Business STATS A N D FACTS Exploring the Entrepreneurial Experience Struggling as a startup? Look around. The number one key to success is the quality of your team or company culture, according to CTA's new Startup Best Practices report, which polled emerging small businesses about their entrepreneurial journey and the bumps along the way. Along with their team, CTA found that startups see their product's development and market differentiation as important factors. But if they could turn back time, most said they would rethink their finances above all else. RESOURCES USED IN DEVELOPING IDEAS OR BUSINESS MODELS 50 Market differentiation 50 48 R&D investment 30 Early traction/sales Legal counsel 33 Mentor/mentor program 33 25 Accelerator/incubator network 60% Market potential/impact 48 Friends/family KEYS TO SUCCESS IN CURRENT FUNDING STAGE Quality of our team/great people/culture 73% Partners/colleagues Small Business Administration 20 Small Business Development Center 20 WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY IN THE EARLY STAGES OF GROWING YOUR BUSINESS? Different approach to funding/financing 31% Different approach to/more focus on hiring/people/culture 22 Different approach to product development 13 Different approach to sales/marketing 13 23 PR/media 20 Brand recognition PRIORITIES FOR NEXT ROUND OF FUNDING Product/technologydevelopment 79% Financing 48 People/team/culture development 36 Strategy/organizational development 30 27 Manufacturing/production/engineering 18 Business development/sales Legal 15 Networking/building partnerships 15 Validation 12 62% Scalability 54 Growth 51 Getting the product in customers' hands 49 Expanding customer base 38 Go-to-market strategy 33 Overcoming technical challenges Creating a reputable sales cycle 31 Ecosystem development 26 Market restructure (i.e., consolidation, integration, acquisition) 26 Demonstrating reliability Demonstrating repeatability 21 18 Source: CTA Market Research 96 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019 I T I S I N N O VAT I O N Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images TOP PRIORITIES DURING EARLY STAGES OF FUNDINGhttp://www.CTA.tech/research