Making a startup means there is obviously a lot of work ahead. It also means a lot of effort to solve problems and overcome difficulties. Even the most serious and experienced startup founders have tons of questions to answer to themselves, especially when scaling up. And it is not just a matter of the usual questions such as “where am I going to find a proper team” etc. People that take their startup seriously face some very important challenges. Let’s have a look at a few of them.
Manos Moschous, AbZorba Games’ co-founder helps us find the right answers to these questions.
1. How can someone know if his startup should pivot or if he should wait and insist on the same business model?
“First, I don’t think any startup should pivot only because its owners think it is good to do so. I strongly believe that they should pivot only because a client or a serious investor asks them to do so and the company’s current business model does not bring any money in”.
2. How can startup founders know it is time to quit?
“A lot of people ask this question and I hear different answers I don’t agree with. Most young people make a startup and work for a few months, maybe a year, until equity problems force them to quit. If you have passion in what you do and you know (through validation) that your product or service is really useful, then you should never quit. If money does not come in, you need to change the way you approach your market. Obviously during this time you will not be able to pay employees but you will still be able to “drive” things up to a certain point with your own input and resources. If you are not prepared to do that or if you can afford to run a startup only for a few months then there is no point in doing so in the first place. Startups need validation and patience. In that sense it is never a right time to quit, especially if you have done a certain investment. In a few words, don’t quit. Cut down on expenses and reposition your startup”.
3. How can a startup founder get useful legal advice?
“This is a serious issue for everyone. There are a lot of lawyers with business expertise but they usually cost a lot and you can never be sure about the quality of service you will receive. Proper law advice and service you can get at a startup incubator and accelerator (apart from business mentoring etc). After all, this is one of main reasons why startups must not be isolated”.
4. What can a startup owner do if someone “steals” his innovative idea?
“He should be proud and happy if others steal this idea. Offering an innovative product or service often means that the market is – perhaps -not very much prepared to accept it. When more buzz is created then the market will start to learn about this innovation and will identify its usefulness. Startup owners will then need to make sure they are better than their competitors in order to get a larger market share. After all, this is what everyone should be doing no matter if his idea is unique or not”.
