9 Tools Every Startup Should Use

Startup entrepreneurs face the daunting task of getting everything in order and taking care of even the minor thing precisely. Ranging from finances, back-end, front-end development to marketing and product launches, a startup entrepreneur has to take care of everything possible. Most of the time and personnel is wasted on administrative tasks which can be completely automated through the use of some powerful tools. Getting your idea developed into a full-fledged business is the primary task of an entrepreneur and a startup is no way endowed with hordes of cash to hire more personnel, unless backed in millions by a VC or angel investor.

Every startup has to operate in the financial constraints imposed on it and has to limit the personnel working for the startup. Having the right set of tools could easily lift some of the administrative burdens imposed on you as an entrepreneur. Here are the top 10 startup tools.

PowToon

Product videos are often underestimated and startups either spend thousands of dollars developing them or completely do away with it. A startup ought to have an explainer video and it makes things easier for your visitors and PR representatives to catch the concept of your startup without having to read through pages of your manual.

PowToon is a great tool that would let you instantly create product demo videos through their templates. No prior knowledge of coding or designing is required and you can develop videos for your startup for free or under a few hundred dollars.

Wave Apps

Managing finance is also a task often undertaken by startup entrepreneurs. Avoid making mistakes by using Wave Apps, a free accounting tool for startups. This app lets you keep track of your startup’s accounts and generate and manage payment receipts.

The app integrates with your bank account or PayPal account to automatically make entries, manage and generate professional balance sheets for your startup.

MailChimp

Email marketing – a ubiquitous technique developed over 2 decades ago – hasn’t died yet, and email opt-ins are still generating thousands of leads for startups and Fortune 500 companies alike. MailChimp is a premium tool that would let you design newsletters and manage your email subscribers.

Monitor sales and user engagement with this email marketing application. With over 7 million users, MailChimp is one of the most widely used email marketing applications that your startup shouldn’t neglect.

DropBox

DropBox needs no introduction as it has established itself firmly among the best cloud storage apps, competing with over dozens of other similar providers. Managing digital files, documents, codes, etc. is essential for a startup and DropBox provides the best file collaboration tool. The service lets users create, view or edit files based on the user rights assigned to them.

The files can also be accessed remotely on the go, thanks to their mobile apps and standalone desktop applications. With 2GB of free storage, you can expand your storage capacity with additional premium subscriptions.

Asana

Asana is a great project management tool that lets your startup get more done with little efforts. The collaboration and conversations do away with the use of emails and instead make use of an in-app communication system, improving the productivity of your employees.

Asana is also a full-fledged CRM and defect tracking app that is much more than just a product management app. Put into use by many major corporations and Fortune 500 companies, Asana is a must have tool to get more done.

Prezi

We should all agree that Microsoft PowerPoint is pretty lame and makes business meetings even boorish. A startup shouldn’t have to have boring business meetings like a corporation. Prezi is a great tool that lets you instantly create beautiful and eye-catching presentations that will engage others during business meetings. 3D designs and effects are a part of its templates and you can add spice to your meetings with this tool.

MOO

Once your startup’s name and branding is finalized, you can right over to MOO to have order well-crafted business cards. You no longer need to spend your time deciding on the color and design of your business cards – just leave it to the people at MOO.

Every piece of stationery your startup demands, be it flyers, posters or letterheads, MOO has got you covered. Catch the attention of your potential customers and investors in style with MOO’s designing.

Buffer

Buffer is a really great service for two reasons; their app lets you buffer up your content and schedule it across a myriad of social media networks, and their blog is a terrific resource for productivity related articles. Use this simple tool to schedule your content on various social media networks to your chosen time of the day.

Buffer also offer an iPhone app – Daily – that allows you to quickly add high-quality content to be shared on your social-media platform via Buffer.

Intercom

Intercom is one of the most innovative, yet a bit expensive one for your startup. Intercom makes it easier to communicate with your visitors through targeted emails and in-app messages. You can also set triggers based on your visitors’ timing or behavior. Do away with all the live chats and emails and get straight to the point by interacting live with your visitors.

Observe, learn and engage better with your audience to result in better sales and fostering better relationship with your valued customers. Over 4,000 major businesses make use of this innovative tool to connect with your visitors.

Conclusion

Given that a startup is limited in its personnel and monetary resources, these tools will help you achieve your mundane tasks without compromising the quality of the work. These tools turn significant and time consuming tasks into a breeze and save you precious time and money to invest it better on developing your product.

About the Author

Devinder Maheshwari is co-founder of Beebom.com, a site that provides useful digital tips and resources on software, apps and gadgets.