Why Startups Succeed, Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund, and more!
Plus get a peek into what's been on our summer reading list!
If you have any suggestions on what we should cover or general feedback, let us know at team@v1michigan.com. But for now, let's go! 🚀
Happy Monday, y’all! Whether you all have been busy with summer classes, internships, projects, or simply relaxing these past couple of months, we want to sincerely thank each and every one of you for reading the summer edition of our newsletter.
Now onto today’s content!
Member Spotlight
Meet Advait, who’s studying Computer Science through the College of Engineering. Advait is responsible for curating our Top Tweets section in the newsletter, something that all of us look forward to reading. Apart from school, he loves watching soccer and writing his own newsletter(!).
He’s got an impressive background in startups and community building. Make sure to tell him how much y’all love the Top Tweets in Discord. You can also follow him on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
What makes a Successful Startup?
Contributor: Saanika Kulkarni
Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, VC, or just curious about the startup world, you might have heard how likely it is for startups to fail. Statistics show that 90% of startups fail (yes, you read that right), but today we’ll focus on the 10% of the ones that succeed and dive into the reasons why.
It might seem safe to assume that startup success comes through a superb team with domain knowledge and experience and a wide and deep cast of industry connections. However, the answer is more complex than that. Here are some important things to consider to make sure you’re on your way to startup success.
Timing of the product
A great product at the right time is an entrepreneur’s dream come true. In his popular TED Talk called “The single biggest reason why start-ups succeed,” Bill Gross gathered data from hundreds of companies and ranked them based on five key factors: product idea, team, business model, funding, and timing. His research showed that timing was the number #1 reason startups succeed, pointing to AirBnB (which was passed on by many investors) and how it was founded at the height of the 2008 recession when people needed extra money, eventually becoming a major success.
Source: Bill Gross
Shared vision makes a successful team, and thereby a great startup
According to a study published by the Academy of Management and related article in the Harvard Business Review, “shared entrepreneurial passion and shared strategic vision are required to get to superior team performance.” A team that shares a vision brings synergy to the company, sets achievable short-term goals, setting the company on the right path.
A strategic vision shared by a team should have actionable goals like the ones you see here.
Deep knowledge about the market
Great entrepreneurs know the market they are in with remarkable detail. While they know what their own product is about, they are acutely aware of what the competitor is doing, and what they can do in response to the competition. According to Promod Haque, senior managing partner at Norwest Venture Partners, founders who have domain knowledge about their product are “more aware of customer needs, market opportunity, and the competitive landscape, which makes them more credible to investors.”
If you want to truly understand your market, check out this article and refer to the following graphic.
We hope you enjoyed reading about some of the components that make a startup successful. Of course, this is just a non-exhaustive list, as there are countless parameters at play (just ask a VC!).
Opportunities 🔍
The Entrepreneurial Spirit Fund@ SIA Scotch Whisky: 25 recipients can receive a $10,000 grant and mentorship from Founder Carin Luna-Ostaseski. As a first generation Cuban American entrepreneur, Carin has a trove of knowledge on how to grow businesses and pursue strategies. Eligible businesses must operate and/or conduct business in at least one of the following states: California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York & Texas.
Applications begin July 13th, so make sure to apply and share what your future plans will be if you are selected!
Top Tweets of the Week 🐥
Contributor: Advait Iyer
It’s all about your perspective.
Alternatively, you can also visit https://v1michigan.com/community. We’ve heard that’s great!
Get. Things. Done.
For all the aspiring PMs.
What We're Reading 🧠
Catch the latest scoops from other V1 members
Biden's Executive Order: Big Tech
AI vs. ML vs. DL: What's the Difference?
That’s all for today’s newsletter but if you want to contribute to the newsletter, have ideas for the V1 Community/specific requests for what you’d like to see in future editions, or just want to share your thoughts, please reach out to us via email or DM us on Twitter!
And if you’ve read all this and still aren’t in the Discord community, what’s holding you back? Join here!
Contributors: