Why do start-ups fail before they even start!

Taking a kin look at most start-ups in Africa and Cameroon in particular, most of them fail or shut down before anyone even realizes they were there. Some businesses start on a very wrong foot which makes it difficult to achieve their initial goals and objectives. There are a couple of reasons for this and in this article, we will include the results of a short survey we did to find out people’s opinion on why they think most businesses fail. 

1. Identifying the right problem. Many try to solve a problem that doesn’t have a significant pain point or a problem that is not a growing problem or one which already has sufficient ways of solving them. 

2. Incompetence. Founder-market misfit and not being able to build the right team. Because one can make the product doesn’t make them a good leader to bring it to a mass market. 

3. Wrong timing. Some ideas won’t work today but will work tomorrow. 

4. Lack of capital. No seed funds, no angel investment, and no VCs or banks to raise capital. Startups seriously need cash and it can’t all come from the founder’s pockets unless they are rich. 

5. Poor networking and lack of social capital. If you know the right people you drastically increase your chances of succeeding.

By Dr. Ebasone Vanes P

Lack of funds 

This to me is the Number One cause of failure for startups 

Wrong team selection 

Most African startups kick off with their family members who might not be very skilled and might end up bringing emotions into the business. 

Lack of mentorship and guidance  

Je pense que tout nouvelle personne dans le domaine de l’entreprenarait a besoin d’un guide peut importe s’il est éduqué ou pas.

By Tchassi Michelle 

To me, startups fail before they even start because their vision is not well structured and there’s no driving force to enable them to continue.

By Muke Vanessa 

Well, all these reasons and a lot more are why most businesses crumble at their very early stages, and from all points mentioned above, it is fair to state that the most crucial reason why startups fail before they even start is FAILURE TO PLAN. Most motivational speakers would say “stop procrastinating and just start”! If just starting means start putting down your plan, researching on every aspect of the business, and figuring out how you can fill the loopholes when the time comes then we agree 100% but if it means investing the little you have right away then we beg to differ! Take time to write down a business plan, do research on the business and sector you are about to venture in.