3 Gems for running a startup

Interview by BRW of 

Benjamin Chong is a partner at Right Click Capital and a general partner at Sydney Seed Fund.

Running a start-up is never easy. There are sales calls, product improvements, customer complaints and cash flow to keep on top of. With so many things going on at once, it is easy to lose sight of your three biggest priorities.

develop habits that will help you stay focused. 

FOCUS ON WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

Build what customers want not what you think they want .

Test and measure 

Get your product and idea out there 

FOCUS ON GROWING REVENUE

Starting a business is exciting and many entrepreneurs devote too much time on the “creative” aspects of the business like website design or building out the feature list instead of activities that will bring in revenue. Getting in front of potential customers, working out what they’ll buy, and delivering it is critical. You have to develop a clear plan for driving revenue, even if the cost of sales in the early days is higher than expected.

FOCUS ON MOVING YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD

At the beginning of each day, the key question I ask myself is “what do I need to do today to move my business forward?” 

For me, this often means working through uncomfortable tasks such as making unpleasant telephone calls or forecasting the next month’s cash flow. After the day is done, make another list of the three things you need to do for the next day, so you’ll come to work prepared and ready to roll.