The Ultimate Guide to Startups

Welcome. I’m glad you're here.

You might be in the midst of launching a startup. Maybe you’ve planned out your path into the world of startups and have yet to start … or perhaps you’ve simply dreamed about your startup behind-the-scenes.

Regardless, welcome. We know this journey is emotional, difficult, scary, exciting, risky, and rewarding — all at the same time. I get it, and I’m honored you’ve chosen HubSpot as a key resource.

When you hear the wordstartup, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A fancy tech venture based in Silicon Valley? A scrappy physical products business pulling all-nighters in someone’s garage? Maybe you think of the founders and inventors who present on Shark Tank.

Startups mean different things to different people. That’s the beauty of the concept — it’s completely up toyouhow you want to formulate, define, and grow your startup.

But what’s not necessarily customizable is the path to success. Every startup needs a validated idea, sufficient funding, and a long list of users. Stuck on how to achieve those? That’s why we created this guide.

Below, we’ll talk about how to validate your idea, obtain necessary funding, and grow your customer base. We’ll also cover a few common startup struggles and how to overcome them. Use the chapter links below to jump around, or keep reading to dive in.

When you hear the phrasestartup business, you may assume all ventures are early-stage. However, there are some startups that are newer than others and are, therefore, earlier on in the process of establishing themselves in the industry and among customers. These businesses can be referred to asearly-stage startups.

No matter if your business is early-stage or further along in the process of growth, you'll likely be able to identify which of the six types of startups it falls under — and by doing so, you'll be able to kickstart your strategy for a successful launch (which we'll cover in more detail shortly).

Let's briefly review what makes each of these startup types unique.

1. 小型到中型的业务初创公司are those that don't intend to grow over about 2,000 employees.
2. Social startupswork to make a difference in a community and positively contribute to a social cause or philanthropic endeavor of some kind.
3. Large business startupsinclude companies that are meant to innovate and make substantial waves in their industry.
4. Scalable startupsare businesses that are formed to scale immensely over time.
5. 可获的/可买的启动s包括创建的业务，目的是在某个时候被购买。
6. Lifestyle startupsare created with the intention of focusing on the behaviors and activities (or the "lifestyle") that the founders — and their target audience — are passionate about.

In addition these types of startups, you've also probably heard the phraselean startup. TheLean Startup methodology是指旨在最大程度地减少资金需求以及市场风险的发展和增长过程。这个过程节省了宝贵的时间和资源 - 两家初创公司无力浪费的资产。bob体育苹果系统下载安装

Regardless of how lean, nimble, or scrappy a startup is — or which type of startup you're working for —more than 90%of them fail. And many of thesefailures are caused by incompetence (typically involvingcash flowand management troubles).

We at HubSpot don’t want you to fail — so much so that we’ve created aproducts and helpful informationdedicated just for startups. That’s also why we created this guide. Let's dive in.

如何启动一个成功的创业企业

启动初创公司不是线性过程。有些步骤预先确定其他步骤，但在大多数情况下，该过程涉及许多运动部件。本节概述了构成众所周知的启动轮的不同辐条。

1. Set up your startup.

The first step tolaunching a successful startup businessrequires you to create a strong foundation — this is critical to your ability to grow and scale your business effectively. To do so, determine which of thesix types of startupsyour business fits under.

Then, consider various factors like your strategy, budget, and legal structure, and more. This is also when you'll determine which type of startup you're creating.

Once you have set up your startup appropriately, it's time to validate the product or service you want to sell.

2. Conduct market research for your product or service.

你有一个业务,现在你需要一个主意。让我们s say you’ve got a great one. Subscription boxes for pets, toothpaste tablets, or a co-working space for servicing your car … whatever your idea is, you’ve got one. You’ve named it and outlined how it solves a problem that customers face. And you’re excited about it.

But that doesn’t matter … not as much as how excited yourcustomersare about it. Ideally, excited enough to pay for it.

By talking to your potential customers and understanding their wants, needs, and expectations, you can avoid investing in products or services in which your customers aren’t interested. The same goes for competitor research. This is how startups avoid wasting resources — by ensuring their idea and product will be well-received before they take the time and money to create it.

How can you do the same? By conductingmarket research.

