How To Disrupt Your Industry – Frederick Achom

Disruption of an industry is a big deal for those who do it successfully. If you aspire to make your mark in the world of business you must not solely focus on the bottom line but on innovation. Although disrupting an industry is a noble goal to pursue, it usually comes with ridicule and dismiss from counterparts within your field until you actually succeed. 

This article is not advising you to compete with the likes of Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk, but it encourages you to develop the mindset of allowing your start-up to stand out from the crowd by doing things differently and thinking outside the box. 

At Rosemont Group Capital, one of our criteria for investing in start-ups is identifying a company’s clear USP, which drastically increases chances of success. 

Below are a few tips on how I believe any founder can disrupt their industry and achieve maximum growth:

1. Know your industry

You should not take the industry at face value. You need to do a thorough research in order to know how everything works in the business you are in. This step may require you to attend conferences, networking events, subscribing to trade magazines and to even allocate extra hours searching for relevant information on Google. 

To remain in the forefront of your industry, it’s important to make it a habit to find out if the customers are satisfied and if they are well pleased with the products and services in the market. Putting this routine into practice can give you the edge to innovate, find gaps in the market and be steps ahead of your competitors.  

2. Know who you are up against

Compete with the best. No matter how small or big your company is, it’s important to identify the companies within your field playing at the optimal level. This will push you to raise your standards and compete at the highest level. 

This is a common practice for Fortune 500 companies hence why you have the likes of Samsung and Apple competing for larger market share especially in the areas of selling smart phones. 

3. Figure out the problems and challenges

Find out the root cause of the problems and challenges in the industry and dedicate a large portion of your working hours to finding solutions. A first practical step to move in this direction is to write a list of problems you face in your business and questions you needs answers to, from marketing, branding to the logistical function of running your enterprise. 

Many successful companies got their first break as a result of solving a problem that was facing other companies in their niche.

4. Bring everyone on board

Behind every successful business is a successful team. The founder of Wal-Mart Sam Walton said it best, “Individuals don’t win; teams do.” If you want to increase your chances of building a cutting edge business you must build a team of experts especially to fill in the area of your weaknesses. 

It’s not enough to employ a team but to ensure that they are placing their full capacity on contributing to the growth of company. Incentivize your team to input ideas for achieving the vision of your business. Companies such as Facebook and Google adopt this philosophy encouraging their employees not to solely fulfill the job role but to come up with innovative ideas on how the company can improve. 

Make sure you bring everyone on board.

5. Think like a customer 

What your customers think about your firm really matters. They are the foundation of your success. You can create as many products as you possibly can but if you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business. Prioritize their needs and interact with them so that you can know if everything is going in the right direction and according to plan. They are the backbone of any business.  Moreover, It is quite difficult to know how successful you are or what is ailing your firm from the inside. 

6. Stay innovative

Use creative ideas to market your business and stand out as a brand. Many firms now market their products online especially through social media unlike in the past when they used print media mostly. Innovation should not be a one-time thing. It should be continuous so that you can continue improving your business.

The most important advice I can give you is to be alert and stay focused on your goal. If you follow those steps keenly, there is no doubt your product or service will be a game changer in your industry. Disrupt it, stay innovative and let nothing stop you.

About Freddie Achom

Frederick Achom is a British-Nigerian serial entrepreneur and tech investor. He is the co-founder and chairman of the Rosemont Group Capital Partners.