Startup: Ways to Build Credibility for your Venture

Importance of Credibility

Several startup companies are popping up here and there. Some make it through the struggles, while many others fail in the game. Creating the trust is a key factor for startup success. The customers and also the investors should be able to have confidence in the venture. They will be giving up their money and their personal data to a company about which they hear for the first time. When a person spends on a product or service, the primary factor he checks is the prior reviews and reputation. It becomes a great challenge for newbies to gain that trust in the absence of reputation and reviews. Here are a few ways to obtain credibility for the business. Credibility works like a currency which can be quickly cashed in.

Finding a Leverage

If you have a look at the startup statistics, you will find that about 90 percent of them fail to make the note. The rest find their way through the challenges. Considering the leverage is the key. All start-ups are new with the business, but they might not be new to businesses. Leveraging to a former company and the client database can be of help.

Taking Help from your Past Projects

It might seem rather odd to link your previous business with your new venture. But when you are a beginner, you will surely need some point to hang on. Some people feel that a cool idea or gadget can be the breakthrough. No one would invest or spend on any cool device without a reliability factor. If you look at the major technological advances, you can see that they have been released by the established names who have made their reputation.

Your past experience need not necessarily be a popular one. You should be able to brag about a unique feature, and that will be your point of hold to move to create attention.

Honesty

One single word of dishonesty caught over by the client or the investor will spoil the whole effort that you had laid in to set up the business. Be very clear in your notions and ideas. Never try to mislead or manipulate people by providing unclear and out of the context answers and ideas. Investors would never consider a person who beats around the bush. Be clear and transparent about the finances and the overall plan when presenting it to investors.

Be Ready to Sacrifice your Pay

You might be having several people employed to look after the different sections of the business. You might be putting in our maximum effort for the business, but do not worry about your earnings. For a start-up business, it is a necessary factor to curb the confidence of the employees and it becomes necessary to pay them in time. If you are confident about the project and its scope, you can even work for free. The long term result will surely make up for the loss.

Associate with an Established Brand

The benefits of an established brand name cannot be denied. They have gained their name and fame with years of experience. By holding hands with an established business, you can create a market for your business. This association can be something as simple as sponsoring events where you can gain some market exposure and at the same time link your name with the top ones in the industry.

If you have a look at Uber and its current status, you might say that the idea was unique, and they were set to win. But on the other side, they had to face the crucial task of making the people enter the vehicles of strangers. If you look into their start-up strategies, you can see that they had followed some unique credibility building actions. One of them to be noted is their sponsorship of technology programs along with the other main companies so that people would associate their names with the bigger names in the industry.

Gain some endorsements

We meet several people in our life and sometimes truly unimportant people may end up becoming rather useful. Use your connections to gain approvals. There is nothing shameful in asking for an endorsement especially if you were particularly good at your previous job or project. These testimonials can speak for proving your credibility.

Love and popularize your achievements

Your achievements are things you can brag about when you are in your new venture. The effort you have put in shows result in the form of accomplishments. Present your achievements, however, small they may be in meetings with investors, when finding prospective investors, and even on your website and social media networks. Let the people know that you are serious about your business and it will become successful. Your achievements are a measure of your credibility.

Know your area of Operation

Sometimes you might be having the basic idea, but no in-depth knowledge about the processing. When you are presenting a prospective business and its growth details to gain investors, it is very necessary to know all the particulars of the project. Any question that cannot be answered by you directly shows you negligence to your venture and will inevitably affect the trust that they will have upon you. Make sure that your reply only those subjects you are knowledgeable about as wrong answers presented confidently will gain disdain from the others.

Self-confidence

Only a person who is confident of what he is doing will be able to transfer that positive feeling to the customers and investors.  When you are beginning a new venture, your knowledge and experience may be too little, but your confidence can help you surpass all significant obstructions easily. Be proud that you have shown the courage to take up the endeavor when compared to the million others who are not ready to take up challenges with new enterprises.

These are the basic tips to build credibility, but there is no shortcut to success. The process of creating credibility may take years, and the hard work will eventually pay off. A wrong choice or answer can spoil the years of effort, so make sure that each step is taken with utmost care as it is as much important to maintain the credibility as it is to build it up.