The pitfalls to avoid are...

Some B2B tech startups invent products with great technology differentiators, but they experience challenges turning business opportunities into sustainable business growth.

I have conducted primary research on the challenges faced by B2B tech startups’ founders to meet the business growth that they deserve. Time and time again, the pitfalls are similar, in all domains I have researched, whether the startup comes from Telecom, SaaS, AI, Web 3.0, Robotics & Drones, online Gaming, Software Engineering, Augmented Reality, etc.

At the recent Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona (their – huge – startups hall is called 4YFN, standing for “4 Years From Now”), I met some other startups founders specialized in antennas, in radio units, or in techniques to improve radio propagation through glass windows. They have also come up with the same pitfalls to avoid.

I have summarized these pitfalls into the following categories:

1. "It will sell itself" syndrome. Huge faith in product disruption. Spending a lot of time to develop with no/few contracts until the product is fully ready.

2. "The Business Development Leads swamp" for one of the founders. Either he/she is overloaded with a long list of Business Dev’t Leads which are not prioritized; or he/she recruits a strong sales guy, but who may lack some skills to discuss new customer needs with the dev teams.

3. The “Chief Innovation Officer’s Trough”. Never ending Proof of Concepts (PoCs) with the customer’s innovation teams which rarely leads to actual commercial-scale contracts.

4. Lack of understanding of competition. Imposter syndrome vs. bigger competitors

5. Missing the Path of Least resistance to the market. Launch timing undefined. Lack of power partnerships, accelerators. Lack of international expansion strategy

Does it sound familiar?

Here are a few tips that we have exchanged with the most advanced B2B tech startups to address these pitfalls.

1. The Minimal Viable Product stage should always include technical differentiators but also a clear business differentiation. MVP = Product + Market.

2. I’ll come back on the “BD Leads swamp” in the next edition of this newsletter, as it deserves a bit more details.

3. To avoid the “innovation trough” and the “PoC curse”, always identify a champion from the commercial Business Unit of the customer who will be in charge of turning the PoC – if successful – into a real project. Get paid for every PoC also adds some skin in the game.

4. I’ll also come back to the Imposter Syndrome in an upcoming edition of this newsletter. We can learn how to practice “entrepreneurial judo” with big competitors, leveraging their rigidities to our advantage.

5. The “big launch” should propel the B2B tech startup into a different league altogether. Like any big launch, it deserves a proper launch pad, a countdown (i.e. a precise timing) and the preparation of the full company. Therefore, it should be planned well in advance, when the product is rock solid, and the company structure is ready to scale.

What do you think? Easier said than done, I agree.

What is the next business growth issue that you need to solve, and does it fall into any of these categories?

Thank you.

Philippe

P.S. You may take the “From Tech To Growth” self-assessment scorecard. It is free, it only takes two minutes, and it offers some reflective questions on your business growth.

P.S. Whenever you are ready, you can take a short complementary appointment with me to discuss your business growth issues at hand. Go to the “From Tech To Growth” Recognition Call.

Philippe Poggianti, CEO, Poggianti Insights

[email protected]

+33-6-6404-3802