Startup entrepreneurs often need to juggle many roles, ranging from administrative assistant and accountant to project manager and marketer. But thanks to technology – Nowadays, apps become more prevalent and more powerful, entrepreneurs and small business owners are relying on these savvy tools to help their businesses grow and run more smoothly.

And today things have become much smoother than before – Whether you want to create memorable presentations? Design awesome infographics? Manage team projects? Increase productivity or keep track of expenses?There is a wealth of apps available to help small businesses streamline their operation, some of which come with a free version to allow small businesses appraise their features before opting for a paid version.

Here’s our pick of eight cool and growth hacking apps for start-ups who don’t have funding:

1. Intercom.io:

This tool allows you to not only see your users’ behavior when they are using your online tools or apps, but it also helps you interact with them through popups while they are on specific pages or using specific features. This type of user interaction can help further your product development and customer service.

Price: Intercom ranges in monthly pricing packages from free to $99, depending on how many features you need.

2. Optimizely :

This service bills itself as “A/B testing you’ll actually use” and focuses on making testing as easy as possible. It allows you to track what you are actually interested in (as opposed to tracking information and data that you’re not going to use) and also allows you to set deadlines and run reports for specific timelines.

Price: Free starter plan and paid plan for enterprise

3. PR.co

Pr.co is a public relations toolkit that enables users to create online pressrooms, publish press releases, pitch them to media contacts, and manage PR content. Personal pressrooms contain all the users’ press releases, coverage, contacts, media, and company information. It enables users to attach high resolution images, videos, sounds, and documents on to their PR content. They also can import press contacts, distribute latest releases, personalize messages, and send mass emails.

Price: $ 300 per year for start-ups and 14 days free trial.

4. Animaker

Animaker is an intelligent video making DIY app, which simplifies the process of animated video making and presentation. Which makes you feel wow with the studio quality professional videos.

With Animaker, start producing online videos for internal business communication, content marketing, presentation, Explainer video, Demo video, social media marketing, e-Learning, video advertising, video Resume, Support/FAQ via video, and more purposes.

Price: Free to $39/month

5. Canva

Canva makes great graphic design within anyone’s grasp. It has hundreds of pre-designed layouts, elements, fonts and image styles that make it possible to design everything from a great Twitter header to a flyer for your business. It offers free design elements, but also allows you to buy premium elements piecemeal, for about $1 each (at the moment). It also keeps track of all your designs in your account, so you can re-edit or re-download them as needed.

Price: free or $1

6. Buffer:

Not everyone has the time to be online all day Tweeting and Retweeting their website updates and product developments. Here comes Buffer to solve your social media engagement issues! You just put up your best articles, share images and videos, and let Buffer do all the magic- it will auto-magically keep posting for you throughout the day. , Buffer app saves you from forgetting to send updates and from making your social media accounts looking dormant.

Price: free

7. Mention:

Media monitoring made easy with Mention. Which lets you manage online presence: create alerts on your company name, brand, competitor, and be updated in real-time about the most relevant over the web and react, get statistics, collaborate with your teams around them.

Price: One-month free trial and then choose plan that fits your need.

8. Survey Monkey:

As a startup, you would like to create a simple poll? or In-depth market research? SurveyMonkey offers a cloud-based online survey and questionnaire tool that helps users gather survey-related information.

You can access the library of sample survey questions and expert-certified templates. Which also lets you customize your survey questions, distribute your questionnaire on the web, and helps to collect responses in real time. The analyze tool helps you turn survey data into insights and create professional reports.

Price: From $25 and free basic version

All these above apps are great options for start-ups who don’t have fund. They even help to become more efficient and productive, freeing your man-hour.

Trying the app of free version is always a good idea to verify whether or not it works for you before investing in the paid version.

Is there a great tool you use that’s not on the list? Share it below and spread some startup love…

They all say, to start with, a startup has to delve into zero money marketing and embrace content marketing and other inbound marketing techniques.

But the fundamental truth is “everything is done at a cost” and there is no free lunch. Spending is enormous when it comes to marketing a startup.

What do we spend? Lots and lots of time till we get it right. Here are a few hacks to get things right with lowest possible spending.

