How to Launch a Tech Startup Without Quitting Your Full-Time Job
18.04.2021
The technology sector is booming. It represents one of the most attractive industries for entrepreneurs hankering for profits. Starting your own tech company can be achieved at a relatively low cost when compared with various sectors. Most likely, your idea for a startup could be developed from the comfort of your home—famously, Apple and Microsoft were started in a garage.
That being said, launching a business will always be a gamble. Unless you have great faith in your idea and some savings, you probably shouldn’t quit your day job. However, don’t let that hold you back. The tech sector is teeming with possibility and your idea may just be a total hit, so let’s get started!
Choose Your Product or Service
Do you have an idea for a product people need or would want? Have you come up with the next Airbnb or Uber? If so, good for you. Knowing what you want to offer is the first step in getting your startup off the ground.
If you are still looking for an idea, think about what’s missing in the market. Is there a product out there that no one has developed yet and could generate demand? You can also think of improving an existing product or service. For example, if you find the way taxes are filed is inefficient and time-consuming, you may want to create a service that makes things easier for taxpayers.
Research the Market
Now that you have your idea, it’s time to see how well it will fare in the real world. The first step is to do some research to see if there’s a demand for your product. You want to determine how big your potential market would be. Find out also who your competition would be and how big they are. What are others charging for similar products?
The end goal of your research is to determine if there is enough demand for your product or service in order to assess whether your idea is viable. Based on the information collected, you can begin to structure a business plan. Having this information neatly organized in a document will not only help you determine if your idea has potential. It will also make it easier to pitch it to sources of funding.
Secure Funding
Some tech startups are launched on tiny budgets while others require monumental investments. Your idea may be one or the other, or something in-between. Whatever the case, now is the time to consider how you are going to finance your project.
Using your own savings is ideal, as long as you have enough and your bank account won’t be left in red. You could also take out a loan, but indebting yourself is not the best route.
A third option, and one particularly relevant to the tech sector, is to seek out external investment. The US is home to many venture capitalists and angel investors hoping to finance the next big thing. For example, Career Karma, a startup with the aim of helping people enter the tech sector, recently raised over $10 million in its Series A. The financing was led by Initialized Capital. Others investors include Lattice’s Jack Altman, Collab Capital’s Jewel Burks, and Moz’s Amira Yahyaoui.
The problem with this kind of funding is that you lose some ownership of your project off the bat. Depending on who you are and where you are priorities lie, seeking venture capital may not be ideal for you. Other options including finding a silent partner or running a crowdfunding campaign.
Assemble Your Team, or Not
Now that you have the idea and the money, it’s time to recruit your team or go for it alone. It may just be the case that your idea allows for a one-person operation. If you have all the expertise needed to launch the product, then go ahead.
Unfortunately, a lot of ideas will require an array of skills and no one person is likely to command all of them. Depending on your particular project, you may need help from software developers, web developers, or SEO managers, as well as non-technical workers like accountants, managers or copywriters.
Get Organized with Tools like Slack or Clickup
With your team ready for action, it’s time to coordinate members. If you are running a traditional company, then this can be done in person by a manager. However, more and more firms, particularly in the tech sector, are run remotely, a trend that can only grow following COVID-19.
If your team is remote, you will need to establish infrastructure that will allow them to work together while apart. Nowadays there are hundreds of products that enable telecommunication and team management, such as Clickup or Trello. These are project management software that allows you to effortlessly assign tasks to team members and manage your resources. Both apps help you with planning and scheduling, and also give you an overview of the overall project so you know exactly how it is moving along.
Being able to start your technology company without quitting your job is now a reality. A growing number of entrepreneurs are finding the prospects and potential rewards of the tech sector too hard to resist. They are launching their own products and services while keeping their day jobs. If you are also thinking of launching your own startup, the time is ripe. Just don’t quit your job too soon!
That being said, launching a business will always be a gamble. Unless you have great faith in your idea and some savings, you probably shouldn’t quit your day job. However, don’t let that hold you back. The tech sector is teeming with possibility and your idea may just be a total hit, so let’s get started!
Choose Your Product or Service
Do you have an idea for a product people need or would want? Have you come up with the next Airbnb or Uber? If so, good for you. Knowing what you want to offer is the first step in getting your startup off the ground.
If you are still looking for an idea, think about what’s missing in the market. Is there a product out there that no one has developed yet and could generate demand? You can also think of improving an existing product or service. For example, if you find the way taxes are filed is inefficient and time-consuming, you may want to create a service that makes things easier for taxpayers.
Research the Market
Now that you have your idea, it’s time to see how well it will fare in the real world. The first step is to do some research to see if there’s a demand for your product. You want to determine how big your potential market would be. Find out also who your competition would be and how big they are. What are others charging for similar products?
The end goal of your research is to determine if there is enough demand for your product or service in order to assess whether your idea is viable. Based on the information collected, you can begin to structure a business plan. Having this information neatly organized in a document will not only help you determine if your idea has potential. It will also make it easier to pitch it to sources of funding.
Secure Funding
Some tech startups are launched on tiny budgets while others require monumental investments. Your idea may be one or the other, or something in-between. Whatever the case, now is the time to consider how you are going to finance your project.
Using your own savings is ideal, as long as you have enough and your bank account won’t be left in red. You could also take out a loan, but indebting yourself is not the best route.
A third option, and one particularly relevant to the tech sector, is to seek out external investment. The US is home to many venture capitalists and angel investors hoping to finance the next big thing. For example, Career Karma, a startup with the aim of helping people enter the tech sector, recently raised over $10 million in its Series A. The financing was led by Initialized Capital. Others investors include Lattice’s Jack Altman, Collab Capital’s Jewel Burks, and Moz’s Amira Yahyaoui.
The problem with this kind of funding is that you lose some ownership of your project off the bat. Depending on who you are and where you are priorities lie, seeking venture capital may not be ideal for you. Other options including finding a silent partner or running a crowdfunding campaign.
Assemble Your Team, or Not
Now that you have the idea and the money, it’s time to recruit your team or go for it alone. It may just be the case that your idea allows for a one-person operation. If you have all the expertise needed to launch the product, then go ahead.
Unfortunately, a lot of ideas will require an array of skills and no one person is likely to command all of them. Depending on your particular project, you may need help from software developers, web developers, or SEO managers, as well as non-technical workers like accountants, managers or copywriters.
Get Organized with Tools like Slack or Clickup
With your team ready for action, it’s time to coordinate members. If you are running a traditional company, then this can be done in person by a manager. However, more and more firms, particularly in the tech sector, are run remotely, a trend that can only grow following COVID-19.
If your team is remote, you will need to establish infrastructure that will allow them to work together while apart. Nowadays there are hundreds of products that enable telecommunication and team management, such as Clickup or Trello. These are project management software that allows you to effortlessly assign tasks to team members and manage your resources. Both apps help you with planning and scheduling, and also give you an overview of the overall project so you know exactly how it is moving along.
Being able to start your technology company without quitting your job is now a reality. A growing number of entrepreneurs are finding the prospects and potential rewards of the tech sector too hard to resist. They are launching their own products and services while keeping their day jobs. If you are also thinking of launching your own startup, the time is ripe. Just don’t quit your job too soon!
