Top three reasons why startups fail

According to a recent survey, only 5% of the people (in India) engaged in ‘early-stage entrepreneurial activities,’ go on to establish their own venture, which is among the lowest rate in the world. Among the BRICS economies, Brazil had the highest rate of established business at 7% and South Africa has the lowest at 3%. Even China had a higher rate of 8%, while it is 5% in both Russia and India.

Being a part of a budding startup, with many more establishments under its umbrella, Nordic Intent seeks to find out a few of the major reasons why entrepreneurs in India fail, in order to prevent these mishaps from coming to life.

Reason 1: Market Problems

Not understanding the needs of the market, and focusing on something that seems interesting, rather than an issue that needs a solution is a major reason why startups fail. The primary goal of any new establishment should be to put the customers first. It should focus on solving a meaningful problem for other people, and not themselves.

Want to build a successful business?

You have to know how your solution can offer value to the masses.

Reason 2: No brand strategy

In case you find yourself lost on what a brand strategy is, do read our post on ‘The 5-step guide to creating the perfect brand strategy!’

A business model or brand strategy is important. One of the most common causes of failure is that entrepreneurs are too optimistic about how easy it will be to acquire customers. The assumption that customers will keep knocking at their door because they built an interesting website, product, or service, is never-ending. Although this may happen with the first few customers, it rapidly becomes an expensive task to attract and win new customers.

Reason 3: The wrong team

Being a one-person team is also the wrong kinda team. Building a diverse team is a crucial component to success. New businesses often face an issue of funding and hence don’t recruit a team. However, no matter how multi-talented you may be, it’s not advisable to manage all tasks by yourself. Find at least one person from a different discipline to join you. Ideally, you should have a combination of people that covers the holy startup triangle: hipster, hacker, hustler (aka designer, engineer, marketer.) This will provide well for you, as well as your company in the long run. Your perspective changes because now you’re with a team, working on something you believe in, with people you can learn a lot from.

Even though, majority surveys state that 90% of startups will fail, this doesn’t have to be you. A reasonable amount of time spent on research and delegation will surely take you a long way. It all starts by learning from others mistakes and providing a valuable solution to that problem. Looking for some more motivation related to your venture? Do check out our blog post on 5 Lessons To Learn From Very Successful Start-ups, and how you could implement it.