In Germany there are more and more start-ups and young companies. The development bank KfW comes to this conclusion in a current report and names around 108,000 founders and 60,000 new companies in this country. Deliveroo also started small. Meanwhile, the delivery service is a unicorn. Will Shu, founder of Deliveroo, wants to share his experiences with other founders. In this guest post, he gives founders and those who would like to become, five tips on how they help their idea for an international breakthrough.
Always have a clear goal in mind
The most important thing for company founders is to have and pursue this idea for which they burn. At the same time, dreams and some crazy visions are quite permissible, because after all, it is possible that starting a business does not work. The main thing is always: you have to firmly believe in success.
It all depends on the team
Next, find fellow combatants, a team that shares the same ideals and goals, shares the same vision and enthusiasm. In the beginning, this team will be quite small, so these few need to be strong in heart and soul for the common cause. These can be very different people, with very different backgrounds, but with the same goal in mind. Multi-layered and colorful teams with the same mission are often the most powerful.
Full commitment is needed
Founders can not protect themselves against everything. There were fellow students in the Business School who wanted to work for McKinsey during the week and then work for their startup over the weekend. That just can not work. That’s why I advise founders to focus fully on their start-up. That’s the only way it works, even if it’s very hard work.
Good internal communication has to be
Collusion and constant communication are essential in business – for overall efficiency, avoiding duplication of effort, understanding, and enabling cross-functional processes. We use the Facebook tool Workplace, which enables our entire organization to communicate efficiently. One of the challenges I face as CEO is communicating with many people in many different markets. I repeat myself many times, but this is immensely important to ensure that all work together as a single entity.
Data analysis provides important market insight
We focus on data analytics in everything we do – whether we want to better understand a market or a region, get to know local food, trends and habits, or help restaurants with insights on growth. Data is the key to continuously improving our offerings for drivers, restaurants and customers, or to look for further expansion opportunities in existing or new markets.