5 Things You Should Know to Launch a Student Startup in 2024: From Ideas to Execution
Students And Startups
This article is for all those students who want to create their own startup while they’re studying. I’ll guide you through how to manage your startup along with your studies. I’ll teach you how to leverage the resources available at your disposal as a student and make the most of your time in general.
First off, here are some of the things you’ll have to deal with as a Student Entrepreneur. You’ll have trouble managing studies and work, problems coming up with funds and much more. Don’t worry, I'll tell you how to deal with them later in the article.
Recent trends because of innovations in fields like artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology are opening up new paths for student entrepreneurs. You can leverage these technologies to create innovative solutions across industries, from healthcare to education and beyond.
Finding Your Next Big Startup Idea
Your Next Big Idea
Now if you’re a college student who wants to create the next facebook, you’re gonna have to learn what the new facebook is gonna be. That involves doing market research. This sounds scary but it’s really not.
First, search for what’s trending on the internet. See if you can create an idea that relates to that and how you can make it work. You can use social media for this step but some other tools that can help are Google Trends and Ahref.
Do research on whether people will actually use your product. If there’s something already available on the market similar to your idea, can you improve on it? How? Ask yourself as many questions you can to help you create the product that people will like.
To give you an example, Artificial intelligence is a very trending topic as previously mentioned. And tools that use AI are taking advantage of this trend. So you think you can come up with an idea that uses AI?
One thing I want you to remember is that your first project or idea might not be the one that gets you the success you wanted. But that doesn’t mean you should be disheartened by failure. There’s an entire article we’ve written to help you with the idea process as well, so be sure to check that out as well.
"A 2024 Guide for College Students to Starting Business: Ideas, Tips and Tools"
Real-World Student Success Stories
The most successful examples of startups created by students are Google and Facebook. I’m sure you’ve heard of them.
Google:
Google was founded by students in their early twenties. Larry Page and Sergey Brin were PhD students at Stanford University when they began working on a project that would later become the multinational tech company.
The pair developed a technology called Pagerank, which allowed them to create a search engine that could estimate a site’s importance based on its incoming links. And the rest is history.
Facebook:
Mark Zuckerberg the social media giant while studying at Harvard University. The psychology sophomore wrote a programme called Facemash in 2003, where people could rank pictures of fellow students based on how attractive they found them.
Facemash inspired him to go on and create The Facebook in 2004, which later became the “Facebook” we all know, minus the “The”.
Canva:
Melanie Perkins ranks 15th on our list of 15 youngest tech billionaires. Melaine is an Australia-based entrepreneur and founder of Canva. Canva is a graphic design platform for students, professionals, and businesses alike. She founded the company in 2012 along with her husband and attained a billionaire status at the age of 32.
GitHub:
Chris Wanstrath is the founder of GitHub, a social network for software developers. Chris Wanstrath became a billionaire when Microsoft announced that they would buy GitHub for $7.5 billion in 2018.
Success in Studies and Business
Balancing your Two Lives
Here your two lives are your student life and your entrepreneur life. First and foremost, you are a student. So it’s generally a good idea to prioritize your studies over everything else, unless you have the next facebook on your hands. Here’s how to make balancing studies and work easier for you.
Create clear goals and priorities for yourself. What do you want to achieve in both your academics and your business? Once you know your goals, you can prioritize your tasks accordingly.
Create a schedule and stick to it as much as possible. This will help you to stay on track and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Schedule for studies and your business.
Break down large tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will make them seem less daunting and help you to make progress more quickly.
Ask for help. If you’re a part of a team, don’t be afraid to ask for help to get things done.
There are a number of tools and techniques that can help you to manage your time more effectively. For example, you can use a calendar app to schedule your time and a task manager to keep track of your tasks. Notion, Todoist and Trello are some of the most commonly used apps.
University’s Resources for Students:
Being a student comes with some major perks as well. You have access to things like entrepreneurship centers, innovation labs and business incubation centers for startups.
University emails also let students access student specific versions of popular tools and applications for free. As well as the online resources that college students can get access to. These places are filled with people that can help you solve problems and people you can learn from.
Mentorship and funding are two of the most important resources for you as a student. Here are a few tips on how to get them.
To find a mentor, reach out to your professors, classmates, or other entrepreneurs in your community. You can also search for mentors online through platforms like Mentorly or Score.
