Running a startup is no child’s play in this day and age. A startup today needs capital to survive, to avoid running into troubled waters and simply die at the inception stage.
But getting funding is not an easy task, and it is particularly tough for startups that are unable to sell their value proposition to available investors in time. Apart from this, the number of investors available in India makes the task even more daunting.
The e-retailing segment for startups is getting more and more congested by the day, especially for sectors like groceries, consumer goods, and furniture, who are hard pressed to find investors for themselves.
Here are some pointers that e-retailers need to keep in mind to attract the best investors:
1Innovative, Different Products
E-retailing in an innovative manner and of different products and services, which have not yet been explored by other e-retailers, will attract investors and give an added benefit of uniqueness to startups.
2An Inventory-less Model
A startup with an inventory-less model will attract more investment. Investors are always more interested in startups that are technology driven, as opposed to ones which run on a traditional office set up.
3Zero Manual Interference
E-retailing needs to be fully technology driven and startups should focus on lower or no manual interference in operations to eliminate human errors.
4Transparent Expansion Plans
The model of e-retailing startups needs to be highly scalable so that investors can foresee expansion and consequently, better returns on investment. Startups also need to focus on expanding outside their domicile, letting go of geographical limitations.
5Logistics Integration
Good backward and forward logistics integration is crucial for startups hoping to attract investors.
6Gauging Startups By Their Leader
The founder is the face of a startup and hence needs to stand out in a crowd. Investors and Venture Capital funds usually gauge startups by their leaders since the founder is the one person who can build trust in investors.
7The Right Team
As the startups go beyond seed rounds of funding, investors also start closely scrutinizing the team that founders build. A founder needs to build a great team with polished capabilities at minimum costs.
8Sense of Reliability
A startup must pay attention to getting itself legally compliant and professionally managed. In doing so, it creates a sense of reliability and trust among investors. Engaging professionals gives startup businesses an edge along with higher returns for investors.
9Evolving Consumer Behavior
Every startup must gain from ever-evolving consumer behavior and for this needs to concentrate on providing easy accessibility to consumers through mobile and other movable devices.
10Low Budgets + High Impact Strategy
Startups need to lay emphasis on innovative ways of coupling a low budget with a high impact market strategy.
11Keeping Influencers Happy
Influencers always play a big role in shaping startups in a positive way. Fledgling companies need to build cordial and long lasting business relationships with these influencers so as to keep the company socially active and healthy.
