It was “Start Up: Silicon Valley” that first introduced the “start up culture” to mainstream audiences. The show, which aired on HBO and followed a few different start-ups in San Francisco, attempted to capture what it is like being an entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley environment. “Start Up” is not just about technology or entrepreneurship though; it’s also about growth and venture capital. In this tech startup blog post, we’ll go over some of the most important topics from “Start Up,” including startup culture, growth and venture capital!
What does it mean?
Start Up: Startup Culture “Start up culture” refers to the environment that is found in Silicon Valley, where new companies are created with the goal of “disrupting” an existing market. The phrase “disruptive technology,” which was made popular by Clayton Christensen , describes how these start-ups attempt to gain traction and create value through their product/service offering. Through this process, they often drive out competitors who cannot keep pace or provide equal value for a lower price point. He argued that it’s not just about having “good ideas;” instead you need access to capital (venture capitalists), talented people (not easy when there are so many other opportunities available) and time (you’re always behind because someone else will “disrupt” you) to “make it.”
Venture capitalists
Venture capitalists know that the vast majority of their investments will not be successful. Investors make money by “betting on a few studs and hoping they hit big,” as Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, said . This is why venture capital firms typically invest in highly talented individuals (the “A+ players”) who can attract other people with high potential value added (“A players”). The best way for these “start ups” to succeed and grow quickly enough so that investors see an increase in their equity stake is through what’s known as “growth hacking.”
Growth and Venture
Capital Growth hackers attempt to achieve this goal by using different marketing strategies such as social media campaigns or SEO. “Start up culture” and “growth hacking,” in particular, have been criticized for their “spray and pray tactics.” In this context, “spray and pray” means that the founders of these start-ups don’t know what they’re doing. They just try a bunch of different things (or “spray”) hoping to get lucky (i.e., one of the approaches will be successful) or create some type of growth (“pray”).
Although it’s true that most new companies fail , there are still plenty who succeed . Many people believe that success is more likely if you focus on creating products/services with high value added (an alternative approach). Consequently, we see fewer examples like Instagram ($100 million paid by Facebook for a “photo-sharing app”) and more examples like Snapchat ($16 billion paid by Snap Inc. for “messaging app”).
Who created facebook?
While it’s true that “startup culture” is what makes Silicon Valley special, there are many new businesses being created in other areas too . For example, Mark Zuckerberg was not the first person to create Facebook; he just happened to be one of the most successful. He didn’t have access to venture capital or talent (he dropped out of college) when he started his business either. Instead, they came later when people began realizing how big “the next big thing” would turn out to be. There are also plenty of people who try different start ups but fail , despite having all three “ingredients” in place. “Start up culture,” “growth hacking,” and “spray and pray tactics” are all part of the Silicon Valley environment, but they aren’t the only paths to success .
Own startup
When it comes to “start up”, people think about their own startup or other big companies like Facebook, Uber or Tesla that are promising enough for investors to dump money into them. However, despite all these PR stunts by “big players”, small startups still manage to grab attention with some interesting ideas which could prove themselves really well in future! Let’s see what they do differently than bigger corporations so we can understand why “small guys” might be more successful than “giants”.
The first difference is the company’s transparency towards shareholders .
Startups usually publish reports on a daily basis , while larger firms don’t deliver such “data flood” to its investors.
Second difference is the speed of decision making .
When a startup needs to make a quick decision, it’s not bogged down by bureaucracy or hierarchy and can react quickly to market changes. Even though they sometimes fail in this matter, “small guys” learn from mistakes quicker than bigger organizations do!
Future direction
The third thing that smaller corporations have going for them is control over their future direction . In “big companies”, there are many people with different opinions who all want to influence a company’s decisions. A small corporation has better chances at staying true to its vision because founders don’t need consensus from thousands of employees before moving forward.
