Starting a Technology Business

Founder's Mentality, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Business Owners, The Big Idea, Courage

In This Guide:

Stepping away from a steady job to pursue the goal of owning your own business can be the most stressful, yet most rewarding decision of your career. Along with new challenges in time management, funding, and building out a profitable business plan, entrepreneurs are faced with tremendous emotional and psychiological obstacles. In the technology industry, trying to keep up with constantly changing trends, regulations, and selling the "next big idea" present a whole different set of issues. Entrepreneurship is a risky business, but for most, the reward of autonomy and time freedom is more than worth it. This guide aims to better understand and encourage entrepreneurs in the tech space.

They Might Be Thinking:

Do I need to move to Silicon Valley to be taken seriously?
When should I start raising money?
Should I work for a big company before breaking out to do my own startup?
How much money should I raise?
Should I try to ask my friends to work with me on my project?
Should I build my prototype before I develop my pitch deck?
Do I need a partner right away?
When should I start working on my idea full-time?
Should I do crowd sourcing or create a GoFundMe account?
What is a term sheet?
Do I need to set up an LLC or a corporation?
How much runway do I need before I ask other people to join my startup?
Do I have enough experience to make this happen?
Will I need Network Effect to grow my business?
How long will it be before my business becomes profitable?
Can I support myself with this business? When should I quit my current job?
Should I ask other people to invest money?
Where should I invest my resources?
What are the tax implications of starting this business?
What should I get help with and what should I do myself?
Who else should I trust to help me?
What sort of systems should I put into place?
How will I find my customers?
There's so much to do and I'm so overwhelmed.
Sometimes I feel like a bit of a fraud and that I have no idea what I'm doing.
Will I ever be able to take a day off?
I'm so excited to be launching this new enterprise.

Words That Might Be Encouraging:

Your new business sounds so interesting. Tell me about it!
How did you get the idea for your business?
How long have you been thinking about launching this enterprise?
I believe in you and your idea, and I wish you much success.
I'm proud of you for trying to make your dream a reality.
It takes time to grow a business. Don't get discouraged.
I admire your courage and your creativity.
How can I purchase your product?
When everything starts to overwhelm you, break it down into manageable bites and tackle them one at a time.
You will be great at this! Things will get easier with time.
Can I share information about your business on my social media accounts? How else can I help spread the word?
Would you mind if I gave you some feedback?
I love your passion for this project. Now, you just need to put a plan together.
Keep focused on each step of the process.
Shrink your universe down to the things that really matter.
I think your idea has a lot of potential. Focus on getting your MVP working.
Make sure you are clear about your vision. Can you explain exactly what you do and why?
A lot of people are going to say that you are crazy. Ignore them! Just keep pushing forward and staying true to your vision.
Don't forget to use a systematic way of going through defined protocols to find bugs in your code.
Stop every hour or couple of hours if you are "wired in" to refresh your perspective.
"A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn." - Helen Keller

Words That Might Be Discouraging:

I am not convinced that you have a market for your product.
What is your plan B?
If you are not focused on 18-35 year-olds, your business will not be successful.
You don’t have enough experience to run your own company.
You have a lot of passion for your product, but that's not enough to make you successful.
You have no idea what you are doing.
I think you should wait until you have a better prototype.
You should ask for a lot of money to make sure you have enough to cover your costs for the next five years.
You should bring in money as soon as you can.
Maybe you should just get a regular job.
How much money are you investing in your new business?
Is the business profitable?
How many people work for you?
Are you sure you know what you're doing?
Do you know how many new businesses fail?
It doesn't really seem like the right time for you to start a business.
Why would you quit your current job?
Isn't it time consuming?
Why are you working so much?
Do you miss having a real job?
Can I get a discount?
It sounds more like a hobby.
Are you still doing your business?
You should [fill in the blank.]
What will you do if this fails?
You're brave, I'll give you that.