| | SEPTEMBER - 20238IN MY OPINION HELPING STARTUPS TO MINIMIZE THEIR RISK OF FAILUREBy John Lim Jian Da, Partner, Meet Ventures and Director, HT Marketing AgencyObservations and StatisticsThroughout my experience of working with startups, I noticed that more than half of the startup failures can be attributed to two main reasons. My observations are supported by research conducted by TechInAsia, which noted that 34 percent of startup failures can be attributed to a lack of product-market fit and another 22 percent due to marketing problems.That is why I started 2 companies to solve these problems. Meet Ventures (meetventures.com) was founded to help startups achieve product-market fit and increase their chances of success. HT Marketing Agency (HTMarketingAgency.com) was founded to help businesses to scale in an effective and affordable manner after they have achieved product-market fit.Achieving Product-Market FitA wise man once told me that "First-time entrepreneurs focus on product. Second-time entrepreneurs focus on money. Third-time entrepreneurs focus on customers.". I found the above saying to be true in my career. Many first-time entrepreneurs fail because they focus on building a fancy product that nobody wants. By the time they notice it, they have already run out of cash and are forced to close their business. The mistake they make here is to assume that customers are willing and able to pay for their product. Here are two scenarios to illustrate how many first-time entrepreneurs fall into the trap of making this mistake.Scenario One:1. Startup founder thinks of a new product idea and
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