupts its market. It forms the foundation of any thriving start-up by presenting the industry with a real solution to a problem or gap faced by the market.
Take retail investment, for example, and think of what is lacking in the market today. One such limitation is the investment platforms available for retail investors. It’s thus down to the start-up to address this by deciding how to empower these investors and give them a better option than was available. By coming up with a belief, such as that it should be easy for anyone, anywhere, to invest across all asset classes without restrictions or worry, you will have a clear goal for your proposition. By keeping this idea at the heart of your business strategy, you will be able to continuously assess new ways to evolve your mission for continued growth and success.
A value-adding vision
It is easy to have an idea – the difficult part is assessing its viability. Many start-ups initiated with a unique idea have failed due to a lack of a business model and a clear strategy, one that sets out how they seek to deliver the value of their vision. It should also include contingency plans for any issues or obstacles met as they move forwards.
It is important to balance a concise business plan with the agility to manoeuvre the business as new obstacles and opportunities present themselves. In a rapidly evolving market, it is essential that your business is still at the forefront of this emerging technology by the time you have delivered on your business model.
Teamwork is dreamwork
In the words of the late poet John Donne, “no man is an island.” You may have an ambitious plan of action. However, success will be futile without the right team of people to support and execute.
Building a reliable team that has the skills, experience and personalities you need to reach your goal is essential. Start-up leaders and founders should source employees that are not only experts in their field but also possess the attitude and aptitude needed to get the business on track for success. A successful leader will build a team that supports and challenges, ensuring that all bases and ideas are covered.
A motivated team consists of individuals who really believe in the company they work for. They will want to play a key role in its evolution. By sourcing employees who share your passion, you will be best placed to strive and develop as your start-up grows.
Community communication is key
Building the right community is critical to the success of any start-up, and sound communication with these individuals is key. Your community followers are your backbone. Their feedback is an essential component of start-up success. They can add to your vision and provide new ideas for you to work towards.
Fostering connections with your customers will provide a forum that will enable you to expand your vision, with ideas from the outside leading to internal developments. What’s more, building a community of enthusiasts around your product or service may help you identify new talent as you scale up and require additional resources.
Your community can also test new products ahead of their launch. They can ensure you hit the mark before going out to the wider market.
Starting up a new business is never easy, but by following these simple pieces of advice around vision, communication, and community, you will be able to put yourself in the very best position to thrive.
StrikeX is developing the next generation of blockchain technologies and products. Our flagship product, TradeStrike, will utilise the power of tokenisation to offer trading of stocks, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and even real estate. Fully compliant, fully collateralised trading, 24/7 – 365 days a year. #ForThePeople.
