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Big companies have often been the backbone of the business industry as well as the overall economy of the country. However, in recent times, the rise of startup have become hard to ignore. Startup companies have become a huge star in Singapore and it continues to do so in many countries. Bigger companies start small and slowly grow into multi-million dollar companies. But with startup, it’s like a firework. You light it and you see it grow super fast. There are pros and cons to both these types of businesses. However, the main idea that we are going to pay attention to in this article is what those big businesses can learn from a thriving startup companies.

Can the giants learn something from the smaller yet more agile competitors? Is there room for improvement if multi-national companies dissect what it takes for a startup company to be successful? The team here at ThunderQuote thinks that the answer is yet. There are some things that established companies can learn from thriving startups like us and here are some of them.

First things first, what exactly is a startup company?

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The world is not really familiar with the concept of startups. Especially in this area of the world where we’re so used to seeing huge companies come and set their roots down here. Therefore, it is common for the masses to not understand what a startup really is. So what is it really?

The basic definition of a startup company is basically a young company that is entrepreneurial which is typically newly emerging. It is fast growing and it usually aims to try to become successful as a marketplace or as a service-offering company that fits the demand of the current market.

What can we learn from these startup companies?

#1 Seek For Efficiency

Sometimes in a much larger and more established company, workers can get complacent. It is the same thing day in and day out. You might never know the capabilities of your employees if you always keep them sheltered in a cubicle. We are not asking you to forego the “office life” but rather be more proactive and let loose a bit more. In larger corporations, sometimes the simplest of tasks get so inefficient that nothing gets done. Just imagine a chain of emails that goes back and forth but no one will ever find out who needs to get the work done. That is what happens when there are too many employees that all have the same job prospect and they have turned complacent. The best thing to do is to challenge them and get the best out of them.

#2 Be Diligent

One of the main reasons why startup companies work so well is because they always stay up to date with everything. They take care of their customers’ needs. They provide instant feedback. This can be tied to the fact that being a startup company, they are their own marketing team. With limited funds, they need to make do and this is the best way to do it. They are not afraid to put themselves out there. In return, consumers appreciate it and they turn to become loyal customers instead.

So what big companies can do is to always seek for instant customer feedback. Create a team that will be properly dedicated to just market research. Getting to know your customer is the best thing any business can do because it’s your rice bowl. If you don’t fulfill what the customers want you will never move forward in the chain. If you do that, you will be able to catch onto the trends a lot faster before it explodes and fades away fast. Getting to know the trends the minute they are born is so much smarter so that you can catch on and be one of the first people to the race. Always be on your toes.

#3 Spend Your Money Like It’s Your Last Dollar

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With bigger companies, budgets aren’t a problem. You have millions at your disposal and that may be great sometimes but at the end of the day everything has its pros and cons. Some huge companies tend to spend millions on useless advertisement and it doesn’t bring back the rewards that you would expect it too. Bigger companies need to take note of their crazy spending and maybe tone it down a little bit and further channel the money to bigger and better things. Rather than actually just spending it on the latest crazes and indulge in creating a huge Christmas ad that is worth millions just for one holiday season.

The reason why startups thrive is also because they usually do not have the dollars to spend. They usually start extremely small and they cannot spend that kind of money on things that will not help the company propel forwards. They make every last dollar count and that means that the make smart decisions. It’s like playing a strategy game but instead this is real life and there are real repercussions that they clearly can’t afford. Instead, they make smarter decisions that will allow them to send their messages clearly and for them to be heard by the masses in the simplest way possible. This might also work in their favour because consumers have a way of changing the way they perceive things very fast. Maybe sticking to the simple things is worth it sometimes.

#4 Challenge The Status Quo

We get it, getting to be CEO or VP of a huge company is a great accomplishment, but having everyone of your employees be afraid of you is not good either. Bigger companies often follow down the same path for years and the times are changing. Maybe the way you used to work before doesn’t work in this day and age. You need to be able to challenge past decisions and figure out if they work for you anymore or not. If it doesn’t, it might be time to change things up for the greater good.

In startup companies, everyone is usually treated as equals. They are seen as being able to always bring something to the plate. This also extends to interns and part-timers. Listen to your employees, there might be a billion dollar idea hidden in there!

 

ThunderQuote is the most comprehensive business services portal in Singapore, Australia and ASEAN , where hundreds of thousands of dollars of procurement contracts are sourced every month by major companies like Singapore Press Holdings, National Trade Union Congress and more.