When you are focusing on realising your dream of launching a startup, it’s sometimes easy to forget some of the key elements that are very crucial to running a long lasting operation. Sometimes people get swept up in daydreams about how they will be making millions and end up not doing their due diligence. It is crucial to have a solid strategy in place that defines how, what and when certain criteria will be fulfilled.
You should be able to identify all the obstacles that are in your path to success, and develop plans to overcome these. Devise your unique selling points, clear out mistakes done by your competitors and create a comprehensive plan that acknowledges every potential threat and catalyst to your business.
Sell your Software as a Service
Software piracy is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in small firms. When you are starting up, you won’t be able to afford freeloaders. Choosing the right strategy when you are trying to sell your digital property is the first and most important step when you want to ward them off. Sometimes your product is too good that nefarious people access it and make it available online for free no matter what you do. The best alternative to this is to consider selling your software as a service (SaaS).
With SaaS, you will give a huge swathe of benefits to your clients. There are no initial expenses that are involved such as hardware and setup costs. The subscription model is fairly easy to understand allows them to pay only for what they use and not for the extra stuff. They will be able to end their subscription when they no longer need your software.
On the other hand, a SaaS is considered to be a good choice as the software is being offered as a service rather than as a product, thus eliminating piracy issues altogether.
Accept different payment methods
As your startup grows to become a full-fledged business, you will have to establish payments system that is beneficial for both you and your clients. In the age of the computer, paper-intensive processes such as direct cash and check based transactions are the last ones people prefer. You will be able to accept payments through a wide range of methods, from debit and credit cards to e-Cash and bitcoins.
Make sure that you provide various options for everyone, so that you are not missing out on potential clients, just because you don’t support their preferred method of payment.
Protecting your source code
When your business sells software as a product, then you would have faced situations, when licensees ask you to grant them access to the source code. However, you wouldn’t want to put confidential content at risk. What if they are used prematurely? What if someone else get access to it? What if they sent it online with a VPN encrypting traffic?
However, when you see it from the point of view of the licensee, you will be able to the logic behind their request. They would need the guarantee that they will be able to use the software incase your startup fails in the long run.
While you might consider this to be a hypothetical situation, it is wise to be ready for such a possibility beforehand. The right course of action is to avail software escrow services. A software escrow is a neutral third party who will be keeping the source code, related documentation, and other important resources. They will release it only when a situation as defined by the license agreement occurs. This way, you will be able to protect your source code while gaining the trust of your licensee as well.
Conclusion
I hope this article was useful for you to learn about the key things to consider when you are starting up. It is important that you have a long term vision that will help you succeed in your venture. If you have any doubts with regards to this, let us know through the comments and we will be glad to help you out. If you have any suggestions regarding how we can improve the article, let us know them through the comments as well for us to improve.
Do you have any other reservations against using a software escrow? Have you tried any other strategies and tools to make sure that a critical software for operation is not affected at any cost? What is your opinion on the state of the industry when it comes to SaaS businesses? Do you think it’s stable enough for small companies to flourish? Let us know through the comments.
