Let me begin this post by saying that when we speak of failing, we are not talking about the road blocks that are inevitable for a new start-up. These things are almost essential in building a successful company. Without road blocks, a company has little opportunity to learn from its mistakes and grow as a business. Instead, this post will talk about ways to help the prevention of your start-up business failing entirely, having to close its doors and no longer run as a live business. The article that helped focus this week’s post is one written by Nicole Fallon titled, Beating the Odds: 4 Steps to Startup Success. The article features four pieces of advice to help a start-up overcome the hurdles which include: Build your Niche, Create Interest in your Start-up, Be Proactive about Market Changes, and Stick to your Strengths. The main thing that I got out of this article was to stick to your company’s core while adjusting to the market. As an avid Shark Tank watcher, this made me think about some businesses that did just that, and one business in particular came to mind, The Home T, a company that “helps you show off your home state pride, stylishly” through “insanely soft” shirts. This was a company who was simple, and stuck to their niche market, they did not try to expand to compete with other clothing brands like Sean John or Calvin Klein. Ryan, the CEO, stuck to the company’s strengths, soft, simple, stylish t-shirts that displayed a state outline and the word, “Home” across the chest. He had a large interest in his company, even giving his own Story about his own home on the company’s website. Although the company did not end up getting a deal on the Shark Tank episode (I will post the link below for all my other avid watchers), the company still shows to be a successful one, getting people to sport their Home T’s all across the nation. This article gives a good starting place for many investors, as there is a great number of people that create a business and want to tackle a million things rather than being incredible at one specific area that they have a high interest in. Although this won’t guarantee start-up success, it will absolutely help reduce the chance of failure.
P.S. Blog – Investors do not always equal start-up success
The Home T company was one that was unsuccessful in reaching a deal with any of the Shark Investors on Shark Tank, yet the company continued to grow and be successful in the market. While doing my research on The Home T company, I stumbled across another interesting articled titled, “I turned down 3 offers on ‘Shark Tank’ — here’s what I learned” written by the company’s founder Ryan Shell. Ryan talked about three important things that he learned after the show. The first, Know your numbers, it is tough to compete with the sharks, or any investors for that matter if you don’t understand the numbers of your business. Also, knowing your stuff makes you look like that much more of a expert in your business; and you should in fact, be an expert. The second, Manage the Sharks (or investors in our case). Use questions asked to help convey your story, don’t get too flustered and lost in the shuffle so that major pieces to your story are left out. Lastly, Don’t be Scared to Push Back. Not getting a deal with an investor is not the end-all-be-all, something we have seen in this company’s case. If you know your stuff don’t be afraid to negotiate and push back with investors or even say no to a deal if it is not right for your business. Overall, when thinking about success with your start-up do not automatically jump to the conclusion of money, investors, backers, etc. equal success because in many cases, they do not.
Want to Watch The Home T’s Pitch on Shark Tank? Check it out Here!
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