I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a stellar batting average when it comes to tech startups. I’ve started and worked on 3 different tech companies while I was in college in various industries (restaurant loyalty mobile app, music startup, and recruitment software).
They all failed, but I learned a ton along the way, and I’ve used that knowledge to build a successful lifestyle business, which I started while I was in college and has continued long after.
After an “official” business meeting with my first cofounder (I was 20), and by official I mean getting McDonalds, because that’s all we could afford, I remember thinking, “We’re poor college students, how are we ever going to get this off the ground?”
Looking back, there are a lot of answers to that question and I’m going to shed light on a few of them in this post.
1. Partner with someone who has money
I don’t think that you should select your longterm business partner on the basis of their economic position alone, but it’s definitely a contributing factor.
In my second startup, I had an older partner who was able to fund the majority of the development work required for the platform.
Obviously, he received most of the equity and I brought most of the hustle, putting in long hours and working tirelessly on a thousand different tasks like marketing, sales, customer support, etc.
Since there was a vesting cliff and there was a vested equity arrangement, it was a good match for both parties. He got a lot of productivity out of me and was able to test me to see whether or not I could deliver. I didn’t have to put up much of the finances and just focused on contributing sweat equity.
2. Partner with someone who has the coding ability.
Pretty much your entire focus when you’re working on a new tech product should be:
1. Conducting trial and error tests to figure out what to build and to understand your customers/market.
2. Building it quickly (minimum viable product) and getting qualitative and quantitative feedback.
3. Repeating the process until you hit product-market fit and then need to scale.
This is 100% in-line with Learn Startup Methodology, a book I highly recommend reading.
You don’t need a coder to accomplish the first task, but you will for the second. You either are going to need to pay someone to code for you or attract a coder who wants to be a partner.
I prefer the second because it will force you to get really good at recruitment, which is a skill that you’re going to need anyway to be successful.
Here’s how I’ve met the technical cofounders for a few different tech products I’ve worked on:
3. Prototype with WordPress.
This is how Groupon was first started! You can always set up a simple WordPress website and pick out a theme with the functionality that you need (like a directory, marketplace, etc).
I recommend using Bluehost to host the website, which is what all my websites use.
Once you have your website set up, you can install google analytics to start getting some real data on your website customers and, if you start seeing some traction, you can take that data to investors as an indication of demand for your product, which will make a better pitch.
4. Start it part-time or offer services
You don’t need a fully automated tech product right out of the gate.
Rather than rushing into a marketplace, take time to get to know your customers!
By offering consulting or other services to your target market, you’ll learn a lot about your future customers and their desires and pain points. You’ll also get funds that you can use to grow the business.
I also think that there is this myth that you should only start a company or try doing a startup if you’re going to commit to it full-time. That’s complete B.S.
Likely, it’s a VC that’s saying that, because they want you to be putting every waking hour into making their investment more valuable.
I would work on a tech startup part-time until you hit product-market fit. Why? It’s less risky that way, and most of what you’ll be doing up until that point anyway isn’t building. It’s understanding your customers.
Just be sure to review employment law to make sure that you’re not working on your company while you’re at work or violating any other agreements that could end up giving your employer the right to some or all of your intellectual property.
5. Seek out funding
Finally, there are a lot of ways that you can secure funding for a new business or tech venture. Each have their own pros and cons.
Whatever you do, just remember that getting funding isn’t the hard part of launching a startup. It’s building something that people actually use and find valuable. That’s what will determine your success in the long run.
I hope that the link above is helpful and that if do manage to have success with any of these strategies while bootstrapping your company, you let me know in a comment below!