How To Launch A Tech Startup Without A Tech Background

Creating and developing a tech startup is not a ‘walk in the park’ from any angle. Entrepreneurs have to burn the midnight oil as a startup demands a lot right from the ideation to the launch of the application.

There is a long-standing question in the tech startup industry that people having technical background can only flourish in this realm. Although the question has merit as to withstand the newer trends in the tech arena, one requires to have an affinity towards the technology, but the question is not entirely true. Creating and developing a tech startup requires a fine blend of many domains such as:

• Market knowledge.
• Understanding the requirement of the targeted customers.
• Implementing profound marketing techniques.
• Hiring the right team for the startup.

All the above-mentioned factors are as necessary as having sound technical knowledge for starting a tech startup.

In this blog, we will discuss the concrete steps that will answer how to start a tech company with no experience. Moreover, we will also shed light on the factors that will play a pivotal role in defining how to launch a tech startup.

Factors that will help in launching a tech startup without technical domain expertise

There is an old saying “Every expert was once a beginner” and this quote dwells perfectly in creating and developing a tech startup. The forthcoming factors or steps will help and guide you as an entrepreneur in your journey of how to launch a tech startup.

As far as coming from a non-tech background is concerned, all an entrepreneur has to do is learn about technology and not programming. Coding is a critical task, but not the only task that leads to starting a tech startup. Read the following factors to understand more:

1.  Research, like your life depends on it

Thorough research about the business domain will help in setting a strong base for launching a new tech startup and there are no shortcuts to it. For a person coming from a non-tech background and willing to do intensive research, ‘the sky's the limit’ for their tech startup. It will help the budding entrepreneur to get their concepts clear about the basics of the technology and be able to make more informed decisions.

Hard-core research will also help the business owner to validate their tech startup idea and refine it before hitting the ground running. Moreover, it will also let the entrepreneur know innovative ways to develop their final product that are both cost-effective and market penetrating. The research will also let the business owner get important news about their idea, how unique the idea is, or is it just a better version of an existing product.

Along with getting more intensive knowledge about the business idea, research will propel the entrepreneur to understand better their target audience and do competitor analysis. Creating and developing a tech startup depends a lot on peer research and knowledge about the buying habits of the targeted market.

2.  Understand the basics of technology

Here, we are not saying that every tech entrepreneur must become a coder. But, they should know enough about the technology to be able to speak with their team and understand their progress on the project. Moreover, research the commonly used terms in the industry and do not shy away from asking the right questions.

Apart from knowing about the terms and basics of the technology, it is important to learn some non-tech tools as well. As a founder of a tech startup, you are responsible for setting benchmarks of work in your company. Therefore, use the tools that will help in better communication, task scheduling, project management, testing, and more. In all, these tools will help in creating and developing a tech startup that has an environment of clear thought processes and innovative thinking.

Again, as a CEO of a tech startup, it is you who will define the work process in the company. Therefore, you must have basic knowledge of the technology domain and how it will shape up in the future. Along with this, the non-tech tools will render their support in making an entrepreneur an effective manager.

3.  Reach out to customers, build a strong funnel

A tech business idea will not do well in the market unless it resonates with the needs of the target audience. This is perhaps the crux of creating and developing a tech startup. Therefore, it is necessary to engage the customers directly to get a good idea about their actual requirements. Moreover, keeping them in the loop from the initial stages of the product development will help the entrepreneur in getting important customer data. This information can assist in improving the product at every stage and pitch to the interested customers directly once the final version is ready.

The new-age tech startup business is all about timing and building a strong customer funnel will immaculately help in getting that right. To reach out to potential customers, the startup can build a set of questions to understand their pain points. Once the customers give their feedback, the entrepreneur will understand whether their idea and product were solving the problems of the customers or not.

Reaching out to potential customers will help the business owners to make necessary changes in the tech product at the right time. Moreover, for a non-tech founder, this will be your best chance to create a strong customer base as you can ask them questions in the ‘layman’s’ language.

4.  Read, and reach out for help

For a non-tech startup founder, there is a lot to learn in the tech domain. Therefore, they must not shy away from asking for help. Asking for assistance will make the entrepreneur reach the experts in the market and build a strong network. Active seeking for help will be crucial in knowing some unknown facts about the business domain that will help the non-tech startup founder in the long run.

For starting a tech startup, the non-tech founder must-attend events and go to meetings where the best minds in the industry discuss business. They can also seek their guidance while attending a webinar to take a one-to-one training session as well.

Along with learning the tricks of the trade from the best in the business, non-tech startup founder needs to invest their time in reading.  All the market leaders like Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Warren Buffet, etc. credit a lot of their success to their habit of reading.

