10 Aspects of Starting Up That You Shouldn’t Dread

Question: What is one part of starting up that was easier than you anticipated?

Finding a Support Network

“A support network of other entrepreneurs will make any journey a lot more enjoyable—and a lot easier, too! By joining key networking groups, like YEC, and moving into a co-working space, building a support group of like-minded entrepreneurs after starting ZinePak was easier than I would have imagined. I never expected to make so many close friends so quickly!”

— Brittany Hodak
ZinePak
@brittanyhodak

Forming the Business Entity

“What I initially believed would be the most difficult part about starting a business for myself, which I would say is the process of coming up with and registering a name, filling out the proper paperwork, and creating materials such as business cards and a website, was actually much easier and simpler than I had envisioned. There are so many resources now for a budding entrepreneur to get started.”

— Steven Le Vine 
grapevine pr + consulting
@grapevinepr

Writing a Business Plan

“…because it turned out to be completely unnecessary. You need a general plan of what you’re accomplishing, but you’ll find that it changes incredibly quickly and that all of your assumptions were completely wrong. The 30- to 50-page business plans you might have done for a class in undergrad won’t be very helpful and can even distract from doing real work.”

— John Rood
Next Step Test Preparation
@johnrood

Sourcing the Right Talent

“I took a grassroots approach using my skills as an entrepreneur and did most of the necessary work myself before looking to source outside talent. What I absolutely couldn’t do, I outsourced to freelancers. These days, there are usable apps for everything from building your own website to marketing it, so entrepreneurs can start small and do what they can themselves and build from there.”

— Charles Moscoe
Earners Group
@charlesmoscoe

Getting Customers

“When you start out, it’s hard to know if anyone will purchase your product. When the product is actually out, it makes a huge difference, because there are so many lead generation opportunities online for almost every niche you can think of. I have found if I spend one week just crawling Google, I can find at least 100 viable places to get links from, free traffic, paid placements and in the end, new customers.”

— Rob Fulton
AudioLumin
@audiolumin

Attracting Attention and Exposure

“The amount of media attention and the speed in which we received it was easier than anticipated. Our Indiegogo campaign certainly helped us reach a large audience quickly and our quick success attracted media and more exposure.”

— Andrew Thomas
SkyBell Video Doorbell
@apthomas

Pitching to Investors

“Getting in a room to pitch your idea is incredibly easy if you’re killing it in your operations/development. Really—pitching is just telling the story. If you’re weaving an incredible story to begin with, pitching becomes infinitely easier. Investors notice this.”

— Alec Bowers
Abraxas Biosystems
@Alec_Bowers

Fundraising

“Raising money was something that I was SO worried about, but when it came down to it, it was easy. Having a great product with an amazing team is key in this process. Traction is a must.”

— John Rampton
Due
@due

Finding the Right Idea

“Ideas are cheap and not hard to come by, but it’s difficult for inexperienced entrepreneurs to get their minds around that notion. I remember with my first startup how special I thought we were for finding a problem and building a solution for it. Well, needless to say, now I know better. Getting traction, execution and customer validation are actually the differentiators that matter to me now.”

— Seth Talbott
CEO and Startup Advisor
@sethtalbott

Earning People’s Trust

“Generally most things are harder than you initially anticipate. If I have to choose one thing that seemed easier, I would say getting people to trust you. For example, looking back, I think I must have been insane to even attempt fundraising with nothing but a piece of paper and no track record at just 23 years old—but somehow, it worked.”

— Xenios Thrasyvoulou
PeoplePerHour
@xenios