Startups - 4 things you can’t leave to luck

by Startacus Admin
In life some of us highlight that “that” was the time that we got their lucky break. Being lucky, or simply being in the ‘right place at the right time’ can of course have an effect on the likelihood of success.
However, whilst luck might strike on the odd occasion, there are still some fundamental things that a startup cannot afford to leave to luck. And, as this article has been published on Friday 13th June, we thought it wise to make sure that all of you considered the below 4 points and of course don’t think that luck alone can make or break your startup success...
Ideas don’t just start themselves
Some people often complain that they were really unlucky as they had already had that ‘great idea’. That ‘great idea’ be it Facebook, the driverless car, the pooper scooper, was always probably someone else’s first (or at least the concept was). However, as most business experts will tell you, 99% of ideas are not original, it just so happens that that ‘someone’ either got their first, or just happened to actually ‘do something’ with that silly, wacky, big or small idea. Now that’s not luck is it?
Your Team
We've spent some time previously talking about recruiting for your startup. Why? Well because it’s pretty essential to build a team around you that not only fills in the skill gaps within your startup, but it helps ensure that your success is not built on luck alone. Get your recruitment right, and your luck and chance of success is likely to increase. Don’t recruit a good team around you and you are likely to need more than a little luck - or be an all round business expert!
Your Price
Pricing your service or product correctly, can't just be left to luck. Simple. How you position and price yourself in your marketplace can be a tough thing to work out, but it can be achieved by gathering competitor information, doing quantitative consumer market research and testing your product at various price points until you feel that you are getting the best return. If you are looking to do quantitative consumer market research - then our Self Starter of the Year award might be worth looking at - Marketest the lead sponsor are giving away £1k of consumer market research to the winner (subtle plug done!).
Opportunities
Let's put it this way. If you expect opportunities to come your way then you might be left waiting for some time and also end up rather disappointed. People who, admittedly at the right time, put their head above the parapet, shout about what they are up to, network with the right people and go to the right events, will naturally find that they get lucky in taking their business forward and in the right direction. Of course if your business doesn't work, you still won't have a successful business, but perhaps by not passing up opportunities, at least you will have given it as much chance as possible and you might be really lucky and find an amazing business mentor or partner who can help you develop your business idea into a business success!
To be fair the list could go on. It’s just important to remember that in life some of us get a luckier break than others, but let’s not leave it all up to chance eh?
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Published on: 13th June 2014
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