Startup mistakes to avoid at all costs

Startups require energy, passion, enthusiasm and of course, investment to take off. In between this mayhem, a list of mistakes startups can avoid comes in handy and saves you a lot of trouble (read money). Here are the most common mistakes startups make:

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1) No clear marketing strategy

The most common mistake startup entrepreneurs make is to simply slap a few ideas together for a marketing plan. An actual marketing plan requires a strategic module for short-term, mid-term and long-term duration. A thorough research on resources, techniques, manpower and trends is a must.

2) Waiting forever to launch

Let’s face it. Your first product is most likely to be a bit undercooked. But that’s okay. Being out there and obtaining genuine customer feedback is much more important than not having anything out there at all. So if your product can still amuse customers without extra accessories, launch the product, after which you have relatively more time and resources to focus on improvising the product and making it matter.

3) Jumping to decisions

Running a startup demands a lot of energy and time from young entrepreneurs. Sometimes, people overlook a few important processes that may seem troublesome and hectic to directly jump to decisions. Specifying individual roles and expectations from the team can make managing resources easy and minimizing the risk of having to take major decisions at the eleventh hour.

4) Getting distracted by feedback

Customer feedback is often personal. More often than not, the feedback you receive is based on individual experience and has nothing to do with the marketing trends. It should not influence the next best thing that you plan. What needs focus is, coming up with ideas and making them come alive without losing sight of the bigger picture.

5) Not listening to current (or future) customers

While getting distracted by feedback is bad for business, losing sight of the customer’s needs and not catering to them is worse. Strike a balance between various opinions from the customers and your own vision of the product. This would help you go a long way in running a startup.

6) Guarding the idea

Almost every entrepreneur believes his idea is all his and all hell will break loose if anyone else catches the wind of it. In the real world, having an idea and not executing it has its downside; some of them, too severe to recover from. So, no matter how great your plan is, it might not be the best. Be flexible with your ideas. Learn to prioritise. Save the great ones that you can’t use immediately for later.

No plan is completely foolproof. All entrepreneurs are going to fall and learn in the process. But why make startup mistakes that have been made already?

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)