15 points to reveal the “Launching a Startup is easy” myth. (3/15) – From one to one million users thanks to networking

Posted on October 23, 2008
Filed Under Business tutorials

One of the most important things when launching a startup is networking and regular contact with other webmasters. If you don’t have thousands of dollars to invest you should try to save money on things that can be easily replaced. One of them is advertising, which can be replaced on condition that you have good relationships with people launching startups as well as media offering free space.

3. Networking is the king

I have personally met dozens of people who were able to launch startups without much effort and earn money. The key to success was to write articles for newspapers devoted to startups as well as magazines that cover a number of different topics. Those articles allowed startups to become visible to potential users as well as to potential investors.

a) The power of discussion boards

Discussion boards can be perceived as a place for teenagers willing to spend an hour or two on the internet without doing nothing particularly challenging. That’s not true. There are many forums/discussion boards that have been created for geeks and can be utilized to receive feedback from other users. A good example is Goldenline, which is the Polish equivalent of LInkedin, the famous social networking site. I have seen dozens, if not hundreds of startups being commented on Goldenline, and I must say that even though users are often ironic and cruel they are often right in their comments. As a result you can not only receive a sort of free feeback, but if your startup is really worth someone’s time it will also become famous.

b) Join real, not only virtual discussions

Many people believe that if you have a great idea someone will eventually enter your website and say “wow that’s great I will tell the whole World about it”. Forget it. You need to let people know about your project quickly. Join conferences, discussions, meetings etc. Even if you are at a party try to tell someone about your startup and check his/her first impression. Also try to find out if there is going to be a BarCamp in your city.

c) If in doubt stay out

It is absolutely vital that you refrain from telling about your project if you don’t feel comfortable with it. This is particularly important if you believe that your ideas can be easily copied. I am pretty sure that you can easily find someone willing to copy your startup if it has appropriate potential. Once again remember that is not difficult to create a startup similar to yours if you don’t possess unique knowledge or tools.