How to launch a tech start up with little or no capital

Just because something seems impossible doesn’t always mean it always is impossible. For instance, launching a new tech startup. You may already be familiar with the scenario; you’ve come up with a great idea, it’s emerged into consciousness ‘organically’ (i.e., it’s grown out of your own personal passions, talents and knowledge) and you feel it could really fly. Then you hit the first obstacles: you’re not a developer, you don’t have a co-founder with that background, and you don’t have the financial backing needed to launch a new tech business. Let’s walk you through how you need not be pole-axed at stage one by these apparent impossibilities.

Start with that vision in your head. Or rather, start by getting that vision out from between your ears and onto paper. Write a clear business plan and make sure you know your value proposition like the back of your hand. Drafting a value proposition forces you to itemize your competencies – what you’re good at – showing how your business will create value, how you’ll provide your customers with something they can’t get today and how you’ll deliver it in a unique way. It forces you to think deeply about the customers you want to target – what do they need, what drives them, what keeps them awake at night and what’s the best way of serving them? Finally, it helps you really know your competition so that you can offer something they are not.

Now put it to the test. Interview about 100 potential customers and record their responses. See if you can detect any patterns, then revise your plan in line with what you have found. Now you’re ready to build a wireframe mockup of your website (fast and inexpensive wireframe software like Balsamiq can be helpful here – you’ll also get a free trial). Show your wireframes to as many potential customers as possible. Again, you’ll need to do this at least 100 times. By the end, you’ll have a clear idea of who your customer is and what you need to build to create a minimum viable product. Furthermore, you will not have needed any developer experience or money to get there.

If you are not a developer, learn about the basics. Try the free trial at Treehouse, or Codecademy, or Code.org. Do it a couple of hours a day. You won’t be ready to apply for a CTO’s job, but you will know the basics (it’s a great confidence boost). Now you’re set to try out a free online web template (like freewebtemplates.com), editing the text to portray what your company does. Show it to customers and try to get a handle on how much you can charge.

Now it’s time to broadcast yourself. You probably won’t have the money to pay for advertising, but you can tell everyone you know – friends, family, erstwhile colleagues, business contacts – about your new business and what it does. Use your social media profiles, make phone calls, email – these grassroots marketing techniques will help you spread the word about your new enterprise.

Entrepreneur David Kiger knows a thing or two about creating a successful business out of very little. Twenty years ago, he used his spare bedroom to begin a venture aimed at helping SMBs to get the same volume shipping discounts enjoyed by big companies. That little initiative turned into the global package and freight-shipping firm Worldwide Express, which now sees system-wide annual sales of $550 million. Out of small acorns, mighty oaks can grow. Kiger has a deep commitment to philanthropic work, helping disadvantaged entrepreneurs to realize their business dreams.

Provided you can take the steps outlined above – and keep costs and credit card debts as low as you can – you stand a fair chance of surmounting those apparently impossible barriers mentioned at the beginning. If you do your homework and you’re prepared to work seriously, seriously hard, you don’t have to be mired in debt to see your tech startup take off and thrive.