6 Tips to Run and Manage a Startup in 2023

The correct management of startups is one of the most recurring topics of discussion in all industries. And this is due to the limitations imposed by entrepreneurship. Although creating a startup has rewards, it also comes with challenges, such as increased inefficiency and loss of resources, time, and customers. Hence management is crucial. 

In this article, we will share our six best tips to improve the management of your startup. With these tips, you can be more efficient, avoid mistakes, and accelerate your journey to success. Keep reading to expand your startup without limits!

1. Define the purpose of your startup and your target audience 

There is no point in starting a startup without having a key purpose. Doing it this way is like hiking in the woods without having a map or compass. It is crucial that you have a clear vision of what your startup will do, what services it will offer and how it will provide solutions to people. 

Subsequently, identify your target audience. To what group or type of people Do you plan to sell them your products or services? For example, if your startup focuses on technology human resources outsourcing services, it is important to identify a group of companies with a clear need for personnel, such as web developers. 

Remember that the purpose and target of your startup are always in constant change. As your startup is susceptible to scaling, your products, services, and customer base are also likely to transform. Even if you have to constantly make adjustments from the beginning, know that that's okay because you are innovating your business. 

2. Don't underestimate the power of market research 

Doing market research is a golden rule for small and large companies. Even so, it is often overlooked and the risk of not doing it is very high. 

For example, Ivan Castro Rivadeneyra believes that It is prudent to investigate the products and services What customers look for before making business decisions to avoid financial catastrophes.

To better understand how market dynamics can impact your startup, you can start with the following tasks: 

• Identify your direct and indirect competitors: This is important because both can meet your customers' needs in ways you can't imagine. 
• Know your customers: Use software to collect data from your customers via surveys, interviews or focus groups. To give you an example, you can do a group Zoom call to have a focus group and inquire about the wishes and opinions of a group of clients. 
• Analyze market trends: Considering market trends is part of having strategic thinking. When you develop this type of thinking, you make your startup prepared for any changes in the market. 

With this information, you can redesign your vision and mission, your products and services and make decisions about your marketing and sales strategies. Make market research a habit and you will notice the change in your startup. 

3. Create a strong company culture 

The heart of all organizations, including startups, is corporate culture. Imagine your corporate culture like the personality of your startup. Like attractive personalities, startups with a strong company culture attract attention. Additionally, they retain the right talent and build a good reputation. 

A strong culture is based on shared values ​​and practices that everyone agrees on. Examples of this are the integrity, innovation, teamwork, inclusion and respect for cultural diversity. Another value is sustainability and care for the environment.

Before defining your company's values, it is important that you determine ways to consistently materialize them. For example, if your startup is committed to sustainability and the fight against climate change, think about the mileage expenses when you go on trips, as well as its environmental impact. That is being consistent and shows commitment.

At the practice level, you can introduce actions that lead to togetherness in the workplace. You can create a recognition program to reward your employees' successes and take them to the top of their professional career. Promote environments where error is a mechanism for improvement and encourage collaboration instead of internal competition. 

In the same way that happens with your purpose and target audience, your corporate culture transforms. If your startup grows, maintaining the culture you have shaped is going to be a challenge, so you must be flexible when making changes in values, practices, actions and working models to promote staff unity.

4. Promotes innovation and internal entrepreneurship  

Part of having a robust corporate culture in your startup is encourage innovation and internal entrepreneurship. And this is key to improving not only your management and not perishing in a changing market. Well you know that innovate y undertake They are key factors to be competitive.  

Innovation and entrepreneurship are not only developed outwards and for customers, but also behind closed doors. Promoting them internally makes get your team to think strategically and look for ways to improve now and in the future. 

Furthermore, you reinforce the creativity of your work team, which leads your startup to better problem resolution.

We tell you how to reinforce innovation and internal entrepreneurship with these tips: 

• Create a safe environment for experimentation, where you encourage your team to try new ideas without fear of error. 
• Promote continuous learning and offer professional development opportunities to your workers.
• If your team has a really brilliant idea, acknowledge it publicly, but in moderation. If you focus too much on this, what you will end up doing is creating an environment that is overly competitive and uncompassionate. 

5. Use technology wisely 

No one can deny that business and social life depend on technology. Therefore, technology can be a great ally for your startup to the extent that it helps you do things like: 

• Help you optimize processes
• Improve the eficiency
• Save time and resources
• Open new business opportunities
• Encourage collaboration in your work team
• Raise the morale of your workers

Today there are numerous online tools that you can use to achieve these goals. If you want to coordinate all your workers, you can use platforms like Trello or Asana to assign tasks and track them closely. But if what you need is to communicate better, Slack or Google Meets can help you. 

Be careful when choosing tools. The fact that the market offers you numerous technological tools does not mean, even remotely, that they are suitable for your startup. Evaluate the following factors before making a decision: 

• Evaluate your need: Do you need to improve coordination among the team or find a way to collaborate better in the cloud? With this clear information, you can choose the type of online tool you require. 
• Evaluate customer reviews: Research on the internet how the tool you intend to purchase is rated. There are numerous product evaluation pages that offer you quality information about the pros and cons of software. 
• Support quality: Identify if the provider of the online tool you want to buy offers 24/7 support. This is important in case of risk circumstances against informatic security. 
• Your team: Make sure your team is familiar with the tool. If not, prepare some good training and coaching initiatives. This can be especially valid if what you want to incorporate into your startup is a CRM. 

6. Never neglect financing 

Remember that financing is the fuel of your startup and that it is crucial to have good management in 2023. Without good sources of financing, your startup will only remain a thought. Hence, we recommend that you seriously plan all your entry routes and make strict surveillance of your accounting. 

Today, startups have several ways to access money, such as: 

• angel investors
• Risk capital
• Own savings
• Bank loans

The mere existence of these financing options does not guarantee a constant flow of income for your startup. For this reason we recommend the following: 

• Develop an excellent business plan with a clear description of your product and service, a market analysis and a marketing and sales strategy to show to investors and financial organizations. 
• Inquire about your investors in your initial market research. Try to have information about the type of companies that usually finance startups like yours. You can scale your business and increase your chances of success with this data. 

Remember that money is what provides sustainability to your business in the future. Thanks to financing, you achieve the survival of your startup over time. 

Take your startup to the next level with our tips in 2023

Creating and managing a startup is exciting, but it comes with challenges. With these six tips you will take your startup to the peak of success in 2023: define the purpose and target audience, do market research, create a solid business culture, use technology and do not neglect financing. 

Which of these tips are you most interested in following? Tell us more!

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Do you want to manage your startup better in 2023? Find out how to do it with our 6 practical tips. These range from purpose to financing. 

About the author

Vivian A. Martínez-Díaz

Anthropologist (Ph.D), journalist and content specialist for B2B marketing, with interest in communication and technology applied to business, workplaces and education.