Starting a business is as easy as ever as people make money on daily basis without even leaving their homes. Working online gives a person an unrivaled freedom but this does not mean that all digital startups are successful. Digital startups have the issues that all other startups have as far as growing pains and management issues. There are issues that are unique to digital startups depending on the service they provide, product, or platform they have created. The following are common startup issues as well as a few special situations digital startups tend to encounter a little more often.
Investors Just Don’t Get It
Not every startup is going to run into an angel investor at a conference or on a cross country flight. There are digital products or services that can be extremely profitable if funded. The investors’ lack of technological expertise can impact their decision not to invest in the company. Digital startups have to be more selective about the investors they present to in order for them to fully understand what they are putting their money into. Investors with backgrounds in tech are perfect as well as those younger investors that can be a bit more tech savvy. Even those in the tech world thought Zuckerberg was crazy for investing in Instagram for a billion dollars. Now that it is closer to $40 billion people have started to understand you need a special type of vision to understand how new tech will impact the consumer.
Rebranding Due To Not Standing Out
The digital marketplace is full of names that simply all seem to sound the same. When you first named your startup you could have had a great name then the market simply converged on a similar name. Hopefully this event occurs in the infancy of your company so rebranding won’t be too big of a hassle. The tough part is going to be the job of your SEO team that has already built links to your original URL. The changing of the URL is not always tough for the marketers but editors change and sites are sold so they will not end up with the same amount of links but rather redirects. Rebranding gives a company the ability to change the perceptions of the industry and even gives the company the ability to offer new services or go in a different direction totally.
Changing Host or Internet Providers As You Scale Up
Ecommerce is huge business with no sign of slowing down in the slightest. The companies that have skyrocketed are earning well above what their founders could have imagined. As a digital startup there might come a time where you have so much traffic and are selling so much you need to change your host or server. The process to transfer a domain name is not difficult but it is extremely important. You want to keep your domain URL that you have built your fortune on. Scaling up might require you to invest in your own server or purchase server space from multiple areas of the world.
Employee Turnover Due To Employee Age
Digital startups are full of younger people as they are tech savvy plus are willing to put up with the disadvantages of working at a startup simply to have a job. The startup world is fast with people switching companies and finding new jobs at an alarming rate. The solution to this problem is a thorough hiring process which will show whether a person will be content or constantly looking for the next best thing. Perks will also play a huge part in this as large corporations do not always have the perks of startups due to corporate policies. Allowing people to dress as they wish or even work from home a few days a week can convince people to stay. Broke employees still paying off their student loans will appreciate free meals from time to time. Investing in the employees to keep them happy will have a great ROI as hiring new people takes time and does not always mean they will end up as a good fit.
The digital startup space is fast paced with many companies succeeding and failing daily. The risks of working at a startup can be high but the rewards financially can surpass all expectation. What are some problems you’ve encountered in your digital startup?
