Tips for having a successful startup

Everyone is familiar with the story of how David Karp launched the successful blogging website Tumblr from his mother’s apartment, at a time he was broke and helpless. Flash forward ten years later, at only 26 years old David Karp has built an empire of 1 billion dollars and now he is receiving roughly up to $220 million from selling the site to Yahoo. 



Last Startups

Up to this day, David Karp story of his steady rise to fame has inspired many entrepreneurs who are struggling to set up their own business. We have taken tips of creating a successful business from Karp and other successful social media website owners alike such as Mark Zuckerberg and Evan Spiegel, on how to launch a successful startup.

  1. Final decision always belongs to you: your business is your baby, and you are the parent. You need to make sure you are carefully guiding this baby into taking its first steps, feed it the right amounts of food so it stays nourished and healthy, and make sure the people you work alongside with are interested in fostering a successful, healthy and happy baby. Famous entreprenaurs like Steve Jobs have claimed that they love being involved in the central process of decision making: “When I hire someone really senior, competence is the ante. They have to be really smart. But the real issue for me is, are they going to fall in love with Apple? Because if they fall in love with Apple, then everything else will take care of itself. They’ll want to do whats best for Apple, not whats best for them, whats best for Steve or anybody else.”

  2. Follow your cravings: this is the most obvious thing that forms the groundbase of every successful startup. “You can’t succeed, if you don’t have enough craving” says Mark from Daily Deals Coupon. But first, it’s important to learn first-hand techniques from other professionals, and then use their knowledge to create a unique product. Ells, owner of Chipotele says: "I had a very strong vision for the way Chipotle was going to look and taste," An art history major who went to culinary school after college because of his passion for cooking, he was inspired by the economic model of Chipotle while eating at a small neighborhood taqueria. He used what he learned at culinary school and while working at a restaurant to "really elevate fast food."

  3. Follow what you’re passionate about: if you already know about what you love, then find a way to make money out of it. Richard Branson, owner of Virgin recalled his passion for building a business when he was just 20 years old, and founded Virgin in a basement: “When I started Virgin from a basement in West London, there was no great plan or strategy. One should always follow his passion” says Tom from Game Period. I didn't set out to build a business empire. For me, building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that's going to make a real difference to other people's lives."

  4. The customer is your best salesman: if you want your business to succeed, always make sure you are contributing to the customer’s needs. Remember to always treat the customer with respect, they are the ones who expand your popularity base. According to Jerry Murrell, owner of Five Guys: We figure our best salesman is our customer. Treat that person right, he'll walk out the door and sell for you. From the beginning, I wanted people to know that we put all our money into the food. That's why the decor is so simple--red and white tiles. We don't spend our money on decor. Or on guys in chicken suits. But we'll go overboard on food."


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