If there’s a will, there’s always a way

The year was 2014 when I was a college senior.

As a computer major, having my own startup was always on my mind. I really had some brilliant ideas.

Finally, in the last year of college, I managed to find some initial funding from my parents and friends to start my own thing.

From the many startup ideas I had, one of them was a digital couponing website.

Since 2015, there had been a few similar websites plus my brother had experience in this field, so I chose to move forward with this idea.

My brother was a coupon specialist and taught me different ways of utilizing coupons in order to save money. I took advantage of his skills and gathered a few other specialists to start my very own startup named SavingBro.

Now when I look back, it seems almost impossible — and it somewhat was.

But the adrenaline I had at the time had fogged every possible reality check.

It did not take long for me to realize that how I had anticipated it to go down was far from reality.

In just two months, I was struggling to keep a balance between work and classes. There was so much to do that I had to hire professional developers. And this meant finding office space.

Finding office space meant spending more rent in addition to my already expensive room.
We were burning through our money, which was not a lot to begin with.

I was running back and forth from different cities looking for more funding. Right when the SavingBro website was ready to launch, two of my best developers quit.

I had zero bank balance to spend any money on promotional activities. Before it could even pick up, I knew there was no way I can salvage it.

As much as I hated the fact that my very first startup idea has failed, I knew there were lessons to be learnt.

Soon after, I graduated from college and used my failed startup experience as a new starting point.

After careful consideration and analysis, I found three things that resulted in my startup failure:

Not every idea is a good idea

There were some serious flaws in my startup idea.

I did not weigh the technical expertise such a complex idea would require. There was no feedback or discussion with friends or people from the tech industry.

Just because an idea seems good to you does not mean it is and it never hurts to ask for a second opinion.

No money, no honey

If you do not have enough money to complete something you want to do, do not bother starting it.

You need to have funding for at least the first six months of operation.

This includes everything you will need to set up the business. Do not expect to get free services from friends or just ask around for money.

No strategy means more risks

When I started designing the app, I had absolutely no strategy.

I was treating it as one of my class projects. My entire focus was on the product.

There was no strategy for the future. There was no vision about what the startup would be like in a year or five years.

This lack of strategy made me overlook the possible risks.

So, how do we bounce back?

If you are reading this, you might have probably faced a failure like I did.

Maybe you are afraid to return to such a position in the future.

However, you need not worry as it is possible to bounce back from your failed startup.

Just because you failed once does not mean you will fail again. In fact, if we have learned anything from the most successful businesses is that those earlier failures do lead to eventual success.

If you are struggling to recover from a failed startup, here is what I recommend from my own experience:

Analyze the problems

The very first step is to analyze.

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In fact, investigate what went wrong. Look back at every tiny detail, spreadsheets, programs, customer feedback etc.

Get to the bottom of the matter.

Learn the skills you lack

After your business failure analysis, you need to do a self-analysis.

Your own shortcomings may be a cause as well.

Do you lack leadership skills? Are you not good at managing money? Is there a new technology you need to master?

Work on the skills you lacked during your first startup.

Do not hide your failures

Many people are afraid to write about their failed startups on their resumes, professional profiles, and social media.

Your failure shows that you persevered and that you have learned your lessons.

In the professional world, this would be deemed as a learning experience which it obviously is.

Start thinking like a businessman

Many tech startups fail because there is no one with the business acumen on the team.

Things like marketing on social media, promotions through coupons, participating in conventions, and networking with established businesses are often overlooked.

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They develop great products that no one knows about.

When you restart, you need to act like a businessman. If you lack such expertise then hire people who excel at running businesses.

Inspire yourself

You may be tempted to give up after your failure.

However, you need to keep yourself inspired to keep working towards your goal.

There is plenty of reading material about failures.

Another way is to surround yourself with people who matter most to you and who bring positivity in your life.

Before you know it, you will be ready to start again with your next great idea.

Conclusion

My failed startup was not the end of the road for me and neither is yours.

You must have heard many times that failure leads to success. There is a reason why this saying is so common — it’s true!

For some, it may take just one attempt, for some it may take many.

However, if you keep struggling and treat your mistakes as lessons, you too can succeed in the crazy world of startups.

Pat yourself on the back for making it through the tough times and start prepping for the next venture. Now that you know what can go wrong, it will be easier to dodge the pits.

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