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So, you’re thinking of finally going ahead with that startup you’ve always dreamed of launching.
You probably don’t need me to remind you, but establishing your startup and winning business is going to be a lot harder than it looks from the outside. One of the best ways you can ensure early success is to research the businesses that came before you and learn from both their successes and failures.
What are the best industries to take influence from though? Which include important warning signs for a new startup about to take its first steps in the world, and how can you apply these lessons to the day to day running of your business?
Online gambling
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted exactly which industries were prepared to transition to an online-only model and which were wildly out of step with our modern world.
One industry that has risen above the rest and can act as a symbol of persistence for new startups is that of online gambling and gaming.
Online casinos and betting sites rely on not just a constant stream of people with disposable cash coming to their site but events (particularly sporting ones) to ignite interest and encourage people to place a healthy bet.
With sport cancelled for a significant period and people facing hard times immediately following the initial outbreak you’d think gambling would suffer. Despite this, the industry experienced a great degree of success throughout the lockdown period.
While people being trapped in their homes with little to do with no doubt is a factor, the online gambling industry has also shown significant ingenuity and creative thinking to both promote niche events that were somehow ongoing and retain brand recognition with creative marketing.
Affiliate review sites are a good example of this. The use of affiliate sites such as https://www.onlinecasinos.co.uk lets casinos capture new players with the assurance of which sites are and aren’t of quality. At the same time, they help promote casino game offshoots to make up for revenue lost from a lack of sport events.
Online casinos might seem an unlikely source of inspiration, but their ingenuity and skill at drawing in players through value-led strategies (such as affiliate sites) is something well worth bearing in mind for your own startup.
Self-care
The self-care industry is a multi-faceted empire operating in a number of industries at once to huge success.
The self-care industry incorporates everything from fitness to mindfulness to fashion. That adaptability and recognition of people’s current thoughts and desires is a crucial lesson any startup should learn from.
Even if self-care can’t get you to take part in a fitness plan, it might be able to sell you a home beauty kit, all through the use of the same ideas and language, made familiar by influencers and traditional advertising. The industry may not be one homogeneous bubble, but it’s all working towards the same aim.
You can equally take to heart from self-care how important collaboration is. By working with other brands and helping to cultivate a lifestyle you can draw consumers in for longer periods. As a new startup you should look to attach yourself to an already successful element of your industry and offer a product or service that compliments it.
Veganism
Is there a faster-growing industry and trend in the world than veganism?
Vegan-friendly meals, clothing and attitudes have been both a financial and cultural success in recent years, with young people in particular drawn to the idea of a animal product-less existence.
There’s a good chance you know someone who is vegan or has tried it for a month. Much like the self-care industry, veganism and the industry around it thrives on curiosity, playing to different needs and collaboration.
A customer may not want to fully commit to a vegan diet, but the idea of wearing a sustainable t-shirt might be an appealing place to start changing their attitudes. Once again, it’s a case of learning how industries adapt to changing attitudes and find ways to appeal to niche customer bases who may not be as far along in the consumer journey.
The vegan industry (both product and culture-wise) can teach startup owners a lot about persistence too. Originally something that existed as a fringe lifestyle, veganism has slowly worked its way into the mainstream through using more relatable products (vegan meat alternatives) and influencer culture. How companies such as Meatless Farm has been able to appeal to an audience that may traditionally have been antagonistic towards a vegan diet is something all startups should look into when trying to break beyond their most basic audience base.
Fast-food
While you might not want to use the fast-food industry as a shining example of approaches to health when launching a startup, they seem to have both mastered the art of brand recognition and, in the modern day, social media.
Fast-food Twitter, in particular, is a unique place. Many have built on the mascot marketing of the ’90s and early 2000s, using their social media accounts as personas that help facilitate brand building.
Through quirky, modern language, these accounts are able to relate to a younger audience who may not typically be as engaged with fast-food as older audiences who have been exposed to these brands for years. Social media and marketing can often take themselves a bit too seriously, so learn something from how these colorful characters act.
Furthermore, your startup should take a look at how these chains have been able to reinvent themselves over many decades. These brands are excellent at tweaking both their marketing and product ranges to keep up with changing customer demands, helping them to retain significant market share even against scrutiny about their practices.
These are just a few huge industries your startup could learn a lot from in its early years. You may have no intention to be like them or capture any of their audience, but these industries often have a great combination of experience and innovative thinking that can help set your startup up for success.