The Best Pitch Decks Have This in Common Posted on January 31, 2023January 31, 2023 by Admin We’re in an environment where funding isn’t in free flow exactly. In such circumstances where startups face a looming recession and funding slowdown, it’s more critical than ever to know how to best pitch your startup to investors. A pitch deck is a substantial part of drumming up financial interest in your startup. A well-designed pitch can walk the distance between struggling and growing startups. In this post, we understand the fundamental aspects of a winning pitch deck, examples of outstanding pitch decks and what they have in common. Related: Early Startup? Don’t Make These Mistakes Navigating your First Recession An Unclear Vision Leads to an Unclear Pitch Deck It’s worth noting that an unclear or cluttered pitch deck results from a cluttered vision behind a business. If you’re struggling to single out the most promising and wanted feature of your product, then you might first want to work on an MVP and reach a clear vision of what your startup is to reflect in your pitch. Once you have your vision and mission down, fund 5-7 aspects of your product that make you great. There might be hundreds, which is why this process is key. You want investors to walk away with the top 5-7 winning reasons why investing in you is a good idea. Be sure to have everything you need for a slide deck. Then, trust that you have everything you need and create your pitch deck confidently. Related: How Startups Can Manoeuvre the Current Funding Slowdown Foundational Rules to Improve your Pitch Deck Kevin Hale at Y Combinator advises a pitch deck to be legible, simple and obvious. At the foundational level, all you want to do with your pitch deck is help investors understand what you do so that they remember you. If they don’t get your business, they won’t remember. Here’s how to make your pitch deck understandable. Legible Slides If your pitch deck is illegible, you won’t drive a point home. Your viewers would be left confused and wondering what each slide says. Consider the rules of inclusive design and then create your slide decks. Each slide must be legible, clearly visible from the back of the room and written in a simple font. Be sure to bold and highlight things that you want to emphasize. Keep your text in a good contrast to the background to make your slide legible. A recommended combination can be Helvetica font, bold letters, the size of 100pt+. Easy to Grasp Complex slides grapple with too many ideas at once. Each slide in a winning pitch deck must bring out one idea and drive it home before moving to the next. Since you now have 5-7 main ideas to focus on, your pitch deck mustn’t exceed 12 pages as a general rule. Of course, exceptions exist. For simplicity, refrain from using screenshots as they make a slide overcrowded and hard to grasp. Instead, simplify the function you want to demonstrate through screenshots and simplify it for the slide. You don’t want investors to remember your pitch deck but your idea. Investors invest in ideas and teams and not pitch decks. Obvious Ideas If a stranger can tell what the idea is behind a slide, it’s delightfully obvious. Obvious slides can carry powerful ideas and make them easy to understand. Obviousness in your pitch deck works in your favor as investors get pitched left and right 24×7. If your ideas and their presentation aren’t obvious, investors might move on too quickly or give up on understanding. Making ideas explicit means, you’re less beating around the bush and more stating facts like they are. Avoid distractions in your pitch deck, such as excessive branding, animations, memes, text overuse, explanations, photos that aren’t obvious, and humor. Related: Bootstrapping or Venture Capital- Figuring Out the Path for Your Startup What an Outstanding Pitch Deck Must Contain Here are a few other considerations to make while designing your deck. Remember, it’s not about you. A pitch deck’s purpose is to show who you serve, what problem you solve and how you aim to do it. Only include details of the founder’s story and background if it helps the purpose of your startup. Highlight the opportunity and make it evident for investors to see why it exists. For your pitch deck to focus on the opportunity, it also requires to be concise, or a lot could get lost in translation. Show metrics but make them simple to grasp. If you have data and analyses to showcase, create clear charts and explicitly mention what you want investors to see and know. Sell a story. If there’s a compelling story that helps build the case for your startup and brings your purpose to life, share it! Bring trends into the context. If there are certain trends in your industry that you’re capitalizing on, contextualize your startup within those trends. Make it flow. Remember to practice and nourish the flow of your pitch deck. Build it up for success so that there are no doubts lingering in your audience’s minds. Progress over perfection. Call it done once you feel 80% satisfied with your pitch deck. Otherwise, you might risk procrastinating from perfectionism. Choose progress and move forward. 3 Successful Pitch Deck Examples to Learn From Sequoia Capital – In this video, Mike Vernal from Sequoia Capital explains what a winning pitch deck includes. In a nutshell, communicate your mission, key features, and market size and keep it simple and stupid. Here’s the VC firm’s own ten-slide pitch deck format for your benefit. Airbnb – Airbnb’s pitch deck from 2008 helped the company raise $20k when it was three months old and $600k at eight months old. The slide deck clearly outlines their early traction, a large market and the readiness for a competitor. Uber – Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise $1.57m in seed funding back in 2010. The key takeaway is easy and obvious- Uber solves the problem of the inefficiency of cabs and aims to solve it with one-click cab hailing. Work through our short and simplistic guide to build your pitch deck. If you need hands-on assistance and mentorship, learn more about the thriving startup ecosystem at KiwiTech.
