Loading...
Answers
MenuHow to start start-up?
This question has no further details.
Answers
1) Have an idea for a product or service
2) Write a business plan
3) Validate your numbers
4) Raise funds
5) Start selling
First identify the product or service
Second check the market
Next identify the customer segment
Start small, correct mistakes
Next venture big
You can call me for more detailed insights
For me, it always starts with the user. I look for a real-world problem something I or people around me are actually struggling with. Once I find that pain point, I obsess over understanding it deeply: what triggers it, what people are currently doing to solve it, and why those solutions fall short.
From there, I prototype fast, whether that’s building a lightweight app, a landing page, or even just a clickable Figma. The goal is to test demand before spending real time or money. I’ve built and launched multiple apps this way, some hit, some didn’t, but I always walked away with more clarity.
I also think a huge unlock is how you think about distribution. I don’t just ask, “How do I build this?”; I ask, “How will I get this in front of people?”. This mindset helped me build and scale apps to 1M+ DAU.
Last thing: you don’t need to have all the answers up front. Startups evolve. The trick is to stay close to your users, keep iterating, and don’t be afraid to pivot if you’re learning faster than you're growing.
Building startups are the best adventure, can't wait to see what you launch!
-> Start with a Problem You Genuinely Care About
Not just a cool idea.
Ask yourself:
“Is this a real problem? Would I still care about solving it even if I don’t get rich?”
The best startups solve problems that bug you or affect people you deeply understand.
-> Talk to People—A Lot
Don’t build anything yet.
Go talk to your potential users or customers.
Listen. Don’t pitch.
Ask what they’re struggling with, how they solve it now, and what sucks about those solutions.
-> Build a Scrappy Version (MVP)
Now make something simple that solves part of the problem.
Not perfect. Not polished. Just usable.
It could be a Notion doc, a Google form, a WhatsApp group—whatever gets real feedback.
-> Put It in Front of Real People
Don’t wait until it’s “ready.”
Launch fast, even if it’s ugly. Get real users or buyers.
Start small. Charge money early if it’s a business. That’s the real test.
-> Iterate Based on What You Learn
This is where most people quit.
You’ll hear crickets. Or “meh.” Or worse.
Good. That means you’re in the game.
Tweak it. Reframe it. Try again. Stay close to your users.
-> Keep It Simple, Focused, and Small
Don’t try to do everything.
Start with a narrow audience and one clear value:
“I help [specific person] solve [specific problem] using [specific method].”
-> Build Momentum, Not Perfection
Startups aren’t made in a day.
They’re built in tiny steps:1st user, 1st paying customer, 1st tiny win
Stack those and you're a founder. Simple as that.
-> Ask for Help
You don’t have to do it alone.
Talk to other founders. Get a mentor. Ask dumb questions.
Everyone’s winging it. Seriously.
-> Stay Lean. Stay Real. Stay in the Game.
Fancy office? Nope.
Pitch deck with animations? Nope.
Burning your savings with no customers? Hell no.
Keep it lean, keep it honest, and keep going.
Proven approach 27+ years experiences with 500+ companies:
1. Know your customers and their problems
2. Know what you have - money, people, knowledge, authority
3. Know where to seek quality help.
4. Determine how to resolve the customers' problems and assess your ability to address them effectively.
5. Develop a working business model to realise them.
6. Draft a business and financial plan
7. Connect with people and organisations to seek help, partnership, or collaboration, and close the capability gap for the startup.
8. Work on selling to partners and pioneer buyers for MVP or trial solution, investors, etc., concurrently.
9. Finally, develop a viable and scalable business model with a relatively acceptable product-market fit solution and a go-to-market (GTM) strategy before transitioning to the next growth phase, specifically the early revenue stage.
Related Questions
-
What should I do to have my first client on Clarity.fm?