Hack #1: Build exceptional content and resources.

You want your customers to adopt your product but doing it without your help is like asking too much from them.
Content marketing is not just sharing “some” content. It means creating and sharing valuable and free content to convert prospects into customers and to convert customers into repeat customers

The content has to be exceptional in such a way that they cannot find those from any other sources. Find a gap which has not been addressed so far and build your content upon it. Be a knowledge source which is unique.

When we say conversion, note that it does not happen immediately. Remember you are not just selling, you are building your reputation and establishing your brand and doing all this by talking to your customers through your website, tweets, emails and many others.

Take every aspect seriously from a title that arouses curiosity to the correct thumbnail for the video to colour combinations of your image to the right word to greet your audience.
There is no limit to proofreading your content. Keep doing it again and again by involving as many eyes as possible to spot any obvious mistakes.

A quick rule of thumb- don’t keep bragging that your content is unique. If it is, your audience will know.

Hack #2: Include virality in your Product

The internet has redefined the process of product distribution and providing sharing options had become universal. But why would people share your name? and that too for free!

Build your product in such a way that virality is in-built in the user flow itself. The usage of the product should lead to sharing. Include one particular differentiation and a wow factor which prompts users to share

Usage of share buttons is a good idea, but incorporating it in the product itself like Hackpad (which is now acquired by Dropbox) is even greater. With Hackpad, when you just share your completed document with anyone, it automatically lets the other guy to use it.

Integrating sharability just makes it easier for users but building a product worth recommending is the first step. If every user recommends your product to new users, your product has an exponential growth potential.

Seeding precedes sharing, it is how we introduce to the first set of users. This could be done by rewarding early adopters for using and also incentivizing them for sharing like what Dropbox did. This could simply be done by recognizing them as valuable. Even a perfectly worded email would get the job done.

Hack #3: Use A/B testing and keep evaluating.

Most startups struggle to generate traffic and see any positive activity surrounding them. There might be some mistake in the way they project themselves. A/B testing is a good way to track what works and what does not

Conveying the same message in various formats like text, images, infographics, videos etc and test which works better

Including and excluding videos and images in your social media content. Check how many people your content reaches and measure the engagement level.

Divide your customer base into small chunks and compare them with a control group. This would be handy to test a new feature that you will be introducing.

Use two separate landing pages and see the difference in sign up rates and track conversions.

Repeat these experiments in various combinations till you get the right mix of marketing elements which would give you the needed results.

Hack #4: Creating a sense of urgency

You have positioned your product, Crafted marketing messages, decided on delivery models. Now what? When do you want your customers to react and contact you for the product. The answer would be “immediately”. What drives them to act right at that moment? A sense of urgency

Market level urgencies: Most enterprise level tools, analytics tools and social media have worked on creating this urgency that the rest of the world uses it and if you don’t, you would be left behind as inefficient. Your competitors use it and you definitely should have to hop on to the bandwagon.

Creating scarcity: urge your customers to do decision making immediately by limiting the availability of your product as limited edition, limited alpha etc and asking them to secure a spot immediately.

Adding value: Provide additional values like exclusive support, access to higher tier plans at basic pricing or give a free package or provide additional training and mentorship hours for easy usage

Discounts: discounts are the holy grail to adding users with urgency. Always limit the discount band announce future increase in prices and ask your users to lock in when the prices are low.
By creating these urgencies, you give your users a valid reason to pull out the credit card as soon as possible.

Hack #5:Don’t plan to conquer the whole world in single war.

If you want your startup to be an international brand, you just have to test the waters locally before you cover the entire market

This covers you of the financial and reputation risk you might put your startup in to. Testing your product or brand in the local market would provide you a focus and having close attention to a smaller set let’s you to understand your market thoroughly and leave room for any initial experimenting and changes

You might have overlooked on some product features or your product might not address the needed pain points or you might not have got your business model right. This experimenting in a controlled environment allows you to correct all the mistakes, if any.

So, always work on a smaller audience before expanding internationally or just choose one local market and one international market in the initial stages and apply your learnings from these markets to the rest of the world later on.

