Asking for help in a startup: Startups are known for their challenges. I think the early stage of a startup is often the most difficult stage. There are plenty of reasons why a startup fails. Success % of a startup is <10%. So if you feel like you need help, please don’t be shy to ask!
In this article, I want to talk about the types of help available for a startup. The types of help are both financial and advice depending on your stage. We will talk about mentorship and coaching, accelerators and your own personal network to ask for help.
“Sometimes, it doesn’t hurt to ask. I have been in the news many times just by calling on the news channel and asking them about featuring my business.”
–Lori Cheek, Founder of Cheekd
Asking for help in a startup
The first rule of asking for help is to be humble, patient and paying it forward. I can’t impress this enough. Help is always available for committed people and for a cause. If you’re able to show your commitment and passion, startups usually have a large fanbase of people that will go out of their way to support you.
The most important think to remember while asking for help in a startup is to be honest and open. Also, make sure that your ask is reasonable. Most people are kind and generous. They want to help, but your job is to make it possible for them. Break down your ask into smaller chunks if you can. Show progress and keep moving forward. People love to be a part of the story as long as you can give them a good honest reason to do that.
Startup Accelerators
Startup accelerators are usually the best place to start looking for help. It gives you a network of people interested in startups. Help is available in the form of strategy, business plan, network and even funding. Find the right types of help that you need and approach them. Most startup accelerators offer you an office space for free and help you with guidance about running a business. You can read more about what startup accelerators do to identify how it matches your need.
Mentorship and Coaching
I’m a huge fan of coaching and mentorship for a startup. Most coaching available for a startup network is informal. The concept is simple really – reach out to someone you can learn something from. See if they would be interested to help you. Don’t worry about compensation and funding for this. Most mentors want to help with the kindness of their heart.
The most important thing is to identify the right type of mentor to help you. It doesn’t have to be a single mentor. This article about types of mentorship helps you identify the right type of mentor that you need. Most often, people want to help – make sure that you give them a good reason to want to help.
Help Others
The best way of asking for help in a startup is by helping others. You have a huge amount of value in your experience and knowledge. Just go out there and see who needs help. Helping others improves confidence and also makes it easier to seek help.
Asking for help is a normal thing. The best way to normalise is by offering help. Trust me, even this is not as easy. You have to find the right person to help with and identify where you can add value. It takes time, but will be worth the effort!
We mostly find those people around us who do not want to see us growing. Being independent is more good
Perhaps Shruti, I’ve also been very fortunate to find some real nice gems too. I suppose the value is in separating the two out. There’s an adequate amount of good and bad around us. It’s best to keep the bad as far away as possible and the good as close. I know this might sound very theoretical, but I wouldn’t want to lose my belief in the good ones cos of the bad experiences with the bad ones 😊
It is said if you don’t ask you don’t know. So I agree it is important to ask for help. Generally fellow travellers are willing to help. But one should know what to ask and whom to ask. If one does not ask the right question and to right person, effort may go futile.
I couldn’t agree more Abijit, it is about understanding what we can truly seek help with. Truth is if you ask, you will almost always receive. But help is an interesting thing, we can never ask too much but people are ever so wonderful , they are willing to go out of the way. It is our duty to make what we ask for feasible and of interest. If not, asking for help does appear weak and silly. There’s just such an amazing amount of strength to this, if we just are conscious of the dimensions of what we seek, they can make a huge difference in what we receive as well
Good to know.
Usually a random person is unlikely to assist if he foresees that his assistance is going to get financial benefits for the receiver. Business is more about deals.. was my understanding!
Friends and acquaintances might help but that is all about relationships.
You’d be surprised how many times the help I’ve received has been from a stranger. Of course as a person who seeks the onus is on me to make it more feasible. But then again people are fascinating by default and are pretty helpful. It’s not just my romanticism speaking but also a fair bit of experience on this front. I’ve been quite glad and thankful to have met some wonderful people on this journey