Strategy of Startup Launch: from Zero to $22 Million in Funding

A startup in its late stages of development is similar to a hive full of bees. To make it all work, a team of professionals and enthusiasts is brought together. As a single mechanism, they open the door to the future, slightly and gradually.

But at the very beginning of it, there is just an idea and the following questions. Is it worth it? Will it manage to overcome all potential issues and snowball into something bigger?

It's not a secret anymore that 90% of startups do not survive. The latest updates from Failury prove that. Entrepreneurship certainly takes a lot of courage and hard work to get out there with your idea and turn it into a successful business. The world of tech is a challenge you should be well prepared for.

Here are some strategic tips from the Shoreline team that knows how to launch a startup from their own experience. The idea of this startup was to make service operators' lives easier by solving recurring problems automatically. Now Shoreline is a successful product. Aspirity is proud to be part of the team, working on the design and front-end development of the project.

The most important thing in launching a successful startup is the idea itself. The idea is followed by a massive amount of work, planning, and development before you can take it to the next level. But how to make sure if you picked the right one?

Great startup ideas come up as innovative solutions to a specific problem. It's not the ambition of getting rich or creating a new Youtube that should drive you. Running a startup is the passion and the belief that your product will change the world or at least will solve one problem that will make a difference.

Study the potential market, its problems, work in the field to build the expertise. The best solutions come to experienced ones. The founding PM of growing startup Shoreline Alay Desai and his mates experienced working with huge services before they created a startup launch plan.

"So the idea for Shoreline came from our experience at AWS. For a while, we were learning large services for AWS […] where we experience what it means to run a large-scale service and so that's where the idea germinated from", says Alay.

Before you start, make sure your idea is ready to survive. Study success and failure stories and make your conclusions to understand how to plan your startup launch.

Here are the top reasons why startups fail. To avoid their fate, think about what you could do better. When you feel you are ready to run your own startup company, draft a business plan. To do that, think of the professionals to hire.

The need for product management is usually concerned at later stages of startup development. Yet this position will soon become more influential. Based on Shoreline startup experience, the first product manager is the one who understands how to launch a startup business.

First, the PM builds the tactics for the product in the earliest stages. Joining the team when the product is only being discussed, and the technology is still raw, they are looking for the right way the product will move. The PM can answer the following questions that still may be hanging in the air.

So the founding PM is not just an employee to reflect the market and target audience`s needs. The founding PM joins the team at the very beginning and handles any problems with clarity and focus that might appear before and during the tech startup launch.

One of the essentials of early tech startup development is choosing the right approach to the product`s initial validation. The most common options are minimum viable product (MVP) and proof of concept (POC). The right choice will bring potential investments and verify the viability of the project before it has even started. Besides, there are other ways to successfully test a product depending on additional factors.

Here we will list the pros of each approach.

A minimum viable product (MVP) is one of the most popular approaches when building a startup. It is the way to get feedback as soon as possible, which lowers the risk of going the wrong way. MVP is a simple app with core functionality and only basic features.

Proof of concept (POC) is another popular approach to begin. It's an integral project that focuses on technical assumptions after the startup launch. The draft app will help the developers fix early failures, but the main goal of POC lies in understanding a product`s viability.

The main difference between MVP and POC is that proof of concept doesn`t lead to the entire system verification. It only proves sustainability and checks the earliest technical components.

The design of your product will be getting more and more crucial in the subsequent stages of your startup's development.

Creating a beta-version of the product seems to be a risk since developers require a lot of effort. They don't have enough information about the reaction to the product. However, the experience of Shoreline clearly shows that launching a tech startup with a clear goal and a highly experienced team may lead you to success even if you skip the testing stage. Understanding the market, mental readiness, and strict product management are crucial. Thus, well aware of the needs of the market and the pain of the target audience, Shoreline immediately created a beta version of the product. This approach let them achieve the goal more fully, which wouldn't have been possible with the MVP approach.

Before making a choice, dive into the topic and make sure you've taken all factors into account. There are some rules of launch strategy for startups to follow.