Hack #6: Use Social media wisely

Startups waste a lot of time on social media than they intend to. One should wisely use Social media sites and get the targeted outcome.

Instead of thinning your spread across all social media sites, try focusing on the sites (even one or two is good enough) which is relevant to you. Look where your customers are. Every channel is different. They vary on the type of content expectation, demography, etiquette etc. Pick and choose the ones that matches your resources and business model.

You need to target the right demographic on the right platform. If you mass market, there are people who may resist change. For example, Facebook had profiled its users in an organised way that you will be able to match your customer behavioural study to the users that you target.

With engagement levels reducing on popular sites like Facebook and Twitter, one should think about diverting their focus to platforms like Reddit and Slideshare.

Be more organized and reduce distractions by creating a content calendar. Organize what content, at what frequency and at what time. Do this at least for a month in advance and allocate resources accordingly.

Once you create content understand to recycle them by making it suitable for various channels and also by repeating them on the same channels. Allow your followers to catch up.

Hack #7: Be personal and humanize your brand

Making your customer feel special is an age old practice which is relevant even now. Never address your user in mass. Try addressing them individually when you say thanks, fix an issue or introduce a new feature. A response will follow.

A founder can become the face of the brand by directly conversing with customers either through email or through twitter or the blogs. Allow customers to reach the founders directly and encourage them to engage.

Encourage User Generated Content to build trust. If users can share experience or teach the new users or guide them on effective usage, provide them a platform to get connected with potential users. Any content from existing users drives conversations around your brand

Create a forum to discuss on your product. Allow users to help and get help. This will create a tribe of loyal users. This may backfire as a bad idea, if you leave any issue unfixed.

Hack #8 : Startup Marketing: B2S or S2S Marketing

When you run a startup which has products for business clients, it is easier to start with your fellow startups as your customers. We recommend calling yours as a B2S or S2S business than a B2B business. This statement can be justified in many ways;

As a startup it is easier to understand other startups of your time and getting them into your contact list is easier. All you have to do is do a lot of networking, attend startup events and conferences. Never miss out on an opportunity to chat with a startup founder. Put yourself in the map.

Address the most important pain points of startups. To note, a startup founder takes in multiple responsibility and always runs against the clock. Any product or service which saves time, affordable and easy to ease is a quick sell. Communicating the same in every touch point is important.

Since, the startups belong to a close circle, better listening is possible from both the ends resulting in better communication. Once the startup is a user, check in with them on a regular basis and keep supporting them. This keeps the communication channels open for any cross selling and referrals.

Try barter system. Offer to be an affiliate for affiliation in return. Do not hesitate to recommend your startup users to others if you find them worthwhile.

Hack #9: Build affiliates through your sales team

A motivated sales team is the biggest strength for any business. Create affiliates within your sales team not just for your products but also for the products your customers may require

Instead of selling add value by addressing their most noticeable pain points and offering an integrated solution with not just your product but also that of others. Train your sales team in such a way that they understand what to offer a customer at the right time.

Recognize your customer’s referrals by creating mentions about them on social media or through blogs, provide them with badges, a free subscriptions or whatever that seems good enough for you.

By doing this, you create affiliates in your sales team and also in your clients who do not spread word just for money but also for the recognition and the value addition that you had provided.

Hack #10 : Don’t Forget the basics SEO, Email Marketing and Adwords

The biggest challenge for any startup is to show up on the search results when people are looking for the product that your offer. This momentous appearance does not come easy and involves a lot of groundwork.

Make sure that you have put yourself in places where your audience are looking. The basic things which need to be covered are SEO, Emails and blogs

SEO: Organic way to reach people. This is like pulling the audience to where you are. Provide them with what they want by doing a detailed keyword research. Check what is the strongest point for your close competitors and offer a better content utilising those keywords. Place the head keyword on your homepage and body keywords and tail keywords on your resource pages and blogs and other landing pages

SEM: This is the inorganic alternative to Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Leverage on the ads on popular search engine. Do not focus your attention on high spends and rather concentrate on the quality of advertisement and smart targeting to get results

Email Marketing: Organize your email marketing efforts in such a way that they are communicated at the right time. Follow your customers throughout their lifecycle, right from signing up to usage to upgradation. This will enable you to keep them informed about your achievements and milestones and make them feel valuable. The more active you are, the more trust that you build into your customer to be with you.

