Jonny RosenStartup Success
Startup life is hard. Sometimes you wonder if you’re ever going to make it. You’re dedicated to your goals and dreams but sometimes you just need that extra boost to keep you going. Well here it is- a handful of startup success stories, from us to you. Time to soak up some startup strategies!
Wix
This amazing Israel based startup was founded in 2006 to simplify the process of website creation. It has effectively made web publishing super easy- allowing anyone to create a stunning website from scratch- no coding needed. Their product has evolved and is now essentially a cloud based platform that enables more than 50 million users across 190 countries to create easy websites with online editing tools. The product itself is reliant on drag-and-drop and comes with a media gallery including a whole load of page templates, graphics, galleries and fonts. It also permits 3rd parties to create their own application which can be embedded into the user’s site. Talk about a startup success!
The Wix hiring process is often heralded as the secret to their success. According to CMO Omer Shai:
“Though I trust the HR team is passing on only bright, creative, and motivated people, it’s important for me to stay involved in the hiring process. Our employees are the driving force of our company, and I want to be sure that the people we add to the mix will fit into the department, are excited by a challenge, and can cope with our fast-paced startup environment without losing their calm.”
Airbnb
Airbnb started in San Francisco in 2008. For those who have been living under a rock, Airbnb is an online community marketplace that connects people looking to rent their homes to people who are looking for accommodation worldwide. Hosts can advertise and rent out their unused spaces, and travelers can search for and book accommodations in 192 countries worldwide. Any space is available, from studio loft apartments in Tel Aviv, to caravans in Bangladesh.
International business has also played a huge part in its startup success story, with approximately 75% of bookings including a non-U.S. component, either on the listing or renting side.
Co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk is a believer in understanding all startup perspectives and is a fan of doing things in the right order to give any startup the boost it deserves. Check out what he has to say on startup success:
Kayak
Kayak, a travel search engine, searches hundreds of travel sites to help the end user find and book the flight or hotel that best suits. This startup success offers the perfect service for small businesses to scout out the best flight deal. It started in 2003 when the co-founders met at a bar. After an hour they decided to both throw money into the pot to get the ball rolling. They then put together a board that included the original founders of Expedia and Travelocity which gave them complete legitimacy in the eyes of the travel industry. A deal with AOL soon followed which gave them a solid anchor and a whole load of traffic. Startup success.
BrandYourself
Founded in 2010, BrandYourself started with a clear mission: to make sure their clients are featured in a positive online light.
Patrick Ambron, CEO & Co-Founder of BrandYourself, makes things clearer: “If an employer, client, colleague, or even a date looks them up, they won’t find that embarrassing blog from college. With BrandYourself, they’ll find what you want them to find: accurate, relevant results about you.”
Ambron explains that it is an absolute guarantee that a person will be searched on the internet – through Google, LinkedIn, whatever. “You’re going to be looked up online. People look you up whether they’re trying to hire you, work with you or even just go on a date with you. Obviously if you have something there that is damaging, that’s a bad place to start.”
After being featured on Mashable, they managed to gather 60 thousand users in just 60 hours. They now have well over half a million users. What makes this startup success story all the more impressive is that they only started to hire a marketing team in January 2015.
Working on a freemium model, this genius platform assists in many ways- but primarily, it helps control the damage when any kind of relationship goes wrong. This startup success has assisted the burial of revenge porn and intrusive pictures that exes put on websites to defame their ex-significant others. BrandYourself aims to give the user a strong and positive online presence- it looks like they’re succeeding.
Each startup out there has its own unique story, from the single mother who had a brainwave , to someone appearing on reality TV to get the ball rolling. It’s always worthwhile to remember your original goal whilst you fight towards success.
This piece was originally posted with additional examples on the FaxNgo blog.
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