In the latest Royal GS podcast episode, Nikita Fahrenholz and Martin Eyerer talk about the first steps in starting a business – feedback, prototypes and a mistake that many people make.
You have a good idea for a startup – and then what? What are the first steps to ensure that the idea becomes more than just an air act? Sure, just do it. You hear it often and with pleasure. And it’s true too.
But you can also go about it a bit systematically, say Nikita Fahrenholz (Founder of Delivery Hero & Fahrengold) and Martin Eyerer (Ex-CEO Factory Berlin, entrepreneur, techno DJ) in the latest Podcast episode by Royal GS.
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Listen to the episode here: Spotify and Apple Podcast
From idea to business
According to Fahrenholz and Eyerer, in order to build your own business, you don’t have to have everything planned right down to the smallest detail. After the idea comes one short market analysis. Fahrenholz and Eyerer don’t entirely agree on this: Eyerer recommends doing two days of intensive research and finding out what is already on the market and what could be improved. Fahrenholz, on the other hand, tends to stay away from this. “Many ideas fail because you ruin them yourself,” he says.
Nevertheless: “Just do it” comes before a business plan – Fahrenholz and Eyerer agree on this and summarize a few concrete steps on how to get started:
1. Tell everyone about it
Anyone who has an idea should tell as many people as possible about it to get initial, honest feedback, say Eyerer and Fahrenholz. According to them, many founders tend to keep ideas to themselves for fear that someone will beat them to it. “Nobody will put the energy in and take the idea away from you,” says Fahrenholz. The following applies to feedback: “Just listen half-listen,” he says. And don’t let the idea be talked out of right away.
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2. Set up the first prototype
According to Eyerer, the aim here is not to challenge the product directly, but rather to first build it so that it exists and works.
3. Product must solve a problem at its core
This is a point that Fahrenholz often sees even among experienced founders: Many want to solve several problems with their idea. “Don’t be a company that only achieves something when it can solve problem three, four or five,” says Fahrenholz. The focus must be on a problem that is addressed in the prototype.
4. It’s okay to set up your business model later
The product has to be ready first, says Eyerer. “Once you have solved a problem, you will eventually make money from it.”
5. Find partners in crime
It’s simply more fun to implement an idea with several people, says Fahrenholz. What’s important at the beginning is that everyone’s focus and motivation are the same.
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6. Build the product yourself as best you can
“Don’t be shy,” says Fahrenholz. Anyone who has an idea for a product should build it themselves – regardless of their technical background. There are now many tools that you can use for this. Keyword: Vibe Coding.
7. Ask for advice on the network
If you are not making progress or have unanswered questions, Eyerer recommends calling people in the network who have expertise and asking for advice.
In general, according to Fahrenholz, if you want to build a business out of your idea, you have to implement, understand and sell your product yourself – and have maximum enthusiasm for it. “There is no one who is so stupid and so crazy to do what I do with Fahrengold for so long and with such intensity without immediately having a really blatant result,” says Fahrenholz. “You really have to have a lot of passion and like what you’re doing. Then it can really be a success in the long run.”
All episodes at a glance
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In order to display embedded audio content, your consent, which can be revoked at any time (via the switch or via “Revocation tracking and cookies” at the bottom of the page), is required for the processing of personal data. Data can be transferred to third countries such as the USA (Art. 49 Para. 1 lit. a GDPR). By switching to “on” you agree. You can find further information in our data protection declaration.