I started on Clarity just by answering questions last summer. I used to love Quora but really disagreed with a number of changes they made and so when Clarity launched answers, I started answering questions. I'm incredibly busy but let's face it: we all have extra time. We spend it looking at our phones, on Facebook, socializing with friends, whatever way each person does it, we all spend time on non mission critical stuff. Because I genuinely enjoy helping others, I treated Quora as a way of relaxing the same way others would read news sites or blogs. And so I switched all that time to Clarity by answering questions. I don't recall the exact specifics but by providing real answers (not just, "call me, I can help you), I had my first call request within about a month of my first answer. And I got a nice review. And some more questions answered, and a couple more calls, and a couple more reviews. And from that point, the call volume increased. Simultaneously, I started referring all "can I pick your brain" requests on LinkedIn and email to my Clarity account. And so some calls initiated that way. More reviews. Now, a year later, I have done over 200 calls, with the majority of it inbound from Clarity. Take it from me, if you make the time, and provide genuine help to people, you will get rewarded for it. But like anything in life, if you're not willing to invest the time and resources, you're unlikely to see any return.TW
-
How does my startup hire an affordable marketing expert?
I don't even know how to answer this. Do you know what the difference between McDonalds and the local burger joint that is filing for bankruptcy is? It's marketing. McDonalds is worth billions of dollars not because of the quality of their food, but because of their marketing. Marketing is not an expense. A janitor is an expense. Your computer is an expense. Marketing is an INVESTMENT. Would you shop around for the cheapest heart surgeon? Of course not. Because you would likely end up dead. Why, then, do you shop around for a marketing expert? Are you ok with your company going bankrupt? Is that worth the small savings to you? No. Of course not. Hire someone who is good at marketing. Hire someone who knows what they are doing. Buy yourself a Lamborghini with your profit the first quarter. Get a beach house in hawaii. Grab a yacht. Or, try to find your business the cheapest heart surgeon you can and then spend the next five years wondering why such a solid business idea failed in the first 6 months. I'm passionate about this exact topic because all those statistics you read about "70% of businesses failing in two years" are solely because of horrible marketing.AM
-
How do you build social media presence up before a product launch?
It can certainly be tough to build up a substantial follower base, starting from nothing or very little, especially if you haven't launched your product yet. But here are a few tactics to help you get in front of more people pre-launch: 1) Start sharing tons of useful content. Before you bother sending people to your Twitter feed or Facebook page, you want to make sure they'll find something valuable once they get there. If you have the time, create original content that ties into your industry, your product, or your company in some way (without directly promoting yourself, though). If you don't have the bandwidth to create your own content, find other articles from bloggers you admire or experts in your industry, and share their content. Just make sure you're putting out information that's highly relevant and valuable to the audience you're trying to attract so you can engage them once they find you. 2) Create conversation. The people who aren't following you yet aren't seeing your tweets, so how do you show them value and get them to discover you? Start a conversation! At Change Collective, we're rolling out our first course on Becoming an Early Riser. So I'll do a Twitter search for "need to wake up earlier" and find a bunch of people who are tweeting about the exact problem we're setting out to solve. By favoriting their tweets or replying with -- "That's great! We think we can help - check out our newest course & let us know what you think!" -- I'm getting our product on their radar and simultaneously providing value to them. 3) Ask for help. Start with your fellow team members, and ask them to share the company's Facebook posts or retweet some of your tweets. You can even create lazy tweets for them to share. What about your board members? Advisors? VCs? They all have a stake in helping your company grow awareness and adoption, so find an easy and appropriate way for them to help by leveraging their networks. And if you have friends and family who are excited about your business and supportive of what you're doing, they probably won't mind a friendly request to help spread the news every once in a while. Hope this helps! I just joined an early-stage startup and I'm currently building up our marketing from scratch. Happy to jump on a call and offer some tips from the trenches if you'd like. Best of luck!SB
-
What is the best timing in the new year to launch business marketing?
Hi there! In few words, the launch date does not matter a lot as long as you are following with a continuous marketing plan all the year. It is better to tune your lunch date according to your marketing campaign than connecting it to the seasonal event. The timing of your launch only matters if your website is already ranked or has a good authority associated to it. Launching a website is not like opening a local shop. The launch date is defined by the effectiveness of your marketing campaign. In other words, your question must be rephrased as: "When is the best time to launch my first marketing campaign for my newly created website?". In that case, you will need to describe in details what kind of website you have and how are you planning to market it. I would be able to give you a more accurate answer if you explain to me what kind of website are you planning to launch or what products mainly are you selling. Hope that helps!RZ
-
Is it possible to start a Social Media Marketing Agency with not much experience in Social Media and not much money?
I have to ask why you would start an agency in an area you don't have much experience in. Perhaps you'd be better off getting at least a little experience first?AV
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.