Kai-fu Lee is the founder and CEO of investment fund Innovation Works and was also formerly Vice President of Microsoft and Google in China, offered the following advice for startups to minimize the risk of failure in their early development:
Lack of focus: A smart person makes use of every new idea, but a strong startup should focus on just one direction.
Overly ambitious: Do not set too many objectives or force yourself to solve many market problems. Focus on a single user segment and find a highly competitive solution suited to it. After succeeding with this small customer group, consider expanding to a larger group and adapting the product to the new audience. This is how to apply Lean Startup.
Too many employees: Managing a team of 3 and managing a workforce of 100 are very different things. Adding employees and expanding a startup require a leader with strong management experience and skills.
Trust Within the Team: Investment funds prefer forming teams from employees who already know one another. In their view, a team lacking mutual trust will face major obstacles, from staffing to the fair allocation of tasks and responsibilities.
Poor performance: In a “Lean Startup” environment, people often tend to copy their predecessors' success. To succeed, you must be independent and perceptive: for example, if your product does not change daily, it must change weekly. Leadership is not merely about words or relying on a founder's title; it means being ready to act and lead the way.
Technology is the destination: This has clearly been proven untrue. Successful businesses demonstrate the importance of value to customers, rather than technology, whether new or old. Investment funds always favor products that offer solutions rather than technology alone.
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-Startup – khóa học khởi nghiệp «Khởi Chánh Nghiệp» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
