10 CHALLENGES THAT STARTUPS FACE: These Numbers Are Real

From business models and management teams to customer experience and technology platforms, startups face a number of challenges that may trip them up in their long journey.

Here are 10 key challenges founders need to identify and correct, to ensure that their entrepreneurial venture has a chance of success.

SKILLSET

Founders with a business or design background may not understand the language of technology, let alone the latest trends in tools and platforms. Conversely, techie founders may not grasp the design and financial issues which go into building full-scale customer offerings.

Project management

The software industry has often been plagued with over-runs in costs, time and effort. Project management of software and services continues to attract some of the best brains in the field to build a body of knowledge for project management efficiency. Managing tech projects is a tough skill, and many young startups may flounder in their early steps.

Team roles and dynamics

Even in the field of technology, there are multiple roles and skill-sets, ranging from architects and testers to developers and administrators.

From the junior engineer all the way up to CTO, each role calls for different skills, experiences and mindsets, which can change over time.

The Product Mindset

Customers do not care really care what technology is used – all they want is a product or service which can meet their needs and aspirations.

This requires a product mindset from the ground up, which will eventually lead to branding of the offering in a way that is attractive to the customer.

Technology should be seen as an enabler, and not an end by itself.

Cultural fit

The startup world is unlike the relatively smoother and structured corporate environment.

Rapid changes in market and customer needs as well as pivoting by the founder will lead to frequent changes in the product direction. Techies in startups will, therefore, need to be more flexible than in larger firms, and deal with a culture of continuous adaptation.

Also Read: https://www.forbes.com/sites/groupthink/2017/07/03/startups-dont-fall-into-the-culture-fit-hiring-trap/#1e86f2f01ad6

Continuous learning

Every other year there seems to be a new programming language, operating system upgrade, stack architecture, development framework or SMAC update.

For engineers, learning tech skills does not end when they get a college degree – that is just the beginning. Developer conferences and hackathons offer hands-on opportunities to brush up on skills and emerging platforms, and network with tech peers.

Proprietary versus Open source

There are convincing arguments from both sides on when proprietary code or open-source code should be used, depending on the context (this extends to APIs and standards as well). Comparison features include quality, robustness, customer support, expense, upgrades, market penetration, and emerging trends.

Choice of channel

For digital offerings, the customer contact can be via channels such as desktop, mobile, kiosk, or IoT, and variations of these. At times, startups have been swept up by hype about which of these channels is best. For instance, many high-profile e-commerce startups mistakenly abandoned the desktop and chose to go “mobile-only” for customer interface, before retracting their moves and developing for all platforms.

Ignoring security and privacy

Many high-profile instances of hacking and loss of confidential information due to lost or stolen devices have revealed that security is either ignored or tacked on as an afterthought in tech development. Tech security and risk management should be a key priority for startups right from Day One.

Hardware: prototyping and supply chains

Hardware is driven by rapid prototyping and global supply chains of components, and tech firms in the hardware space will quickly realize that design and development require mastery of techniques like 3D printing, virtualized products, and even frequent trips overseas to build close connects with suppliers in countries like China.

In sum, becoming aware of the above-mentioned types of challenges and taking corrective steps is key for startups to harness the transformative power of technology. Forewarned is fore-armed, and it helps startups to learn not just from their own mistakes but from others’ mistakes as well in order to keep their tech foundations intact.