Market research is a must when it comes to building a startup. It’s invaluable for multiple reasons:

• Define and engage your target audience to learn more about how you can better solve their problems.
• Analyze your competition, research their product or service, pricing structure, messaging, and unique selling proposition (USP) to better understand how you can set your business apart.
• Formulate yourpositioning statementfor your product and yourbrand.
• Fuel yourgo-to-market strategyto outline precisely how you'll present your product or service to your intended market.

3. Obtain startup funding.

Now, let’s talk money. Did you know that thevast majority of startupsare funded by their founder(s) or by their friends and family? That’s calledbootstrapping— when the owner pays for their business' expenses.

Bootstrapping is tough work. (Remember when we said 90% of all startups fail?) Getting funded by outside investors doesn’t necessarily make it easier, either … considering that75% of funded startups fail.

But that’s not to say you shouldn’t get funding. If done right, working with investors can give you more than money — it can also provide connections, advice, and mentorship.

There are a few ways to raise money for your startup — read through the following list to determine which might work for your business situation.

Incubator Funding

Incubatorshelp startups accelerate their growth through support for management training, office space, capital, mentorship, and networking connections.

Incubators can be sponsored by a variety of organizations: for-profit ventures, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and even community and economic development organizations. Incubators can also be organized by industry, niche, or location — some may work specifically with fin-tech or agricultural startups while others only accept startups in Kansas.

Not every startup is a good fit for an incubator. Fit depends on capital and physical needs, size, location, and how much equity you’re willing to give up. Regardless, for new startups, incubators are worth looking into.

(学习differences between incubators and accelerators here.)

Venture Capital Funding

Venture capital (VC)is private equity (money) given to startups who show high, long-term growth potential. This money is provided by venture capitalists who spearhead these specialized firms or funds.

VC is often a give-and-take scenario: Venture capitalists give money and take equity — thus gaining a seat at the table for company decisions. Some startups appreciate the extra voice; others don’t. Tools likecapitalization tables(cap tables) can help you understand your equity and manage your ownership.

Also under the VC umbrella are angel investors, which are high net worth individuals who are also entrepreneurs themselves. Angel investors often look to fund startups in the same industry as their own, and they sometimes “co-invest” with another angel investor or group of investors.

(Fun fact: HubSpot’sDharmesh Shahis an angel investor in over 60 startups.)

Crowdfunding

Crowdfundingrefers to raising money from your future customers and fans. It’s a great way to gain equity without giving away ownership, although crowdfunding doesn’t offer the same level of mentorship and education as incubators or venture capitalists do.

众筹对于筹集资金而不仅仅是有价值的。众筹提高了对您的品牌和产品的认识，将您的品牌推销给新的受众，并固有地验证您的产品或服务创意。

Get started on crowdfunding sites likeFundable,Crowdfunder, andWeFunder. If you’re crowdfunding for a product, check outKickstarterandIndiegogo.

4. Grow your customer base.

Startups scale fast because they 1) target the right customers and 2) continually work to grow their customer base.

How do they do this? The answer isgrowth hacking, a fancy term for using creative, innovative, low-coststrategies to help achieve exponential user growth.

On the surface, growth hacking might seem overwhelming and intimidating. But if you’ve ever tested any aspect of your marketing strategy — an email subject line, web form format, or social media copy — you’ve dabbled in growth hacking without even knowing.

Startups can also organically grow. This process refers to growth achieved by internal initiatives versus external funding and/ or acquisitions. Some examples of organic growth include content marketing, social media marketing,search engine optimization (SEO), PR, paid advertising, and email marketing.

Common Startup Struggles

With such a high failure rate, it’s no surprise that startups are hard work. Thankfully, the impressive number of risk-takers and founders that have come before you have learned a thing or two about common startup struggles and how to overcome them.

While we’ve hardly captured them all, here are three major issues you'll want to keep an eye on as you grow.

1. Product Management Struggles

When designing and selling a product, it’s good practice to listen to your customers and continue improving on the product. But, have you ever thought about when to stop? Not many founders do … which is how they experience feature creep.

Feature creep is the ongoing, excessive expansion of a product or the continual addition of new features. While improvement is a good thing, non-stop improvement can be a drain on resources and eventually become unhealthy.

Think about it this way: If you had a goal to lose weight, you wouldn’tcontinuallylose weight until you die, right? No way … you’d waste away into oblivion if you tried. At some point on your weight loss journey, it’d become more about maintenance and balance than loss.

