Model and approach to grow revenue

The crux of small technology companies is how to approach to grow revenue.

It is important to have experience and vast knowledge of research on how to grow a successful business in a world that is increasingly embracing open source.  The main issue is how to leverage an open-source product as the keystone of a company and to engage the community to support a company's growth?  No doubt, it is a challenge that startups face as they start to grow. 

For any business, growth is important especially for technology companies.  It needs constant innovation, advancement, and evolving consumer needs.  Also, keep in mind the long-term profitability alongside develops a brand and attract new investment. 

Whenever we are talking about growth it requires capital, making consistent revenue a necessity. On the other hand, growth requires some experimentation with different strategies, where failure is the constant fear!  But one has to kick to start.

One can browse hundreds of books on business growth, with many promising and strategy for success.  But the reality there is no single growth formula that generally works for all businesses.  Business and growth are interrelated where growth requires focus & energy and it has been directed the particular aspect such as revenue growth, market growth, product line growth, or even shareholder growth. 

The main core of success is purely dependent on disciplined, incremental, consistent growth.

In order to grow the revenue of technology companies and startup through active participation in a business ecosystem, one should compare it to traditional approaches and identifying when the business ecosystem approach works better, as well as the benefits and risks also.  In addition, should focus on the importance of short and long-term strategic planning.

A small technology company or the founders of a startup must follow the guidelines to grow.  The top management has a pivotal role to get the house in order.  Firstly, the small technology company should follow:

• To raise the bar for performance
• Act based on the fact
• Divest what adds no value
• To put legal, cash, intellectual property and personal affairs in order

Also, we need to secure stakeholders’ commitment.  For this the company needs to:

• To create mind and share about their products and services and the unique reason “why” the company does what it does  
• Pertinently share the view, analyze the broader market opportunity and execute the plan
• Simplify its products, services and be ready with a solution to make them hassle-free for customers and partners
• Constant improvements in its operations

While dealing in the process, the top management team of a small technology company needs to remove obstacles by addressing four critical impediments to growth:

• Lack of funding
• Lack of skills
• Lack of time and
• Lack of access to customers and channel partners

A small technology company or a technology startup must identify and execute an appropriate growth formula. Common growth formulas used by small technology companies include:

• Help strong customers grow their business
• Bring innovation to market
• Apply good technology to novel market opportunities
• Sell services to a market niche first and then develop and sell products or solutions
• Provide value to users, economic benefits to customers

Generally, the growth formula makes it easier for company employees to make decisions, provides strategic clarity, reduces complexity, increases learning and makes new employees productive faster.

Alongside, we cannot ignore the business ecosystem.  A business ecosystem is a community of companies, organizations and individuals that share a desire for achieving high-impact results, deliver benefits to their customers and maintaining the health of their community. 

The two main responsibilities of the keystone are to increase the: i) volume of transactions among members, and ii) efficiency of new product creation.

The business ecosystem approach is a more effective way to grow a small technology when a company can generate more sustainable revenue as a member of the ecosystem than without such membership.  In order to make an effective business ecosystem the supplier needs to:

• Develop a strong brand
• Invest to improve product quality
• Reduce time to cash

It is pertinent that the small technology company should interact with a large number of members in different parts of the world and using the platform in order to:

• Deliver value to all the organizations
• Lever resources, talent and learning from other organizations
• Co-create solutions, products and services
• Link to other business ecosystems

There are risk factors also that a small technology company needs to know.  A company is exposed to three major risks:

• Increase the price of the transaction
• Weaken relationships with customers
• A significant percentage of the value the small company helped to create
• It has been seen stronger companies may become members of the ecosystem and choose to compete directly with the small technology company
• When a company does not derive sufficient benefits to justify the costs associated with membership

The general approach to grow revenue is solely dependent on three factors:

• Should operate in the traditional, standalone mode
• Be a player in somebody else’s multisided platform
• Operate and evolve a multi-sided platform on its own or with others

One should comprehend between develop community and business community.  The develop community cannot be termed as a business economy regardless of how active the development community is.  Whilst a business ecosystem impetus company access to cash and leadership as well as supporting a company in achieving a wide range of business goals.  It acts as a multi-company collaboration, not developer collaboration.

Small technology companies and technology startups should look for a new approach to grow revenue.  The capability to generate revenue is important to both companies and regional economic development organizations.  When we are talking about business ecosystems -- can accelerate revenue growth only if the company has a solid base to grow. 

The rules of the game are continually changing but one should not abandon the core business, but focus on it with renewed vigour and lookout for a new level of creativity.  As an entrepreneur one has to see the opportunities everywhere he/she looks, but many people see only problems everywhere they look.  This concept must be changed, and one needs to be pragmatic.