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Start-ups are a springboard for visions and missions to make human life easier, especially in this age of digital technology. They are the catalyst of change the world is yearning for across all industries. They are designed to pick up the pieces left behind by bigger companies and keep the world going.

Two things have aided the growth of Startups in this dispensation:

• Free and open access to technology, especially open-source technology, has created more opportunities for start-ups. It is relatively easier and affordable for an individual to identify a problem, match a solution, and profit from the solutions. 

• Another factor that has allowed start-ups to thrive is the spreading risk-taking culture and the quest for experimentation. The ecosystem has developed into a space where failure is no longer a stigma but a stepping stone to success.

The impact of start-ups isn’t just profit maximization. They have become one of the largest employers of labour. They innovate and focus on sustainability in various industries, like improving financial systems to DeFi and blockchain.  They have influenced almost everything, from the media we consume to access to healthcare services, wealth creation, and many other opportunities.

Even though some start-ups have gained traction and are scaling to become big brands, some are still struggling and finding it difficult to scale despite having every necessary resource—well, except UX resources.

Characteristics of a Startup

From the name “Startup”, the meaning is not hard to derive, and everyone in the tech space is familiar with the word. It is a company in the earliest stage of operation. At this stage, the focus is to enter the market with enough funds and form a customer base. 

So, all efforts and available resources are channelled to raise more funds to continue operations and improve product quality. Startups can be characterized by the following:

• • Innovation: Every startup solves a problem or reduces a gap. This serves as the drive for creating a product as a solution.
  • Lean Operation: It starts with a small team and fewer financial resources, so they have to manage the available resources to break even.
  • Scalability: It should have the potential to expand the scope of production or operation without adversely affecting the company’s financing.

• Growth Potential: They have opportunities to expand through acquisitions or mergers

• Agility and Flexibility: Since it is in the initial stage of operation, it should be open to changes that would improve its prospects of success in the market.

• Funding: They get funding from founding members, families, friends and venture capitalists.

Startups usually have their fair share of successes and failures, which determine their stay or exit from the market. Design is one of the most important factors, and mistakes in UX Design can cost a lot.

Six UX Design Mistakes Startups Should Avoid

It is agreeable that mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow, but they don’t have to be personal mistakes. Information can be learned from other sources. Mistakes are not limited to this list, but it is enough to avoid mistakes that would be sad stories.

1. Choosing Looks over Functionality: Many founders are quick to push out designs that will attract people, reach a large audience, or secure funding. The implication is that once the funding is secured and customers have started using the product, it is only a matter of time before they discover there is no depth to it. 

At this stage, the founder gets comfortable with the “success” and sees no need to improve the quality of the product.

1. One-person, design-it-all Approach: The nature of Startups demands a small team, and many startups make the mistake of focusing on proliferating roles or creating roles. 

These roles are usually created to accommodate funding contracts or personal reasons. Then, there is no capacity to hire more UI/UX designers who are supposed to be a part of the founding team. 

They fail to realise that UX design is the origin of solutions. So, they assume one or two people can carry out the entire design process of launching for a target audience of a thousand to ten thousand people. That sounds wrong, right?

1. Skipping User Research/User Persona: Once a start-up doesn’t have the capacity for more UI/UX Designers, the few available ones will be saddled with many responsibilities.

In order to meet the deadlines, they’ll have to skip many important design processes like user research, user journey, and user persona. It allows the startup to miss out on identifying opportunities for more innovation.  

For instance, several e-commerce platforms in India have been criticized for their complex user interfaces, which are difficult to navigate. This has made other competitors outrun them, and they were acquired in an unfavourable context.

1. No Strategy for Iteration: The essence of UX Design is iteration, which allows for more changes and development. Unfortunately, many founders have occupied themselves with other priorities and made decisions without accommodating space for design iterations. 

At the end of the day, there is a product with UX Flaws that can’t be fixed unless they start from scratch.

1. Copying Big Brands: In the quest to dream big and make groundbreaking products, founders get lost in their ambitions. They try to create designs equal to brands that have existed for ten years or more. 

It is not impossible to create designs that beat the competition, but not in the initial round. The focus should be on uniqueness, not just copying and pasting an existing design with little funds and resources to manage operations.

• Non-accessible design: Accessibility has gained the awareness it deserves for a more inclusive digital experience. Some founders are still struggling to adopt this to their products. Accessibility is simply designing products and services that everyone, including people with disabilities, can use. 