Finally, if you have any experiences or points you’d like to add, please use the comments below. If you have any questions we would be happy to answer them there.

When you are a startup looking for some crowdfunding on platforms like indiegogo and Kickstarter, a great video is mandatory. They say building a compelling video alone would ensure your funding on these platforms.

The challenge is you got to tell all about your project which you had planned across for years (or just researched on for multiple sleepless nights) in just a few minutes through a video. It’s not that these platforms restrict you or something, you just cannot risk creating a longer video where you have lost your audience midway.

A Staged development: One step at a time

Meticulously planning your video is necessary and do not just jump in to it and start creating a video. Take one step at a time.

• Research on your project and answer the 5Ws and the H- What, When, Where, Who, which and How
• Set your objective based on the above questions. Make sure your objective is achievable and develop a goal and your pitch will focus on this goal
• Develop a script and finalize your video’s blueprint.
• Wisely choose your video’s characters and the genre. Keep in mind that your funders want you to sound more promising.
• People like fun but too much of comedy may make you seem less serious unless your work is focussed on comedy as an art form

A pitch with a spark

• A pitch has to be memorable and by memorable we mean, in a nice way of course. Brevity is highly recommended and you can be assured that your viewers would be grateful for that
• Oodles of passion and professionalism should emanate from your pitch
• Your video must be clearly worded and to the point. Focus on what your investors would get and not on what you want. Sound very promising and genuine
• Work on a feasible timeline. Do not sound urgent by putting in 15 days or do not sit on it for more than 60 days and make your funders impatient. Stick to a time which will let you complete your project without wasting time.
• Have an achievable goal and do not be greedy. Tell them how you can work to perfection to not waste a penny on any unwanted stuff.
• We would ask you to throw away your shyness and boldly ask for a donation. After all, you would not be here if you had enough money
• Finally, like all the videos, a call to action is a must. Try closing the sale then and there by asking them to click the button to fund

Compelling perks are a easy hook

• Work on the perks that a supporter/contributor of your project would receive. A well thought out giveaway will make them feel valued and important.
• The usual T shirts and Sweatshirts have lost it’s charm but are still recommended if you have no other option in mind.
• The perk can be a limited edition or customised product or a device that you had developed and not yet released or even an experience
• Even a phone call or an email can go a long way
• The coolest way is to give a shoutout on Social media and make a big bunch of people aware of your contributors
  Do not just stop there
• You had created your video and had uploaded it on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, What next?
• Start focussing on your marketing efforts and spread the word. Create a supporter group for your product and start building a trusted team of evangelists for your project mainly in the online space.
• Gather your friends on social media and ask them to lend their voice and give a shoutout to support you.
  Meet bloggers and many online influencers and ask them to write a review.
• Even a small testing with influencers before publishing your project may also help you work out what works best

An arm and a leg for videos

• So far we spoke about how your video should be perfect enough to gain contributor’s attention. By now, you must have realized how important the quality of a video must be. You need not sell your arm and a leg to create these videos. Just use your smart phone with a good camera.
• All that is important is a compelling script and a well planned storyline. Just dedicate your time and effort and create a perfect pitch.
• Try something different like mixing live action and animated sequences. A kickstarter campaign definitely needs to sound more human and requires real life people yet some animated visuals may also lighten up the mood.

Videos can be a daunting task for many but remember ,videos speak more words than text. Showing is more important than telling.

Do you have plans to crowdfund your projects? Give us a shout out on your plans in the comments section below.