Is the Crypto Industry Doomed After the FTX Collapse? Posted on January 24, 2023February 7, 2023 by Admin It came to light on Nov 8, 2022, that FTX, the second-largest global cryptocurrency exchange, faced an intense liquidity crisis because of shady deals with the related firm Alameda Research. This year hasn’t been great for the crypto industry as it suffered a series of meltdowns, impacting the financial markets and investor confidence in the gradually maturing industry. Since May 2022, prominent projects such as Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, Voyager, Vauld, and Terra have collapsed within months. BNB Chain-based DeFi protocol Ankr recently confirmed it was hit by an exploit amounting to multi-million dollars on Dec 1, 2022. Even before this particular exploit, hackers had been responsible for stealing over $2.98 billion in digital assets in 2022. However, FTX’s fallout has been significantly damaging for the industry, evident in how the major crypto coins fell in value immediately after the news surfaced and haven’t since recovered. Related: FTX Collapse and What it Means for Web3 Crypto Industry by Venture Capital Numbers After a record-breaking VC year in 2021, with over $30 billion invested in the next iteration of the internet, investors are taking a pause in 2022, according to Crunchbase. Funding to VC-backed Web3 startups and the number of VC deals dropped to their lowest point since the end of 2020. In Q3 2022, only $3.3 billion went into Web3 startups, a nearly 50% decline from the previous quarter. It’s the lowest total funding to crypto startups since Q4 2020, when only $1 billion went to startups. However, it’s a steep fall from the $9.3 billion invested in Q4 2021. Deal flow also went down in the third quarter with only 408 announcements, 200 fewer deals as opposed to Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. Until October 2022, investors had poured in $17.7 billion in the crypto startup space, too short of last year’s $30 billion. Against the backdrop of poor investor sentiment after the FTX fallout and other meltdowns in the Web3 space, poor VC numbers don’t build up any confidence. However, Vitalik Buterin suggests an “exhausted from scammers and fraudsters” tweeter to move away from trading and investing circles and closer to the technology and application ecosystem of the crypto industry. Lessons From History According to John Kenneth Galbraith, author of the Great Crash, 1929, at any given time, there’s an inventory of undiscovered embezzlement in a country’s banks and businesses. This must be called the bezzle. History tells us that the greatest frauds aren’t discovered until very late in the cycle. “The Bezzle” isn’t uncovered until long after the interest rates hike, as fraudsters are able to hide a lot for a long time. And frauds are only revealed when they can’t be held in any longer. The same happened with the Internet bubble and Enron, the scam that defined the era. It’s interesting to note that Enron came about in 2001, when the bubble was already on its way down, proving that the biggest fraudsters are skilled at keeping the show running until the very end. However, the same history lesson gives hope to the crypto industry as it tells us we might be closer to the bust, promising things will be better again sooner. Related: How DeFi and Web3 Could Shape the Future of Finance What Investors of FTX are Saying Kevin O’Leary said, “I’m still a huge advocate for the potential of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. I’m disappointed, like many other shareholders. I try and find out what is the outcome of something like this. It’s not the first or the last time I’ve made a bad investment. But luckily, I make more good than bad ones and learn from my mistakes. There won’t be another situation like this for institutional investors ever again. We’re simply not going to put capital to work until this stuff gets regulated.” FTX operates offshore, as a lot of crypto businesses do, for the freedom the lack of regulation gives them. However, it’s clear that doing so creates risks for customers and investors. A parallel can be drawn between the biggest frauds in the history of humankind and the FTX fallout in that the businesses appear as legitimate as they do. FTX was invariably a giant in the crypto space, which, if not anything else, appeared real. Investors believe it would be critical to regulate the crypto industry if it is to become mainstream and even worthy of institutional investors. Related: What You Should Know About Regulations in a Web 3.0 World The Future of Crypto Centralized exchanges will face the brunt of the recent turbulence in the crypto industry. In an interview, Dennis Jarvis, CEO of Bitcoin.com, said that centralized intermediaries could not be trusted much, and while there will always be a space for them, their role in the ecosystem will hopefully shrink. This might mean that the interest in decentralized exchanges might increase, and trading ecosystems might see consolidation with regulatory grip tightening. FTX’s fallout might compel exchanges to operate with even more transparency and professionalism. However, there’s no denying that centralized exchanges may face the heat from DeFi protocols, which will proliferate and lead to huge development opportunities. Today, DeFi platforms are too tricky to use for retail investors, and CeFi (Centralized Finance) platforms are too difficult to trust. Crypto might come around if the trust from DeFi and the user experience from CeFi can be brought together. Another repercussion of the FTX collapse can be an extended crypto winter stretching till the end of 2023. This might result from the FTX downfall, besides other ripple effects yet to surface from the event. In summary, is the crypto industry doomed? We don’t think so. Crypto may be down but not out, as per this Techcrunch analysis, which states that things in Q4 2022 could’ve been worse, but there have been 219 deals worth $1.86 billion as per Crunchbase and 225 deals worth $2.15 billion as per PitchBook. Since declines in crypto ventures are slowing down, things may start to look up soon. Reach out to KiwiTech’s Blockchain Consultants to learn about our Web3 Center of Excellence and the exciting projects we are helping startups with.
How to Plan, Launch and Use an MVP? Your FAQs Answered. Posted on January 17, 2023March 13, 2023 by Admin In lay terms, an MVP proves that an idea has legs and would hit the ground running without substantial investment or effort put into it yet. In business terms, an MVP is a version of a product that helps a founder collect validated learning about the problem they want to solve and the customer they want to serve. The goal of the MVP is to test fundamental business hypotheses or assumptions and help a startup founder learn about the next right step as quickly as possible. One of the most fundamental benefits of an MVP is that it saves money down the road for startup founders. In this video, Paul Howe, Founder and CEO of NeedFeed, talks about how $40 saved them nine months of work and approximately $2 million. By user testing an idea for a social purchase-sharing app through a $40 browser script that added purchase-related posts to the Facebook page on the browser, the team saved 2 million dollars it would’ve taken to build the entire feature in their app. They found that users had powerfully harsh opinions about the purchase-sharing feature and never built it. Instead, the founder pivoted and found success elsewhere, while two other purchase-sharing apps went all in and regretted it later. Related: Step-by-Step Roadmap to Developing an MVP The Goals of a Pre-Launch Startup Before taking a look at planning and launching an MVP, let’s refine our perspective of the goals of a startup in the pre-launch phase. Launch something bad quickly– Pre-launch startups must have a laser focus on launching something workable, bad, and quick. Too often, early startups get caught up in the whirlwind of perfecting their product or service before they let anyone use it. This beats the purpose of an MVP, which is to test an idea as early and inexpensively as possible. Get initial customers– At this stage, a startup needs almost anyone to interact with your product or take you up on your service so you can see how it helps them in real-time. These initial customers/users can provide early and valuable feedback about the problem as well as the solution. Insights obtained here feed the next iteration. Talk to users and listen– It’s critical to actually listen to what your users say about your MVP. Most founders have an idea living in their mind of what they want to build, which carries some assumptions about the problem, the user and the solution. So, it’s important to break the bubble and present the idea to users it’s intended for, switch off the biases in your brain and listen to what they have to say. Keep it flexible– Founders often fixate on building their product and feel like they can’t present an imperfect version to users. The reality is that the idea still needs to be flexible at this stage rather than something you’re already married to. As you start showing it to intended users, you may realize it’s different from what your customers want at all. Experts suggest holding the problem you want to solve tightly, holding the customer base you want to serve tightly, but the solution loosely so that you can iterate when the need arises. Iterate– Iterating is not the same as pivoting. When you hold the problem and customers closely, you make your idea pivot-proof. Iterating means working on the solution if user feedback is negative. As a founder, you must hold a special passion for solving a particular problem for a specific user so that you avoid falling into the trap of pivoting every time a solution doesn’t work, which is a risk entrepreneurs run. So, don’t run around with the product finding another problem or set of customers it can help. Instead, continue improving the solution until it solves the problem. Related: Early Startup? Don’t Make These Mistakes Navigating Your First Recession What is the Purpose of an MVP? MVPs are experiments to test and validate an idea without investing a lot into it and with just enough features to do that. The purpose of an MVP is