Books are the answer to a lot of questions and will help the entrepreneur to cultivate their thoughts which they can implement in their startup. Moreover, even if you don’t like reading, it is worth a try. Begin with reading about stories of non-tech startup founders who made it big in starting a tech startup.

5.  Find a skilled team of developers

If your startup idea is good, fantastic. But to put that idea into practice and implementation, the startup owner needs to hire a team with strong technical skills. Moreover, along with the technical skills, for creating and developing a tech startup, the entrepreneur needs to understand the communication skills of the team as well.

A strong personality test will help the tech owner understand what are the all-around qualities of the team they have hired. Also, along with getting to know their technical prowess, the entrepreneur will get to know whether the team has a thirst for perfection and a keen eye for detail. The business owner can even ask their potential team to perform a few tasks before getting them on board.

The tasks will give the non-tech startup founder a glimpse of the capabilities of the team and give them an idea of how to make them work as a cohesive unit. Moreover, the startup founder must be very cautious about finalizing their team members, because one bad string can derail the entire development process. Ask them the right questions in the beginning if you want to save your time and money in the future.

6.   Prepare yourself for every bad situation

In today’s ever-evolving tech startup realm, even the best-sorted plan and teams could fail. So, for an entrepreneur before starting a tech startup, it is necessary to have an appetite for failure. The non-tech startup founder must be mentally prepared to face any kind of challenge without having any doubts.

In the face of adversity, the startup founder might face trouble in convincing their investors. But there, they have to trust their plan and be focused on the process. Lead your startup with confidence and keep making efforts in bettering your efforts. Do a regular analysis of the business process and be open to any kind of change that could lead your startup to profit.

A tech startup founder, especially a non-tech founder must have complete faith in their idea. Because, if this is not the case, the entrepreneur will not be able to feel the same energy in their team to get the desired results. Moreover, for starting a tech startup, it is also necessary to take tough calls when the situation demands and this will not happen without any kind of faith in the original idea.

7.   Find a competent tech co-founder

Finding the right person who has sound technical knowledge is necessary for creating and developing a tech startup. The non-tech co-founder should not see this step as someone taking their job but as someone who will share the responsibility of the startup.

While beginning the research to find a tech co-founder, think of it as a long-term commitment. The technical co-founder will help you get your product’s way in the tech world and boost the chance of success of the startup. Also, since the technical co-founder will be an integral part of the decision-making process, do not pick anyone who shows up at your door.

Do meticulous research about their work portfolio to understand what kind of experience they will bring to the table. Apart from the technical knowledge, the tech co-founder must share a similar passion and vision for the product as the non-tech co-founder does.

To gauge the capability of the tech co-founder, begin giving them smaller, simpler tasks and understand their work process. Understand how good they are at doing market analysis and also foresee their level of communication with the development team as well.

Handling the technical aspect can become boring and complex after a point in time. Therefore, it is necessary to have an experienced tech partner. Moreover, they will take off the burden of responsibility for the non-tech founder and allow them to concentrate on other business aspects such as management, marketing, and business operations.

8.  Have a continuous learning process

The realm of a tech startup is expanding at the rate of knots and it is a continuously evolving market. Therefore, to find the answer to ‘how to start a tech company with no experience?’ the entrepreneur has to be a good student. They have to indulge in the process of continuous learning and analyze their progress as well continuously.

And, it is important to realize that by saying learning here, we don’t mean to just acquire technical knowledge. Learning includes everything from understanding managerial skills, understanding the tricks of the tech co-founder, knowing the market trends, indulging in conversation with the leaders, and more.

The non-tech founder must interact with their development team every day to gain specific knowledge and also understand the working process of the team. Being actively involved with the development team will help the non-tech founder brush their tech skills and also be on the same page with the team during the project development process.

Concluding thoughts

The list of things we have mentioned can be a boon for a non-tech startup founder dreaming of how to launch a tech startup. From the basics of the business to understand the technical skills to finding the right partner to hiring the right team, we have covered every important topic in this list. But above all, it is the passion of the non-tech founder that will top all the factors stated in this list.

Another important virtue that a non-tech entrepreneur must understand is that throughout the journey, they have to be patient. Patience will help grab more knowledge, understand more things about how the business is done, and more importantly will get them ahead of the curve.

In our years of experience, we at Third Rock Techno have helped a plethora of non-tech startup founders by being their able software development partners. We completely analyze their requirements, do market research and then render them customized solutions for greater market impact. To know more about our work process, check our work portfolio and contact us now to get the best possible services in the software development world.