MarketingMarketing Tips

How an innovative project to survive difficult times What is the "death valley of startups" and how to survive it.

The Ministry of Education undertook the creation of a new information system that will help develop innovative projects in Russia. However, Russian innovators still have very little guidance on what kind of fate awaits their project and what to do with their invention. Our researchers are sometimes not ready for the ups and downs inherent in new ventures. Within the framework of the "Innovation Space" project, we collected and summarized the experience of developing innovative start-ups, which can be of use to project participants.

It's no secret that many innovative projects do not survive to success. This is a notorious fact. There is even a special half-slang term in the sphere of venture capital investment "death valley" - this is the stage of development, on which 90% of projects are broken. Usually this is the period when the project runs out of money, and there are still a lot of work. Or when it turned out that the main concept of the project is untenable and it is necessary to invent how to change it. In short, this is the moment of the maximum decline of the fighting spirit of the team, when it is often not clear where to move on and whether to move at all.

By the way, this period is experienced by absolutely all projects, both successful and not. But the hardest way to overcome this valley, according to the author of the book "Into the Valley of Death", is given to two types of projects:

1) Which form an absolutely new market for an innovative product.

For example, it is in this situation that most startups in the field of robotics are now located. No country in the world has a clearly expressed need for robots, especially in the consumer segment. Therefore, teams of such projects have literally one at a time to catch consumers and show wonders of resourcefulness in search of channels for sales.

2) Projects based on serious (read, expensive) research.

Very often the project is based on the theoretical feasibility of development or on a laboratory sample, which is not so easy to repeat in the industrial version. Such studies can drag on for years without any visible result, which seriously undermines the faith of both founders and investors.

There is a study of "Bridging the Clean Energy Valleys of Death", according to which there are also two types of "valleys": the valley of commercialization of technology and the valley of technology development.

The causes of the technological death valley are usually at a very high cost of scientific research to test the primary hypotheses of the project: laboratory studies and the creation of the first samples, development of a test industrial design, testing, licensing, etc.

The business valley of death occurs when no less significant resources are needed to promote the product, the organization of supplies, the marketing system and the marketing of the technology already created.

However, both these valleys have been successfully overcome by more than one project. Here are some tips that can help you soften this hard way:

1) Have a personal "airbag"

From the state of health of the founder, from how much money he personally needs right now, very much depends. Therefore, try to save some money before the start, which will allow you to hold out for at least a few months, especially not shikuya, but not suffering.

2) Get out on self-reliance

"The Valley of Death" can always be envisaged in advance. Therefore, if you see that the project's money will soon be over, it's not expected in the near future, and it's too early to raise the next investment, then think about where to get money to feed the core of the team. And to hold out either to profit, or to investment.

3) Subsidies and contests

It's really not a serious project to raise prize money, but you can stretch out for a while until you can fix things on them. The same is true for small subsidies. Just remember that the higher the amount, the longer you will receive it.

4) Barter

Much in this world can be obtained for free, if there is something to offer in return. Think about what you can be useful to others and offer them. This will help to save precious resources and survive hard times. As one of the variants of barter, try to connect the "Innovation spaces" or "Zvorykinsky project" portals with other teams of innovative projects. They may well have the resources that you need, and you can have something that can be interesting to them.

5) "Three F"

This is another common start-up concept, which stands for "friends, family and fools". So if you run out of money, then try asking representatives of one of these three groups. Just try to return after all.

6) Incubation programs

In Russia, many support programs for beginning entrepreneurs, both innovative and not. They can seriously reduce the costs of the project, for example, overhead: office, furniture, office, and help speed up the receipt of funding. Not to mention the fact that some are allocating funds themselves.

7) Save

It's banal as the world, but it's also difficult. The worst thing you can do is start spending money on advertising or expensive consultants in the hope that they will create a miracle. Miracles do not happen, and start-ups in a difficult situation it is better to think with your head.

8) Strategic partnerships

Your development, even in unfinished form, may well be of interest to any large organization. But not as a client, but as a partner, who can derive additional benefits by integrating it into his business. Think, maybe there is someone who is not your direct competitor, but at the same time working with your prospective clients.

9) Credit.

Of course, no one will give you money for "business", especially with a negative cash flow. So maybe you have to risk the available "personal assets" so that the project does not close at the most interesting place. Just calculate everything properly, so as not to stay without an apartment at the moment of triumph.

10) Kraudfanding

If investors do not give you money without good reason, then ordinary people may well be more generous if they like your idea. Kraudfanding is now growing at a huge pace and very soon will not be something exotic, at least among active Internet users. And there gradually this trend will get to ordinary people.

11) Large Customer

One truly large customer can save the whole situation, even if the technology is not yet finalized. Think, maybe already in the form that it is, you can sell it to someone? After all, integration with large business very often means, in one way or another, processing and dopivlivanie product for the personal needs of the client. So maybe it's time to do it already?

Similar articles

 

 

 

 

Trending Now

 

 

 

 

Newest

Copyright © 2018 en.birmiss.com. Theme powered by WordPress.