Startups are getting more recognition than ever before.
As awareness grows, more think about starting their own, and the support — whether from the community or government — is considerably higher than in the past.
And while it seems like a fun idea, with flexible working and being your own boss, startups are hard. The few that succeed have found a "special sauce" and stuck out from the pack.
So what does it take?
We asked seven successful startup leaders, who will be speaking at StartCon on December 1-2, what it takes to succeed, which technologies will be key to growth and scale, and what are the biggest challenges moving ahead.
Here's what they had to say.
Roshni Mahtani, founder and CEO of Tickled Media and co-founder of the Female Founders Network
"Australian start-ups need to look at themselves as APAC and not just an ANZ play so they disrupt a larger market. There are cultural considerations, but so is there a great talent pool plus potential partners to ease the transition. If language is a worry, Singapore and the Philippines are obvious next steps."
Logan Young, co-founder and VP strategy, Blitz Metrics
"Google and Facebook are a paid duopoly of increasing power. So startups must cater to their algorithms, which favor 'hot' content over direct selling approaches. Thus, startups increasingly are falling for 'get rich quick' stories, instead of using tried-and-true marketing principles.
Growth and scale is less about technology and more about platforms to distribute content, of which Facebook is now king. WordPress, social accounts, and a shopping cart are the necessary building blocks most startups need to get the word out.
80% of the effort in Marketing/Technology is in the setup. 20% is in 'storytelling' content that goes through these platforms."
Emma Lo Russo, CEO and co-founder, Digivizer
"Prioritizing what you do, from your long-term vision, through to the strategy you create to win, down to what you do in the next hour, is crucial. I started Digivizer after leaving a COO role at a listed Australian software company, so I had developed these skills in that environment and context. What was different in a new startup was how you have to prioritize everything.
Always consider the implications of the choices you have – including the implications of delaying difficult ones. I thrive on difficult challenges and I use that fear to focus on how to create the strategies I need to take me from where I am today to where I want to be tomorrow.
As businesses grow, they hit inflection points, usually at around 20-30 employees, at which point entrepreneurs needed to think about switching from a control model to an empowerment model, and then at 70 employees, where systems, leadership and culture often need revisions."
See the rest of the story at Business Insider