to allow a startup to test and experiment with a solution, iterate it, and repeat the process. Since an MVP doesn’t demand a substantial investment, it can respond to changes easily, so the eventual product is functional and tailored to the customer’s needs. MVPs also help balance what a business can offer and what a market needs. Most importantly, an MVP saves startup resources, which might go to waste once a product is built but not wanted by its intended market. How to Plan an MVP Here are the specific steps to planning an MVP and setting it up for maximum success- The first step is to define your MVP business model, requirements and assumptions. The more time you spend on this step, the more valuable insights you get and the less likely you will be surprised later in the process. Test out the big and risky assumptions you’ve made about the solution and the target market. Set the goals you want to achieve with the MVP. What are the key performance indicators? What defines success for the MVP? Now, create a hypothesis you want to test through the process. Now, outline how you can test the hypothesis in the cheapest and quickest way possible. This is your first MVP. Eliminate any bugs or hiccups from the MVP that might hinder the testing process, but ensure you don’t overthink it. Launch the MVP, get feedback, iterate and repeat the process. Related: Is Your Technology Stack Resilient? Real Business Examples of Lean MVPs Most startups can do with a lean MVP developed and launched within weeks. Often, startups can condense the initial user needs by targeting a specific set of users, even if they’d eventually widen their market. To do this, founders must focus on the highest-order problems they are attempting to solve and ignore all the bells and whistles until later in the development process. This set of highest-order problems would create the base for the subsequent iterations of the product. It also helps to think of the MVP as a cheap experiment, not a special milestone in the product development process, to keep room for innovation and trials. Let’s see how big businesses came about as a result of lean MVPs. Amazon started as an online bookshop in the early 1990s and only became an everything marketplace through subsequent iterations. Airbnb was first called AirBed&Breakfast and had a basic website to provide accommodation to people coming to San Francisco for a design workshop. The site even lacked payment integration, so money had to be exchanged in person with the host. After testing the idea on three paying guests during the conference, founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia evolved it into the giant it is today. Dropbox is another example. Instead of creating the entire product, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston built a working MVP and an explainer video and pretended that the real product existed. The video drew hundreds of thousands of people to their website. The beta waiting list for Dropbox went from 5,000 to 75,000 sign-ups overnight. Twitch, on day one, was an online reality TV show called justin.tv that followed his life around in low-resolution. Stripe was called /dev/payments in its early days and had no bank deals and only a few features. In fact, if you wanted to integrate Stripe into your website, the founders would come to your office and integrate it for you. All these companies that started with lean MVPs saw massive success. When Do You Need a Heavy MVP? Few startups would need a complex or heavy MVP, such as those in significantly regulated industries like insurance or banking. Startups in these industries can take more work to launch. For instance, if you’re building a rocket, working in biotech, or creating a medicine, you would need significant proof of your product to be viable. In all other cases, MVP can start with a simple site that explains what you do. How to Launch an MVP? Launching an MVP shouldn’t be considered the huge event it often is. Founders must do away with fantastical ideas about launches and their results or their importance. The only priority of an MVP launch is to get the first set of users or testers. So, any launch where you get intended customers is a success. This could be friends and family launch where you only take your MVP to a known group of people or a press launch where you get all the buzz and attention from strangers. It’s easier to learn from your customers if they have something to use. So, research and planning are all good, and a pitch deck can be useful, but it’s critical to place a product in front of your users to kickstart the process of MVP. Often, founders overthink this step. The basic idea is to take something to users- anything that can prove or disprove your central hypothesis and help build momentum for growth or iteration. Related: Technical Due Diligence: Everything You Need To Know Hacks to Build an MVP Quickly It’s no news that it’s in your best interest to quickly build and launch an MVP. But this is easier said than done. Here are a few practical steps you can take to ensure a quick MVP rollout- Time box– Restrict the time you put into developing your MVP. Let’s say three weeks is a sufficient window to launch your MVP. Now, prioritize the features of your product that are most critical to users, and that can be built or tested within the time box. Write your MVP spec– Writing down MVP specifications is critical. Otherwise, it’s easy to change gears and go astray from what you’re working on without being aware of it. Write down the critical specs of your MVP, so you don’t change it without knowing. Trim your spec– It’s common for founders to realize a week into their three-week sprint that they may not be able to meet the deadline. Now, it’s time to trim down the specs your MVP will have. It’s critical to stay true to the deadline. Otherwise, you fall into the trap of perfecting the MVP, which defeats its purpose. The goal is to get anything out in the world for you to get the early momentum, without which it’s easy to keep delaying in the name of perfection and progress. Don’t fall in love with your MVP– You may need to kill your darlings, so it’s good to keep them at a distance. Your MVP might start a certain way and end up somewhere altogether different. Know that an MVP is a means to an end, not the end product. It’s only an experiment and the first step in building your business. Related: 5 Ways to Develop Rapid Digital Prototypes for Your Startup Even the most skilled startup founders sometimes need help rolling out an MVP quickly and inexpensively. The idea is to avoid attaching undue importance to this iteration of your product and trust the process to land you where you need to be. If you’re unsure of the process or need support and assistance, contact us at KiwiTech for a consultation around your startup MVP.
What To Do if Your Startup Launch Didn’t Go as Planned Posted on January 10, 2023January 12, 2023 by Admin Thomas Edison eloquently said, “I have learned fifty thousand ways it cannot be done and therefore I am fifty thousand times nearer the final success experiment.” In simpler terms, failure comes with lessons. Failures aren’t too uncommon in the startup world today, given the macroeconomic conditions and the age-old challenges startups face. For instance, acquiring external funding is often the lifeblood of young startups, which plunged 34% quarter-over-quarter in Q3 2022, hitting a nine-quarter low of $74.5 billion. Startup launch failures cannot be tied to one factor. So, turning a launch around requires analysis, but without paralysis. No good comes from beating around the bush and justifying why you did what you did. So, step one is for a founder or a startup team to snap out of it, ground themselves in the reality of the launch and take the necessary steps to turn it around. Let’s see what you can do if your startup launch didn’t go as planned. Related: How Startups Should Handle the Impending Recession How to Think About Startup Launches The first radical change you can install is one within your mindset and perspective. It’s high time startups stop seeing launches as a one-off event. It puts tremendous pressure on startup teams to get it all right at once. Often, startups crumble under this pressure or procrastinate on launching at all. A better perspective is to look at a startup launch as an ongoing process. You launch once, measure results, quantify the impact, gather feedback, iterate, and launch again. And the cycle repeats until your users are delighted with your product or service. For most startups, the magnificent launch dream never happens. Instead, their first launch is limited to friends and family, the next to a trusted circle of friends and acquaintances, the next for strangers within a specific community, and then, eventually, a startup might taste success. So if your recent startup launch didn’t go as planned, it’s important to remember that you’re not the exception. Most startups evolve over a period of time. Related: How to Know if it’s Funding O’Clock When Investors Approach Why Continually Launch your Product? The only reason startup founders should continually launch, iterate or pivot is that the biggest companies did the same. They didn’t have a grand plan initially but a passion for solving a problem. Over time, they evolved, understood their customers better, tweaked their products to meet needs and close gaps and today, they thrive. For instance, Android pivoted out of being an operating system for cameras and later pivoted to smartphones. Instagram started as a copy of Foursquare and was called Burbn. It allowed users to check in to locations, make plans, earn points while hanging out with friends, and post pictures. Later, users could only upload pictures, like other people’s pictures and comment under them. Continual launches allow room for mistakes, iterations and pivots, which ultimately make businesses successful. Related: Is Your Technology Stack Resilient? Types of Startup Launches Let’s go over the various kinds of startup launches you can undertake iteratively, inching closer to success. Silent Launch– For a silent launch, all you need is a domain name, company name, a short description of your product/service, contact information and a call-to-action. A quick intro from the founders, a