Succeeding in a startup is probably the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs anywhere in the world: even for those who already had a successful venture.

Depending upon the business idea and the market conditions, situation may vary for every individual, but there are some core areas where every startup needs to be focused on.

Anna Vital published an infographic on Founders & Founders that highlights all those point well and I just tried to elaborate them further.

1- Pick a Good Co Founder: Your energies get doubled when you have equally competent and skillful partner. You can easily find a co founder through Co Founders Lab.

2- Launch Fast: Just don’t let anyone else do it before you! Just in case, if your product is not ready on time, you must know how to manage reputation when product launch is behind the schedule.

3- Let Your Idea Evolve: Always remember that plateau is startup death! So, keep the learning and evolution part of the plan.

4- Understand Your Users: Because you are building something they need. To understand your users better, you can always use tools like feedbackly,
MicroHero Surveys and TruConversion.

5- Make At Least a Few Users Really Love You: Have a few and see how they multiply. Blogger outreach, promotional products, contest marketing and giveaways are some of the ways to do so.

6- Give Surprisingly Good Customer Service: The more you care about them, the more loyal they will be. Customer service always has room for improvement and there can be new ways to do it. For instance self service customer service and using social media as customer service channel are interestingly improving the customer service.

7- You Make What You Measure: Develop forecasts, benchmark activities and analyze what works and what not. Data analytics is a must for startup growth and tools like Sofia and Neatly.io are a great help for startups.

8- Spend Little: To make profit, you must be cost efficient! Look for the way to cut startups costs and increase profitability.

9- Get Ramen Profitable: Think of alternative direct and indirect revenue models. A thorough startup business plan that included multiple revenue streams is a must.

10- Avoid Distractions & Don’t Get Demoralized: Whatever comes in, you have to stay focused. Do read the 16 Motivation killers and how to avoid them.

11- Don’t Give Up: Don’t event let the feeling surround your thoughts!

12- Don’t Die: It’s good to stay focused and work hard, but your health comes first. Remember, your startup lives only when you are alive!

All the above points are the ones that most startups ignore considering them minor stuff, but actually these have a bigger impact on startup birth, growth and life!