Common mistakes that new software companies make and how to avoid them

Starting a new software product can be a daunting task, especially if you are new to the world startups and software. While every new business journey is unique, there are some common mistakes that many founders make. After helping companies big and small - from Fortun500 beasts to one person startups, we think we’ve seen it all! In this blog today, we will discuss the some of common mistakes that we see over and over and also give some tips on how to avoid them.

Not knowing your customer

One of the biggest mistakes that software product leadership make is not knowing their customer. Notice I’ve kept the term very generic, “software product leadership”, and that’s because this mistake is made by startup founders as well as product teams in well established software outfits! It is important to have a clear understanding of who your target customer is and what their pain points are. This will help you develop a product or service that addresses their needs and provides value. Take the time to conduct market research and talk to potential customers to gather feedback and insights. Remember that the software you are making is not for you (well it may well be, but you are probably not its only user). So make sure your biases and fascinations don’t guide the software requirements. Find out out the real customers, find out their actual needs - their needs may not be at all like yours. We recently posted a detailed strategy of finding what features you should plan on your software - worth reading that too if you are considering this point. Also worth a read is another recent post about finding customers for a software product.

Not having transparent conversations with your co-founders

Co-founder relationships are critical to the success of any startup or a software product launch. It is important to have open and transparent conversations about roles, responsibilities, and goals. Without clear communication, resentment can build up, and the relationship can deteriorate. Make sure to have well-organized conversations that are designed to share how you feel about the current situation of the company, how it's organized, and who is responsible for what.

Not launching

Many startups are afraid to launch because they think they need to be fully ready before they can get in the press or be on popular blogs. However, launching is not as significant an event to your users as it is to you. If you think about it, how many famous platform do you remember being launched? We only find out about a new product once it starts getting traction - think Facebook, think LinkedIn and think if you ever heard them at launch time… most likely not! It is important to move up the launch as soon as possible to get your product in front of customers. This will help you validate whether it solves their problem and give you the feedback you need to improve. Remember the minimum viable product (MVP) way of doing things. With an MVP you move to a faster launch and a faster way to more feedback. A long time back we posted on our blog an article about how every software company should launch with an MVP and it’s one our most read articles.

Not using analytics

Measuring what your users do when they come to your site is critical to improving your product. It is important to track your website analytics and user behavior to understand what is being used and what is not. This will help you make data-driven decisions and prioritize features that are important to your customers.

Not prioritizing the actual product!

Startups often prioritize sizzle over the actual steak! I mean they make more fuss about various things around the product than the actual product itself, such as hiring, press, and conferences, over getting the product out there and talking to users. However, the actual work of startups is pushing product, getting it in the users' hands, and seeing if they like it. Prioritize getting your product in front of your customers, gathering feedback, and iterating on it to make improvements.

These are some of the most common mistakes that we see many companies make. While it is possible to be successful even if you make these mistakes, it is important to minimize them as much as possible to improve your odds of success. Good luck!