By Imesh Ranasinghe  Sri Lanka may not have had the ideal environment for startups at the beginning of 2010, but by the end of the decade startups in Sri Lanka had started to grow in various sectors. According to a SLASSCOM survey report in 2019, it was estimated that 400 startups registered in Sri Lanka in 2019 and estimated that the country will reach its 2022 goal of 1,000 startups. Further, the report revealed that there are 225 entrepreneurs, with 75% of them being between the age of 25-35. Despite these numbers, we have seen many startups come and go without surviving for a long period to make any noticeable impact. Accordingly, The Sunday Morning Business thought about speaking to our local experts in the field to help understand what startups do wrong and how they should move forward in their various sectors. It’s all about timing  Kapruka Holdings PLC Founder and Chairman Dulith Herath said that in an e-commerce startup, it is important that the startup figures out a service that is needed by the customers at that moment, since if the startup comes with a product or service that is not the need of the moment, then it won’t take off. For example, he shared that Kapruka has started an online car wash system to cater to the current requirement of the people, who are finding it very difficult to get their cars washed. “Therefore, we timed it such that, if we had done it ten years ago or even five years ago, the timing would have been wrong,” he said. Secondly, Herath said he would not advise startups to go after raising funds too early, saying: “They should get the pilot and the early stages of the project with their own money up and running at least with a few transactions.” He pointed out that startups cannot have zero orders and go for investments, as the negotiation power of the startup would be extremely low and added that under those circumstances, the investor could try to claim at least 50% of the company due to zero orders, alleging that the startup has nothing. “But if you start with at least two or three orders, you also have negotiating power,” Herath said. According to him, hiring the right type of people at the right time is also important for an e-commerce startup, as hiring the wrong people will slow down the operation. Commenting on quick decision making in startups, Herath said that if a person launches a startup in a space which they have domain knowledge of, then quick decisions can be made as the knowledge is strong in the area. However, if otherwise, quick decision making would pose a high risk. He added that the main skill people should have when they have startups is the skill to focus on their startup for many hours and not just two or three hours per a day. “I work 18 hours where I focus on e-commerce, so you got to have that crazy discipline about the focus,” he concluded. Don’t focus too much on solving a specific problem  Cyber security consultant and educator Asela Waidyalankara said that sometimes most of the tech startups focus too much on solving a very specific problem. He said that most startups do not have the insight, adding that even though it is not bad, most startups see an idea and just want to chase it. “Most of the time local startups try to solve local problems, but I always tell people it’s okay to be local but think global,” Waidyalankara said. For example, he said unicorns such as TikTok and others are addressing a global problem and requirements instead of local things. Further, he said that all the people who launch tech startups have good technical talent through which they come up with a good product, so they try to make solutions more complex and elegant in technical terms. “But the problem is the user doesn’t care. For the user, you need to address his problem. So they don’t care about technical complexity or what programming language you use or how many layers of codes they have,” he said. He noted that as long as the consumer’s problem is solved even with the most basic technology, the consumers don’t care how they do it. Moreover, he said it is important to put out a minimally viable programme or product as most of the time in startups, everyone gets together and goes on discussing, developing, and adding features without really putting out the product. He said even the most successful startups in the region who have no solid foundation have a solid product to get their initial funding or the angel funding. Another drawback most tech startups have according to him is the lack of business sense on the part of the founders, although they may be technically brilliant. Go for a product that is advanced  Xeptagon Founder Dr. Sapumal Ahangama, who runs an operation which consists of a team of consultants specialising in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to solve complex business problems with the back office based in Colombo, said that most tech and IT startups enter the market without a sound product. He said that there is a question whether the solutions provided by the startup actually solves the problem at hand. He noted that in the local context in particular, if the startup targets the local market, it might be a mistake because most startup companies don’t generally tend to have a very large research and development budget. Further, he said that most startups are moving forward with vanilla software development or simple website development which does not have any speciality. “Go for a product which is advanced, don’t go for things or solutions which are already in the market,” Ahangama highlighted. Always think like an entrepreneur  “I believe the most common problem is not thinking like an entrepreneur,” said PickMe Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jiffry Zulfer.  According to him, a startup is a unique idea which should be trailblazing.  “It’s not that you can’t start up another business similar to one that already exists. In fact, we did that here in Sri Lanka before Uber came in, which gave us a headstart and home court advantage,” he added. However,  he noted that if someone tries to enter the taxi hailing business now, when there are two strong operators already established, that would be a great challenge. Especially so, for a company with limited funding like a startup.  He pointed out that it is important for a startup to remember that the initial investor is the benefactor giving the needed kickstarting as it is the success and potential of the business that will bring in the big investors. “What startups require are new ideas and innovative solutions on a digital platform that will create a new lifestyle,” he said.  Further, he said that no one can enter the taxi hailing business blindfolded. Having a brilliant idea conceptually, and even doing mass research to see the business potential is one thing, he said, adding: “However, if you don’t understand your ground situation with regard to legal issues, economic ideologies and state agencies’ lethargy, you may not get anywhere with a startup, however good your idea is.” Zulfer said that it’s not that Sri Lanka doesn’t have state agencies that are charged with looking into the development of these areas and it is not that the Government does not have the will or that the executive lacks vision.  “Even at the opening of the Parliament a few days ago, the President said that over the past two years, they have done a great deal to achieve the goal of creating a Sri Lanka that is technologically driven by a digital economy,” he added. He highlighted that it is also necessary for Sri Lanka to establish a proper legal environment that will ensure a level playing field for both foreign and Sri Lankan digital companies operating in Sri Lanka.  Without the legal framework, he said that Sri Lankan digital startups are doomed before they even begin to form that big idea.  “My advice to those eager young men and women with the ambition to get into startup mode is; get real. Understanding the digital world alone is not enough. You also need to understand that you are on terra firma, and that’s where the rubber hits the road,” Zulfer emphasised.