5 Most Common Tech Startup Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Launching a tech startup business is a challenging effort. It is essential to understand your startup challenges and set a strategy for how to tackle them.

Fifty million new startups are launching every year. Out of those, only 10% survive. The figures are enormous by any standard, and this will give you an idea that the world of startups is rough and, at times, unpredictable.

You have to pass through a bumpy road to turn your idea into realisation. Owning an excellent idea is only the beginning of a long journey, and there are many other actions you’ll need to execute. Along the way, you’ll also have to handle some obstacles, you’ll have to modify your plan, and you’ll even have to work hard.

There is a startup solution for almost every problem we can think of today. However, while most founders are doing exceptionally well at identifying and solving those problems, they are also getting entangled in the mesh of small to significant startup challenges.

Of all the businesses that grow, only some manage to survive the intense waves of change.

It’s every startup founder’s dream to grow their business into at least a medium-sized enterprise. The numbers may not be promising, but if you consider that most large firms that we know today began as micro-enterprises, usually without any offices, you have to believe that it’s attainable to gain such a transformation.

If you visualise big and desire to take your startup company to success, you must be willing to work harder and smarter.

I will not detail what a startup is or how it works; we all know that very well. In this blog post, I will elaborate on some of the biggest challenges faced by small business startups and how you can overcome them.

How to Overcome the Most Common Tech Startup Challenges

1. Finding “The Right” Idea

We all always have some ideas in our minds now and then. It’s often easy to come up with them. But sticking up with that one idea and not being ready to alter it is one of the biggest mistakes that many startup entrepreneurs encounter.

Most ideas need to evolve in response to customer feedback. Startup founders sometimes would sooner quit than iterate or pivot their original plan to approach customer needs.

When starting a business, think of your idea as the starting point as it has the power to take you to your destination and the ability to destroy everything.

Often you will feel frustrated by changing your plans and visions after months of work. That’s perfectly normal, and that’s how every successful business takes off its feet from the ground.

It’s not practical to proceed with many things all at once, especially when you’ve got a small crew and minimal funding. So my advice here is to start small and alter your course as you grow.

Here are a 50+ Most Successful Small Business Ideas 2022.

2. Competition

Since competition is the biggest challenge of them all, you need to deal with your competitors firmly and strategically, failing which will result in your elimination from the business game.

For that, you first have to study your competitors, where they are moving, and how quickly they will get there. To survive in this competitive business environment that covers both traditional and online businesses, you have to play cleverly and hit above their influence to obtain recognition.

However, you don’t have to be excessive in everything that you do. It would be best to analyse what your competitors are doing right and where they are wrong.

Speaking to your competitors can sometimes be useful, especially if you find it hard to know about them. Furthermore, being competent saves you from getting limited, drives you, forces you to push your limits, and helps you use your resources more realistically.

3. Running the Show Alone

It’s another common mistake that many startup business entrepreneurs make; “Wearing all the hats of a startup business” – This can be too much overwhelming

Just because you can launch a startup alone doesn’t mean that you are better in all domains. It’s impractical to take many roles as owner of a new company, including marketing, sales, accounting, IT, and even research.

Now how can you overcome this challenge? Be straightforward with yourself regarding your strengths and weaknesses, and realise that your time is invaluable when running a business.

While you can certainly explore the idea of training and developing your abilities, it’s better to seek others’ help in the fields where you struggle. It’s ideal to hire a technical co-founder rather than take all company roles all alone.

Take a look at our blog on How To Find a Technical Co-founder or Technology Partner For your Startup?

4. Winning Trust of Customers

How many times have we heard this phrase? “The Customer is the king.” And that’s accurate. Losing customer’s trust is one of the most critical challenges that many companies face today, especially startups.

With a delighted and loyal customer base, startups can advance towards perfection because customers are the real strength behind any startup’s success.

Their support and even their social media presence alone can give tech startups an advantage against most traditional businesses.

To win customers’ trust and support, you need to act aggressively to execute a customer-centric system across your entire workflow as a startup.

Here are some more tips for creating a customer-centric strategy for your business:

• • • Honestly believe that the customer comes first.
    • Focus on what the customer wants.
    • Focus on building relationships.
    • Implement customer marketing strategies.
    • Have a reliable product.
    • Maintain consistency.

Check out How to Acquire the First 20 Customers for Your Startup.

5. Hiring and Retaining Right People

Hiring the right employees and choosing the right team that’ll fit your culture is advantageous in two ways: skilled and prolific people help you grow straight away; secondly, they cooperate, share responsibilities, and solve challenges.

After all, collaboration is a fundamental factor in growing your company’s feet off the ground. Warren Buffett once quoted, “I look for three qualities before hiring my employees: Intelligence, Energy, and Integrity.”

Moreover, hiring the best employee and sliding them into attrition is something you have to avoid. Many research says there’s at least a 40% chance for your employees to change their jobs within a year. So you have to make the required adjustments to retain them.

Bonus

Here are a few more key areas that you need to focus on before launching your first startup:

1. Product and Its Market

You need to execute proper market research to know your target market, recognise customer needs, and pinpoint level-headed competitors.

Before releasing your product in the market, you should ask yourself how it is unique and superior to your competitors’ offer.

2. Unrealistic Expectations

To grow in a competing business world, entrepreneurs should have high but controlled expectations. You have to avoid getting any unrealistic expectations beforehand. Always have an eye on the available resources, the scope of growth potential, and other business components.

3. Time management

There are a million things in every entrepreneur’s to-do list, and often we need more than 24 hours a day to get everything done.

So it’s crucial to begin your day by prioritising the duties at hand and order them according to their importance. Assign a deadline for every task so that you can complete them within an estimated time-frame.

4. Funding

Money is always an unanswered question in front of every budding startup founder. If you have the money with you, then you should invest it.

Another way to tackle this challenge is by finding an investor. If that seems too hard for you, then there’s always the technical co-founder option before you.

Also read about the 17 vital factors Venture Capitalists Evaluate When Deciding to Invest in Your Startup.

Conclusion

If you’re about to enter the world of tech startups, or you’re already a part of it, you’ll have to face the above challenges at any part of your entrepreneurial journey.

The beginners and even the experienced players in this field face these challenges always. It’s impossible to overcome all these startup challenges all at once. Take it one step at a time, and always remember startup success is the total of small wins.

It’s better to have someone behind you to guide you rather than failing alone.

We at NeoITO help startups build their businesses from scratch, guide them by giving free startup product development consultation, and most importantly, help them achieve financial freedom by developing their idea into a business model.

Now that you have understood these startup challenges, which one do you think you need to improve more on? Or do you have any more points to be added to this list? Let us know in the comments below. Or Contact Us!