Key Decisions When Launching a Startup

A successful startup is made up of an assortment of worthy decisions. It is often led by entrepreneurs who take risks in areas of decision making, follow through on these decisions, and use the lessons they learn in attempt to make better decisions in the future. 

1. Do I Start?

Considerably the most important decision of all is whether you are fully committed to starting, pursuing a startup venture and dealing with all that comes with it. Although you may only need to make a few key decisions to launch a successful startup, launching your solution doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have a successful startup. The real work begins when you put your product into the customers’ hands.

Most statistics often concern the success and failures of launched startups when the truth is, most startups fail before they are even launched. Key decisions are based on whether you are committed to seeing your product launched and used.

2. Building Your Team

Unless you will take on the responsibility of building the product, your hiring decision will likely be the most expensive decision you will make. Choosing the right team can mean the difference between success and failure.

A good hire is not only someone who can build a good brand. Your team should consist of people who will challenge your assumptions, clarify your plan and help you execute as if they were your co-founders.

3. Defining Your Product

Before solely focusing all efforts on creating your product, it is a good idea to study the competition, interview a few of your competitors’ customers and use the insights you gather to better define what buyers need and want.

It may be a good idea to use a development process centered around customer feedback and rapid development or decide to follow a more linear approach that starts with an opportunity definition followed by development, testing and launch. This is another important decision to be made.

In relationship to product-related decisions for your product launch, you should ultimately consider: what to build and how to build it. It can certainly take time to answer those questions, especially depending on the type of development procedures used. However, at the end of the day, you simply need to know what to build and how to build it.

In the process, some of the other important startup decisions may include answering the following questions:

• How do I attract first users or paying customers?

• What is the best legal structure for my startup and when should I incorporate it?

• How do I fund my startup?

Just like many happenings in life, an outcome is the result of actions that begin with decisions. In an early-stage startup, the outcome you’re looking for includes the launch of a product that potential customers want and need. To achieve a positive outcome, only a few key decisions are needed. Most importantly, following the planning of these decisions, you will need to be sure to act on them.

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