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Tested Tricks to Manage Your Tech Start-up Your tech start-up should be a place that makes it interesting and engaging the talented people to work, to bring out their best

By Jaimin Shah

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The tech start-ups are the ones driving innovation to the IT industry, that work to revolutionize various sectors like healthcare, education, financial services, travel, tourism & logistics and many more.

Entrepreneurship is a trend of the day. Recent times have witnessed that graduates from IITs and IIMs have rejected job offers that would have paid them in 8 figures. This is not new and has been going for quite some time now. For various reasons youth, today is more inclined towards entrepreneurship. Since last half a decade, "Entrepreneurship' and "Start-up' are two keywords that doubled in the Google Search. The tech start-up trend in the recent era inspires many professionals to take a dive into the sector. When it comes to start-up, "Management is Not a Science, but an Art." Technology is an attractive field that has been increasingly grabbing the attention of various investors and capitalists. Own a start-up or Planning to own one? Always remember; "Smarter the Management, Easier the Success Follows." Be passionate, dedicated, and committed to the goal of your tech start-up. Don't lose sight. Every day keeps moving in the direction you want to go.

This article will bring you certain ideas to manage your tech start-up smartly. Follow these to achieve your targeted goal:

Focus on Sound Business Strategy

"Success is Being at The Right Place at The Right Time." No matter how unique or how revolutionary start-up's technology solution is they will have difficulty surviving without a robust business strategy that centres around customer acquisition. Ensure your tech start-up has the correct business model. Search, read and research many resources to help you draft a perfect go-to-market strategy. It makes no sense in building features that your users do not really want.

Here are three simple yet key steps to a successful marketing strategy:

  • Identify your customers (companies, buyers and users)

  • Take time to think and re-think on your unique messaging

  • Put your plan in action; then track, measure and revise

Bring Agility and Adaptability

Running a tech business necessitates change. Embrace disruption, embrace change. Keeping up with the ever-evolving technologies is highly required for survival. Continual innovation requires to focus on strategy and execution, and agility is necessary to deal with stiff competition.

Remember, "Develop a business model NOT focused on one client worth one million dollars instead focus on a model that helps you reach one million users." The success of any tech start-up lies in user adaptability of its technological solution.

Financial Management

Go for a self-fuelled growth model in which you fund your own business plans. Think about where you want to be five years from now. Can you get there without help, even if you have to delay growth a bit while you are doing it? If you do feel you need funding, be sure to seek professional advice to ensure you are not giving up too much of your business to get it.

Cash Flow Management

Money begets money. Ensure a safe and cautious backup. Proper budgeting and planning are critical to maintaining cash flow. One way to improve cash flow is to a constant focus on outstanding and ageing receivable and tries to get an advance payment for your products and services. Your advance payment can partly cover all expenses associated with a given project or sale. Always pay in time to your suppliers, so that you can also address cash flow management by asking your own vendors to invoice you at 45, 60, or even 90 days to allow ample times for your payments to arrive.

Hire & Retain Strong Talent

While hiring, always remember; "Great Vision Without Great People is Irrelevant."

Hiring the right candidate is like getting 40% of the job done. For the start-ups, it is a great challenge to find out the suitable candidate.

Human capital is at the heart of every tech start-up's success. Your employees are the key to your journey towards success. Select the right people for running the day-to-day operations of your company smoothly and effectively. This will help you to move away from the daily ops and concentrate on more strategically aspects like ways to expand your business and hunting for opportunities. In addition, you need to have effective people management to keep your select employees motivated and targeted towards your vision and goal. Encourage your people to take risks and reward them for their work.

Build the Apt Culture

Organization's culture flows from the top down. Culture represents your own thoughts and values. Be a Cheer Leader. It is a secret recipe for your tech start-up success. Build your team that dwells your vision and have an identical focus. Getting the right people on board is just the first step. Your tech start-up should be a place that makes it interesting and engaging the talented people to work, to bring out their best. Set up the required processes and a company hierarchy that holds people accountable and responsible. Provide them with ample opportunities to experiment. Make way to your people's hearts by encouraging innovation, a creative and free environment. Failing at things does not just build character, but also perseverance and ambition. "Cultivate a culture that even celebrates failures." Then see the magic unfold.
Jaimin Shah

CEO & Managing Director, Dev Information Technology Ltd, India; Dev Info-Tech North America Ltd, Canada

Mr. Jaimin Shah has more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry and carries a Bachelor Degree in Computers. As a CEO and MD of his company Dev Information Technology Ltd, Jaimin is focused on strengthening strategic partnerships, increasing client relevance and evolving the company’s business model towards becoming a next generation global IT consulting and end to end IT Services company. His key priorities are to support the company’s growth, manage critical finance function and adhere to regulatory and compliance requirements. He has acquired a company in Canada and formulated foreign subsidiary, Dev IT North America Ltd. His company has been featured by “Invest Toronto” as one of the most successful companies in Canada. He has been elected as Chairman of Domestic Council of NASSCOM making him the youngest and the first Gujarati to be elected as chairman of a council at India’s apex trade association of IT, NASSCOM.
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