I started a business at 23 that now draws in $10m. Here’s how.
I have always loved building products, redeveloping apps to improve their productivity and make them work better for myself and others that need them. I started out with your basic phone apps such as tweaking the Android calendar and so when I needed a route planner and saw the existing options out there it got me thinking.
Now four years on, my own business, Circuit, has grown from a 23 year old’s idea to a global company bringing in $10 million in ARR.
My focus is on customer experience, building a product that looks great, and more importantly, is easy to use, as opposed to focusing on new bleeding edge technology and it is this that brings me to my first tip
1. There’s a shortcut to identifying unrealised opportunity
The strength of a business can be limited by the strength of its idea. But it can be hard to identify a problem that affects enough people yet isn’t already circled by a number of competitors.
Luckily, there’s a shortcut. The trick is to look for areas where the current product or service offering is poor, but people are still buying or using the product. This shows there’s a deep need for a solution and proves that a market already exists. You don’t then have to create a customer base and can focus on building the best product or service in a market that already exists.
That’s the strategy that led me to launch Circuit. I saw that delivery drivers were heavily dependent on technology but were having to rely on products that weren’t properly built for them or that did a poor job. I knew that if I created something that specifically catered to their unique needs, I’d have a market-leading product that could truly add value.
Having built a product I soon realised that rather than being for all, there was a key customer in delivery drivers who wanted to use the app day in day out to improve their delivery experience. But how did I get the feedback I needed to make these changes – that brings me to my second and third tips…
2. Charging from the beginning is crucial
It’s tempting to initially offer your service for free to draw in new customers and get feedback, but charging from the start gives you a crucial advantage.
Paying customers give you very different feedback to those using a product free. You need this no-holds-barred honesty to refine your service and make it as user-friendly as possible.
Making your customers pay will also indicate the long-term success of your business. Nothing tells you if a customer would be willing to pay for something like actually asking them to pay right now.
3. Listen to your customers’ problems, not their feature requests
Customers will come to you with demands for new features but you need to be able to identify the problem behind the request.
A request shows that there’s something lacking or faulty in your product but a customer themselves will generally be unable to tell you the best way to address this. Your job is to understand why a particular feature is requested, get to the bottom of the problem behind it and then create the best possible solution to that problem.
Finally, it can be daunting to start a company especially when young. The growth of social media has launched a new generation of influencer-entrepreneurs but young people can succeed in any area of business. With the right idea, tactical thinking and the humility to learn as you go, entrepreneurs of any age can make a difference. And so leading on to my fourth and final tip…
4. Industry connections aren’t everything
Industry connections are useful but lacking them doesn’t necessarily leave you behind. Many young entrepreneurs get overly fixated on contacts but you don’t need an established network to start a successful business. A great product will open doors for you.
In fact, coming to an industry with fewer ties can even be an advantage. A fresh perspective often allows you to more objectively assess the situation and identify weaknesses in the accepted way of doing things. After all, common practice is simply an average of everyone’s best practice - it’s never the best solution for any given scenario.
Building a business isn’t easy but being younger doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. If you’re willing to put in the work, there’s no minimum age to be a founder.