1. Telling a great startup story

Many of us use it but only a few have mastered it. Storytelling. Yes, a story is worth a good start. In an era where consumers are bombarded with irrelevant information, success in business will be had only by those who have mastered the art of narrating a captivating story. “Tell it, Don’t sell it” should be your mantra. Your customers are mobbed by millions of advertisements, campaigns, hoardings and so on. Precisely, they live amidst noise and cannot hear you. But you can edge out your competition with a powerful and convincing story; the most powerful way to put ideas in the world, today.
Even the tech-titan Apple had to learn the importance of a good story. In 80’s, Apple attempted to persuade IT executives and top companies to adopt Mac through ads but they failed. Overtime, they turned the stone only with a gentle persistent storytelling.

2. Define your brand

Branding is a survival tool. It helps you to sustain in the competition before a fierce combat. Branding involves 2 components- Naming your business and discerning the logo of your product.

Naming your startup right

Naming your startup is an overwhelming and an exhaustive experience. Name is like an address for a startup. Names might seem simple. But, in this cluttered information highway, startup names should be unique to mark them well from the competition. It has become a trend to reach out to consultants and name developers who suggest the right name that fits your product and brand. A brainstorming of the company’s mission and vision is followed by a linguistic and context analysis. Language patterns are analyzed in the consultation and the study resolves the cultural nuances of a name.

• Know what makes a good name.
• Brainstorm a list of names.
• Narrow it down to a few decent names.
• Pick the one that is perfect.

Names generate emotional responses. In fact, popular brands such as Apple and Google, made the cut recently in an Adweek survey that measured emotional responses from consumers to major brands. Define your brand with the right name and site a triumphing address. Create a unique brand personality.

Spend time for your logo

Logo is the face of your brand. It is related to every aspect of your business. An identity to your company and forms a first impression on the consumer’s mind.
The reason behind a logo design is knowing your startup story. Know your company’s objectives and how you are going to brand yourself, while knowing what your consumers will respond to. Company principles and values come alive in logos, and it shouldn’t just be carried by market data. Know that your logo can emerge along with your brand without losing the core of your business.

3. Social Media Branding Plan

Social media is both bane and boon for marketers. It is one of the most standardized marketing strategy. There are 3 steps to follow,

• Ascertain your startup goal.
• Decide your target customer.
• Build real world relationship with them in the media.

4. Founders’ business behavior

A startup founder should be a good leader. He should set a role model to the members of his organisation. There are certain virtues that portray a fine business behaviour and always keep a founder in control,

• Trust and Integrity.
• Focus only on things that are primary for the business.
• Reinforce productivity.
• Establish Authority in the market.

5. Know your competitors

Study the competition you are facing. By doing so, you will identify the areas you need to improve. Who are they? What are they selling? What is their USP? How do they stand out in the market? The answer to these questions will enable you to gain insight on the competitive nature of the market and helps in resolving solutions to handle the fight.

6. Connect with customers

To combat potential poaching, build and maintain a relationship with your customers. Deepen your customer relationship by being responsive to their needs. Take time to survey and understand what they really want?

• Price
• Quality
• Service
• Latest Product

Once you have gained insight on their requirement, attempt to meet the customer expectation. Be flexible and reassess your marketing strategy. Excite your customers with innovation. Promos bring excitement. Plan a new promo every month.
Early Bird promo, invite a friend promo, Get one buy one promo, Weekend promo and so on.

7. Stand Out

Establish your uniqueness. Show the market that solid reason to buy your product and draw the customers towards your product. They should not have a second thought of going back to your rivals. Explain to the market Who you are? What you sell? Why customers should come to you? It can be a small flyer or, brochure or a classy and expensive media campaign. Frequently, emphasize the freshness in your product or service. Customers fantasize and are attracted towards newness.

8. Leverage a skilled team

The success stories of many businesses is backed by a strong team. Attract fresh and motivated skilled talent by providing a healthy work culture and environment. Throw an opportunity for a structured career growth. And hence draw in the key resources that can serve the best for your organisation. The key resource can equip your product to stay ahead of the competition.

9. Stay ahead in technology

Technology is the need of the hour in any field and is unavoidable for a mobile startup. A mobile launched with the current technology is more likely to take the market by storm. A mobile technology which offers real-time interoperability solutions, a compatible platform for all mobile networks can definitely stay ahead of the competition. Be it Android or IOS, look out for innovation and exploit it in your product. Update with the latest technology to pull the customers towards your product.

