This article will guide you about business development for startups. The complete details about business development for startups is given below.
The role of business development is very critical for startup companies which includes different activities like product distributions, content licensing, strategic partnerships, acquisitions and monetization’s. But it can vary widely based on the type and size of the startup company. Business development at Startups is generally depending on the goals of the company. Goals could be different things like developing new platforms of third party applications or introducing new technologies which would have a great demand from customers.
The role of business development is to help the startup reach the target by finding out which companies can help in achieving the goals
and partnering with effectively to speed up the expansion process. Certain key areas of business development for startups include,
1. Early-Stage Product Management
It involves managing the product releases effectively during the initial stages and trying to present it effectively to prospective customers to get traction. Once the customers give some confidence on the product, the engineering team should be informed about the expectations of customers and guided towards shaping the product as per the customer’s needs.
Development of new products should be driven primarily through feedback from customers about previous products and taking into consideration of negative as well as positive suggestions. Since engineering resources will be usually limited in any startup company, proper research must be carried out before investing money and resources on a new product.
Usually good business development deals are often which introduce new models and innovative strategies of doing business. You can make use of brainstorming sessions among different engineering teams to drive out new creative ideas and explore various possibilities.
2. Management of Business Partners
Startup companies generally lack focus and despite their scale or size, they probably receive requests for partnering with other startups or small companies. Though it sounds cool, it might not be beneficial ninety percent of the time. Many of the startup companies do not take the effort and time for researching about the business with whom they wish to partner.
In business development it is very important to weed out requests which can deviate the company from its actual mission and choose the right partnerships which could improve your business.
Similarly business development has a very important role in dealing with your competition. Successfully executing partnership deals need a great combination of technical chops, negotiation and sales skills, technical chops, strategic thinking. Business development plays a key role in managing existing partners and strategic vendors of the company. It involves growing the network of the startup by focusing on right partnerships which can help in improving business.
3. Corporate Development
Business development should take care of important drivers for the industry and continuously monitor the progress of the competitors and their strategic decisions. All the employees and teams within the company must be updated about the latest events happening in the market and must focus on improving the business.
Business development plays a key role in finding the right way to finance new products through venture capitalists and investors.
Improving the Revenue Streams
Business development team should always keep looking for new sectors and markets to enter. They should focus on developing a proper plan and strategy to enter new market sectors by partnering with the right companies.
The role of business development involves dedicated collaboration with sales, account and marketing teams find out new market areas which should be targeted and executed effectively. Generally startups are under-funded, over-stress and have less resource availability. Try to generate revenue through fundraisers and getting the attention of ideal investors.
