Our product team at Devōt constantly emphasizes the importance of product discovery.
In our blog about product discovery, we discussed the risks businesses can face if proper product discovery is not done.
Every year, nearly 30,000 new products hit the market, and 95% of them end up failing. These odds aren't exactly encouraging for startups in the software development industry, are they? A closer look reveals that many of these products shouldn't even reach the production stage. Making timely and informed decisions could save startups substantial time and money, ultimately delivering greater value to their customers.
This underscores the importance of thorough preparation. Although you may think some of these things on the list are obvious, in this blog post, we will go over the must-do things you need to consider as a startup.
1. The basics - Understand your target audience
Starting a software development company involves different challenges, but understanding your target audience is among the most critical.
When entering the startup software development space, it's essential to understand potential users' needs and expectations. Market research helps identify gaps and opportunities in the market. Startups typically have limited resources, so focusing on the right niche and identifying what users want is key. This process involves using software development tools to analyze market trends, user behavior, and preferences.
User personas are fictional characters that represent your ideal customers. They help startups focus on the needs of specific audience segments during software development. By creating detailed user personas, a startup software development company can align its software solutions with real user needs. This approach ensures that the software's performance aligns with the expectations of the target audience.
One example is Quibi, a streaming platform that aimed to innovate mobile entertainment with short clips. However, it didn't account for the similar free content available on YouTube and TikTok. The company shut down just six months after launching despite receiving $1.7 billion in funding.
2. Build a solid development team
We hope you would agree that a strong development team is crucial for a startup's success. The team you build will be responsible for turning innovative ideas into tangible software products.
Startups often grapple with the decision of whether to build an in-house team or to engage in software development outsourcing. In-house teams offer direct access to developers and project managers, allowing for closer collaboration. On the other hand, outsourcing companies provide cost-effective solutions and access to specialized expertise, which can be particularly beneficial for startups with limited budgets.
When building a team, it's important to hire for both technical expertise and cultural fit. Developers should be proficient in the relevant programming languages and frameworks for your project, but they should also align with your startup's culture and values. For example, at Devōt, we build one of the largest Ruby on Rails teams in this part of Europe. It was a mix of finding (and educating) people with the right skills and having people around you with similar approaches and values.
A cohesive team that works well together can handle challenges more effectively, leading to better project outcomes. Additionally, considering niche expertise within your development team can give your startup a competitive edge.
3. Create a clear product vision
A clear product vision is essential for guiding the software development process and ensuring alignment with business objectives.
For startups, defining a minimum viable product (MVP) is crucial for validating ideas quickly and cost-effectively. The MVP should include only the essential features that address core user needs, allowing startups to test their concepts in the market before investing heavily in further development.This approach is particularly useful in startup projects where resources are limited.
Prioritizing features based on user needs ensures that the product development team focuses on what matters most to the target audience. Startups often fall into the trap of trying to include too many features, which can dilute the product's focus and increase development costs. By using business analysis and user feedback, startups can identify the key stages of product development and focus on delivering software solutions that provide a competitive advantage.
4. Implement agile methodologies
Agile methodologies are widely adopted in software development for startups because of their flexibility and focus on iterative improvement.
Agile development offers several benefits for startups, including adaptability, continuous improvement, and faster time-to-market. Startups face rapidly changing market demands, and agile methodologies allow for quick pivots based on customer feedback or competitive pressures. Agile's focus on delivering small, incremental changes also helps startups manage development costs effectively, which is crucial for business growth.
Considering our experience with agile, we would recommend, if you are going the outsourcing software development route as a startup, looking for teams that have agile in both tech and non-tech teams in their company.
5. Maintain code quality and technical debt
Maintaining code quality and managing technical debt is crucial for a startup’s long-term success.
Establishing coding standards is a fundamental step in the software development process. These standards ensure that all developers adhere to a consistent style, making the codebase more understandable and maintainable. Consistent coding practices also facilitate collaboration within the development team and make onboarding new developers easier. Clear coding standards help prevent technical debt, which can arise when quick fixes or shortcuts are taken during development.
Regular code reviews are an essential practice for maintaining code quality. They provide an opportunity for developers to learn from each other and to identify potential issues early in the development cycle. Code reviews can also help catch bugs, improve software performance, and ensure that the code aligns with the project’s architecture design.
6. Ensure effective testing practices
Effective testing practices are vital for delivering reliable and high-performing software solutions.
Startups should consider various types of testing, including unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and usability testing. Each type of testing serves a different purpose and helps identify issues at different stages of the development process. For example, unit testing focuses on individual components, while system testing evaluates the software as a whole. Ensuring comprehensive testing is crucial for identifying potential problems before they impact users.
