Top 3 problems 50 entrepreneurs faced when scaling their startups

A random survey of 50 entrepreneurs showwed the three key problems at each phase that most startup founders seemed to encounter.

Daniel Tay Tech in Asia
Last Updated : Sep 09 2015 | 3:06 PM IST
At the seed stage
1) Building a talented and motivated team

For all the attention that startup founders get, the quality of work done – especially in the early stages – is largely determined by the team behind them. Not only do these first employees have to be talented enough to churn out top-notch work, more often than not they also need to juggle more than one task at a time.

2) Getting initial validation and traction

The perpetual challenge for all startup founders is, “how do I get customers to use my product or service?” Unless you’re fresh out of a prestigious program like YCombinator or 500 Startups, no one will believe in a new product that has no proven track record, explains Goh Chee Hau, founder of on-demand delivery service The Lorry.

3) Executing fast

There are many startups out in the world today. Almost every industry is crowded with upstarts looking to carve out a niche for themselves.

At the growth stage

1) Hiring and retaining talent

Now that product-market fit has been established, startups need to focus on empowering specialized roles to drive certain metrics. For these positions, only the best-in-class talents will do, but every other founder surveyed in this study said that it is far easier said than done.

2) Bringing on a good management team

In the same vein, most entrepreneurs found that as the startup scaled, they no longer had the capacity to look after everything.  A good management team and processes go hand-in-hand.

3) Putting stable and efficient processes in place

It’s not enough to have a group of brilliant individuals. In order for a company’s products or services to remain excellent, good processes must be established – notably when company size is swelling in numbers.

This is sourced from Tech in Asia. You can access the article here
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First Published: Aug 18 2015 | 3:33 PM IST

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