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Tag: mistakes in startup

  • Top 10 Biggest and Most Expensive Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Startups

    The road toward building and growing a startup is not a smooth one. One can always plan and prepare for every move in advance, but there will always be mistakes and hurdles along the way.

    We might think that a person running a big successful business knows absolute perfection of everything. But even the biggest entrepreneurs commit mistakes now and then.

    So, creating mistakes is always the part and parcel of any journey. However, sometimes, certain mistakes can be really expensive in startups and cause serious damage.

    Many popular entrepreneurs agree that they have made mistakes in their startups that proved to be super expensive for them in the future.

    Biggest and The Most Expensive Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Startups

    1. Not Hiring a Smart Team in the Early Stage
    2. Being Too Generous with Equity
    3. Getting Comfortable After the Success
    4. Being Cheap
    5. Trying to Force and Haste Things Up
    6. Getting into Partnership
    7. Trying Too Many Things at Once
    8. Stressing Over Bad Outcomes
    9. Having a Rigid Vision
    10. Getting Professional Branding in Early Stage

    Entrepreneurial Lessons From The Most Successful Entrepreneurs

    Biggest and The Most Expensive Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Startups

    Mistakes are not something that anyone makes on purpose, it just happens. It can be due to wrong decisions, judgment, or a move at the wrong time. Many entrepreneurs believe that the mistakes they made in their early startup stages turned out to be the biggest mistakes for them.

    Most Common and Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Startups
    The most common and biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make in startups

    Here are some of the most expensive mistakes entrepreneurs make in startups:

    Not Hiring a Smart Team in the Early Stage

    One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs usually make in the early stages of their startups is not paying enough attention to great team building. Not hiring smarter people sooner in a startup hampers growth and progress of it.

    It is not just the goal that is important but the team that makes it happen. Entrepreneurs often get absorbed in their purpose that they forget to keep their eyes open for the smart talent. This simple mistake turns out to be really expensive with the time.

    Being Too Generous with Equity

    Another big mistake that a lot of entrepreneurs commit in a startup is that they sometimes become too generous with their equity. Equity is not something that can be taken for granted, rather it is an asset to be preserved. Many entrepreneurs admit that it was the biggest mistake they made in their early stages.

    So, instead of letting go of the equity in the employee equity pool, it is important to hold on to it for the right opportunities. Sam Parr, the founder of The Hustle, one of the most popular American media companies admitted that being generous with equity was the biggest mistake he made early on.

    Sam Parr - Biggest Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
    Samm Parr

    Getting Comfortable After the Success

    A quite common mistake and is sure to be the biggest is getting comfortable after getting the success. When entrepreneurs get to savor the new success, they either get motivated or comfortable with it.

    Being comfortable might be good for a while but it turns out to be expensive in the long run. An entrepreneur might be able to generate a year’s money in a month and just get comfortable with it. But slowing down after that will only be an expensive mistake for the future of the startup.

    Being Cheap

    In the early stage of a startup, entrepreneurs tend to think that they can do everything on their own and save up money. Being cheap can be a huge mistake as it ultimately drops the quality of work and wastes the most precious thing that is time.

    So, instead of always saving up money, it is important for entrepreneurs to spend the money wisely to get some real help from skilled developers, designers, and more. Distributing the work within a skilled team ensures great quality of work and better money-making capacity.

    Trying to Force and Haste Things Up

    This is quite a common mistake that everyone tends to make. There is no doubt that the competition in the market is massive and to keep up with it, entrepreneurs sometimes try to force and rush things up. It may work for a while but in a long run it turns true to the statement, “Haste makes Waste”.

    This mistake’s result might not be visible immediately but it can lead to various hurdles along the way in the future. Doing the work quickly and forcefully can turn out to be one of the most expensive mistakes for any entrepreneur in a startup.

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    Getting into Partnership

    This is another mistake that entrepreneurs tend to make in startups. The road of entrepreneurship can be a lonely ride. So, to have a support system by their side, entrepreneurs bring in a new partner or co-founder without thinking much.

    It is always better to partner with people who are already known and trustworthy. Having someone unknown leads to conflicts, and there is always a lack of trust, which ultimately hampers the success of a startup. Many entrepreneurs believe this to be an expensive mistake made by them in their startups.

    Trying Too Many Things at Once

    Entrepreneurs are known for their multi-tasking skills. But in many cases, they admit that this is a mistake that can be quite expensive for a startup. Entrepreneurs try to cover too many things all at once. This prevents them from fully focusing on one particular goal.

    The most important thing is to always keep the main goal in mind and do things along the way. But when entrepreneurs start giving attention to too many things, they get distracted from the main goal, which makes for a really expensive mistake on their part.

