Skip to content

JEDCA MEDIA

Inform . Inspire . Empower

JEDCA MEDIA WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS
Primary Menu
  • Home
  • BUSINESS NEWS
  • Tech News
  • Start-up
  • Sustainability
  • VIDEOS
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Light/Dark Button
Youtube
  • Home
  • Business News
  • 5 Mistakes That Start-up Founders Make During The Early Days
  • Business News
  • Start-up

5 Mistakes That Start-up Founders Make During The Early Days

NEWS DESK January 29, 2025 4 min read
A silhouette image of frustrated entrepreneur.

A silhouette image of frustrated entrepreneur. Photo | courtesy.

In business there is no one-size-fit-all template to follow to ensure success. Most of the time it’s trial and error until you find a product-market fit for your business to grow exponentially. However there are some mistakes that many first-time founders make which prevent them from making the right decisions.

Here are some of the mistakes you need to avoid:

1. Trying To Sell To Everyone

It’s very common for founders to think that anybody is his/her customer and thus the approach to appeal to everybody. This belief will always drain founders and lead them in the wrong path. Every product or service must have a target customer base so that you can get the right feedback and win customers.

When starting a company or developing a product, you must have in mind the prospective customers and where you are likely to find them. If you are selling books, you should show up in book forums, book fairs, reading groups, book discussion clubs and social media groups on the same. This way you will be able to meet people who are likely to buy your books. It’s the same case with other businesses.

A fitness supplement company should advertise to fitness enthusiasts, not everybody in the world. This way you will attract people with high chances of buying your products.

Luckily, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and even X (formerly Twitter) has profiled users according to their interests so that when you are running ads, you target people who are interested in your industry. 

As a founder you should have your target customer in mind as you develop your product/service. One key advantage of having customers in mind is that you will be able to visualize what your prospects are likely to be looking for in a product/service rather than looking at the whole population. You have to define who your customers are.

2. Having Too Many Products or Services

In business, you cannot afford to be mediocre because competition is stiff. You always need to be better than your competitor. But many start-up founders often have so many product or service offerings.

You need to focus on one product or service first until you find product-market fit before moving on to add more products. You have to be monogamous before you become polygamous in your business

Having too many products/services to sell will spread your focus too thin. Instead focusing on one product/service is key because it enables you to understand your customers needs and more importantly have sufficient time to improve it.

If you have several products, focus on the one that brings the most money and leave the rest until your business is well established.

3. Neglecting Marketing Strategy

First-time founders are victims to this. Many of them often think that developing the best product or service is enough to attract customers. That is a big lie. You may have the best product/service but if no one knows about it, it’s worthless. Marketing is one of the most important aspects in your business. Nobody will come looking for what you sell, you have to go find your customers wherever they may be and let them know what you offer.

READ: 7 Simple Steps On How To Start A Business In Kenya

Taking time to market and talk to potential clients is key in understanding their needs. When starting a business you might have a clear blueprint on what product or service you are going to make. However, what you have in mind might not match your customer’s needs. That’s why it’s necessary to market aggressively so that you can get enough feedback to guide you when fine-tuning your products or services. More importantly, you must understand that selling makes money, not developing your products all day long. Yes, it’s good to have the best products but that will not make money if you don’t sell.

4. Failing To Understand The Industry Landscape

Sometimes a founder may be so obsessed with the product/service to the point that they can’t check on competitors and trends in the industry. Customers will always buy from someone who understands the industry in and out.

If you are a software company, you need to understand how new technologies impact your industry, how to adapt them and most importantly how your customers will use your software. A customer might refuse to buy from you because there is a  feature that your competitor’s software has that you don’t have. This is why you need to know your industry well. In short, you have to be an all-round expert in that sector.

5. Trying To Do Everything Alone

It’s so important to monitor what’s happening in your business every time. You must be in charge all the time, especially during the early days. When your company begins to grow and customers begin to increase in number many founders try to do everything alone.

From developing products/service to selling, managing social media, managing clients marketing etc. All these roles can be daunting especially when dealing with physical products.When your financial capacity makes sense for you to hire an employee or two, do it. Tasking yourself with everything is a bad thing. You might burnout.

Having an employee or two even on a casual basis is important to help you do extra work. If you have a co-founder(s), it is crucial to share roles according to one’s strengths. 

Conclusion

Making mistakes and failing is common in business, in fact some pundits believe that you have to fail in order to succeed. That said, some mistakes are avoidable. You can learn from others. You don’t have to know everything when getting started but avoid as many mistakes as possible.