one-line pitch, and a one-landing page website are optional requirements. Friends and Family Launch– A friends and family launch allows you to test your pitch in reliable environments and see how potential users respond. It is recommended as soon as you have an MVP. Strangers Launch– This is a low-stakes launch to a group of strangers without having invested much in the product to test-drive the idea before going all-in on it. Online Community Launch– Launching to a reliable online community, such as Techcrunch, Product Hunt and Hacker News, can be a great idea if you have access to a warm community of startup founders or ideal customers willing to try your offering and provide feedback. Press Launch– This is a more mature launch style when you strategize a PR campaign to let the world know what you have on offer, for whom and how it will impact your customers’ lives. Request for Access Launch– This is an exclusive way to launch your startup. For instance, you got people interested in your product through previous launches. You can lay down specific actions users can take to enter an exclusive community and use your product before anyone else. Social Media Launch– One of the most popular kinds of launches is a social media launch, where you leverage an existing social media brand presence to launch to the world. You can also run a paid or organic social media campaign. Blogger/Influencer Launch– If done strategically, a blogger or influencer launch can create massive buzz for your startup early on. It’s advisable to steer clear of the pay-to-play blogging and influencer marketing and leverage more organic opportunities in the right market. Related: Should You Indulge in Conversational UX for Your Startup? If Your Startup Launch Didn’t Go as Planned… Here’s a framework you can follow if your launch didn’t go as planned. Take a break Launches happen over time. Meanwhile, it’s necessary to keep all your ducks in order. After a launch with less than desired results, take a step back. This is for you to replenish your reserves as a team. Hold it with a resilient mindset, and your hurdle will prove to be necessary. Figure out the why With an objective outlook, see what needs to be tweaked to make this launch successful. Don’t be afraid to look at a failure and recognize it for what it is. This observation and analysis will ultimately lead you to success. Keep your confidence intact As a founder or leader in a startup, it automatically falls on you to keep your team’s confidence and morale high. Often, founders do that while they boost their own confidence, too. Access to a community of founders helps alleviate the isolation that can emerge from a less successful launch. Make the tweaks Now that you know what needs to be done to turn your launch around, do it with an experimental mindset. At this stage, you might as well be looking for failure because it will redirect you to success. Re-launch Go for it once again. Learn more about the market, your audience and your solution to work on its success incrementally. Related: 7 Reasons Why Startups Choose KiwiTechStartup launches go awry most of the time. It’s when they are handled with precision and constructive perspective that they lead to success eventually. If you need a community of startups, mentorship and guidance, check out KiwiTech’s startup ecosystem to help founders go from idea to launch.
KiwiTech’s Web3 Center of Excellence – A Recap of 2022 Posted on December 29, 2022December 30, 2022 by Admin Only if you had been living under a rock had you dared to ignore the Web3 space in the year that has been. With 2021’s Web3 euphoria on everyone’s heads, it was hard to believe how things unraveled by the end of 2022, not that the rage ever stopped; it just took a turn nobody was expecting. While the concerns for security and legalization were always at the back of the heads, nobody bothered to take it to center stage until something massive like the recent FTX collapse happened. It questioned all the aspects of cryptocurrencies from top to bottom and wiped out the trust it previously boasted. However, despite it being a year of unpredictability and setbacks for the entire industry, a few developments and advancements in the space have clearly taken the shine off crypto. And consequently, one thing became crystal clear from the revelation that Web3 is not just crypto and crypto is not the ONLY application of Web3. It could have begun with crypto as its riding hood, but today Web3 has manifested itself in a diverse form, with decentralized applications and protocols standing out from the rest. As a result, the space today has a lot more to offer, much to conquer, and a whole lot to be explored regarding Web3. From the outset, this year has been one full of surprises and growth for our Web3 team, who had only set their eyes and kept building onwards and upwards. Powering the Progress This year, we saw a lot of progress in Web3 technology as we witnessed some amazing projects, protocols, and applications built on the blockchain. Our team of experts and advisors has worked tirelessly to help different projects bring their visions to life while supporting some of the most innovative ones. Inculcating a Culture of Excellence Continual upskilling, cross-training, & securing accredited certifications, be it permissioned distributed ledger technology like R3 Corda or public EVM-based Blockchains. Adding versatile skills to our arsenal – whether it is different protocols, e.g., Polygon, Palm, Algorand, XRPL, Binance, etc., or leveraging the latest tools & technologies like Infura, Pinata, IPFS, Exchanges, etc. Bringing the Vision Into Reality In the true spirit of collaboration, we worked closely with our partners to help them turn their product vision into real consumer-serving platforms. With a varied range of products and domains, our experts were able to assist in delivering products ranging from essential digital token-based solutions to complex DeFi solutions. Some of them are: An NFT Launchpad Solution – A co-brandable NFT marketplace integrated with blockchain networks like Ethereum, Palm, Algorand, Polygon, XRP ledger, etc. Decentralized Payment & Reward Ecosystem – Utilizing a reflection-based token in the Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) industry. Digital Representation of Physical Goodies – A platform that sells exclusive physical art and collectibles featuring authentication for collectors. An MVP Syndicate Lending App – On permissioned blockchain networks like R3 Corda and AWS Managed Blockchain leveraging Hyperledger Fabric Ideation & Discovery We engage with our partners right from the beginning to understand their needs and dig deep with them to enable an efficient discovery. Whether there is a need for validation or guidance, our experts have always been there to assist. We’re glad we could participate and add value to the following projects: A match-making application/ecosystem for home buyers to co-own houses based on fractional shares of Tokenized Real Estate assets, incentivizing real estate investments to build equity and yield farming through a lending protocol. A PropTech company that connects land developers and investors, our collaboration led them to crystallize their requirements to enhance their existing application and leverage the available and trustless Web3 principles. A sustainable Bitcoin mining platform that aims to connect regular investors to renewable energy mining facilities. Their business model included an elastic supply-based token to digitize the value of the platform & community to enable “real yield” for their customers. Ideating for enhancement of a Web2, In-Game rewards exchange platform to enhance inclusivity with a blockchain-based solution for Tokenizing, Engage2Earn, On-ramp & Off-ramp solutions. A cross-border payment solution is a DLT-based platform for cross-border remittance that can act as a revolutionary alternative to traditional solutions. Collaborating to Succeed At KiwiTech, we are actively working to build the Web3 community in several ways. One such community was our Web3 Society of New York in partnership with Silicon Society, where we held meetups to develop and empower people across the board on the actual use cases of this powerful technology. Empowering Web3 Education Our webinars have proven to be a gateway for many entrepreneurs, developers, and enthusiasts to get to know the ground-level developments in Web3 rather than just fostering the hype. A few of our recorded webinars include: Web3- What is it & Why it matters? Evolution of an NFT Launchpad Decode Cross-border payments with Stellar Key Highlights of the Year NFTs Were at an All-time High They continued to deliver value with more creative ideas, taking the lead in the industry. The Emergence of Ethereum Merge Though delayed, a remarkable development in the Ethereum mainnet unlocked the true potential of Web3 in the sustainability sector. Crypto Crash The 2021 crypto euphoria halted, and what looked like a crypto winter for the initial 8 months transformed into the worst nightmare for Web3 investors by the end of the year. Consequently, many problems surfaced that called for a foolproof plan for Web3 of the future to secure the Web3 community from fraud and money laundering cases and develop into industries with a lot of potential in store for Web3. Web3 Seeking Crypto Regulations People across the board are looking for crypto legalization to secure them from any future frauds and reinstate their trust in crypto. All Game for Gaming Gamers are also getting involved in the Web3 game as we saw notable developments in the gaming industry, with blockchain-based games popping up everywhere. It’s Time for Defi Being the talk of the town, Defi has many projects and protocols on the way to optimize the finance industry at its best. Goodbye 2022, HELLO 2023! What remains in the space are passionate pioneers and builders developing and growing the Web3 industry, and we can’t wait to see what the blockchain future holds. We are excited about the new year and have some exciting plans and projects for the future. If you want to build or transform your business with future tech, KiwiTech is here to help you navigate this changing landscape and provide the best solutions. Contact our Web3 experts today!
