Lessons from companies that ignored complexity and focused on fundamentals.
Common sense is often the first casualty in the pursuit of business success. Entrepreneurs chase shiny trends, overengineered solutions, or fixate on vanity metrics, only to wonder why their ventures fail.
The stories of successful companies often show that the most enduring companies stick to fundamental principles.
Here are 10 strategies, gained from years of experience covering businesses, to ground your business in reality and set it up for long-term success.
- Build something that people need
- Tell your story
- Make sure you earn more than you spend
- Stay lean
- Set the right metric and pursue it
- Focus
- Don’t run after prestige or fame
- Learn to separate real growth from perceived growth
- Avoid the hype
- Build a thinking organization
1. Build Something People Need
The foundation of every great business is a product or service that solves a real problem. The famous Silicon Valley-based accelerator program Y Combinator’s tagline says it all: Make something people want.
bKash changed Bangladesh’s financial services landscape by addressing a critical need: enabling millions of citizens to send money via mobile phones.
Similarly, Indonesia’s Gojek started as a motorcycle ride-hailing app to solve Jakarta’s traffic chaos, then expanded into payments, food delivery, and more, all rooted in local needs.
Study the pain points of your target customers. You may start with customer interviews, asking about “What frustrates you about [X]?” Validate demand before scaling. Use prototypes, waitlists, or pre-orders. Pilot solutions in dense urban hubs before scaling nationally. Avoid solutions in search of problems.
2. Tell Your Story Relentlessly
Humans connect through narrative, not spreadsheets. Apple didn’t sell computers; it sold a vision of creativity and rebellion (Think Different). Patagonia’s story isn’t about jackets—it’s about environmental stewardship.
India’s Tata Group built a 150-year legacy by tying its brand to nation-building and trust. Bangladesh’s Aarong isn’t just a retail chain—it’s a story of preserving craftsmanship and empowering rural women.
Define your “why.” Why does your business exist beyond profit? Share founder stories, customer wins, or behind-the-scenes struggles. Repeat your message consistently across all channels.
3. Earn More Than You Spend
Profitability isn’t optional. Even venture-backed giants like Amazon prioritized unit economics early on. Bootstrapped successes like Mailchimp (valued at $12B pre-acquisition) grew by staying cash-flow positive.
Indian SaaS company Zoho bootstrapped to $1B+ revenue by prioritizing profitability over venture capital. In Bangladesh, large conglomerates like Grameenphone maintained dominance by balancing network investment with disciplined cost management.
Track gross margins and operating expenses religiously. Avoid overhiring. Automate or outsource before adding full-time staff. Price for profit, not just competition. Reinvest early profits into core operations, not vanity projects. Find ways to control your costs by creating mechanisms such as negotiating longer payment terms with suppliers to preserve cash flow.
4. Set the Right Metric—Then Obsess Over It
Most companies measure the wrong things. Vanity metrics such as social media followers distract from what matters. Amazon’s North Star was customer satisfaction; Netflix tracked subscriber retention.
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi focused on affordable innovation and market share, not just margins, to dominate India. Bangladesh’s Pathao, in its early days, obsessively tracked daily active riders to gauge real demand for its ride-sharing services.
Choose 1-2 key metrics tied to your core goal, such as revenue per customer, monthly active users. Ignore metrics that don’t drive decisions, such as total downloads for a paid app.
5. Focus Ruthlessly
Nintendo survived for 130+ years by pivoting from playing cards to video games, but always staying in entertainment. Startups die when they split resources between too many ideas.
China’s BYD began as a battery company, ignored distractions, and became the world’s largest electric vehicle maker.
In Bangladesh, companies like PRAN stuck to affordable FMCG products for mass markets despite opportunities in luxury goods.
Say “no” to opportunities outside your core strength. Double down on what’s working. Narrow your focus.
6. Ignore Prestige and Fame
Chasing awards, press, or trendy partnerships distorts priorities. Basecamp built a $100M+ SaaS business by avoiding Silicon Valley hype. Conversely, WeWork’s obsession with “unicorn” status led to its collapse.
India’s Zerodha, a $2B+ stock trading platform, grew without VC funding or celebrity endorsements. Bangladesh’s Walton outsells Samsung in home appliances locally by investing in affordable durability.
Ask: “Does this decision serve customers or our ego?” Avoid conferences and awards unless they directly drive revenue. Allocate marketing budgets to customer referrals, not billboards. Celebrate profitability, not press mentions.
7. Separate Real Growth from Illusions
“Growth” can be a mirage. User signups spike, but retention plummets. Perceived growth, such as fundraising, media buzz ≠ sustainable growth, such as recurring revenue, referrals.
E-commerce giant Flipkart (India) prioritized repeat purchase rates over GMV (gross merchandise value) to build sustainable growth.
Bangladesh’s Chaldal focuses on retention by delivering groceries within 3 hours, turning first-time buyers into loyal users.
Measure retention, not just acquisition. Prioritize profitability over valuation. Track cohort retention, not just monthly sales. Offer loyalty discounts to incentivize repeat purchases.
8. Avoid the Hype Cycle
Blockchain, metaverse, AI—trends come and go. Most businesses fail when they pivot to chase them. Build in the markets where things don’t change. Chase enduring trends instead. Do things that don’t change.
Adopt trends only if they align with existing customer needs. Adopt tech only if it solves a verified customer pain (e.g., WhatsApp-based ordering for low-tech users). Let venture-funded rivals burn cash on unproven trends.
9. Stay Lean
Overhead kills adaptability. Toyota’s “just-in-time” manufacturing revolutionized efficiency. Modern startups use no-code tools and remote teams to scale without bloat. Most startups in Bangladesh are inefficient and have more people than needed. A team of ten people does the task that shouldn’t need more than one and a half people. Exhaust yourself before making a hiring decision. Always operate under-resourced. Waste is an enemy. Do more with less.
Hire generalists early, specialists later. Automate repetitive tasks (accounting, customer support). Build a culture where people truly put in effort.
10. Build a Thinking Organization
A company that learns, evolves, and questions itself outlasts rigid competitors. Find a way to build a learning organization. Establish processes and systems to document organizational learnings, mistakes, and knowledge consistently and at scale.
China’s Haier encourages employees to self-organize into micro-enterprises, enabling innovation.
At bKash, cross-department “idea hackathons” have led to breakthroughs like microloan disbursements via mobile wallets.
Host monthly “retrospectives” to analyze wins/losses. Reward employees for challenging assumptions. Invest in ongoing training (e.g., internal workshops, learning stipends). Build a writing culture.
Coda
Success isn’t about genius ideas or luck—it’s about consistently applying common sense. Build value, tell your story, spend wisely, and build a learning culture. As Y Combinator’s motto goes: “Make something people want.” The rest follows.
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