How young founders overcome hurdles – career & education

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At the same time, the generation has many reasons that make them shy away from the plans. the opinion poll According to a lack of knowledge, difficult access to financial resources and a lack of courage play the greatest role.

How do I deal with these concerns when looking to start a business?

Experts are of the opinion that as a young entrepreneur, above all, you shouldn’t be discouraged. Felix Ohswald, for example, usually does not consider a lack of experience to be an obstacle.

The 26-year-old Austrian is himself the founder and CEO of the online tutoring platform “GoStudent”. Especially in the first phases of founding a start-up, it is helpful to rethink things with a young dynamic and to look at them from a different point of view than someone who has already worked in a certain industry for many years.

Nevertheless, after the initial start-up phase, you need people who can fall back on experience. For example people who are strong in the HR and recruitment area, or experts who know which structures need to be set up in the company.

What hurdles do you have to reckon with when starting your business?

According to Hauke ​​Schwiezer, co-founder and managing director of the non-profit organization “Startup Teens”, it is also the conditions in Germany that make it difficult for young founders. This includes, for example, that the school does not convey the appropriate content or the necessary mentality. Like that it’s okay to make mistakes.

Overall, Schwiezer thinks: “We are starting to deal with the topic far too late.” Knowledge and education on the subject of entrepreneurship are far too little available in school or on a voluntary basis for teenagers. The managing director also sees that access to finance is very unevenly distributed and that those who do not have support in their immediate environment are at a great disadvantage.

Nevertheless: In principle, young founders in particular would find it relatively easy to attract attention. “If they have this attention, it will be easier for them to open doors.” Schwiezer advises to find out more early on. There are definitely projects in Germany in which one can receive practical support. Depending on the federal state, the conditions and requirements are often quite different here.

Typical mistakes: can they be avoided?

Those who get the first stones rolling are faced with groundbreaking decisions. When it comes to typical mistakes that young people can make when starting out as an entrepreneur, Schwiezer sometimes sees the problem that founders are too euphoric about their own ideas. Sometimes also because in the German education system hardly any knowledge on the subject of finance and business planning is imparted.

“In addition, we don’t have a lean business culture in Germany,” says Schwiezer. In other words: There is no culture in which you simply start with an idea in order to check it, and in case of doubt you quickly have a steep learning curve.

Felix Ohswald can confirm this: At the beginning there is a strong tendency to want to bring a completely finished product onto the market. “We made the same mistake ourselves. We worked on a product for far too long and only realized late: the way we imagined the product actually doesn’t interest anyone. ”It is better to test a product at an early stage on the market or in parts of the market.

How do I find a good team?

A suitable team constellation is the be-all and end-all at the beginning, says Ohswald. If the right people don’t get together, that could be one of the main reasons why a business idea fails. “And not because they are bad ideas, but because they are simply not pushed forward in the initial implementation phase.”

Finding the right team members is a combination of luck and good analysis. As a founder, you should know which skills you bring with you and who can usefully supplement your own skill set.

Do you even have to make all mistakes once?

Resilience is particularly important when starting a business. Means: “If something is not going well, if someone suddenly breaks away from my core team, if the initial feedback from my customers is devastating, if the business model is not the right one, then it is important to keep going anyway, to stay on the ball and that for so long iterate until I find the “sweet spot”, ”says Ohswald.

According to Schwiezer, the advice always applies to “startup teens”: Protect your private wealth. This means that the height of fall is usually relatively low. “You will learn much faster with precipitation.”

Ohswald is of the opinion that as a founder you have to learn above all to solve tricky situations or to turn in your own favor. “You shouldn’t try to protect yourself from everything, but rather try it out quickly with a certain naivety.”

Can the experiences of others be adopted for my company?

The “GoStudent” founder actually advises doing research: What problems have other companies faced? Often the findings can be transferred to your own start-up.

It is also helpful to look for a pool of advisors. “Over the years we have built up a network of founders whom we value very much and who are much further ahead than we are in many phases,” said Ohswald. It helps to be able to obtain practical advice before making decisions.

How do I deal with setbacks?

When frustration slowly sets in after a series of setbacks, the team should be asked above all. “If you have a good team, you are also a support for each other,” said Ohswald. That is why it is a great advantage to have one or two people in the company who you see as real sparring partners. “With a co-founder, for example, you discuss certain problems very differently.”

According to Schwiezer, how well someone can deal with setbacks also depends on their own self-confidence. “We experience this very differently.” According to the Gen-Z expert, however, a setback should always be “carefully analyzed”. Does it make sense to continue now? Or was the idea not so good after all? It is important not to get discouraged too quickly. “Those who go ahead with courage also have a competitive advantage.”

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211229-99-535703 / 2

Press release Samsung

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