FTX Collapse and What It Means for Web3 Posted on November 22, 2022November 29, 2022 by Admin What Is FTX? FTX, just like Binance, is a cryptocurrency exchange, enabling customers to trade digital currencies for other digital assets or fiat money and vice versa. FTX and Binance possess a majority of all crypto trades globally. Headquartered in the Bahamas, FTX was run by Sam Bankman-Fried, who also spent millions of dollars lobbying American legislators to create crypto-friendly regulations. Bankman-Fried was considered a repeated voice and person in the crypto industry. FTX built a business on risky transactions that aren’t legal in the United States. FTX’s American arm FTX.us runs in the US, closely following the little regulation from the US government. However, the bulk of the cash stream flowing through their books remains unconstrained by regulatory requirements. It’s also worth noting that Bankman Fried owns another firm, Alameda Research. And that FTX has a native cryptocurrency they birthed from thin air called FTT, used by traders to pay transaction fees. Now that we’ve set up the scene, let’s find out what happened at FTX. Related: Sustainability and Web3- the Environmental Impact of the Metaverse A Summary of What Happened at FTX On November 2, 2022, the crypto publication CoinDesk reported that roughly $5.8 billion of $14.6 billion of assets on Alameda Research’s balance sheet were linked to FTX’s exchange token, FTT and that Alameda Research used it as collateral in further loans. The finding was based on internally leaked documents and was enough to kickstart a series of events that led to the downfall of FTX. The report was worrying because of the close relationship between Alameda and FTX, both being founded by Bankman-Fried. Moreover, FTT had no inherent value aside from the promise by FTX to buy any tokens at $22, leading to fears that the entire system was a sandcastle. Binance’s Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao then tweeted his company was selling its FTT holdings worth $500 million in light of the “recent revelations”. Negative speculations quickly became a self-fulfilling prophecy, creating uncertainty and leading to liquidity issues from frantic withdrawals by investors. The exchange saw $6 billion in withdrawals within 72 hours, and things got too much on November 8 when FTX had a balance of one bitcoin, in stark contrast to more than half a million BTC each in Coinbase and Binance. Binance then promised to bail out FTX, only to announce the next day that the deal won’t come through because of discoveries in the corporate due diligence, reports of mishandled funds and regulatory investigations in the US. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11, and its CEO resigned. Industry insiders consider this a “Lehman moment”, referring to the 2008 fall of the investment bank that sent shockwaves across the globe. Some are also comparing the collapse to Enron, the 2001 corporate fraud that resulted in the bankruptcy of the US energy company. FTX was last valued at $32 billion. Related: Why Build in Web3? The Ripple Effects of FTX’s Downfall The FTX downfall has increased volatility in the already volatile crypto market, destroyed investor confidence and encouraged regulators to pace up regulations. Since FTX was one of the most trusted names in the crypto industry, the recovery will be slow. Since the FTX crisis began, Bitcoin saw a dip from $20k a coin to around $16k, its lowest valuation since 2020. FTX crashing is a harsh reminder of the uncertainty of the crypto industry. As per Coingecko, which lists over 13,000 cryptocurrencies through 600 exchanges, cryptocurrencies are currently valued at $870 billion, while they cumulatively stood at over $1 trillion ten days ago. As scared investors pull out their funds from the crypto market, the ripple effects will continue. JPMorgan predicts that bitcoin could fall to $13,000, a decline of nearly 22% from where it stands today. In this climate, the “crypto winter” may end up being worse as against the broader economy, there’s less appetite for risky assets. Of course, the FTX collapse will be driving away institutional investors as they begin to get familiar with the space. What’s Next for the Crypto/Web3 Industry? The cryptocurrency industry was still struggling to convince regulators, investors and customers of its trustworthiness when the fall of FTX jolted the industry. Some experts believe that this event would be an inflection point for the crypto industry, prompting a harder push for regulations to restore its credibility and reliability. Meanwhile, DeFi supporters argue that DeFi is better at offering transparency and auditability. Since the core premise of crypto is to eliminate the need for trust using decentralization and transparency of the blockchain, DeFi supporters raise an issue with centralized exchanges that make it hard to see through them. For crypto investors, it’s imperative moving forward that regulations be set in motion fast. However, the balance would be between protecting investors and customers and promoting transparency and growth in the crypto industry. The good news from FTX’s collapse is the revelation that the crypto market is not the golden hen for unsophisticated investors. These investors, often called irrational investors, are often taken advantage of by informed investors. Irrational investors have had too much of an impact on prices, which is undesirable for the functioning of an efficient market. Once irrational investors leave, crypto assets will be priced for what they are worth. Related: What You Should Know About Regulations in a Web 3.0 World Summing Up.. Finally, the FTX crisis hurts beyond its financial implications as it questions the moral compass of the founder of FTX. So, it makes sense that crypto industry members call for unity and community at this point to show commitment toward blockchain technology alongside financial risk management, legal compliance and transparency policies. This is analogous to the situation right after the internet bubble burst of 2001 when the true business models rose to the surface. Industry thinkers still believe in blockchain for its revolutionizing potential for economies, hoping the technology will still receive the attention it deserves.If you’d like to learn about KiwiTech’s Web3 Center of Excellence, reach out to our blockchain consultants
5 Way in Which SEO Can Boost Your Startup’s Sales Posted on November 17, 2022March 13, 2023 by Admin With the ever-changing landscape of today’s world, building a solid online presence for your company is as important now in running it. The availability and accessibility to information makes staying relevant tough – especially startups who don’t have budgets or resources like large corporations do with their digital marketing strategies which are planned years ahead at time slots set by Google Adwords campaigns where they can afford expensive advertising spots daily prices per click (CPC) But if you’re smart about what trends come next then there isn’t much uncertainty when optimizing sites across multiple platforms including social media websites such Twitter & Facebook etc., search engines What Is Search Engine Optimization? Search Engine Optimization is optimizing a website by creating content infused with rich keywords that helps the website become more relevant, popular and easily discoverable to online user searches. Search engines rank the website based on SEO, resulting in websites gaining traffic and engagement to their pages. SEO content is any content intelligently created to attract organic traffic, visibility and audience engagement. To make content rank better in search results, writers put a lot of effort into creating SEO content by researching keywords, organizing their content and being consistent with their creatively informative blogs and articles. Types of SEO content An age-old technique for building a solid digital presence and attracting customers is to write and publish blogs on different domains of your business. Using many SEO keywords and phrases is why many companies opt for blogging as digital marketing. A list is exactly what it sounds like! It’s a list, even if it’s heavy in SEO content. Indexes are trending because they are concise and don’t beat around the bush while explaining concepts. Lists clearly describe the problem and solution. The purpose of using articles for SEO content is similar to blogs — to create a solid digital presence. But, articles are traditionally considered objective while blogs are subjective around the subject matter and filled with personal opinions. Articles are typically longer and cover more information compared to blogs. How-to guides for SEO Content are the most organic traffic-generating ways to build a digital presence. The ease of content explanation in these guides results in high audience engagement. Videos are not a new concept to us in the 21st Century. But, optimized video bytes are a new concept. With the help of SEO, you can now optimize your video content to particularly answer specific questions by tagging that question to the video’s timestamp. You see this a lot with tutorial videos on YouTube. In SEO Content, infographics are a blessing to the world. Everyone thrives on content but has minimal patience and concentration to sit and read an entire blog about the subject. Infographics help teach the concept in one glance. These visuals are easily shared and can go trend quickly via social media. Starting a business can be overwhelming considering the extensive workload, strategies, and implementations that fall on one person. One of the necessary factors for business is to build a robust digital presence with the help of SEO. This optimization will have an extensive impact on one’s business. 