10. Maintain a business blog

Brands are incomplete without a voice, and there is no better way to deliver branded messages than blogging. Content Marketing is going to stay, we may see changes only the forms of content. Hence, it is good to maintain a blog and regularly post content supporting your business. Content that are keyword rich and optimized by search engines can enable you to reach your goal.
There is beauty in brevity. Reach your target customers with crisp informations about your product in the form of infographics and explainer videos.

Hope this article aids all startups, especially to stay ahead of the competition. Wishes for a successful startup branding. Share your views on startup branding and your experience as a startup in staying ahead of competition.

Hope you have read and relished our article on The Untold Story of MagicLeap – The billion dollar secret startup”,a couple of weeks back. Thanks for staying tuned with us and appreciate your eagerness, to know more. In this article, we layout some magical tips for the startup companies, all inspired from the giant startup- MagicLeap.

Be a wizard

Sounds enchanting. But how to become one? Take that magic wand in your hand to cast that magic spell and shower your startup in that wizardous bliss. We suggest some tips to you to attain this. Let that magic happen, by you and for you.

Magic Spell 1- Unique

Stand out from the crowd. In this dog eat dog day, it is highly essential to sketch a one and only exclusive idea. Doing so, blueprint a market with absolutely no competitors thereby, raising your chance of winning. In that case, MagicLeap has reached the summit of uniqueness. Do not copy anyone’s idea and also create a cannot-be-copied idea. You can take your business to greater heights with with such an uniqueness.

Magic Spell 2- Unexpected

Don’t be predictable. Shock the audience with a surprise. People know well that great things in life come from unexpected places. So instead of launching in a cloud of hype, pitch in unexpectedly. Abovizt, the founder of Magicleap states, “We are definitely blowing people’s minds. They definitely don’t think of it as happening in their own world”. Build such an unforeseen product for your startup.

Magic Spell 3- Never-been-seen-before

A problem-solving product. Not again! Apple’s iPhone does not solve any desperate problem but is a hit as it portrayed that Never-been-seen-before effect. Give a first of a kind feel. Stun people with your futuristic thinking and frame such a business model. As far as MagicLeap is concerned, people think this technology isn’t possible and is 50 years away.
In evolving such a technology MagicLeap will attain that Never-been-seen-before effect.

Be vivid

Show your products as a reflection of nature. People always reach out to realistic and genuine things. Throw your product as so live, so very real, so very present. MagicLeap’s website quotes – Human brain is the is the best display ever made. What a thought of vividness?
Grip the audience attention with such a vividness. Animation can best help to attain that reality.

Be tight-lipped

Do not publicize. But, create fumes of mystery at some quite notable places to light that forest fire across the globe. The lesser information the more scope for curiosity.
Like how, MagicLeap, the secretive startup has yet to publicly describe its technology, and also declined an interview request. The little information that spread like the forest fire is got from the patent and trademark filings.The best hint so far is that it is working on a lightweight wearable that is shipping soon which leaves us clueless.
The first step of the inquisitive audience is to check out the company’s website. With Magic Leap that is not an enlightening experience.The website unveils with a cute video of an elephant calf flying from cupped hands. Next, a page opens where a whale is floating over a beach leaving people in a shrouded mystery.
Till date we are drowning in speculation about Magic Leap beyond an eye-popping video of what the company hopes to achieve with its technology.Thus, gaining its fame from the lesser fumes.

Bet yourself

Set yourself to achieve extraordinary ventures. Challenges give you an obsession to accomplish. Accomplish the best, indeed. Pre-defined objectives always trigger you to work and concentrate more to raise quality products.
Magic Leap’s biggest challenge is to find a solution to place virtual 3- D objects seamlessly in the real world.
But Magic Leap will probably need to make major breakthroughs in computer vision software for a wearable device to make sense of the world enough for very rich augmented reality.Once they achieve they will make the people feel that this is computing for next 30 or 40 years. With such a vision, they triumph their mission.

We are very assertive that the above list will enable you to gain the confidence to leap with that magic wand in hand. Wishes to Go magical! Share your informations on MagicLeap in the comment section below.