To secure funding, there are a number of options available, including pitch competitions, grants, and loans. But as a student, one of the best options for you are crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
Creating a Network For Your Business Startup
Networking As a Student Entrepruner
When you're a student entrepreneur, it's crucial to build a solid support network. This can help you to stay motivated, learn from others, and access resources that you need to be successful. Here are a few ways to find and connect with other student entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs:
Many universities have clubs and organizations specifically for student entrepreneurs. These clubs offer a great way to meet other students who are interested in entrepreneurship and to learn from experienced entrepreneurs.
Attend startup events and conferences. Startup events and conferences are a great way to meet other entrepreneurs and learn about new trends and opportunities.
Connect with like minded people on social media. Many entrepreneurs are active on social media, such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
Be genuine and interested in getting to know the other person. Don't just network for the sake of networking. Ask questions and learn about the other person's business and goals.
Offer to help other entrepreneurs with their businesses whenever you can. This could involve providing feedback, sharing resources, or making introductions. Once you've connected with an entrepreneur, make an effort to stay in touch. Send them an email to check in, share interesting articles or resources, or invite them to coffee.
Tools For Networking
Building a solid support network is essential for success as a student entrepreneur. You can create a good network using the following platforms:
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a professional networking platform. You can search for entrepreneurs in your area or industry, and send them connection requests.
Twitter: You can use Twitter to connect with entrepreneurs by sending them direct messages or participating in conversations.
Facebook: Facebook has a number of groups for entrepreneurs. You can join these groups to connect with other entrepreneurs and learn about new opportunities.
Tackling and Dealing With Challenges As A Student Entrepreneur
Challenges You’ll Face
As a student, these are some of the challenges you’ll face:
Striking a balance between your studies and your new responsibilities as an entrepreneur is one of the most important challenges to tackle. Juggling coursework, exams, and business responsibilities can be hard and requires good time management skills.
You’ll be dealing with financial problems that could limit your ability to invest in marketing and infrastructure.
Entering and gaining traction in competitive markets can be scary or at the very least, confusing for students. This article will teach you how to deal with that as well.
One other challenge you may face if you’re doing all this with a friend are conflicts or conflicts of interest on where to go from a point.
Finding the right people or partners. It’s not always easy to make friends or meet people who share the same mindset or goals as you.
Overcoming Challenges
Overcoming the above challenges may seem hard but you don’t have to do everything at the same time. Start with one and go forward. Keep a level head and don’t forget to take a break. You need to be resilient as a student entrepreneur.
Come up with plans to solve any issue you’re facing. Don’t shy away from help. Learn and grow from your failures. Keep trying and learning from your mistakes. Look for new and innovative ways to solve problems. And try to adapt your plans and goals as needed.
Your journey as a student is just as much a story about you building yourself up as it is about your business or idea. So be the main character of your story and don’t give up.
Create, Test and Deploy Your Idea
Now that we’ve discussed how you can manage your studies and business, the challenges you’ll face as well. Let’s talk about how to set up your business into a reality. Here’s a little step by step overview of what your plan should be.
First, find a problem to solve. What is your unique solution to that problem?
Research your market. Who are your target customers?
Develop your minimum viable product (MVP).
Once you have an MVP, share it with your target customers and get their feedback. Use this feedback to improve your product.
Once you have a product or service that you are confident in, launch it to your target market.
Keep in mind that an MVP doesn’t need to be fancy. It just needs to have the minimum functionality to show your customers what the app will be. Focus on the core features. Don't try to build everything into your MVP.
If you find something that matches what you’re trying to create, study it and use its ideas if you can. Don’t be afraid to shy away from open source tools as well. Use what you can to save time and money.
This can save you time and money. Don't wait until your product is perfect to launch it. Launch it early and learn from your customers. This will help you to improve your product quickly.
You can use tools that were already mentioned in the article as well as some of the following for specific use cases like project management or MVP building.
Conclusion: A Student and An Entrepreneur's Journey to Success
Your journey as a student entrepreneur is going to be challenging but also very rewarding. You’ll learn new things everyday and you will grow. You’ll learn to navigate the complexities of academics and entrepreneurship.
And when it comes to business, identify the right idea by conducting research and leveraging innovative technologies. Prioritize time management and utilize your institutions' available resources to your advantage. Embrace challenges and failures as opportunities for you to grow and learn, and be persistent in pursuing your goals.
Final note, don’t be afraid to fail and don’t beat yourself about failure too much. We all make mistakes, and we all grow at our own pace. If something doesn’t work out, it’s okay to take a break from it. Remember, your journey as a student entrepreneur is a testament to your resilience and determination.
Embrace the process, learn from your experiences, and stay persistent in pursuing your dreams. With dedication, resourcefulness, and a willingness to learn, you can turn your student startup into a successful and impactful venture.
