Introduction
This paper aims to describe a hypothetical startup for a technology company. In order to adequately allocate resources, it is necessary to create a business model that will allow evaluation of the contributions to the development of the website, the type of financing, and longer-term financial prospects.
The Role of Money in Website Development
The plans necessary to launch the company include the opening of the official website. The researchers point out that having a startup company’s website is important to get support from investors located in other countries if necessary (Hendratmi et al. 2020, p. 1045). Therefore, the crowdfunding model can be quite profitable for small or medium-sized companies that also receive foreign support. In the context of this company, such a model thus seems the most realistic. However, initial investments are still needed to maintain the site. Launching the site would make sense to attract the so-called angel investor, who gives a loan for the development of the project for exclusive decision rights shared with the creators or a special reward (White and Dumay 2017, p. 186). Some researchers also point out that when looking for funding, it would be reasonable to use the InvestorRank consolidated resource (Gupta et al. 2015, p. 39). It provides sufficient analytical information about successful investors and their network of connections.
It should be noted that an original idea is needed to successfully implement a technological project, which will either be invested in or justified by niche demand. A service called SurveyAuto not only has an original and relevant idea for using collection data for surveillance but also received impressive multi-million-dollar funding from the Gates Foundation. This is an example of developing a site from a similar technology sector, where the integration of the entire information field requires millions of dollars (First Pakistani startup receives investment directly from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2019). At the moment, the service only needs money to maintain the program since it receives information for successful work with data through crowdsourcing.
Researchers indicate the waterfall model when talking about the creation of a particular product in a startup. Such a model implies a clear sequence of actions, which is essentially irreversible (Kramer 2018, p. 80). All these actions have no rollback from the requirements stage, through design and implementation, to the verification stage and subsequent support. The financial investment needs to be clearly measured in such a way that each of these five stages of the “waterfall” of development is equally supplied with money.
The website itself must serve two important purposes equally important to a startup’s success. Firstly, the site should offer comfortable conditions for users to work with it, creating a memorable and positive experience (Blank and Dorf 2020, p. 421). But no less important, it can be a convenient internal platform for the company’s employees themselves. Through personal accounts, company employees will be able to track their own finances and visually plan expenses.
Business Plan
Based on similar cases, certain adjustments and measurements should be made in terms of the uniqueness of the company in the market. The startup company should find a special niche, offering a range of services that no other entrepreneur has (Valentin 2020, p. 66). It is necessary to consistently model the business and specific strategy, analyze the risks, and present and implement the plan (Friend and Zehle 2009, p. 2). It sequentially includes the following stages: practical definition of the audience, preparation of the brand and product or services, its launch and maintenance through the website.
A website can be capable of performing unique functions by being more than just a repository of company information. For example, if the company itself is focused on technology, the site can give the audience an in-depth understanding of the specifics and importance of the company’s work in an interactive way. Consequently, to improve its performance, the site needs to collect statistical information about users, with more spending required to prevent hacking (Pettinico and Milne 2020, p. 15). Through these statistics, one can build the demographics of the audience in order to improve the resource for it or set up ad targeting.
Hardware and Software
Discussing factors independent of the original product, one should consider the necessary technologies to support the resource. Taking examples from other fields, one can cite the Universia project, which fills Indonesia’s academic education niche during the pandemic (Ottavia et al. 2021, p. 1). In many ways, the technical characteristics, design, and description of the brand determine the success of the business. The high technological advancement of this project makes its offers unique in its market segment, with comparatively low cost of application development.
Depending on the purpose, a website can prove to be a very useful tool for users and customers of a technology company, especially if it is integrated in one way or another with its main product. Special hardware for developers is not required. Thus, it is enough to open an office with several computers. Paying attention to the software, one should note the cost of cloud storage, which should contain the information necessary to build and maintain the site. One may also need funds to install applications for a design organization such as Basecamp. Depending on the preferences of the developer, different website writing software may be required.
Financial Forecast
As a rule, a special model is created for financial forecasting and projection of profits and losses. A robust forecasting model based on historical precedent will be used (Friend and Zehle 2009, p. 27). Looking at the example of startups in Canada, only 30% of them survive 10 years after launch (Grant et al. 2019, p. 2). Thus, it should be assumed that the company will be subject to financial pressure in the future. The contribution to the initial development from the angel investor is manifested in the fact that a significant part of the revenue goes to them (Arya at al. 2021, p. 2890). The additional costs of maintaining a website can also reduce the company’s financial well-being.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it must be said that without a specific concept that is fresh enough, it is impossible to attract the public’s or investors’ attention. The design of the website may hide this problem, but what the technology company really needs is original intent. It should also be remembered that the spread of funds initially invested in the company can range from several thousand dollars to millions. In the case of an adequate distribution of a large amount for a worthwhile idea, these investments are nearly guaranteed to multiply.
Reference List
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