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Avoid basic mistakes to build successful startups, venture capital says
Fledgling startup companies should avoid repeating the same basic mistakes made by their predecessors and learn to be smarter in managing their business to avoid failure.
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Tom Vanhoutte, founder and managing partner of Belgium-based venture capital fund Imec.xpand, speaks at the InnoVEX forum on June 8 as part of the 38th annual Computex tech fair held in Taipei. (JP/Grace D. Amianti)
F
ledgling startup companies should avoid repeating the same basic mistakes made by their predecessors and learn to be smarter in managing their business to avoid failure, according to Tom Vanhoutte, founder and managing partner of Belgium-based venture capital fund Imec.xpand.
Speaking at the InnoVEX forum on Friday as part of the 38th annual Computex tech fair held in Taipei, Vanhoutte cited research from tech intelligence company CB Insights showing “lack of market needs” and “running out of cash” as the two top reasons why startups fail.
The study, which was conducted post-mortem on 101 startups, found that 42 percent failed startup companies had seen no demand in the market for their products, while 29 percent mismanaged their cash flow.
“Basically, what you have to do is to make sure there is enough money [for your business],” Vanhoutte said.
“If you’re a startup company and you have a great team, an amazing market and a business plan, and you may already have customers, it’s not difficult to find money. You will find money in mega funds, venture capital funds or funds that manage billion dollars of assets.”
Imec.xpand, which has also partnered with an Indonesian startup, is targeting entrepreneurs with a focus on developing nanoelectronics-based innovation in smart applications for various areas of life, such as in health, mobility, industries and energy.
