5 secrets to start-up success
Starting a business takes an innovative spirit, capital, a business plan — and in an economic climate like the current one, it takes guts. Who better to share the keys to entrepreneurship in trying times than those who have been there and done it? For the past four years, teams at the Bloch School’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Innovation have pitched, developed and built businesses for the annual Venture Creation Challenge. Here, in the words of previous winners, are five keys to succeeding in a less-than-ideal market.
1. Get going
“There’s never a better time to start a company than where you are right now. You can come up with any type of excuse. If you’re about to get married … if you’re about to have a baby, that can be an excuse not to get started, but those are always going to come up.”
Steve Timperley, Tencap Tennis
2. Put in the work
“You have to do your due diligence before people will want to help you. Do the leg work. The hardest parts come first. Research it, then go ask for help. Once you’ve done the work, people are more willing to provide that help.”
Chad Owen, Lovesick Clothing
3. Go “all out”
“Go at it all out, because that’s what it takes: dedication, drive and initiative. You’ve got to find a way when things are tough like this.”
Ryan Konen, Fun Flotations
4. Know the business
“There are all kinds of surprises that can come at you, and having a plan and knowing that business well enough to respond and survive is key.”
Becky Sandring, Chef Burger
5. Be mindful, not scared
“One of the downfalls of what’s happened (in the economy), is that we always have to be mindful of the economy, which sort of puts in a false fear. Don’t let it create fear.”
Brendan O’Shaughnessy, Lovesick Clothing