1. Improves the User Experience User Experience (UX) is an essential element in digital marketing. Your website’s UX can make or break your brand. It is necessary to improve the UX for better engagement and to keep customer trust. Creating SEO Content improves your brand visibility and ranking in search engine results and user experience. Optimizing your content for SEO involves keyword research and image optimization. Improved user experience also means creating a simple, easy-to-navigate and user-friendly website that follows Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (electronic and information technology should be accessible to people with disabilities). For a good user experience, you want to ensure that your content page loads quickly, your website works on different devices and that you use relevant keywords to create SEO content. 2. Increases Organic Traffic Optimizing your content with keywords and long-tail phrases relevant to user searches increases the chances your website will be visible. It also helps to secure a higher rank in the search engine page results, thereby increasing the organic traffic generated to your website. Furthermore, an increase in organic traffic increases your conversion ratios, eventually leading to a rise in revenue. Traffic generation, conversion rates and income are all interrelated to how well the content performs on the search engine results page. 3. Helps Collect Customer Behavior Data Startups are new bees trying to build a niche by stepping into the corporate world. The target audience is unidentified in the beginning and customer retention is at a slower pace. Thus, having a source for extracting customer data and analyzing customer behavior is essential for startups. SEO content can act as that crucial source. SEO tools help identify which keywords or phrases the audience uses while searching for a particular topic. Startups can use this information to collect customer data, analyze their behavior and create SEO content to reach their target audience. 4. Creates a Brand Image A good SEO strategy ensures a higher ranking on the search engine results page and increases the organic traffic generated. The webpage that appears higher in a search to an audience is considered reliable and informative. The more an audience sees your content, the more they find it reliable and trustworthy, thereby improving your brand value and image. 5. Gives Higher Ranking It is no surprise that SEO can easily change your website’s rank. Using relevant keywords and long-tail phrases works well in increasing the visibility of your website. But to find relevant keywords, conduct extensive research on the subject matter and user search queries. Besides keywords, things like page optimization and speed will extensively impact your ranking. Thus, to rank better and higher, one must consider SEO as the Holy Bible of digital marketing. From a business point of view, startups create something different and fresh. But a startup’s exposure and market space are in danger due to competitors, large multinational companies and renowned small and big enterprises. To battle against this competition and improve exposure, using SEO tools and techniques will give you the stage to reach your target audience and stay ahead of your competitors. And KiwiTech can help you leverage that to convert it into sales.
What a Startup’s Go-to-Market Strategy Looks Like Posted on November 15, 2022March 13, 2023 by Admin An early-stage venture needs to do more than build a product that solves a particular market need. It also needs to sell the product. The ability to sell a product can make or break the success of a startup. Startups are often cash-strapped, having little room for mistakes and misdirections. So when it comes to selling a product or service, a startup necessarily needs a go-to-market strategy that defines the marketing and sales direction and eliminates the risk of failure. What Is a Startup Go-to-Market Strategy? A startup go-to-market strategy is a plan for a startup to launch its offering in a market. With a clear strategy, a startup positions its offering in a relevant market, appeals to the right persona and lands paying customers. A go-to-market strategy ensures you don’t waste resources on inefficient marketing that attracts the wrong buyer, creates confusion and leads your business nowhere. In essence, a go-to-market strategy functions as the bedrock on which any future marketing campaign will rest. Pre-requisites for a Go-to-Market Strategy for Startups Before building your GTM strategy, here’s what you should have. Potential customer interviews You must have already interviewed potential customers to understand the problem they grapple with and the solution they need. Idea validation Before jumping off to build a GTM strategy, you must have validated your ideal by pre-selling it to a select group of your ideal customers. Customer feedback At this stage, you also must have gathered feedback from your early users about the price point, usability, friendliness and approach of your product in solving their pain. Pricing strategy Before a GTM strategy, you need to have built a pricing strategy that factors in the competition, the customer’s willingness to pay and your business model. Customer persona(s) At this stage, you must already have a clearly defined user persona(s) who are the ideal users of your product. Competitor research You must have researched the competition in depth, knowing who the top players are, how they position themselves and where the opportunity lies for you. Positioning strategy At this stage, you ideally also have a positioning strategy to become a leader in your industry and dominate the market. Once you have those fundamentals in place, you can move forward and build your startup’s go-to-market strategy. Steps To Build Your Go-to-Market Strategy Focus on one customer persona Early on, startups are tempted to get any and all customers they can. However, it helps to focus on one customer persona after identifying which would most benefit from your product/service and be most willing to pay. Your best persona will change as you grow. However, generalizing your product at this stage can mean ineffective marketing, positioning and product roadmap. Identify acquisition channels After picking a customer persona to prioritize targeting, you need to know where you’ll find this customer base. Which channels does this person use to interact online and offline? Based on that and the budget you can set aside, you now identify the customer acquisition channels you’re willing to bet on. Use the ICE (Impact, Confidence, Ease) test to prioritize acquisition channels. You want to pick a medium that would be highly impactful, that you feel the most confidence in and one that wouldn’t be resource intensive. Set KPIs for each channel Acquisition channels can include content marketing, SEO, email marketing, social media, PR and more. For each acquisition channel you shortlist, set clear KPIs to define success. What is a good enough metric for you in the first six months of your GTM strategy for each channel? What defines success for each channel? KPIs help you keep track of progress and steer back if you go astray. They also help define success and failure. Who is responsible for each channel? Startups need anchors to stabilize team efforts. Identifying at this stage who is responsible for what in your teams is critical. Additionally, you need to set deadlines for