We can take, for example, a service page. If you have a service page on your website and you are a startup, it would be good to do unit testing, integration testing, and system testing for a start. Unit testing checks individual functions or features of a service page, ensuring each component works correctly. Integration testing assesses how these components interact together, while system testing evaluates the entire service page's functionality as a cohesive unit.
Automated testing is a valuable tool for startups, as it helps reduce manual effort and increases testing efficiency. Automation tools can run tests quickly and consistently, making it easier to identify issues early in the development process. Startups should prioritize automating repetitive tests, such as regression testing, to save time and resources. Automated testing also supports continuous improvement by enabling frequent and reliable testing cycles.
7. Manage security concerns
Managing security concerns is important for startups, as software vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches and damage to a startup’s reputation.
Security by design means incorporating security measures into the software development process from the start. This proactive approach helps prevent potential issues rather than reacting to them after they occur. Startups should focus on secure architecture design, regular code reviews, and secure programming practices to minimize security risks. Implementing security measures early can save time and resources, as addressing security flaws later can be costly.
8. Prepare for scalability
Designing software for scalability from the start ensures that startups can handle increased user demand as their business grows. Scalable architecture design allows for easy expansion and prevents performance issues as the user base expands. Startups should focus on building software solutions that can handle rapid growth without compromising on performance or user experience. This includes using cloud-based solutions and designing modular, flexible systems.
For example, leveraging cloud services is an effective way for startups to achieve scalability and flexibility. Cloud providers offer a range of services, including scalable storage, computing power, and databases, that can grow with the startup's needs. Startups can benefit from cloud-based solutions that provide cost-effective scalability, enabling them to focus on their core business while leaving infrastructure management to the cloud provider. Cloud services also offer redundancy and disaster recovery options, which enhance the startup's ability to handle unexpected events.
Recently, we had an interview with Lider (we know, we know, it's in Croatian) about how we succeeded as a software development company. Of course, your custom software development needs to be scalable, but our advice about building the company is that maintaining stability and supporting continuous growth requires thoughtful strategic planning and decision-making.
We've experienced significant growth in recent years, which is evident in our increased number of employees and various awards, but we've also faced the challenge of managing this growth sustainably.
We have a rule that each position on our team must clearly contribute to the company's long-term strategic goal. Additionally, we've laid the foundation for financial stability, securing steady income for future years. This has enabled us to plan our budget more easily and accurately.
We have a strict policy that ensures costs do not exceed projected income, thereby ensuring business stability even in challenging times, such as those currently affecting the IT industry.
9. Stay compliant with regulations
Compliance with regulations is crucial for startups in software development to avoid legal issues and maintain customer or client trust.
Startups need to understand the key regulations for their industry and region. This can include data privacy laws, such as GDPR or CCPA, and industry-specific regulations. By conducting thorough business analysis, startups can identify which regulations are relevant to their software applications and ensure that they meet all necessary requirements. Compliance is not only a legal obligation but also a competitive advantage, as customers and clients prefer businesses that protect their data and operate ethically.
Startups should consider working with experienced engineers or dedicated teams specializing in compliance to ensure that their software solutions meet all regulatory requirements. This proactive approach helps startups build trust with customers and partners.
Considering our experience in various industries, from healthtech to fintech, feel free to contact us for consultation and our experience with industry-specific regulations.
10. Encourage continuous learning and improvement
Continuous learning and improvement are essential for startups to stay competitive and innovate in the software development industry.
On this list, it's last but certainly not least. Creating a learning culture encourages team members to develop their skills and stay up-to-date with cutting-edge technologies. Startups can promote continuous learning by offering training, encouraging experimentation, and providing opportunities for professional development. This culture of learning helps startups attract and retain talented software developers, giving them a competitive edge in the market.
If you want to be one of the software development companies, look into what you are good at and what your employees can learn from each other. For example, in the last 2 years, we have educated over 60+ Ruby on Rails developers.
Also, at the beginning, we talked about the importance of product discovery. Use the feedback that you get as a startup to improve and adapt your software solutions to meet user needs and market demands. This feedback provides valuable insights into how the software is being used and what improvements are needed.
Final advice for startups
In the software development industry, startups often feel pressured to handle everything in-house. However, it's important to remember that successful software development for startups doesn't mean doing it all yourself. Startups can benefit greatly from leveraging software development services, including software development outsourcing.
Outsourcing allows startups to access niche expertise, whether it's for product discovery, integrating AI into workflows, UX/UI design, or even hiring an entire product development team. By focusing on its core business and leaving specialized tasks to experienced professionals, a software startup can achieve sustainable growth, enhance its competitive edge, and deliver superior software solutions.
If you need those niche experts, feel free to reach out to us and schedule a meeting.
