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Go big or go home! Your start-up cannot afford to miss out on this advice from Google

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As we embrace a newly-elected government, Chhai Thach, app developer and founder of ground-breaking new event for start-ups, SouthStart, believes there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur.

Chhai explains that as the mining industry relinquishes its role as a key player in propping up our economy, the new government is searching for alternatives and according to PwC in The Startup Economy 2013 report, the Australian tech start-up sector has the potential to contribute $109 billion or four per cent of GDP to the economy by 2033.

With this time of opportunity upon us, entrepreneur, key speaker at SouthStart and now Google Australia and NZ’s Engineering Director, Alan Noble shared with Anthill the top five tips he has for everyone on becoming a success in the murky waters of entrepreneurship.

1. Make the decision now

Everyone has creative ideas for the next big thing, but the difference between making it big and staying still is the decision to make a go of it and committing 100 per cent. Take the first step then make sure you work hard to make your dream become a reality.

2. Go big or go home!

Give it your all, or don’t bother. As a bonus, the bigger you go, the more inspired you will be and the easier it will be to attract other people to join your cause. Set your goals high. Nothing in this world was made by those happy with the status-quo; it was made by visionaries, like Sergey Brin, who could not see the world without their idea.

3. Audit

Keep an eye on the details and use data and information coming in around your business idea as a true measure of whether it can really be a success.  Experiment early and often, and fail quickly. At Google we carry out lots of experiments, for example we run 5000 experiments for web search alone each year, of which maybe 1 per cent will be adopted.

4. Admit

Only by admitting what is not working, can you move forward.  Entrepreneurs accept that the mother of success is taking a risk. Therefore you need to build a culture that embraces risk-taking and accepts failure. For the ideas that do not succeed, admit it and move on.

5. Adapt

If you are in a start-up, you can’t afford the luxury of staying with a failing experiment or an unreceptive market any longer than necessary. So once you have admitted that fact, it’s time to adapt. Pivoting means being able to adapt quickly and implement new strategies enabling start-ups to survive.  It requires building a culture that not just tolerates change, but thrives in the face of it.

What is SouthStart all about?

SouthStart will be held on 4 October in Adelaide and has an impressive mix of marketing experts, angel investors and start-ups who have made it big, giving attendees the chance to absorb practical advice and ANZ have generously offered the winner of the pitch competition a $2,000 cash prize.

It is the South Australian climax to StartupAUS’s Startup Spring Festival. SouthStart has something for everyone from inspiring entrepreneurial stories to getting to know what investors look for in companies wanting to raise venture capital.