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Software Startup Company looking for business advice
My partner and I are about to start our own software company. We're both software developers and we don't really have to much experience in the business side of work. Are there any resources out there for non-business savvy guys. Is there any advantage to borrowing from a bank or is personal capital the best way to go? Anyone have any advice on balancing product development while maintaining realistic goals? Open to any and all comments.
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6 Answers
Don't brorrow if possible, especially from friends or relatives. After starting 5 different software companies over the years I would recomend these steps:
1. Decide on your niche area of expertise and stay there
2. Decide if you are going to be a custom or product based software company
3. Research and plan your business before you jump into it.
4. With two starting the company, plan of one of you being the sales guy.
5. Talk to everyone and anyone to get leads for business
Good luck... its fun and exciting...
Congrats on taking the plunge. There are lots of resources out there. But you can also get sucked in and overwhelmed. One of the first things you need to decide is where to set it up. Unless you have some unique company needs, most just set it up in the state they reside/do business in. I live in CA and have set up a few co. here. This link is a good starting point, http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/be/starting-a-business.htm (there are similar in other states). SBA.gov is another good resource.
There are lots of pluses and minuses to what biz form you choose. One co. I set up as a C corp (we had plans for growth and also wanted to do 100% health reimbursement). Another was an LLC (we wanted to distributed profits to partners).
Borrowing from a bank is hard. Most of the time, they will make you pledge personal assets and/or provide a personal guaranty. Also, it is usually easier to get a loan from a bank once you have some revenue and are established. It is a bit of catch 22.
On the dev side, try to plan out a few releases. Draw up some design goals and outline the requirements for each. Try to keep them reasonable so you can get through the first few pretty quickly (i.e. Agile). Likely, you will need to make course corrections as you get users and adoption of your product. And of course, don't forget to plan about how you are going to market and sell your software.
There is much more regarding accounting, taxes, etc., but that can wait while you are getting things together. Good luck.
Hello John,
I would like to have a discussion with you where in I can share my ideas with you.
Can you share your contact details so that we can discuss this further?
Thanks & Regards,
Rakesh
hi, i can help you some how , even i am interested in the same, currently i have a team of 4 IT professional based in mumbai, i have a office set up in new delhi,
for more details and proper talk, we should have a verbal talks, my contact no : +91-9350445858 , you can get on anytime.
regards
hamzah mahmood
hi, i can help you some how , even i am interested in the same, currently i have a team of 4 IT professional based in mumbai, i have a office set up in new delhi,
for more details and proper talk, we should have a verbal talks, you can email me hamzah_mohd at hotmail , you can get on anytime.
regards
hamzah mahmood
Some great business advice from Highland Capital Partners
http://www.hcp.com/advice
Their section on "A Startups Financing Strategy" is excellent.
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