each marketing activity so that things run smoothly and on time. Remember, each customer acquisition channel only works if you put in the work consistently. At this stage, it’s advisable to keep things simple and add complexity eventually. What’s happening in the competitive landscape? At this point, you have a competitive research sheet already. The task now is to see how different competitors are positioning themselves and the messaging they are employing to attract buyers. This is also a good point to notice the look and feel of your competitor’s brand. Is it friendly and casual or witty and humorous? A competitive analysis of their marketing across channels also helps devise your marketing strategy per what seems to be working for your competitors and how they approach different acquisition channels. Your differentiation and positioning Website visitors must instantly know your differentiation and positioning. Your value proposition must clarify the problem you aim to solve, your approach to the solution, why other approaches fail and why yours is better. Instead of babbling on about product features, take time to weave your value proposition into a story- a real or imagined one highlighting how your product impact a customer’s social, work or personal life. Sales funnel A sales funnel defines a journey your buyers embark on with your brand. They begin their journey, let’s say, by signing up for your newsletter. They take a series of subsequent actions, such as downloading a white paper or watching a webinar. And finally, they convert into paying customers. But the sales funnel doesn’t stop there. Startups then figure out how to retain customers and/or upsell and cross-sell them on the next logical product/service. What does your sales funnel look like? Content marketing strategy Once you have a buyer journey laid out, you need a content strategy to attract buyers at the beginning of your sales funnel and nudge them through the funnel to sales. Content marketing is an integral piece of inbound marketing, which takes time to build but pays off dearly in the long haul. A content marketing strategy defines the kind of content you publish (blog posts, white papers, social media posts, webinars, podcasts), how often you publish each (daily, weekly, monthly, annually), who is responsible for what activity and the KPIs for each effort. Honing the strategy Your startup go-to-market strategy has come together at this point. However, your job is far from done. Any marketing strategy needs constant tweaking and evolving to meet business goals. You must always strive to optimize your GTM strategy per your business’ changing needs and priorities. A go-to-market strategy forms the foundation on which sales and marketing processes can run smoothly and yield results. It might look like a handful initially, but with the right kind of knowledge and expert guidance you can make it work for your startup. For a deep dive into your GTM strategy with our marketing experts, reach out to KiwiTech today!
10 Tips to Improve Your eCommerce Website Accessibility Posted on November 10, 2022December 26, 2022 by Admin Today, web accessibility is more important than ever, thanks to the progression of digital transformation. This has created numerous opportunities for people to access important information, services, goods, and other tools online that allow people to do almost anything, from ordering a pizza to voting in elections.Nonetheless, the benefits of the internet can be harder to reap for people living with disabilities. 90 percent of public and commercial websites are not entirely accessible to those who rely on assistive technology to access the web. But you can do better with the help of website design experts and useful resources that can guide you in the direction of creating an eCommerce website that is great for everyone alike. Table of Contents: Why Web Accessibility is Vital Key Web Accessibility Statistics Tips to Improve Your eCommerce Website Accessibility Conclusion Why Web Accessibility Is Vital Web accessibility is crucial for several reasons, many of which touch society’s social, economic, and legal fabric. Social Importance Web accessibility is a social issue for people living with disabilities. Accessing the web, its content, and services without barriers allows all people to participate in our society and, thus, prevents further marginalization. Around 15% of the world’s population is living with disabilities. This figure is likely to increase as people live longer and experience more significant limitations to their vision, motor functions, and hearing. Economic Opportunities Web accessibility helps brands to reach a much larger audience, which can lead to new customers and an increase in revenue. Furthermore, ignoring the disabled community means ignoring millions of potential customers with billions in purchasing power. According to a study, online retailers in the UK lost up to £11.75 billion due to a lack of web accessibility. Legal Requirements In many places, web accessibility is protected under the law. In the United States, Canada, and European Union, web accessibility is a right and therefore requires brands to ensure their digital commerce websites and online content are accessible. Failure to comply with web accessibility standards can land brands in hot water.In 2019, a lawsuit was filed against Beyonce’s entertainment company, Parkwood Entertainment, alleging the signer’s website is not adequately accessible to visually impaired visitors who rely on screen readers. The moral of the story: if Beyonce cannot get away with an inaccessible website, no one can. Key Web Accessibility Statistics 71% of disabled customers with access needs will leave a website they find challenging. 82% of customers with access needs would spend more money online if websites were more accessible. 92% of consumers are more likely to support a physically and digitally accessible business. The use of mobile screen readers has increased by 70% since 2011. 54% of adults living with a disability go online. 90% of websites are inaccessible to people with disabilities who rely on assistive technology. Tips To Improve Your Ecommerce Website Accessibility In eCommerce, web accessibility is not only a moral obligation but also a business necessity. In order to make your eCommerce website usable to as many people as possible, it’s important to factor in website accessibility along with other design considerations. Your website content and design shouldn’t be a hindrance for anyone, regardless of their abilities. Here are some tips on how to make your website accessible: Write anchor text that is understandable and simple Anchor text is text that helps you go to other places on a website. You should use understandable and straightforward words when writing anchor text. Your anchor text alone can motivate your readers to navigate a page through the link. For example, instead of writing ‘Also Read’, try ‘Read to learn more about website accessibility.’ Use fonts that are easy to read Choose fonts that are clear and legible. Avoid using decorative or fancy fonts as they can be hard to read, especially for people with dyslexia. How do you expect your website to convert visitors into leads if they can’t even read your content? Try using fonts such as Arial, Verdana, or Tahoma. Also, you can achieve text clarity by allowing your users to resize the text on your website as per their reading capability. You can go through the Website Accessibility Guidelines to know more in detail. Don’t use too many colors Having colors is great. But did you know that some colors can be hard to see for people with color blindness? For example, green and red can look the same to someone with a deuteranomaly. So, it’s essential to have a proper color contrast on your website. You can use a tool like Contrast Checker to check the color contrast on your website. The recommended ratio is 4.5:1 for large text and 3:1 for standard text. Order content in HTML for screen readers When you create content for your website, make sure to order it in HTML. This will help screen readers understand the structure of your web page and provide a better experience for users with disabilities. Keep a keyboard-friendly design Not everyone will use a mouse to scroll through your website. Some users may rely on a keyboard or screen reader to navigate your site. So, it’s important to have a keyboard-friendly design. This means that all the links and form fields on your website should be accessible using a keyboard. If you’re in an online selling business, make sure that users can navigate your product listing