Working in a startup can be a roller coaster of emotions. In one season, you are worrying about raising enough investment capital. In another season, you are worrying about optimizing investment funds to avoid running out of money.
If you want to succeed as a startup, you need to discover the main problem, create a hypothetical solution, collect market data, adjust the solution as necessary, and acquire the customers to sell the finalized version of the product or service.
Many of the top startups were born with bold solutions.
Some startups have reached the “unicorn” level (a market value of $ 1 billion or more). DataBricks, CloudKitchens, and Rivian are some recent examples. According to Crunchbase, 78 startups were valued at least $1 billion last year. In 2018, there were 67 startups that became unicorns.
This year, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is very ambitious and hopes to encourage a half million startups to begin operations in 2020.
However, more startups means more competition in the market. So, how will the U.S. Chamber of Commerce help these new startups to be successful? Or maybe there is a better question…
These experimental companies have the power to catalyze extraordinary industry changes or the ability to raise entrepreneurs, who are tired of traditional bureaucracy, to become millionaires. However, not every startup achieve such success.
The startup’s mortality rate remains higher than any other economic activity. 90% of new startups die and many die from the same issues like incompetence and personal problems. Although, the successful minority typically have some things like persistence and mentors.
In addition, the successful startup realizes that their product or service is not for everyone. It exists to serve the need of a certain type of person.
The successful startup is also on the edge of innovation. They know their competition and the current standard in the marketplace. They succeed in business because they exceed the quality norm in the industry.
We are living in an era, where unicorns are becoming less rare for technology startups. Last year, 315 companies became unicorns compared to 131 in 2015.
We are living in an era, where it is easier for the average person to invest in startups. Now, these companies can attract a new segment of investors in addition to accredited investors.
It is undeniable that the startup business model is here for the long term! Its flexibility and speed represents the innovative environment. After all, it is these innovations that are making life better for us now and the near future.