    Stressing Over Bad Outcomes

    Another mistake that proves to be expensive for entrepreneurs in startups is when they stress too much over the bad outcomes. Many entrepreneurs believe this to be one of their biggest mistakes as it demoralizes them and ultimately leads to more negative outcomes.

    Everyone needs to understand, accept and learn from their mistakes rather than stressing over them for too long. Stressing too much creates distraction, and burnout, and can lead to some of the biggest mistakes in a startup. If Elon Musk had stressed the failure of his cyber truck, he would not have been able to stay at the top till now.

    Elon Musk Cyber Truck
    Elon Musk Cyber Truck

    Having a Rigid Vision

    One of the biggest mistakes that entrepreneurs make in startups is being too rigid with the vision. Entrepreneurship is a process of continuous learning. Having a vision is essential, but not being flexible about it along the way, makes for an expensive mistake in any startup.

    Running a startup is about continuous discussions, focus on new market trends, understanding users, taking in the feedback, and more. So, not validating the transitions and being rigid only leads to a dead end.

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    Getting Professional Branding in Early Stage

    Another biggest and most expensive mistake that some entrepreneurs make is indulging in professional branding even before the startup is ready for it. Creating a mark in the market with branding is important but spending too much on it in the early stage robs the entrepreneurs of the funds that are otherwise essential for the future.

    Getting into professional branding too soon can be a huge risk that might pay off well or just turn out to be a horrible and expensive mistake for an entrepreneur.

    Conclusion

    The journey of a startup is full of highs and lows. There are days full of celebration of success and there are days full of regrets too. No matter how perfect the team and systems are, there is always scope for some mistakes to happen along the way.

    The above-mentioned are some of the biggest and most expensive mistakes that entrepreneurs make in startups. One can always learn from these mistakes and try to avoid them as great entrepreneurs are not the ones who do not make mistakes every now and then but the ones who also learn how to deal with them.

    FAQ

    What are the expensive mistakes entrepreneurs make in the early stage of a startup?

    • Not building a smart team
    • Being too generous with equity
    • Trying to force things up
    • Trying too many things at once
    • Having a rigid vision
    • Getting into a partnership without thinking

    What are some biggest mistakes that startups make?

    • Obsessing over funding
    • Waiting too long to start
    • Losing focus
    • Forgetting the competition

    What mistake should small businesses avoid?

    Small businesses should avoid paying too much for the services.

    Do successful entrepreneurs make mistakes?

    Yes, even successful entrepreneurs make mistakes, sometimes out of too much excitement or simply out of the wrong ability to judge the outcome.

  • Common Mistakes to Avoid while Creating Advertising Campaigns (With Examples)

    Ad Campaigns are a great way to communicate with your consumers and spread a positive message about your brand. But not all ad campaigns are successful you need to make sure you convey the right message. If you are planning to create an ad campaign here are few mistakes you should avoid.

    An ad campaign can do wonders if the idea is well executed.

    What is an Ad Campaign?
    Why are Ad Campaigns created?
    Mistakes to avoid while creating an Ad Campaign
    Example of Failed Ad Campaigns
    FAQ

    What is an Ad Campaign?

    An Ad Campaign is generally made to send across a message revolving around a constant theme. These campaigns have a specified duration following questions like:

    • When will it air? And for how long?
    • Is it supposed to be a television commercial?

    The campaigns are tweaked a little accordingly to fit the mediums that are being used. These campaigns are not limited to only a single medium. Mediums like social media, hoardings, newspapers, emails, etc. Can be used, a campaign could also be a series.

    Why are Ad Campaigns created?

    • To inform the audience about a new/existing product or a brand in the market.
    • To stay connected to the audience.
    • To communicate a message or bring awareness among the consumers about a certain thing.

    The mediums are chosen based on the objective and the message that a brand is trying to communicate. For example, your brand might have completed 75 years since it was established. So, to celebrate/inform the consumers about it, you create a campaign that delivers the message.

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    Mistakes to avoid while creating an Ad Campaign

    Stick to the Time

    Media scheduling is important, but along with considering your current theme and the current situation. As the tweets came from Zomato on Twitter, that clarified that the ad campaign that was made back six months ago is bizarre.


    Make the Plan Flexible

    Zomato did not consider for once that once its TVC (television commercial) series would be out, how would people react? All the damage could have been avoided if simply they had a backup plan or would have bent their idea around something else.

    Considering the audience was already engaged in a conversation around the treatment of the delivery workers of Zomato and other food delivery apps on various social media platforms.

