Early-stage #startups might be at peak risk in 2023: Reading this poll to 500 startup founders that summarized why their startups failed in 2022 in three main reasons
👉 Lack of sufficient funding
👉 Running out of cash, aka poor financial planning.
👉 The ongoing systematic crisis
This may not be entirely true for all startups, but below I am sharing the top five things that I have learned from over 10 years of working with startups, advising startups and scale-ups, and as a founder myself, that any startup can do to survive and thrive during difficult times.
1. Do the math, follow the math. Numbers never lie.
Gut feelings are fantastic, and experimentation is great; just put it on paper and run the numbers. In this day and age, there's a tool that can help you plan and simulate any potential scenario.
2. Hire the right people, and follow their advice.
Any startup is as good as the people they hire. Great teams create great companies. But if you hired talent, it was for a reason, let them do what they do best. Be sure the best person for the job is doing it, and don't wait till the very end to hire a strong finance person; make it a priority.
3. Think outside the box.
Trouble often presents opportunities. Doing things differently, things that were not in the original plan might be the best possible solution. Pivot if you have to, improve, rotate, and do a backflip if you have to.
4. Don't do what everyone else out there is doing.
It might be counterintuitive, but sometimes that works. Simple as that. As in game theory or simple economics, if we all want and aim for the same, the results might not be properly distributed.
5. Mind the burn; keep a close eye on your runway.
Sometimes limited access to funding and a tight cash flow while on the road to profitability can push startups to amazing achievements, but in most cases, it will just end badly. Keeping a close eye on the burn rate and the actual runway is critical—links to all that I've shared above. Poor financial planning can be avoided.
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