Digital entrepreneurship and startup management

Every era has its most promising trends. Today, digital entrepreneurship is one of the most prominent. 

However, it should not be seen merely as a trend — after all, it is having a direct impact on service and business models, demanding close attention, particularly for those who wish to begin a journey of entrepreneurship through startups.

Contemporary businesses can be based entirely on technology, which gives rise to the emergence of what are known as startups.

This business model represents a very important part of entrepreneurship applied to the internet.

To complete the equation, there is the so-called e-commerce market, in which commercial companies can insert themselves in order to gain visibility and conversions, running virtual shops.

Read the following article to understand each of these concepts, how they intertwine, and much more!

Do you know what digital entrepreneurship is?

The foundation of digital entrepreneurship is concentrating every front of the business within the virtual environment.

Online performances, exhibitions of traditional museums via virtual means, visits to major cities through computer tools, e-commerce stores, and even infoproducts are all examples of digital entrepreneurship.

In this sense, even courses and conferences that move to a virtual format — provided they are established as products and services — represent more traditional models of online business, being highly sought after on the internet.

In other words, there are many opportunities to be explored in this field. All that is needed is an innovative or differentiated idea, and the means to develop an excellent platform to carry out that activity.

Plus, of course, knowing whether you want to enter the popular business models on the internet, such as e-commerce, and what the public's need is in relation to the demand you intend to meet.

An overview of e-commerce

E-commerce in Brazil has been growing significantly in recent years. The regions of the country that consume the most are the south-east, the north-east, and the south.

In the first quarter of 2021, to give an idea, e-commerce grew 57% more than the same period in 2020.

Indeed, a NeoTrust report shows that the revenue of virtual businesses reached 35 billion reais in 2021.

The trend is for e-commerce to continue growing in the near future, which should encourage any company — whatever the chosen segment — to adopt this model.

Another interesting piece of data to consider is that purchases made via mobile phone account for 41% of the volume of online transactions in Brazil. In other countries, such as those in Europe and Asia, that figure rises to over 50%.

As such, the use of smartphones for purchasing products and services is expected to increase further in the coming years.

Consumer behaviour and purchase expectations

Many brands still struggle to maintain the same level of excellence across different channels, which is the requirement of the modern omnichannel concept.

This is because consumers are increasingly seeking good experiences in increasingly integrated opportunities, without any discrepancies.

In other words, the level of service and the information provided must be consistent across all points of the customer journey, including:

• Answering queries;
• Completing payment;
• Delivering the order;
• After-sales service.

Logistics is another fundamental element of e-commerce, and delivery time is one of the factors that influences this process.

Prolonged delays in receiving goods are no longer acceptable. 

Furthermore, with the recent arrival on the market of applications promising delivery in minutes, Brazilian e-commerce must be feeling the pressure from consumers.

Indeed, shorter delivery times will be an important competitive differentiator in the coming years.

What is startup management?

The information we have provided so far is essential for knowing how to position yourself well on the web. But there is still the matter of understanding what startup management actually entails.

It is simply the set of practices that a manager needs to adopt to run an entire company.

The key differentiator is that startups relate directly to technological and virtual solutions.

It is worth noting that the business model of a startup is different. 

The focus is not necessarily on the product, but on value and, therefore, on profit. Moreover, the aim is to bring new solutions to some of the public's needs.

In other words, how to solve clients' problems in a profitable way.

Often, the challenge of a startup model is to create something innovative or to adapt a business model to a specific area.

Thus, creating a startup means breaking with tradition. There is no way of knowing whether a business idea or project will truly succeed. In other words, the path forward and the steps the entrepreneur must take will be more uncertain.

But it is necessary to measure the potential need and demand in relation to the target audience. Below you will find some tips for managing a startup effectively.

1. Use agile methodologies

There is no doubt that agility is the hallmark of a startup. 

It is with this quality — one of great significance — that a startup project can grow more rapidly.

When your team is small and the business is just starting out, simplifying processes and putting passion into activities can be an excellent strategy.

However, when a business starts to grow, it is essential that good startup management techniques are practised.

In this way, most problems will not hinder the development of plans. 

It thus becomes possible to think in terms of agile methodologies that consider stages for the completion of a project.

2. Pay attention to organisational culture

In most cases, teams in this type of business tend to be very compact and require more refinement.

Therefore, to know how to apply the right methodologies in startup management, it is necessary to keep pace with the size of the team formed for each purpose.

The more people involved in the same niche, the more difficult it can be to define the role of each person, particularly in more limited activities.

All of this can negatively affect the overall mission, and may even compromise the agility and productivity of the team members.

Therefore, ensuring that the entire startup team has aligned ideas and works well together is of the utmost importance for the startup's success.

3. Invest in transparency

Without doubt, one of the most effective and functional management methods is total transparency. With this, it is possible to work in a way that favours the integration and alignment of all team members.

Keeping everyone informed of everything that is happening is the key to success.

Startup management must seek to provide clarity whenever possible, establishing goals, results, and decisions to be made. In this way, everyone can work together towards the same objective.

In addition, defining pace and starting point is also important for producing better results.

This will allow employees to feel involved in the project, as well as potentially promoting consistency in expectations and behaviours.

This approach encourages every small part of the company to focus increasingly on the pursuit of results, promoting greater productivity and a sense of belonging.

4. Divide teams into squads

If you want to manage the startup well, the divisions within the team must be very clearly defined, as must the objectives.

One way to do this is to organise teams into squads.

Thanks to this straightforward technique, processes will become far more natural, making it easier for all parties to understand their roles, enabling closer coordination between startup members and creating more efficient and diverse teams. 

This intensifies the organisation's continuous growth, as it is based on bringing together professionals with different areas of technical expertise to collaborate on the development of specific processes and projects.

When each team focuses on a specific task — whether it is a problem or the development of a new system — cooperation will be sufficient to overcome any barriers. 

Benefits of startup management and opportunities for team members

Startups operate differently from traditional companies. To begin with, the workplace is more dynamic.

Working in a startup demands greater integration amongst team members.

This means that the professional is not limited solely to their own role, but participates in the entire process, to a greater or lesser degree at each stage. Discover the benefits of startup management in the sections below.

Learning quickly

Internet-based businesses expand very rapidly. In this context, knowing how and when to experiment is the best way to learn and develop new skills.

A startup encourages team members to step out of their comfort zone. Continuous changes mean there are always new techniques, technologies, and concepts to learn and master.

You will absorb a great deal of information that will develop you professionally and even in your personal life.

The point is that in a startup, nobody is limited to just one area: everyone influences the direction of the business and can develop other competencies.

Building a network

Often, due to the high level of contact, teams share frustrations, achievements, and growth together.

This also means sharing and establishing important relationships for career success and longevity, including with other partners and business influencers.

A very considerable proportion of digital businesses are startups. As such, those who work in one have opportunities to be present at industry events and meetings.

Once in those settings, it is the ideal moment to exchange ideas with colleagues and build a network. In doing so, you will be opening more doors and making yourself visible in the market.

Using creativity

Being creative is a highly desirable trait here. After all, day-to-day life is full of challenges that demand solutions and efficiency.

The profile of the entire team tends to be similar. Therefore, working alongside creative people also sharpens your own creativity.

There are always opportunities to explore even more innovative ideas. 

As such, if you recognise yourself as a creative person and enjoy putting that creativity to use, startups are the perfect place for you as a professional.