startsy : StartupApp: Empowering entrepreneurs to dream big and build bigger.                                                               startsy : Entrepreneurs, innovators, dreamers – welcome to StartupApp, where business ideas come to life!                                                               startsy : Fuel your passion. Build your business. Stay unstoppable with StartupApp.                                                               startsy : One step at a time, one idea at a time. Let’s build something amazing with StartupApp.                                                               startsy : From startup to success – StartupApp has everything you need.                                                               StartupGuy : Your idea. Your vision. Our tools. Let’s build the future together!                                                               StartupGuy : Great minds think big. Start small. Grow fast. StartupApp is here for you.                                                               StartupGuy : Dream big, act bold, start with StartupApp.                                                               StartupGuy : A movement only exists when people are inspired to move, to do something, to take up the cause as their own. #IamStartupGuy #StartupMzansi                                                               startsy : Unlock your potential. Start strong, stay strong with StartupApp.                                                               StartupGuy : Hello everyone                                                               startsy : Start up. Innovate. Repeat. Welcome to your entrepreneurial ecosystem at StartupApp.                                                               startsy : Start today. Innovate tomorrow. We’re with you every step of the way – StartupApp.                                                               StartupGuy : Where innovators unite to create tomorrow’s businesses today.                                                               startsy : Turning dreams into businesses. Let StartupApp guide your journey.                                                               StartupGuy : The choices we make today will determine our tomorrow                                                               startsy : Stay inspired. Stay innovative. Stay successful with StartupApp.                                                               StartupGuy : Innovation starts with action. Take yours today with StartupApp.                                                               StartupGuy : Nothing ever stays the same. Be happy no matter what happens, because change is a big part of life. Cheers! #StartupGuy #StartupApp                                                               startsy : The world’s best businesses begin with a single idea. Start yours today with StartupApp.                                                             

Startup Funding is Everywhere

One of the most frequent problems that I hear from startup entrepreneurs & founders, and potential founders, is that they have no idea where they will find the money to quit their job, in order to build their ‘great idea’.

And yet founders often ignore the single most important (and cheapest) sources of funding. Customers.

Customers are also their most valuable type of validation. Forget metrics that don’t matter, like pageviews, likes, or hits. It’s paying customers.

How many people have you spoken to this week that might be prepared to value what you do, enough to put down some coin?

Perhaps a better question is “Do you know where your customers are?”

They are everywhere, if you would but open your mouth.

I had just finished the evening dinner with my colleague, and another great successful startup team, preparing and backgrounding for our new #Startup2020 campaign.

After changing taxis, I get talking with another in-transit passenger, ‘Solly’, who tells me that after finishing a 12 hour shift on his last day at work, he didn’t even get so much as a thank you.

(Can you imagine working for a company for 1825 days, and not even getting a ‘thank-you’? Actually, perhaps you can.)

So I asked him what he had done up until today for the last 5 years, and he proceeded to tell me for the next 6 or 7 minutes, including the fact that he friend had a great idea for a business in his area of expertise, that he had always wanted to do.

He stopped, and asked what I did.

So did I fumble my lines, give him a wishy-washy answer, or give him some long diatribe?

No. I simply gave him the answer that I give to anyone, delivered naturally openly. “We run a startup venture accelerator for young people with a goal start and stay started in business, who have a great idea, and aren’t sure what to do next”, was my reply.

Measured, relaxed and authentic. Which by the way, is exactly how you should deliver yours too.

His response was enthusiastically simple “have you got a card?”

Validation.

So if you want more funding than you can handle, do these four simple things, everyday.

  1. know your lines
  2. rehearse delivering them daily
  3. know what is important to your customers, and
  4. open your mouth

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