Anyone who is just ‘coasting along’ is probably going downhill. ~ Anonymous

Just think if you could start life over, a clean slate, while retaining all your years of experience and knowledge. And if you believe, as I do, that obstacles are the building blocks of learning, wow, we would all be masterminds. A similar comparison can be applied to a fresh start-up company, but only if it has an experienced, knowledgeable team championing its success rather than the typical inexperienced start-ups usually struggling with inefficiencies and shaky operational structures.

Alarming research by the SBA (Small Business Association) states that the rate of failure over 10 years for startups is 90% which drives home the importance of a wicked-smart executive team and accompanying players. The SBA’s research of business owners blames failure on six challenges: not enough money, being in the wrong market, lack of research, bad partnerships, ineffective marketing, and not being an expert in the industry. Many studies of startups say that having a skilled mentor(s) on the team is key to executing on the right ideas and achieving profits.

If you are fortunate enough to be in an imaginative start-up like RIBBIT making real-time decisions in an agile environment, it gives a company a leg up on competitors, rather than an established business stuck in its ways. And if the start-up is skilled enough to have negligible competitors like RIBBIT, applying a laser focus on continuing product enhancements and upgrades can retain the advantage for many years. To be unencumbered in the post-COVID business environment without established practices or processes liberates the mind of a company in unimaginable ways. As mentioned in a past blog, it is a time for businesses to embrace divergent thinking, to reinvent themselves, and to step into the future like never before.

RIBBIT, the bold and darling startup brainchild of a 23-year payments company, Cash Flow Solutions, is challenging the methodology behind today’s financial decisions impacting consumer affordability. RIBBIT’s data scientists use predictive analytics along with relevant bank data creating a more meaningful and sharper insight into a consumer’s affordability profile. The risk formula, analyzing thousands of consumer spending attributes, is a win-win for both businesses and their customers opening the doors to more funds being distributed to reliable consumers who can afford them.

RIBBIT appreciates that having a brilliant product in a start-up is the first step for longevity. But supporting it with a championship team is what paves the road to success. The experienced mentor/coach in a start-up recognizes the significance of chemistry in a winning company culture: skilled, fearless, supportive, communicative, spirited, steadfast, motivated, confident, and enjoyable employees. Team chemistry contributes to growth and stability and wins championships!

When asked about the advantages of a start-up, Shawn Princell, CEO/President of RIBBIT, remarked that start-ups focus on solving specific problems or needs that are unmet in an industry while larger companies are often burdened with legacy business models that may not encourage innovation.

Stay tuned . . .