    Encoding and Decoding of the message

    We often forget this, especially when we are making ad campaigns these days. Your brand needs to be super careful. Back in the days when ad campaigns were created, people would maybe talk about it. But now with social media platforms, the audience has the power to give feedback. Communication is a two-way process.

    While there are anonymous handles emerging on social media. Not wanting to reveal their identity but to bring attention to the issue of long work hours and low wages. Bringing it to the notice of how the food delivery staff is being treated.

    Be your own critic, revaluate, learn, and do better

    You should consider a small test marketing exercise before releasing your ad campaigns. Evaluate the campaign with your team, gather data, and analyze it.

    Another part of it came when people also pointed out the money that might have gone into the creation of the Ad campaign. Rather than addressing the real problem here and looking for a solution.

    Study the behavior of your audience:

    • How did they take it?
    • Was the message clear?
    • Does the campaign work?
    • Do you need some changes?
    • Is research needed?
    • Can you improve?
    • Is there more that you can do?
    • Is there space to grow?

    See if it could be misinterpreted? Or could send out a wrong message to the audience.

    Remember, marketing plans should always be flexible as the only constant in society is change. One is dealing with human emotions, competing with other markets, trying to stay on top, and when so much is happening mistakes are often made.

    Example of Failed Ad Campaigns

    Zomato’s ‘Har Customer Hai Star’ recent Ad Campaign

    Recently, Zomato’s Ad campaign series with stars like Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif were aired and have received backlash from the masses on social media. The campaign ‘Har Customer Hai Star’ glorifies the delivery boys. With the situation being the delivery personnel delivering his order despite the bad weather in case of Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik addresses him as jadoo and requests for a selfie saying “Ek selfie to banti hai”

    But the personnel leaves anyway, happily without taking the selfie, in the rain, where we later discover the notification that he receives is for another order. With the voice-over following the lines:

    “Hrithik Roshan ho ya aap, apne liye har customer hai star”

    In the case of Katrina Kaif, when the delivery staff gets her the parcel, she asks him to wait while she brings him a piece of her birthday cake. There is the sound of a bell with the notification of another food order that he has to deliver. And the delivery guy goes on outing his duty first, without the cake.

    The one mistake that Zomato made was the mistake of not keeping up with the opinion of the public. And was blamed for diverting the conversation that was going on around social media.

    Remember when Facebook’s rating dropped from 4.0 to 2.6?

    Facebook rating dropped to 2.4
    Facebook rating dropped to 2.4

    This happened on Play Store and it happened quickly as Facebook, the famous social media app, kept flagging and deleting posts, censoring Palestinian accounts who were protesting Israeli military. Its rating also went down on the Apple Store with thousands of one-stars.

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    Here is a quick revision of what you can do:

    • Keep your audience in mind while creating an ad campaign.
    • Remember, you can always do better.
    • Make a clear-cut message when thinking. Ask: what is it that you want to deliver?  
    • Test marketing helps.
    • Do your research. Plan and schedule the campaign based on what is going around right now?
    • The key message should not be miscommunicated.
    • Remote communication is a two-way process.
    • Be sensitive.

    Conclusion

    We are living in the age of the 21st century. People on social media are well informed. The youth today talk about politics, gender equality, feminism, revolution, and care about issues that matter to them. Movements are made in a blink to make sure that change is made for good.

    FAQ

    What should be avoided when creating a marketing campaign?

    Make sure your message is clearly conveyed, Be your own critic and do a test run before releasing your ad.

    What are some marketing mistakes?

    Making assumptions, Ignoring customer complaints, Faking popularity, and Ignoring the emotional drivers of choice are some of the common marketing mistakes.

    What is the impact of advertising?

    An ad campaign can create a positive impact on consumers mind that in turn can influence future behavior.

  • 20 Common Mistakes Every New Entrepreneurs Must Avoid for Startup Success

    A great idea can change the life but the million dollar question is, how to find a great idea. Now-a-days, every person is full of ideas which can work as a money making machine. They want to be their own boss by starting their own business. But this is not every person’s cup of tea to turn one idea into the success tale. It requires lots of dedication and patience to observe the failure. Only 10% of the ideas can be turned into startups. The half of the ideas don’t able to face the cruel reality of the world. They won’t be able to survive even a day.

    While most of the startup ideas can be found in the dumb ground with broken pieces of many hearts. There are numerous ideas, which were firstly discarded to the bin, such as IBM thought that there is no place for PC operating systems, Microsoft never believes in the big future for search engines and browsers and Google never believes in the success of social media. But today we have all of them working great and improving our life for day to day usage. So NO idea is great or small. Everything depends on your startup execution. Here are things you must be aware to avoid mistake to stop your startup from failing.

