Launching and running a successful startup requires many skills and talents, like resourcefulness, dedication, intelligence, and many others. However, even the most brilliant founders need resources to help them with their entrepreneurial endeavors, which is why Arjun Setia of ProofHub has written this guest post that lists some of the best tools to help you get your startup off the ground.
For a startup, the biggest challenge is - you have so much work to do, but so little resources. So, the only option is to make the most out of whatever you have in your hands. In other words - smart work and full utilization of resources.
Speaking of which, there are endless tools in market that can do wonders for a startup and help it carve a niche of its own, without the startup having to spend big bucks.
Here are 7 must-have tools that every startup can immensely benefit from -
1. Project management - ProofHub
A startup is a project and a project is a lot of work. It involves assigning tasks, managing resources, discussing how things are moving ahead from time to time, and keeping eye on overall progress and employee productivity. But, how to juggle so many things? You need a system in place to connect everything. Well, ProofHub is the ultimate one-stop-shop for remedying all of your project management pain points. With affordable pricing structure (after a free 30-day trial period), ProofHub is practically the best investment, especially for businesses that are just getting started.
2. Customer relationship management - Close.io
While tools like Salesforce are popular in the realm of customer relationship management, the same may not be the most affordable option for startups. For businesses that are operating on a small budget, Close.io is a good call for a CRM tool. Below is the list of features it carries -
-
Unlimited VoiP calling
-
Automatic call recording
-
Integrated email tracking
-
Customizable views (grid views - that look like spreadsheets)
-
Caller ID on incoming calls
-
Intuitive interface
-
Call groups for group dialing
Close.io will put an end to data entry (which is both tideous and annoying). It will keep records of all the customer calls without you having to do any manual labour. In short, the tool will take the frustration out of managing customer relations.
3. MVP (Minimum Viable Product) - QuickMVP
No business wants to waste time, money, and efforts on creating something that’s not going to offer customers value or solve their problem. That’s why they need an MVP. A Minimum Viable Product refers to a product with only those features (nothing more) that are needed to gauge into customer insight and find out what have to say about it.
QuickMVP is the perfect tool for startups to take their business idea for a test drive before they could launch it as a full-fledged product. The benefit? It saves you from wasting money on something that was destined to be a failure and could have never attracted customers.
QuickMVP is really simple to use and does not take long before you could test your product hypothesis. Just set up a landing page, formulate ads, and give people first practical look of what will product look like. You will get to know whether that idea is worth investing in or not.
4. Fundraising - Kickstarter
Business costs money. But, where to procure it? It’s common knowledge that not everyone has enough funding to fuel their business ideas and bring them into practicality. But, that shouldn't stop ideas, which may have great potential to change world of business, from becoming a reality. Hence, the concept of fundraising or crowdfunding.
Speaking of which, Kickstarter happens to be a great platform from where you can secure adequate funding to support your startup. This global community is built particularly for creative projects that revolve around designing, filmmaking, development, art, and lots more. The platform is perfect to get people from all over the world to support your idea and share it with communities that could further support it.
5. Press coverage - Submit.co
Brands spend big bucks to make sure people know their names. Startups are no exception to that rule. More the number of people recognize you, more the chances that they will give your product a try. Which is why every startup needs to know the best platforms where they can secure quality media coverage.
Submit.co is a platform where you get a list of media websites that can best tell your story and get you recognition. The tool, however, does not automate the process of getting media coverage. You will still have to do the majority work on your own. But, it sure does make it easier to increase your customer outreach and secure branding.
6. Quality stock photography - Pexels 2.0
Part of promoting a startup is launching a website, starting a blog, and conducting all sorts of promotional campaigns. All that is obviously going to need quality photography, which can be quite expensive if you don’t know where to look for it. Pexels 2.0 is the place where you can find excellent quality stock photographs that you can use for all sorts of branding and promotional purposes. The images are available free of cost on countless themes and topics, so you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars just to procure one image.
7. Customer feedback and surveys - Typeform
What do your customers have to say about your product/service? Customer feedback is extremely valuable because it helps you analyse whether you’re headed in the right direction or whether the business strategy needs to change. But, we all know that creating surveys and getting customers to fill them out is a huge pain.
Typeform is a platform where you can create surveys that are both fun and easy. It’s extremely simple to use and perfect for creating engaging and visually appealing questionnaires that make sure customers have a good time submitting them.
A startup is bombarded with challenges. Primarily it means getting things done within minimum time, cost, and resources. If you start integrating these 7 tools in your work, things will get easier and the business will begin to move ahead.
