Founding Your Startup Useful information from my experience in starting Rezoomo Cathal Doorley, Founder of Rezoomo.com

First step… So you have come up with a viable business idea, what do you do next? Unfortunately not all good ideas will work as a business so you need to know if the idea is worth pursuing. You need to conduct extensive market research to… Establish if there is a market for your business Is the market big enough to make your business a success? Is your product or service solving a problem? Can you monetise your product or service? Can you fund it?

Choosing the right business structure… Choose your business structure carefully and get advice on what is best for your business. Sole trader - You’re a sole trader if you’re running your own business as an individual. You can keep all your business’ profits after you’ve paid tax on them. Limited company - A limited company is an organisation that you can set up to run your business. It’s responsible in its own right for everything it does and its finances are separate to your personal finances. Any profit it makes is owned by the company, after it pays Corporation Tax. The company can then share its profits.

Choosing the right business structure contd… Business partnership - In a business partnership, you and your business partner (or partners) personally share responsibility for your business. You can share all your business’ profits between the partners. Each partner pays tax on their share of the profits.

Choosing a name and designing a logo Choosing a name and logo is hugely important as the name is the entry point to your business and, superficially, the only differentiator between you and your competitors. Customers will make instant judgements on where they want to part with their cash based on first impressions. Therefore, it’s essential that you strike the right tone with your business name. However, successful companies do not just have good names, they develop a brand. And, in time, brands can literally sell themselves. When designing a logo and choosing a name, keep the future branding of the company in mind.

Registering your company Now you need to register your company. In the UK you do this with Companies House. You will also find loads of information on different aspects of setting up your company on this website. Visit -

Creating a Business Plan Once your company is registered you now need create a business plan before looking for funding. Here are some sites that can help…

Securing funding Securing funding can be difficult but here are some options:

Launch your business and start growing! Now you need to focus on: Marketing Building a company website Branding Customer interaction Promotion PR Constantly update your business plan as the company grows.

And you’re off…! Best of luck to your business venture and we wish you every success.