Pitch your way to success at Seedstars Malaysia 2016 with these 4 tips

Is your startup ready to skyrocket? There are many events around Asia that you could be part of. Try pitching your way to success at Seedstars Malaysia 2016 with these 4 tips

Starting a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss. If you feel like you are up for that, then start a company.

– Elon Musk, Co-founder of Paypal, Founder & CEO of Tesla cars.

It takes a very passionate, optimistic and resilient person to take the ultimate challenge of being an entrepreneur. Surprisingly enough, there are far more people who give it a shot than those who actually succeed at launching a business, with a rate of 9 out of 10 startups failing.

There are two main characteristics that differentiate the one successful launch against the nine failed attempts. First of all, your product or service needs to be perfect – and here emphasising the perfect – for your market.

Also Read: What do venture capitalists want?

Which means understand fully what market you are targeting and what are your customer’s needs, and ensure what you offer is solving their needs or creating a new one. The second most important thing is to find and build a great support system to back you up.

Having a great support system will enable you to transform your brilliant idea into a successful business, and there are four top success factors all starting entrepreneurs need:

The right team

You can only go so far on your own. One brilliant idea will not be enough if you don’t have a team to make it a reality alongside you. 50 per cent of the role of an entrepreneur is to communicate, network, handle stakeholders, making it quite impossible to be a one-person job (unless you have no rush until your startup actually kicks off).

But it’s not only about getting people – inside or outside the team – it’s getting the right people. People that truly believe in your idea, are risk takers, hard-working, those who are willing to give it all knowing that it might not be ‘safe’ or ‘stable’ or ‘smart’, according to their families and friends.

And, most importantly, versatile. In the world of startups, where the to-do list grows faster than the team, everyone will eventually do everything.

Roles will change, mix, switch and require more than one skill or talent, thus team members must be comfortable with the adjustment, change and uncertainty. Hire the right talent, and you are three steps closer to success.

The right mentor

Having a mentor can mark the difference between a steady growth and an exponential one. Mentors are experienced professionals, experts in certain fields, whose role is to advice and support you in your journey as a startup founder.

Learning from people who have “been there, done that” is the fastest way to avoid mistakes and jump at opportunities; whilst also enhancing your skills and growing as a person, entrepreneur and team leader.

Also Read: East Ventures launches EIR programme to help entrepreneurs find their next big thing

Business is not just the product and the revenue; it’s the design, sales, team culture, legalities, accounting, and many more which are more things than one can be expert of, thus having a trusting mentor to guide and help you in decision-making and prioritisation can make or break the pace in which your startup is growing.

The right investment

Selling an idea is not enough to make it big nowadays. Customers need to see, try and experience your product before they want to buy it, not to mention recommend it. One of the main concerns entrepreneurs have is revenue, but you can’t have revenue until you have prototypes and sales.

Starting a business means investment: of time, energy and money. Lots of money. As the rate of new startups keep boosting year by year, so does the amount of investors and businesses focused on funding startups.

Finding the right investor for your startup will also determine how fast your business can grow if the cash flow and capital allow the quick transitions from planning to MVP development to scaling up for the market.

And if the number of different options and plans are confusing, then remember you can always go back to the previous priority and get a mentor first.

The right network

You are not alone. Ever heard that? According to the Global Entrepreneurship Centre, there are about 300 million people trying to start about 150 million businesses. Even if only 10 per cent make it, that’s 30 million new entrepreneurs worldwide every year.

Imagine what you could do if you had all access to this network: get advice, learn from their mistakes, share common struggles, connect with others that are going through the same experience than you.

It can be overwhelming to have the pressure and stress of a startup on your shoulders, until you find there are so many other people alike you where you can find solace and support as well.

Also Read: How our company bounced back from a failed client engagement

Although these are only four top success factors, they are indeed hard to find but not impossible. Dedicating the necessary amount of time and patience to find the right ones will definitely be worth it in the long run. But it’s also possible to find two, three or all of them in the same place: startup pitching events.

Pitching events have increased dramatically in the last years all over the world as the one stop destination for entrepreneurs, investors and mentors to get together and provide access to opportunities to boost the startup communities.

Is your startup ready to skyrocket? There are many events around Asia every year that you could be part of, and your next closest big opportunity is joining Seedstars Malaysia 2016 pitching event taking place in Kuala Lumpur this upcoming October 1st.

Whether you are ready to pitch your way to Switzerland (for free!) and the Global Seedstars Winner’s Fund, or you are eager to network as an attendee, find your free ticket here.

Even in the midst of the challenge, overwhelm and stress, you’ll find the startup journey as a great and rewarding experience if you surround yourself with the proper support system. So, at least, if starting a company really feels like eating glass, then you might as well make it tasty.

—

The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them.e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your article here.