without having to use a mouse. Add ALT text to images When you add images to your website, be sure to include ALT text. This is important for users who are blind or have low vision as screen readers will read the ALT text aloud. The ALT text should describe the image and its purpose on the web page. For example, if you’re adding an image of a product, the ALT text should include the product name and details. Use simple and concise language Don’t use jargon or complex words on your website. Use language that is easy to understand, even for users who are not familiar with technical terms. This will help make your content accessible to a broader audience. Use a 44×44 px. clickable area for touch controls If you want your website to be accessible on mobile devices, it’s important to have a 44×44 px. clickable area for touch controls. This will help users with dexterity issues as they will be able to easily tap on links and buttons on your website. According to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the minimum target size for touch controls should be 44×44 px. For online selling businesses, make sure your CTA buttons are big enough so that users can easily tap on them. Use audio description with video content If you’re adding video content to your website, be sure to include audio description. This is important for users who are blind or have low vision as it will help them understand the video. Audio description should include information about what is happening on the screen, such as the actions of the characters, the setting, and the emotions. Provide captions for audio content If you’re adding audio content to your website, be sure to provide captions. This is important for users who are deaf or hard of hearing as it will help them understand the audio. Captions should include all the important information such as dialogues, sound effects, and speaker identification. Include a transcript for video content If you’re adding video content to your website, be sure to include a transcript. This is important for users who are deaf or hard of hearing as it will help them understand the video. The transcript should include all the important information such as dialogues, sound effects, and speaker identification. Conclusion Websites with accessibility features provide a better experience for all users, including those with disabilities. By following the tips mentioned above, you can make your website more accessible and improve the user experience for everyone.
7 Reasons Why Startups Choose KiwiTech Posted on November 8, 2022December 13, 2022 by Admin We know how hard it is for startups to decide on a software development partner. It is a decision that carries many risks. Finding the right match is a crucial business decision and many factors startups must consider when searching for the ideal candidate. But when they do, here is what happens: No, we don’t mean a good review or feedback. We mean a successful product. A thriving startup. A happy founder. Canomiks is the first technology company to use genomics and AI-based platform to innovate new formulations and certify the biological efficacy and safety of ingredients and formulations. They went live in the summer of 2018. By the end of that year, they had secured significant clients in the medical industry. They went on to win MN Cup Food, Ag, & Beverage Division in 2021. They were recognized as one of the Global Greenhouse Accelerators by PepsiCo and Farm to Fork Accelerator by Techstars. Leena’s success makes us highly proud, but it also shows us that we have achieved something significant by being part of such a powerful and successful product. Related: How Startups Can Increase the Odds of Long-Term Sustainability But Why Startups Choose Us? Today, most industry-leading startups have a wealth of accelerator options to choose from. Yet, hundreds of them prefer KiwiTech. We’ll give this credit to our mission. To drive success through revolutionary ideas. It means we develop software, help them with marketing, networking and provide access to our global network of mentors and industry experts. But there are many reasons why the world’s most dynamic and exciting startups continue to choose KiwiTech, and here are the 7 reasons that stand out. 1. The ‘Tech-for-Equity’ Model KiwiTech believes in promising founders and ideas. Unfortunately, many great projects lack the funding to invest entirely in cash in product development. We like to support projects with potential and offer our software development – in exchange for company equity in the project alongside cash. 2. Best Networking Opportunities KiwiTech is the innovation platform that puts people first and emphasizes building solid partnerships. By joining the ecosystem, startups rub shoulders with the entrepreneurial elite. Our in-person and virtual events provide an excellent networking platform for our entrepreneurs, investors, and enterprises. We take pride in our inclusive audience and well-rounded selection of events. Till date, we have organized 300+ events worldwide (virtual & in-person), bringing together investors, startups, and decision-makers of diverse industries. We know that the best ideas spring from the pooling of wisdom and experience – therefore, we encourage as much networking as possible. We also provide platforms like events and workshops where startups can pitch to our partners. To get an idea of how hard we work, in 2021 alone, we hosted more than 300+ of these events and Demo Days. Most Read: Common Questions About Equity Crowdfunding 3. Our Diverse Verticals KiwiTech’s industry prowess spans over 20 verticals, with high annual growth. What does that mean for startups? No matter your industry or background, With our extensive industry experience, we help companies identify their product-market fit and advise them on the strategy to bring it to the market. We can leverage cross-industry insights to develop innovative solutions for an increasingly demanding digital audience because our work turf spans a broad set of verticals such as Travel & Hospitality, Real Estate, Retail, SportsTech, EdTech, FinTech, and HealthTech. KiwiTech’s product advisory services help companies navigate these challenges by providing expert insights and recommendations on creating and launching successful MVPs, crowdfunding campaigns, digitally profitable websites, proof of work, and proof of concepts. 4. Thought Leadership and Top Mentors Our 300+ mentors network is one of the reasons why KiwiTech has grown so strong over the last 10+ years. As a result, our startups get the opportunity to connect with the brightest and boldest in the business. In addition, the KiwiTech Startup ecosystem is well-equipped with the knowledge and expertise of industry leaders who continue to work with us today. 5. Startup Program We provide a strongly-needed support system to startups at every level of their development cycle to help them scale rapidly. Together with our partners, we are creating a unique ecosystem designed to develop and implement the technologies of tomorrow. We help our portfolio partners gain a solid market lead with a team who will prepare your tech stack and software delivery process for a bright future. We work as a one-stop-shop partner for full product development. 6. Leverage Global Reach Joining the KiwiTech platform is the key for many startups to go global. Our international architecture and presence in the US, Canada, MENA, and India give startups the foundation to accelerate scaling to new markets at an unprecedented rate. 7. Meet Industry Peers Network with peers, learn best practices, and set industry standards annually at over 100+ vertical-focused events. We bring together corporations, VCs, startups, investors, and thought leaders and access the latest trends. We know how technology is impacting each industry. We share the latest trends, help you define a roadmap, and ensure that you’re at the forefront of digital transformation. What Can We Do for You? KiwiTech offers reliable, scalable, cost-effective software development, crowdfunding, and digital marketing services. Our proficient team provides client-centric and business-centric solutions to meet our client’s business goals. By leveraging its acute knowledge, deep expertise, impelling abilities, and proficiency in developing software solutions, we have delivered some top-rated applications that helped our clients generate value and revenue. If you want to bring a software product idea to reality, you need help in raising capital using equity crowdfunding and digital marketing services. Please share it with us and get your concept implemented the way you want.