Start-up Lifecycles - main stages from being an idea until successfull business

Ahmed Elsayes

Ahmed Elsayes

· 9 min read
startup lifecycles

Young entrepreneurs who are considering beginning their own firm should be prepared for a range of ups and downs. Although you may refer to them as "difficulties" and "victories," experts and seasoned businesspeople understand that these are simply normal stages of a company.

However, the question now is:

If every firm is different, how can a start-up have any stages of the lifecycle?

To answer that, we should know that all start-ups differ to some extent, but they all have a common characteristic or you can call it a unified model for growth from being an idea into a company with clear business model

For you, this regularity indicates good news. Don't dismiss a start-up concept because it seems unsettling, difficult, or unpredictable. Just take it and adhere to the steps listed on the checklist. Be patient, love what you do despite everything, and have confidence in yourself.

These are all components of a winning secret recipe for start-ups.

What are the five starting phases that foretell the future of every business concept?

Each start-up is a marathon with 5 pit stops that bring it to the next level:

  • Idea polishing,
  • MVP development,
  • Fitting product to the market,
  • Scaling
  • Globalizing.

Let’s check what’s going on each stage.

1. Entrepreneur mind-set

Every endeavour, particularly a start-up, begins with an idea. So, spend some time imagining your company in great detail. How will you proceed? Who will you look after? Why would these people require your service or product in their daily lives?

Each company is essentially a solution to a certain issue. If your company doesn't make any improvements, it probably had a poor start. Therefore, edit if you know your aim and context in advance in order to be effective. Find the answers to these questions before starting your firm, if possible. Don't waste your time or your resources.

Identifying your target audience is the next step after broad theorizing. Understanding your customers is essential for survival. Therefore, as the creator of a startup, be passionate about getting to know your clients better and better every day. Utilize all the information you can, including academic studies, forum posts, government statistics, social media profiles of your rivals, in-depth interviews with your initial clients, and scientific research. Continue until you have thoroughly defined the consumer profile.

The ultimate objective of every such investigation is to identify the customer pain, or the particular issue that is acute enough to have an absolute value. Once you have acquired this priceless information, you are on solid ground to go to the next level.

The largest error committed at this point is starting a business in the hope that some undefined "people" will find it appealing.

To overcome: Get to know your clients. Become a fervent supporter of them. Continue until you can clearly see their persona and their suffering. If it will benefit your business, find out what they have for breakfast.

2. Developing the Minimum Viable Propduct (MVP)

Don't become overly enthused and go to extremes when you've gathered enough proof to put your theories into effect. The second stage is not about getting your employees a massage or renting a penthouse for your office. Before declaring that you have identified all consumer pain points, use an MVP to verify your theory. The greatest way to monitor client behaviour practically and minimize your risks is with this solution.

In addition to confirming your company's fundamental goals, an MVP also makes important technical specifics clear. The best 5 tools for testing your theory are listed below:

  • User interviews (when you ask which problems your first clients had with your product)
  • landing pages with an explanatory film (in which you highlight the features of your product)
  • A/B testing is your best buddy for figuring out which of two variants people prefer, especially if they can't decide for themselves
  • Promotional campaign (enhance your insights with the extensive statistical data from Google Analytics and Facebook)
  • fundraising initiative (ask your users to vote for your service with their money)

Utilize every instrument available and get a sufficient number of first consumers to profit from this move. Spend money creating a landing page and starting a crowdfunding campaign because these are the best methods for determining the true demand.

The largest error committed at this point is developing your product without demonstrating it to customers.

To overcome: engage your customers at every stage of the product development process. Recognize the value in each piece of criticism and utilize it to guide your work going forward. Utilize every metric at your disposal to have a thorough understanding of your consumers' responses.

3. Polishing the details

It's time to optimize your product for the market demands once you've built up a following of supporters who agree with your viewpoint and are willing to pay for your solution. Don't rush; the development should be easy and even gradual. But avoid losing control of the situation by frequently monitoring the KPIs for the retention rate.

Everything should be tested, including your landing page's CTAs, social media messages, and funnel stages. Pay close attention to your distribution channels because there will eventually only be a few worthwhile platforms for future optimization. Don't be scared to abandon some projects halfway through.

The main objective is to remove the superfluous components and enhance the functional ones. That's when your company transforms into a distinctive solution with all the qualities required to address its market in the most effective manner. Simply said, that is how you handle an issue in an unusual way.

The main mistake committed here was allocating equal resources to each direction.

To overcome: Pay close attention to the most efficient methods and procedures. Work diligently until every technological aspect is flawless and your user base begins expanding steadily.

4. Scale your business

When you've developed a close relationship with your target market and have the ideal product to provide, it's time to scale your business. Analyse your company's core strengths critically in order to make a sensible choice. Then, hire the best experts to build upon and enhance these assets. Make sure these new hires get the resources, funds, and operational freedom they need to perform at their peak.

The wisest investment for the future is expanding your workforce. Any work, whether it be the addition of new features to an existing product, a new service, or an entirely new project, can be accomplished with the proper people in place.

The main mistake committed here was letting our guard down and believing that the hardest times were behind us.

To overcome: avoid wasting money on experts. Even if your team has previously shown its commitment in earlier phases, you still need to hire the best new talent to distribute management responsibilities and ensure the long-term viability of your firm.

5. Become an international company

You're about to become a global firm once all the prior steps have been successfully completed. The possibilities are endless, so be daring!

If you've succeeded in your own nation, seek for chances to grow there as well. You'll never get bored because every new country brings with it new difficulties! There are 200 countries in the world, giving you 200 chances to establish a business based on the same concept.

The largest error committed on this level was focusing just on your domestic market.

Never stop learning and pushing yourself to grow as a person. Launch each new nation as a start-up: determine the target market, create an MVP, put in a lot of effort to launch, and choose the best local team.

Final Note:

The more you adhere to these steps mentioned and avoid being biased toward your idea, the higher chances of success you will have with your business. You should give a great attention to common mistakes which entrepreneur fell into during every phase of start-up life cycle

Ahmed Elsayes

About Ahmed Elsayes

Ahmed is Automation Engineer with multidisciplinary background. However, his main expertise is in technologies related to machine programming and development of web applications. He is also a passionate entrepreneur

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