You’ve got that golden tech-based idea that could change the way the market works. You know what it takes to run a successful business but, unfortunately, you have no technical background whatsoever.
Success in business is difficult enough when you’re an expert in your industry. How much more difficult would it be to succeed with a business idea in which you don’t have the technical background to carry it out?
Before you completely scrap the idea of starting your tech business because you don’t have a tech background or don’t know the first thing about app development, keep reading.
In this article, we’ll show you how you can launch your tech business idea even if you don’t know the first thing about mobile app development or optimizing a server for better performance.
It’s Been Done Many Times Before
You might be under the impression that every big tech business was started by some tech-savvy guru like Mark Zukerberg or Bill Gates. That isn’t reflected in reality, however.
Many of today’s most successful tech entrepreneurs are non-technical people that started their business as a side project.
Of course, there are many examples of successful tech companies that were started by people with tech-related backgrounds. But a multitude of other successful tech companies were launched by people like you, who are business-minded and have a strong eye for a great idea but don’t know the first thing about mobile app development.
Here is how to do it.
1. Put the Right People Around You
The very first step in launching a tech startup without a tech background is surrounding yourself with the people who have knowledge that you don’t. For example, would you even know how to create an app estimate page where people can see the cost breakdown of their app projects based on features and platforms they want?
If you aren’t able to hire an expert on the platform you’re looking to build on, or someone with the technical expertise you lack, your project is doomed to failure. It’s important to hire people that you can work with closely.
Your technical experts will be the ones that help you launch your service or products from the ground up. Because of this, they’ll need to possess a thorough understanding of your business and how it relates to the technical end.
Of course, there are many technical sides of the business that you need to cover if you want startup success.
You’ll need to:
- Do market research
- Find investors and raise capital
- Recruit skilled designers and coders
- Manage all product development
- Produce marketing materials
- Create a PR campaign
As with the technical side of the business, you may or may not excel at some of these functions. By making the right hires and finding the right people to fill the roles where you’re weakest, you’ll set an instant trajectory toward success.
2. Research the Tech Market
If you’re not currently involved in the tech world, there’s a good chance that you’re not acutely familiar with the details of the market. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t launch a tech startup. It does mean that you need to do your industry research first.
Before you dive in head-first, spend plenty of time getting familiar with the specific market you hope to penetrate. Where does your idea and your company fit in? How do you solve a new problem, or solve an old problem in a brand new way?
Are you sure that your idea isn’t a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist?
Find out what consumers are willing or able to pay for the solution your idea gives them. Perhaps your target market is enterprises looking for corporate software solutions. How do they value your solution? What would they pay for it?
Or maybe your idea is a free-to-download app that only generates revenue through post-download purchases. What purchases are users willing to make? How much will they spend? How much value does a purchase add to the app experience?
When you start digging into the details of this research, you’ll learn a lot about how profitable and sustainable your tech startup can be.
3. Get Funded
No matter how efficient you try to be, even the most basic tech startup needs capital to get started. Some tech startups spend from $10,000 – $125,000 just on equipment costs.
While you’re in your planning stages, you’ll notice that costs start to build up quickly. Because of this, you’ll need to figure out how to fund your business.
In a perfect world, an angel investor would show up and write a check for every cent it costs to launch your tech startup. Unfortunately, it normally doesn’t work that way.
When looking for investors, it’s important to be able to sell them on the idea of your business. They’ll also be very interested in how you plan on meeting all of the tech requirements. This requires a bullet-proof business plan that shows all of your business potential and technical savvy.
Sell yourself as the ideal person with the business background, and your tech team as the heavy lifters.
4. Keep Things Simple
When you first dive into the tech world, you might make the mistake of thinking that you need to offer an extremely elaborate product. The opposite is actually true.
Don’t allow your overall concept to snowball into a product that’s complicated and clumsy. It’s a very common mistake for tech startups to launch a product that’s overly-elaborate, pricey and has no consumer demand.
When you’re in product design and development mode in your tech startup, remember to start small and keep your focus narrow. Your goal is to create a simple, quality solution. If you want to change the world through a healthcare mobile app, then make sure that it addresses the pain points of people who have experienced the pain of . It doesn’t need to be gimmicky or flashy.
5. Learn as You Go
Don’t expect to become a tech expert if you don’t want to be. But it’s good practice to learn basic tech skills when you run a tech enterprise.
When you’re in product development and dealing with key developers, it’s a big bonus to be able to understand their language. If one of them uses a term you don’t recognize, don’t pretend to know what they’re talking about. Ask questions and write down notes so you’ll remember next time.
To get a little further ahead of the game, you can take online tech classes or boot camps. Some of these will give you a big boost in knowledge that you’ll be able to apply immediately.
6. Test Your Ideas
The best way to find immediate failure with a tech startup is to invest thousands of dollars into a solution that the market doesn’t want.
Thorough market research helps give you an idea of how well your solution will perform in the market. But the absolute best performance indicator is testing pre-sales prior to full product launch.
There is no better way to test your product than by selling it/offering it to a small number of people before you take it to the public. This pre-sale strategy allows you to effectively test product features, identify problems, create solutions and define early adopters, all before your full product launch.
It’s Time to Get in the Tech Business
Whether it’s app development that intimidates you, app development costs that worry you, or technical jargon that scares you, there’s no longer any excuse to continue ignoring your idea.
You can become the next tech startup success if you follow these strategies and keep looking forward.
