Recently, we’ve sat down with Marc Israel, Independent Director at Turbine, to discuss the ways to navigate entrepreneurship in the early stages of your business and how to build a successful business venture right from the start. He shared realistic tips that will help you to take a beat, look at the bigger picture and work through the hardships of entrepreneurship. But first, let us introduce Marc Israel prior to discovering the five realistic tips to build a successful startup.
Marc is a seasoned entrepreneur, thought leader, author and public speaker, with more than 30 years of success across industries related to technology. His previous experience as a CTO at Microsoft for Sub-Saharan Africa and his know-how of technical leadership has encouraged him to launch Aethesis, a digital transformation consultancy company. Marc Israel has also other activities on his plate: he is a Business Angel and founded the first syndicated business angels’ network locally and is a producer of Entrepreneurs Talk Africa, a successful podcast by Africans sharing innovative solutions to Africans. He is also an independent director at Bank One.
On top of that, Marc is a recipient of many national speaking awards and the author of over 20 books on topics related to technology and leadership.
Now that you know a little bit more about our guest, let’s dive into the topic.
What are your top 5 realistic tips to build a successful startup in 2023?
To build a successful startup in 2023 and beyond, here are my top 5 tips:
1. Be passionate about your objective
“A company is a means to an end; helping your customers to achieve something”, says Marc. He explains that passion is the fuel that will drive the success of your business. “You should really be passionate about that something, whatever it is”. Without passion and the end goal in mind, startups tend to fail in the first few years of operating.
2) Stay focused
“A start-up is like a baby, it needs constant care. You cannot grow a successful company if you’re not breathing, eating, sleeping your company 24×7. It can certainly start as a side hustle, but you should commit 100% very quickly,” explains Marc. To build a rewarding and prosperous business, you need to take away unnecessary distractions and remain committed to achieving your goals. If you establish a solid foundation for your startup to grow, you are most likely to skyrocket your business ideas and help more people.
3) Be resilient
Marc shared his experience as an entrepreneur and was candid about the hurdles that startup owners will face during their journey. He further confided: “problems will happen and obstacles will appear. It’s the normal life of an entrepreneur. Don’t see obstacles as problems but as learning opportunities and build upon them.” His positive approach to issues that may arise along the way might definitely help to tackle the way you do business in a different way. It can definitely weigh less stress on your shoulders and touch on the obstacle in a practical way.
4) Don’t go alone
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey and Marc is spot on here. He suggests that “having one or two co-founders increases the chance of success. Remember the African proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” It can be hard to have the burden of making all decisions for the business on your own and seeking support, advice or even help from people who have the experience or knowledge you are looking for can be detrimental to the success of your business.
5) Be open to learning
Entrepreneurship is a journey of learning, apprenticeship, trial and error and more. “You’ll learn something new every day. You’ll try new things every day. You’ll meet new people every day. Be open to coaching, experience sharing and challenges. It’s probably the surest way to go forward on the path to success” says Marc. The more you learn, the more you become good at what you do and the quicker you will find solutions, develop better processes and ideas and help your customers in a more productive and efficient way.
Marc, how can Turbine help an aspiring entrepreneur to get into the business world and start a successful entity?
“Turbine can definitely help with points 2 and 5. Through our incubation and acceleration programmes, you will be able to learn from experienced and seasoned entrepreneurs, get access to personal and group coaching and you will be able to learn and network with other startuppers. Turbine condensed years of experience in one year and is the place to be if you want to launch your business idea”, explains Marc Israel.
A final word to motivate those who want to hop on the entrepreneurial journey in 2023?
“If you hesitate, then do it! If you feel it’s not for you, then do it! If you think you can do without it, then do it! Being incubated is the surest way to grow fast and to go far!”Thanks to Marc Israel for sharing his wisdom and experience with us. If you would like to have more advice just like in this article and would appreciate attending workshops and coaching sessions with mentors such as Marc, then contact us now through hello@turbine.mu.