    Also Read: Failed Startups in India – A Brief Case Study of 15 Promising Indian Startups that Failed

    20 Common Mistakes to Avoid in Startup

    Today we are going to understand the 20 common mistakes that any startup owner could do and that lead them to the startup failure. So buckle up your belt entrepreneurs and add following points into not to do list. These points are formulated by CBInsights after examining every factor critically.

    1. The every startup owner wants to come up with a unique idea or product to sell, as they assume that it will boost their sale. But my lovely fellas forget one thing that, if there is no market for the commodity presents then whom will they sell the product and it’s very time-consuming task to create a new market for the product.
    2. The new startups usually have a low budget. The startups face the biggest issue to handle their limited cash and make its optimum use. The most of the startups fail because they ran out of cash.
    3. The most important part of any new venture is it’s workforce. So the other problem that new startups had to face is to hire competent employees. The team that startup owners hire should be on the one basic ground that they have to be as passionate about the startup mission and vision themselves.
    4. The new startups have to face the competition from the existing firms and most of the startups fail to compete with the already running businesses.
    5. The relationship between the cost of commodity and it’s price is very vital. The 50% of the new startup owners somehow fails to establish this relationship. Some might fix the price of commodity to high and some fixes to low. The proper balance between the price and cost is essential for success of start-up.
    6. The quality of product is the key element for the success and the startup owners who don’t put emphasis on the quality of the product, would not able to survive a day in the market.
    7. The business won’t be able to survive without a proper business model a day. Most of the startups fail because the business model isn’t appropriate or insufficient to achieve the business objective.
    8. Marketing is the main elements of modern business. The startups need to build amazing marketing strategy in a limited budget and the startups which fail to formulate an aggressive marketing strategy well you get my point right.
    9. Customers are the king and their demand is your command. The business owners who forget to cater the needs of customers, well you can say that they fail miserably and have no chance of survival.
    10. Likewise, the focus of a startup owner should be clear and their mind should work on the growth of the business. The startup founders do the biggest mistake by chasing different ideas at once and in the end, all ideas got doomed.
    11. The startup founder is the leader of the whole project and one of his wrong decision will doom all the efforts.
    12. The timing of launching a product into the market is very important. The most of the new bees forget to calculate it and this lead to their fall.
    13. Disharmony or miscommunication among the team members is considered to be a major reason for the failure of startups.
    14. The passion towards the project and zeal to work hard makes the start-up successful. A little less passion can destroy the all game in seconds.
    15. The location of the project should be selected very carefully. As a result, many startups had failed because of bad location choices.
    16. The startups who fails to capture the interest of investors have very tough chance of success.
    17. There are numerous legal formalities that required to start a new venture and most of the startups fails in this area.
    18. The owners burn out all their energy in the beginning of the startup on useless things that in the end they have nothing left, which leads the path of failure.
    19. Almost, the startups fail due to the overconfidence of the owner, as they didn’t took the advice of the experts seriously.

    Hence, the last mistake made by startup entrepreneur is that they fail to lead the team and the failure to pivot destroys the healthy startup idea.

    Although these are a few common mistakes that startup entrepreneur do, which turns the game for them. Now don’t get disheartened fellas, as I won’t leave you hanging without giving you some solutions to re-emerge your startup.

    Also Read:

    Startup Failure to Startup Success

    “I haven’t failed, I have found 10,000 ways that don’t work .”
    ─ Thomas Edison.

    With this beautiful thought let’s find some solutions. There are numerous advice given on this topic at Oxford University on the “Dumb ways to die.” success can be improved by:

    • Targeting a potentially big market at the right time.
    • Solving a real, not imagined problem.
    • The trait of success means having a clear, simple business model starting out.
    • The High-quality founders, who have a history of working together setting up. Rather, they should actually be passionate about the problem because lots of startups fail because of some silly reasons.
    • Thriftily Spending.
    • Make sure there’s demand in the market.

    Evaluate Yourself for Startup Success

    Moreover, the entrepreneur should ask themselves a few queries before launching a startup for the first time, likewise

    • Why do you think your Startup should be successful?
    • What are the unique traits of your startup?
    • What is the estimated cost of promotions?
    • How do the revenue projections look like?
    • What is your marketing strategy?
    • How will you make customers interested in your product?

    Finally after examining all these questions I think you will know the reason that might fail you. Although the success and failure are both sides of one coin, so take decision wisely when you have a plan to launch startup. Avoid the mentioned mistakes at any cost. However, not every startup get the success like Yahoo, Amazon or Flipkart but still every startup has potential in it. So be smart and launch your startup with smartness.