You’ve Started but Where to Go Now? (Part 1 of 2)

Steps to a Start Up

Great empires are laid not on the back of giants but on the palm of great ideas.

To start up what you need first is an idea. Not just any idea, the one you believe in so much that you are willing to work relentlessly for the next 3-5 years to see it materialise. Once you have that, you’ll find yourself asking, “Now what?"

To answer that, here are 8 steps that lead a start up from being inspired to aspired:

Step 1: Put Together a Business Plan

Evolve your idea into a business plan. Through the business plan your should be able to state your business objective, the target group, and define company structure and the stages of operations.

Also chalk out the estimated time and funding required for each phase and a strategy for market penetration. Project end results over a scale of time and funding.

Use this time to assess your own finances too. This includes how the company you or your family will get by till your idea turns profitable or in cases of contingencies.

Psst, you might want to check out our earlier post on how to write a winning business plan.

Step 2: Get a Co-Founder

Even though you think you can do everything, you need to get a co-founder on board who can bring to the table what you can’t.

This way you can distribute the responsibilities so that each founder deals with their area of expertise. Investors too trust the strength of two more than that of a one-man army.

While you look for a co-founder, you also need to give thought to how you will split equity.

Best place to look for a co-founder is old batch-mates and colleagues. Not only can you trust them but also you are familiar with their working style, limitation and genius.

Step 3: Register

Depending upon the nature of your business, get registered with all the relevant authorities. Important criteria here are flexibility of the business model, and the time taken and paperwork required to get it going. Most startups choose to incorporate themselves as a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP), a One Person Company (if only one key person is running the show), or a Private Limited. Each has its own pros and cons, so decide carefully!

Many online portals such as the one given here offer assistance in all kinds of registrations needed for the company.

If finding a co-founder is taking too long, go ahead and register first. Any amendments to registration can be filed at a later stage.

Step 4: The People

Appoint your Key Resources. Start with the ones that you really need right now. For instance do you really need a Marketing Head immediately? But you surely need someone who is resourceful and great at mobilising funds. If you are a tech start-up, you definitely need someone who can spearhead innovation.

Once you’ve closed your seed round, you’d probably quickly begin expanding headcount. Building the right company culture is crucial right from this stage, so make sure you focus on frequent collaborations, flexible operations, and build close-knit teams. That's it for Part 1. In the next part, we're going to talk about the next steps: finding an accelerator, raising capital, production, marketing, and finally the launch.

Stay tuned!