The same goes for your products. It’s great to have goals and to shoot for the perfect product, but at some point, you must stop and focus on maintaining a best-seller. Then, you can reroute your resources to a new goal or product.

2. Money Management Struggles

Ah, the silent startup killer: money management and cash flow.

Lots and lots of startups fail because they 1) can’t bring in money, 2) spend their money on the wrong things, 3) manage their money all wrong, or 4) all of the above.

While we can’t necessarily advise on how to fix all of these problems (as that will depend on your specific startup and expenses), we can equip you with a few helpful tools for managing your money better.

• Operating income formulacalculates your startup’s profitability. Profitability is a major indicator of success and potential future success.
• Burn rateshows you how fast you spend money before you reach profitability. A correctly calculated burn rate can be responsible for growth, planning, and future success.
• Debt-to-equity ratioshows how exactly your capital has been raised. This number tells lenders and investors how financially stable or risky your business might be.
• Working capitalcalculates how much money you have left to pay off short-term debts. This indicates the current financial health of your business.
• Cash flowtells you how much money you have coming in and out of your business. It shows exactly where cash is coming from and how it’s being spent.

Use these tools and formulas to evaluate and improve the financial health of your startup.

3. Growth Management Struggles

如果我要您要，我敢打赌，您可以列出一大批成功的创始人 - 史蒂夫·乔布斯，比尔·盖茨，杰夫·贝佐斯，仅举几例。

In the startup world, it’s easy to compare. It’s also easy to change our decision-making and problem-solving processes when we hear what worked for others. But when we blindly focus on startup success stories — and forget about the numerous failures — we risk learning the valuable lessons that those failures could teach us, too.

This is calledsurvivorship bias,许多创业公司与它斗争。当你成长your startup, it’s important to learn from successes and failures. As amazing as the stories of Jobs, Gates, and Bezos are, they represent a fraction of the business owners that have come before you.

To avoid survivorship bias and grow your startup on your terms, try to keep your "business blinders" on. Focus on what’s ahead of you, and do your best to not compare to other founders or startup businesses. If you have a pressing question, try to seek answers from successes and failures alike — there will be valuable lessons available from both.

Growth in the startup lane moves quickly, and managing it can be super difficult. Keep your business’s growth on track by balancing your influence and focusing on your own business.

Startup Resources

If you want to learn more about startups and starting a business, check out some of the below resources.

Startup Blogs

• OnStartups— By Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot. This blog talks about lots of common startup topics and features guest posts by other startup experts.
• Signal v. Noise— Started by Basecamp’s founders, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. These founders share strong opinions and perspectives on the current state of startups, business, and capitalism.
• A Smart Bear— By Jason Cohen, the creator of WP Engine. Cohen writes about all things startups, sales, bootstrapping, fundraising, technology, and entrepreneurship.
• Venture Hacks— By the creators of AngelList, a site for finding job and investment opportunities for startups. This blog features a mix of how-to content, opinion articles, and guest posts from fellow investors and startup founders.

Startup Books

• The Lean Startup— By Eric Ries. This book covers the entire Lean Startup methodology and how to apply it to your business.
• Rework— By Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. The co-founders of Basecamp talk about “a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business.”
• Do More Faster— By Brad Feld. Feld aggregates practical advice from founders and investors about startups, growth, and raising money.
• Startup Owner’s Manual— By Steve Blank. This book provides a step-by-step guide to starting a profitable, scalable business.

Startup Events

• Startup Weekend— A 54-hour startup event put on by Google for Startups and TechStars. Multiple locations around the world.
• SXSW- 在德克萨斯州奥斯汀举行的为期一周的活动，庆祝企业家精神，技术，音乐和电影。2019年的活动是3月8日至17日。
• TechCrunch Disrupt— One of the oldest startup events in the world. Held in San Francisco and Berlin.

Over To You

So, what does startup mean to you? After this guide, you should have a good idea of how you want your startup to look. As long as you have a validated idea, plan for funding, and rapid growth mindset, your startup should be poised for great success.

Consider us your partner on your startup journey. Regardless of what stage you’re in, we know it’s an emotional, difficult, scary, exciting, risky, and rewarding journey. We’re honored you’ve made HubSpot a partner on your path to growth and victory.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.