We often hear the phrase that startups are very difficult and most start-up businesses “fail” in the first year of their existence. This applies to almost any area of business – from HoReCa to the modern world of cryptocurrency. Each country has its specifics and customs, but the main problems are fundamental. “Hit” in the market, the quality of the product, investment in a new enterprise, the eternal problem with customer service… How can a newborn business stay afloat and scale in the future? There is a way out – to hire startup consultants. In this article, we will consider in detail whether it is worth hiring this specialist and what benefits he can bring.
Who Are These Startup Consultants?
Startup consultants are first-class strategists and thinkers. They are valued not for knowledge and expertise in industries, but for critical thinking, methodologies, and approaches. They solve many problems instantly, asking the right questions and formulating conditions. Consultants are the smartest people who have received a brilliant business education. If you are really interested in this topic, then the Forbes website has an informative and expert article on how to become a business consultant.
What Are The Ways Of Startup Consulting And How Effective Are They?
The methods that we will give below will reveal to you a more complete picture of such a concept as startup consulting services. How exactly can a consultant help a start-up business? And is the game worth the candle, so to speak? Coming to the front, we can safely say that yes, it is worth it. To add more, if we talk further on the topic of startups, then the topic of software for managing quotes is very relevant.
1. The Consultant Can Lead One Of The Directions
If a startup has the money to perform an extremely important, but narrow-profile task, then you can find a freelance consultant. What services can such a specialist provide to a young company?
- preparation of hypotheses for customer development
- conducting interviews and collecting feedback
- landing page development
- polishing a set of documents for the investment round
- structuring information for a business plan (and writing a business plan)
- market and trend research
- business modeling and sensitivity analysis of key drivers of digital marketing
2. The Consultant Can Become A Project Mentor
If you go into tactics and the operation does not sound intriguing, then the consultant can always remain at the strategic level in the role of mentor (for a share) or adviser (for a fee) of the project. Such cases when the founder did not have a partner about which to check the high-level assumptions that are very common in the modern business market. Here, for example, an entrepreneur is sitting in a coworking space, an idea comes to mind, but there is no one to discuss it with. What to do, whom to call? Mom will say that 100% must be done; a friend will say that on Friday evening you need to drink beer, and the girl will most likely go to another. These are the realities of life.
A mentor is almost like an older brother, but only in business. And an adviser is almost like a partner, but without a share. Both those and others are not next to the founder 24/7, working at the computer. But the founder can always pick up the phone and call them on the most important issue. Questions are likely to be on logic, common sense and formulation of the problem, so they will not take much time. But the expertise of startup consultants in this case can radically change the course of the entire project.
3. Consultant Can Target Round A And B
As soon as a startup confirms or refutes all hypotheses, creates a viable business model, then scaling problems will make themselves felt. And this is just the area of responsibility of any consultant. How can startup consultants be useful at this stage?
- organization of business operations
- value chain
- marketing and sales, deliveries
- automation, product development
Again, with a small caveat: there is not such a high uncertainty as in the early stages. Sometimes it gets really difficult here. Many of the problems at this stage are not systemic and are resolved fairly quickly. This is a whole list of “easy” victories, so you need to distribute your time as efficiently as possible.
A Little About Investment Attraction Rounds
Analytics – it is from this stage that the process of financing a startup begins. In more detail, then: – evaluation of the product
– taking into account the demand for the product
– market scale, financial performance indicators are analyzed
– taking into account the skills and experience of the team, the level of quality of management and not only
The choice of the most effective and correct round of investments, a specific investor (whether it be an accelerator or a venture fund), fixing the amount of the required amount – all this will directly depend on the result of the analytics. At each new stage of financing, the number of financing increases. Investment rounds are divided into early and late. Yes, only two types. But early-stage funding is loosely divided into pre-financing, seed funding, angel funding, and Round A. While Round B, Round C, Round D (and so on) are the later stages.
4. The Consultant Can Work With A Startup At Its Further Stages
Any startup, with the right approach to all processes, can turn into a small and medium-sized business. SMEs are rapidly gaining their place in the economies of developing countries. In developed regions, for example, small and medium-sized businesses with up to 200 employees account for up to 99.8% of all registered enterprises in the country. What role do consultants play at this stage of business development?
Small and medium businesses, by their size, are always a reflection of the personality of the founder and director of the company. Therefore, the wrong pace and violation of business ethics complicate the construction of a sustainable business structure. Creating and maintaining a corporate culture is a complex and painstaking job. It is thanks to the fact that a lot of attention is paid to the corporate culture that many startups have been able not only to survive but also to scale. A productive and friendly atmosphere, clearly defined tasks, and employees hired for their positions will be motivated to do the impossible. The work of startup consultants here is similar to working with Round A and B. The main difference is in the more rigid business culture and the personality of the founder or director of the business.
Conclusion
So it’s time to sum up some results of our article. Of course, if you are a startup and are taking your first steps in the business industry, then you should use the services of startup consulting. After all, a consultant is first and foremost an expert who specializes in creating a stable and successful foundation for new business ventures. If you build the right communication with a professional in your field, convey to him all your ideas and desires, then the result will be impressive. The selection of the ideal candidate from hundreds of startup consultants must be approached thoughtfully and carefully. What do you think, are the costs of a startup consultant justified if the budget of your business is very limited?
About the author:
Janet Polson is a graduate of George Washington University in International business. She is an unspoken expert in the study of science and philosophy. Janet is also a blogger, author of tech articles and she works as business analyst at Computools.
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