Startups Need to Control Their Own Destiny

Ed Sim writes: “Big companies move slowly and often change their minds. A relationship with a big company will surely take time and cost you money whether in upfront dollars or expenditures on resources. And while we would all love to build our business off the back’s of other brands and distribution, at the end of the day, in order to create a big winner, it is imperative for startups to control their own destiny. This means that your business has to be able to grow organically and not have its fate fully dependent on its partners. What this means is that first and foremost you have to have a killer product, one that people love, can’t live without, and share with others. In this new world of mashups, open APIs, and widgets, startups can easily get distribution. Getting customers and revenue is a different story altogether. Remember, distribution doesn’t matter if people don’t use your product or service so start with the basics and figure out how to make your product a must have that someone will pay for.”