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Sometimes we hatch a startup idea after years of thinking about a subject, and sometimes it comes to us in a flash of inspiration. However, coming up with the startup idea is just the first step of the journey. Putting it into practice is where the rubber meets the road. Here is how you can take your idea and turn it into a business:
Market researching your startup idea
For an idea to become a successful business, it has to be adapted to the market, and this is where research comes in. Who is your target customer? What does he prefer in a product or service? Who is your competition? This research process will help you identify these key issues, along with the costs of getting your idea to market, and the partners that you will need to run your business successfully. As the research goes on, your original idea will be reshaped by your industry’s realities, and you will be able to map out your development, partnerships, and deployment. It will also help you write your business plan.
Prototyping
With the initial preparation phase-out of the way, it’s time to put what you learned into practice. For this, you can use prototyping. With prototyping, you create a barebones service or product that will help you test out various assumptions about the market. So, for example, you can start with testing out the basic functionality of an app. Is the functionality engaging enough? Is it useful to your target customer? Prototyping allows for cheap and fast testing of your idea in the actual market, and it also allows you to iterate and improve your product quickly.
Fundraising for your startup idea
Once you see a decent level of success with your prototype, you will likely have to raise funds to flesh out your offering. With your market research, business plan, and data gathered through prototyping, you can approach investors and get them interested in funding your operation. There are plenty of avenues here, from bank loans, SBA loans, outside investors that will buy a stake in the company, and crowdfunding, among others.
Throughout this development and growth process, you may be looking for a technical partner if you plan to launch in the software or app industry. We can help you with that. Contact us today if you have an app or software idea that you would like to bring to market.
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