Want To Start A Software Business? Don’t Reinvent The Wheel

start software businessThe Dot-Com bubble mentality is back, and in full force. But this time, it’s all about homebrew, iterative, DIY technology development. Sites like Hacker News and Killer Startups make it sound so easy to create a new product and bootstrap your way to overnight riches.

But the truth is quite different.

No matter how original you are, there is probably another company that has developed and launched your software idea. And, more likely than not, they’ve done it very well and offered it at a reasonable price.

If you want to launch a new technology product that will spread by virtue of its own merits, you’ll need to do something that will advance the state of the art in some way. You need to launch a product that will force others to re-think their standards when it comes to quality or price.

  • Windows made the market aware of the need for standardisation and compatibility.
  • Apple pushed the limits on design and beauty.
  • Linux made everyone re-evaluate how they thought about transparency and computer security.
  • Google raised our standards when it came to the quality and accuracy of our search engine results.
  • Henry Ford didn’t make faster horses. He forced us to reconsider the way we think about transportation.

If you think you’re going to bootstrap your way to billions in a highly competitive software niche, you’ll be sadly disappointed. In order to raise the bar for the industry, you’ll need resources, time, hard work, and a bit of luck.

Does that mean bootstrapping is dead? No!

There are still a number of proven approaches that are really well-suited to a bootstrapped business model. 2 of these are white labelling, and tribe-building.

Many companies have established successful brands based on tribal leadership and white-label rebranding.

For example, a company might build an online community devoted to grocery store owners. Over time, they will build up a strong network of social influence. And eventually these grocery store owners will become very loyal and trusting of the community operators.

As a result, the community operators will discover that grocery store owners have special requirements when it comes to:

  • Payroll Software
  • Invoicing Software
  • Backup Software
  • Accounting Software

Rather than re-invent the wheel each time they want to release a product, the community operators will simply approach a well-established software provider and customize/rebrand their application for this specific market.

This way, they can develop and launch high-quality, highly customized software that their community members will love.

White label partner programs are everywhere, and available for just about any kind of software that you can imagine. White label programs make it cheap and easy to create a large portfolio of customized software for your market. This will increase customer loyalty and create recurring income for your company.

If you want to bootstrap your way to business success, don’t re-invent the wheel. Instead, build a loyal tribe and customize an existing product to suit their requirements. It’s the safer and easier way to launch an online empire on a tight budget.

 

About The Author: Storagepipe Solutions has been providing online backup services for over ten years, and has assisted several organizations in launching their own successful white label reseller products.

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