A research by a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, Shikhar Ghosh, showed that nearly 75% of all startups fail. That’s three failures for one successful startup. Though the failure rate is higher than industry reported failure rates, which range from 20 to 30%, that’s still a lot of startups.

Read more: What we can learn from Startup’s that were huge but failed

If you do not want your startup being one of the failure stories, here are some simple things you must follow.

1. Follow your passion

If you are passionate about your idea and want to make it a reality, go ahead and do it. If you are passionate about something, you are more likely to succeed in it. Remember Orkut – the social networking site that made waves years before Facebook came into the picture? Orkut was born out of a passion for finding the founder’s lost girlfriend. After spending millions and 3 years of his life, not only Orkut Buyukkokten found his girlfriend, but also sold Orkut to Google for a whopping 1 billion profit!

2. Get capital

Getting capital is essential, but getting the right amount even more. If you have sufficient funds to start with, it can smooth many issues over. Apart from bootstrapping and contacting your friends and family, you have the option to approach an investor for a seed fund or angel investors. Use it well!

3. Stick to your goal, but ADAPT

What requirement does your product or service fulfill? Do your prospective/existing customers want such a solution? Ask yourself these questions repeatedly to keep yourself focused.

Also, a wise thing to do is to adapt. The market conditions are never the same. Hence, continuous planning and course correction are a must. That’s where Kodak bungled up! Kodak moved very slowly into the digital photography, while the world had already moved on to it. By the time Kodak realized the potential, it had been ousted of a market that it had created in the first place.

4. Hire well

If you have the right sort of people beside you on this rough and tumble journey, it is a definite advantage. They will not only help you accomplish your goals, but also inspire you to achieve more. According to Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, hire people who want to learn; who agree with your vision, goals, and values; are smarter than you; and feel their job is more important than just money.

Read more: New startup hiring process – value or liability?

5. Fire well

A corollary of the hiring-well theory; if you need someone off the ship, do not hesitate to push them. Even if a person is well-qualified and has lots of experience, he could still not fit into your crew. Of late, many startups like Tiny Owl, Zomato and Snapdeal have laid off employees. Yes, it’s a sad episode in the history of startups, but absolutely vital for the businesses to survive.

6. Accept criticism

If someone points out a flaw, you should accept it and find a solution, not crib about the negative tone of voice. Remember Rahul Yadav, the founder of Housing.com, and his less than tasteful comments about his investors? Seriously, not done!

7. Spotlight on the customer

Yes, it is your startup, your baby, but don’t forget you are here to make money and provide value to the customer in return. Don’t turn your startup into a vanity project. Put in the hard work and research well. Learn to anticipate the needs of the market and the customers, just like Steve Jobs. Apple had one of the best selling products in the iPod, however, Steve Jobs decided to kill it with the iPad. He knew it, but he also knew what his customers wanted.

8. Network

Network both online and offline. You set up accounts on social media for your company – share insights from your experience and hobnob with the thought leaders of the industry. But, you also attend conferences and seminars to meet up with inspiring and like-minded people.

9. Success requires dedication

Forget about a stable salary and regular working hours. Dedication is the key, keep true to your purpose, whatever it might take. And this is where Sachin Bansal comes into the picture! Sachin vacated the role of CEO for Binny Bansal, his co-founder of Flipkart, while he chose to assume the role of Executive Chairman. His sole aim was to focus on Flipkart’s strategic directions, mentoring senior leadership and looking for new investment opportunities?

10. Find a mentor

Easily overlooked; sometimes you need a sounding board, sometimes an advisor, sometimes just a patient ear, and a good mentor can be all these. As these successful entrepreneurs found out. Mark Zuckerberg finds an inspiring mentor in Steve Jobs, while Bill Gates considers Warren Buffet as his mentor as the latter taught him how to deal with tough situations and think long term. Richard Branson consulted British airline entrepreneur, Sir Freddie Laker, for guidance during his struggle to get Virgin Atlantic off the ground.

11. Learn to enjoy the ride

If you have worked responsibly and still failed, it is not the end of the world. Take it as a learning experience to do better. The journey is what matters. Know Bill Gates and Paul Allen? Of course, you do! But, do you know of Microsoft’s success, Bill Gates had launched a company called Traf-O-Data which aimed to process and analyze the data from traffic tapes. Well, the idea was a complete disaster, but that didn’t deter Bill Gates from creating Microsoft.

Read more: Key steps for successful startup funding

A happy, healthy startup to you!

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