Tags: Business Start-up

Continue Reading

Previous Previous post:

7 Simple Steps On How To Start A Business In Kenya

Image depicting business in Kenya.
Next Next post:

Wowzi: How Friends Built A Company That Connect Creators With Brands

Wowzi

Related News

Photo Courtesy
  • Business News
  • Tech News

CFAO And Almasi in Deal to Finance Commercial Vehicles

June 18, 2025
Photo Courtesy
  • Business News

CBK Extends KEPSS Hours to Boost Efficiency in Digital Payments

June 18, 2025
  • Government Unveils Tough 2025 Traffic Rules to Boost Road Safety
  • EACC Reclaims Stolen Land Worth Sh320 Million in Western Kenya
  • 𝐀𝐠𝐚 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝟓𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬
  • CFAO And Almasi in Deal to Finance Commercial Vehicles
  • Health Sector Unions Oppose New Bill Over Overlap and Lack of Consultation

Latest stories

Photo Courtesy
  • Sustainability News

Government Unveils Tough 2025 Traffic Rules to Boost Road Safety

June 20, 2025
Photo Courtesy
  • Top Stories

EACC Reclaims Stolen Land Worth Sh320 Million in Western Kenya

June 20, 2025
Photo Courtesy| Kimeli
  • Your Health

𝐀𝐠𝐚 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝟓𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐲𝐚 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬

June 20, 2025
Photo Courtesy
  • Business News
  • Tech News

CFAO And Almasi in Deal to Finance Commercial Vehicles

June 18, 2025
Photo Courtesy
  • Your Health

Health Sector Unions Oppose New Bill Over Overlap and Lack of Consultation

June 18, 2025
Photo Courtesy
  • Sustainability News

Trader in Critical Condition After Being Shot During Nairobi Protests

June 18, 2025
At JEDCA MEDIA, we (journalists) believe in the power of information to transform lives, ignite conversations, and build a more informed and engaged global community. We are a dynamic media organization committed to delivering accurate, insightful, and impactful news that empowers You. We provide advertising services that meet your client's needs.

Email: info@jedcamedia.com
Call Us: +254783418570
  • Business News
  • Start-up
  • Sustainability News
  • Tech News
  • Top Stories
  • Your Health
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us | Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 JEDCA MEDIA NETWORK | All Rights Reserved.

| ChromeNews by AF themes.

Cookie Settings.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More

Decline Cookie Settings
Accept Accept All
Cookies are small text files that can be used by websites to make a user's experience more efficient. The law states that we can store cookies on your device if they are strictly necessary for the operation of this site. For all other types of cookies we need your permission. This site uses different types of cookies. Some cookies are placed by third party services that appear on our pages.
  • Necessary
    Always Active
    Necessary cookies help make a website usable by enabling basic functions like page navigation and access to secure areas of the website. The website cannot function properly without these cookies.
    Name Domain Purpose Expiry Type
    wpl_user_preference jedcamedia.com WP GDPR Cookie Consent Preferences. 1 year HTTP
    YSC youtube.com YouTube session cookie. 55 years HTTP

  • Marketing
    Marketing cookies are used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.
    Name Domain Purpose Expiry Type
    __gads jedcamedia.com Google advertising cookie set on the websites domain (unlike the other Google advertising cookies that are set on doubleclick.net domain). According to Google the cookie serves purposes such as measuring interactions with the ads on that domain and preventing the same ads from being shown to you too many times. 1 year HTTP
    VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE youtube.com YouTube cookie. 6 months HTTP

  • Analytics
    Analytics cookies help website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting information anonymously.
    Name Domain Purpose Expiry Type
    _ga jedcamedia.com Google Universal Analytics long-time unique user tracking identifier. 2 years HTTP
    IDE doubleclick.net Google advertising cookie used for user tracking and ad targeting purposes. 2 years HTTP

  • Preferences
    Preference cookies enable a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in.
    Name Domain Purpose Expiry Type
    NID google.com Google unique id for preferences. 6 months HTTP
    JEDCA MEDIA jedcamedia.com We use cookies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site traffic, personalize content, and serve relevant ads. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our use of cookies. You can manage your preferences in our Privacy Policy. 365 DAYS HTTP

  • Unclassified
    Unclassified cookies are cookies that we are in the process of classifying, together with the providers of individual cookies.
    Name Domain Purpose Expiry Type
    nitroCachedPage jedcamedia.com --- 55 years ---
    _ga_MFHCHTY935 jedcamedia.com --- 2 years ---
    test_cookie doubleclick.net Google advertising domain. Session HTTP
    tnp-popup-count jedcamedia.com --- 1 month ---
    __gpi jedcamedia.com --- 1 year ---
    __eoi jedcamedia.com --- 6 months ---
    __Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN youtube.com --- 6 months ---
    VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA youtube.com --- 6 months ---

Cookie Settings