In the business world, it’s a well-known fact that nine out of 10 startups fail. But one Australian entrepreneur and consultant is looking to change that — and his name is Luke Lazarus.
The Early Years
Luke Lazarus started his first company when he was just eight years old. However, this didn’t adversely impact his academic career — he also went on to excel at school, as well as in scholastic sports. As a result, when he reached college age, he had the choice of many top colleges across the globe. Declining offers from multiple Ivy League schools, he instead chose to attend the Melbourne Business School, from which he graduated in his mid-twenties with a master’s degree in business administration.
A Serial Entrepreneur
After his success in the academic world, Lazarus was eager to return to his greatest passion: starting businesses. In the decade after his graduation, he built four different businesses from the ground up — and subsequently sold each for a stunning profit.
At the age of 35, he had earned sufficient money to retire to a tropical island for the rest of his life. He could also choose to continue creating businesses. Instead, he embarked on a totally different career path altogether.
Giving Back to the Business Community
Because his passion lay in starting and building innovative startups, Lazarus decided to take all of his knowledge and make it available to other entrepreneurs. In short, he transformed himself into a business consultant for startup companies.
The original, rigorous style that had been so characteristic of Lazarus as an entrepreneur remained his hallmark as a consultant. His novel approach to consulting was entirely new to the world of startups. He placed a strong focus on data systems and data analysis. In addition, he emphasized the importance of emotional connections between stakeholders and customers. And he brought these insights to his consulting in order to help other, less experienced entrepreneurs discover effective solutions to common challenges.
Driving Startups to New Heights
In general, owners of startups are highly gifted, creative and driven individuals. It’s not uncommon to see them work 10 or 15 hours a day, seven days a week while they start and grow their companies. As such, the reason that so many startups fail is rarely a lack of creativity or effort. The simple truth is that although many startup owners have brilliant ideas and are talented individuals, they don’t always possess the necessary skills to properly do every job in their companies.
For example, an entrepreneur might have an exceptional idea for a product and be able to oversee its design, testing and manufacturing. But perhaps he or she doesn’t know sufficient about marketing to introduce it to the intended audience, or maybe he or she lacks the accounting skills that are inevitably a part of doing business.
Clearly, nobody is talented at everything — and nobody can possibly know everything. That’s why even the most creative entrepreneurs need some help. Smart businesspeople know when they should hire a team or a company to take on a task such as operations management, marketing or accounting.
Over the years, Lazarus has built up a reputation for helping startups develop effective business plans that enable them to reach the next level. He possesses a unique talent for uncovering problem areas and being completely honest about their impact — and subsequently helping companies find solutions. Unsurprisingly, with his assistance and support, numerous startups that initially had shoestring budgets have gone on to IPOs worth millions of dollars.
In addition, Lazarus has a talent for navigating the financial world. He teaches startups about the importance of brand messaging and educates them on how to conduct a successful road show. As soon as a startup has developed a good business plan and created a strong brand, it’s ready to look for potential investors. This is when Lazarus can step in to help the company prepare its business and its books for meeting angel investors and venture capitalists. And once the required capital is secured, it serves as the foundation to grow the company into a multinational corporation.
Crafting the Perfect Pitch
When a startup owner first meets an angel investor or venture capitalist, he or she only has 30 seconds to get that person’s attention. By creating the perfect pitch, the entrepreneur can give the investor a quick overview of his or her brand and what the company intends to accomplish in the future. And with Lazarus’ guidance and experience, startup companies across the globe are now able to reach their full potential.