Olawale Oduntan

 4 Lessons to Learn from Failure as Startup Founders. Entrepreneurs are sometimes cited as having to always be prepared to deal with unexpected pitfalls. When it comes to talking about the lessons that may be drawn from a failing business, nothing, however, seems adequate. No Entrepreneur starts a business to fail. In any case, it won't hurt if you discover the mistakes, you should avoid making when launching your startup, it is better to be aware and ready for them. Entrepreneurs dread failure, but in the realm of business, success without failure is uncommon. When driving towards, entrepreneurial goals, success is not always guaranteed – there will be some frustrations and hiccups along the way. It's often said that failure doesn't stop people; it's how we respond that matters. Here are lessons we believe startups should hold dear in their pursuit of Eldorado. Ensure Your Product Has a Market CB Insights claims that about 35% of startups fail because there is no market need for their products. In other words, even if you have the best team and product, your startup could still fail if there isn't a market need for your product. You can create a product that ranks among the best ideas. You can also teach your sales team how to market it most effectively. What happens, though, if your customers are unable to use your products to the fullest? What happens if your customers are unable to maximize the benefits of your services? The difference between failure and success can be made by educating your customers at every stage of the customer lifecycle. Customers, including potential customers, recently acquired customers, and even current customers, should be educated on how to use the product, new features, and upgrades. Make sure there is a sizable market for what you are creating as well as the necessary education for them before investing the time and effort required to develop a product. Negative Feedback Can Impact Growth How would you react if negative feedbacks are all you get from customers? Negative feedback from investors or customers can indicate one of two things. If you receive feedback from investors, it may indicate that you are doing something incorrectly. You can work on the feedback; never be depressed. If it comes from customers, however, it usually indicates that it is time to start thinking about scaling. Research, Research, Research... Go Blind and FAIL. Avoid starting a business blindly. Never assume that you can predict the behavior of the market, the effectiveness of a marketing campaign, or the appropriate price to charge for products. Founders take more risks than most people. There is a distinction between taking personal risks and putting your business at risk, though. Many entrepreneurs raise venture financing to lower risk. Consider investing in research if you intend to do this. Make sure you do your research and develop a plan of action for each phase. Failure is a Stepping Stone Putting yourself in challenging situations can frequently result in success. However, this does not always imply that you will succeed in every endeavor you undertake. Contrary to how you may feel, failure will teach you more than any college degree ever could about life, business, and how the world works. We could even describe the entire experience as a crash course on sales, inventory management, marketing, communications, et al, because you'll learn so much from it. Everything ends up being a good use of both time and resources. Have the habit of improving and trying out new things if you fail. Conclusion Whether your startup is a success or a failure, you will learn something new and beneficial. As an entrepreneur, there is always something to be learned from failure. And at Knight Ventures, we think it is beneficial to learn from it without actually failing but by learning from those who have been there and are experienced with solutions that ensure you stay aloof no matter what life throws at you. As a startup, we value your ideas, you can avoid the pitfalls up ahead, get in touch with us for that support to keep your business thriving.