Start a Tech Business in 5 Steps

Starting a tech business might sound daunting, like something reserved only for super-intelligent Ivy League graduates. But with recent advancements in technology, it’s easier than ever to start a business and get it off the ground. Not just that, the digital tools widely available to consumers now make it incredibly convenient and simple to set up fairly complex businesses.

In this article, we’ll go over five steps to starting a tech business—from incorporation to launch and marketing.

Step 1—Lifting Off Without Too Many Hassles

Don’t start off by registering your company as a corp or LLC, it’ll cost you a lot of money and the taxation will drain you too. It’s better to avoid the complicated legal issues that come with forming an entity, and simply get started as yourself, or an informal partnership. It especially makes sense to do this when you don’t have a product ready, IP to protect, or wages to pay

Since it’s a tech company, it would help if either you or one of your partners had a technical background and expertise in the field you’re venturing into. A great advantage you have is that you may not require money to build the product or the prototype. If it’s software, you could just write the code and have the product ready. The major investment here, instead, is in terms of time.

Step 2—Get Them to Pre-order

A smart and efficient method of starting is to approach potential clients with your offering before you spend dozens or hundreds of hours building your product. Reach out to your target audience and share your concept with them as though you already have the product ready. If your target market expresses interest in your product, it means you’re on the right track. If they don’t, then you need to research the market some more and determine what would meet their needs.

You can ask people to pre-order if they are keen on using your tech offering. With some revenue in hand, you’ll have more freedom to experiment with your product and ideas. You can also set up a website for your company and showcase your product. Website building isn’t half as hard as it used to be years ago—take some time to find the best website builder for your needs, and you’ll be on your way in no time.

Step 3—Connect with the Right Talent

With various digital platforms and applications connecting people together, it’s easier than ever for you to find talent for your business—whether it’s at the start, to create your offering, or later on when you’re looking to scale your company. If you’re looking to have a partner (co-founder) on board, it would help to attend networking events or search within your existing network for people with the appropriate skills. You could also find potential co-founders through websites that connect startups with the right talent. If you’re on a lean budget, you should offer the co-founder equity in the company.

Step 4—Marketing and Funding

Effective marketing is not easy. It takes excellent research and application. As mentioned previously, reaching out to potential clients and getting them to pre-order your product is a brilliant way to start out. It can also help with word-of-mouth marketing.

But once your product is ready and you want to scale up swiftly, it can take more than just word-of-mouth marketing. Startups that receive good funding can invest a lot in their campaigns and market aggressively. You could try crowdfunding platforms to receive more funds for your campaigns or get in touch with investors.

Alternatively, you could use various online platforms to spread word of your offering and even attend networking events to do the same. You could team up with relevant bloggers and news websites to share details about your business.

Step 5—Side Gigs for Money

In the early stages, when your business is still in development and isn’t raking in the big bucks, it would help to have side gigs that bring in enough money to handle your basic needs. The options are plenty—you could freelance, teach online, or even write for a publication. Anything that doesn’t drain too much of your time and energy and prevent you from working on your main gig. It can be a lot of fun if you monetize a hobby or a passion area of yours. It could relax you and keep the burnout away.

Ready for Launch?

Now that we’ve gone over the five steps to launching a tech business, hopefully some mystery has been removed. Setting up any kind of business takes plenty of effort, but with a clear roadmap, what could take years could be ready in a few months.

Keep in mind that not all startups take off immediately—your concept may need a few iterations for it to be fully market-ready. But once it’s well prepared, your customers will take to it like moths to a flame.