It is important to know that accessibility is not a special preference but a human right. Making designs unaccessible reduces the customer base, creates a negative brand, and, in worst-case scenarios, could have legal implications in some countries. 

How Startups Can Reduce These Costly Mistakes

Mistakes can be avoided, and it is important for entrepreneurs and founders to understand the role of UX design in their entrepreneurial journey, especially if they are in the tech space.

Design Team is Important

One of the characteristics of a startup is innovation. How is innovation possible without UX design? This is one question founders should consider before deciding to scrap a design team. 

Many Startups have found a way to divide their teams into product and technology, leaving design at the mercy of the tech team, which stifles their creativity and potential to innovate.

“Design needs a seat at the table” — Alok Sharma, head of design at Monster India. 

The design team is the backbone of any digital product. It lays the foundation for what the product will look like and how customers are likely to remain loyal.

Starting within their means

Many founders are so hell-bent on being the next big thing in the industry that they forget to accept the financial restraint. They begin to set unrealistic standards or goals for the first launch.

As a founder or intending founder, you should cut your coat according to your fit. Depending on the available funds, there should be no business between your startup and acquiring fifty thousand customers on the first day of launch. Prepare for customers with an excellent and functional design, not overspending on trying to bring them in.

Having a standard Design process and System

Once a design team is in place, founders should ensure that they have a design system. The design system will serve as a guide for all their design decisions. Founders should also be sure to opt for a system that favours their product, considering the lean operation of the startup. This will reduce the workload of the designers, ensure consistency, and maintain the quality of the design solution.

A design process, on the other hand, is like a step-by-step guide for designing. A standard design process should cover the design thinking process: Empathy, Definition, Innovation, Prototyping, and Testing. For example, at YellowSlice, we use the STEP method, which has proven to help startups and established companies.

Invest in User Research

User Research is as important as the design itself. The research explains why and how to solve the problem on the ground. This is to reiterate the importance of user research. It helps to focus your effort on the target audience and build a product that best solves their problem. 

“Thinking that just design can make their product successful— If a product is built without having a clear understanding of whether you are solving user needs or not, your product is bound to fail” — Anthony Fernandes.

User research starts with defining your target audience and choosing the right method to get information from them. For startups, it is best to consider a simple and cost-effective method to learn about the users. Then, create personas out of the result so the designers have a representation of who they are designing for.

Once a design draft is ready, test it with real users and observe their experience. This will give an idea of the iteration required until the design is ready to be launched.

Build a strong brand. 

This might not seem like a UX Strategy, but on a deeper level, building a solid brand will reduce the expectations that UX Design is the major marketing tool. There are cases of startups using their apps or websites to market their brand when it is supposed to be the other way around.

A UX design is a solution; while it allows for little marketing and branding, it should not replace branding and marketing efforts. So, founders should take note and build a brand based on the value they offer, including UX design.

The perfect product is an illusion

Start-ups often want to go to market with a perfect product, but in reality, no product is perfect. So they spend too much time planning and perfecting their designs. 

Even the big brands we look up to are not perfect; the likes of Gmail, Slack, Zomato, etc, will have issues and scope for improvement.  It was not the best version, but they had to go to market with their product at some point. It was not the version it is, so start-ups need to stop perfecting their product and go to market and test their product.

Conclusion

Building a startup requires a lot of effort, time, and resources. It is not as easy as it seems, but knowing and understanding what makes it successful gives an advantage. A design team is very important, whether in-house or outsourced. The main thing is to make the best use of the available resources.

Outsourcing has proven to be an effective and efficient way of managing resources if an in-house design team is not feasible. There are different engagement strategies to fit the needs and budget of any project. 

YellowSlice has the resources and support to assist a startup or an established brand. Let us be a part of your success story by partnering with us to give you an expert touch on your design solution.

FAQs

1. How can a Startup measure the ROI of UX effort?

The goal of a startup varies; some founders want to make an impact, some want to compete, and some want to solve a problem in their own way. The goal is a deciding factor in the success metric; however, there are common KPIs that give an idea of how a design is doing. They include Conversion rate, Customer Retention, and User Feedback. In some cases, A/B Testing can be used to compare two variations in a design. So, founders can track their progress based on these few metrics and organizational goals.