Tech stack represents the programming language and technical tools that will be used for your app creation. Web or mobile?

Choice of the platform normally depends on the type of your product and the audience you want to satisfy. The programming languages for web and mobile development differ, so make the decision at the beginning of the project.

Not all tech-stacks are well-adapted to any platform, device, or operating system a potential client may be using. For instance, Shoreline startup has chosen React.js due to its widely used UI library and ability to be available on any kind of platform and device.

Both for web and mobile project development, there are plenty of tech stacks. First of all, they are divided into two blocks, each representing a different kind of development. Service-side (back-end) collects and provides data, while client-side (front-end) is what the clients can see while using the product. And for both, you should manage to choose a tech stack that will fully meet your requirements.

If you choose a widely-used technology, there will be a good number of developers who can deal with it. The professionalism and level of problem-solution skills of the development team are some of the keys to your startup's success.

If you are a solo founder or have just come up with an idea to develop an amazing project, eventually, you will need a team that can make it work. Not just people who know the business, but those who will manage to look for solutions, ponder and change the idea of the product, advising, professional, and loyal.

The core team, what specialists you need to hire in the first place

Of course, the number of specialists depends on the type and aim of your startup and the niche it is targeting. But there is a shortlist of key specialists your business needs.

The list can get much bigger, but the number of employed people and their productivity will depend on the startup's success and the invested costs. Besides, people who join you at the earliest stage are more aware of the essence of your product and better understand how to launch your startup.

Hiring the people you need is another challenge. Fortunately, there are plenty of specialized marketplaces. Linkedin and recruiting companies are just some of the options.

Choosing between outsourced and in-house service, pay attention to quality and capability first. Time zone difference and fear of communication problems may be deterrent factors.

Many startups` experience shows that expanding of project`s geography will not be an issue if the team values match.

Beginners of entrepreneurship often try to find out how to launch a startup company with no large investments. Good news, it's more than possible; according to Small Business Trends, ⅓ of small businesses start with less than $5,000. But it's also possible to become a unicorn with just an idea in your pocket. Yes, that's right, Shoreline managed to fundraise almost $20,000,000 with just an idea. How did it happen, and is it so outstanding as it sounds?

Alay claims that there are four main aspects that investors will consider primarily.

Having a team with an impeccable reputation and impressive experience speaks louder than any words.

Having the customers` needs identified and verified will make the difference. Investors are looking for projects that have a clear target to aim for.

You must be armed with a clear understanding of how to answer this question. Think of your strengths and dedication, and don't be afraid to show them.

It will be much more convenient for the VCs to start working with you if your idea is close to their area of interest.

If you run a company and need a financial plan that will make a difference, you may have to use different ways to attract investors. Look for your opportunities on online fundraising platforms and attend networking events.

After the investment round is closed, it's time to celebrate but not time to stop.

It is just the beginning of the journey. When the product appears in the market, it still needs maintenance and improvement. If everything goes well, the business grows. Keep working with your development team to make sure the technical issues won't interfere.

Any effective concept needs constant change. You`ve already made a giant leap when you established it. But if you want to keep the user-centered strategy, the point is to keep collecting feedback and dealing with any potential issues.

Any project, even a big and ambitious one, has growth potential. Your new goal is to find out what exactly it is and how to use it properly.

Even fundraising $20,000,000 for the idea of Shoreline didn't make the team relax and exhale. On the contrary, they are looking for opportunities to use the new doors that are open and continue their journey, still working together with the Aspirity team.

Any tech startup overcomes stages of evolution to turn the founder's enthusiasm into a real project with a clear development strategy. The steps you need to take for startup launch may vary depending on the features and aims, but the essentials remain. Here are the basics of how to make a program launch on startup.

Based on Shoreline's experience, we can see that all these ingredients create a startup launch with the unique potential to reduce the audience`s pain.

If your startup is in the early stages and needs an experienced technical team to join, Aspirity is ready to provide an advanced front-end development and UI/UX design. Get free consultation, tell us what you are working on, and we will find the best solutions for your business.

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