How Long Does It Take to Start a Business?

From around two years to only one and a half years, here are 12 answers to the question, “How long did it take you to start your business and begin to really see traction?”

• Two Years to Gain Momentum in Finance
• Months After the News Stories Rolled in
• Around Six to Eight Months
• Six Months to Start a Business and Three Years to See Traction
• Six Months of Heartbreaking Setbacks
• Over Six Months
• Around Nine Years
• Persisted Through Nine Months
• Four Months
• From Immediately to Three Years
• About a Year
• About One and a Half Years

Two Years to Gain Momentum in Finance

It took me two years to launch my business and gain momentum. In the financial services industry, success takes time to come. I had to build relationships and earn trust while developing a reputation for being reliable and knowledgeable. My persistence paid off as my business took off despite the challenges.

Paw Vej, Chief Operating Officer, Financer.com

Months After the News Stories Rolled in

It only took months after our launch for us to hit our stride. A large part of that was the positive press we received. We had flattering write-ups of not only the brand but of me and my motivations behind launching my company.

The more those stories got published, and the more people learned about us, the more those stories outlined the steps that customers need to take to take part in our services. Those articles helped give people an idea of everything that the onboarding process entailed. Those types of stories did a lot for us.

Rachel Blank, Founder and CEO, Allara

Around Six to Eight Months

It took us around 6 to 8 months to move from the initial planning stages of our AI company in the middle of 2022 to actually see some traction.

We carefully and slowly defined our goals and our target audience before developing the pitch tool in October. We were pleased to have a beta version available right away, and an improved version by February. While it’s been a good start, there is still a lot of hard work and dedication that needs to be put in to make this a profitable business.

Luciano Colos, Founder and CEO, PitchGrade

Six Months to Start a Business and Three Years to See Traction

I had been working on my startup for three years before it succeeded. Initially, the idea sounded like a rocket ship, but it took only six months to plan. It was the most arduous task to start a business, especially for people who did not know what to research and how to begin it.

We only had an idea and nothing else. In the second year of working on the project, we were almost ready with everything. Now we needed to plan how to fetch customers. I still remember, my first spending on marketing was only $1. However, I felt we needed more members in our team in order to see traction.

For the effective implementation of marketing strategies, we added three more people to the team. Soon, after two and a half years, we reached a 40% conversion rate, which was unexpected. So, you need to be patient while working on a startup.

Yogesh Kumar, Digital Marketing Manager, Technource

Six Months of Heartbreaking Setbacks

When I launched my health and wellness start-up alongside a former colleague, I knew the journey would not be easy, and that there would be a lot of obstacles along the way. However, in the first six months, we were literally on the verge of collapse.

The firm we had hired to build a website failed to deliver on time, and we had made the mistake of purchasing a lot of inventory beforehand, hoping for quick sales. We also ran into so many issues with content marketing that we spent so much money for so little in return.

However, after spending months fine-tuning our business model and marketing strategy, we made a few sales nearly six months in. It’s now been almost two years since we started, and we are already profitable.

Logan Nguyen, Co-Founder, MIDSS

Over Six Months

It took me about six months to get my real estate business up and running. During that time, I had to get licenses, complete training courses, and build some connections within the industry.

Once I was officially licensed as a realtor, I started putting more effort into marketing and networking with other local agents. This included attending open houses, joining Facebook groups, and joining local real estate organizations.

After a few months of work, I saw some traction in my business. I began closing deals and making connections with buyers, sellers, lenders, and other agents in the area. This was huge for me because it gave me the confidence that I could sustain my business going forward.

From there, I continued to build relationships with local agents, attend events and seminars, and hone my skills as a realtor. I eventually began taking on bigger clients, which allowed me to expand into different areas of the industry.

Matt Teifke, CEO, Teifke Real Estate

Around Nine Years

My brother and I took approximately nine years to start our business. In 2000, I entered the tourism industry by working as a trekking porter for two years and then as a trekking guide and team leader for six years.

When I had gathered enough experience to give me confidence, we launched our own travel agency in 2009. We saw progress in the business in the first year itself. As we built our portfolio of trekking and cultural tours, more travelers chose us for their adventures.

We put in a lot of hard work to get our business noticed. From planning each trip to managing the logistics, sales, and marketing departments, every effort was essential to gaining recognition. After 13 years, we are now one of the best trekking agencies in Nepal, with many returning clients.

Balaram Thapa, Director and Travel Advisor, Nepal Hiking Team

Persisted Through Nine Months

The early days in my business were brutal. I spent countless hours grinding and networking, but it felt like I was spinning my wheels. It was frustrating, and I’ll admit, it tested my grit. But, I refused to give up.

I kept trying new tactics, learning as much as I could, and pivoting when necessary. Around nine months in, I started seeing some traction. It wasn’t huge, but it was progressing. Traffic was picking up and revenue followed.

It was a small win, but it gave me the confidence to keep pushing forward. And then, over the next six months, things really gained momentum. My business was growing, and my website earned decent revenue. It was an epic feeling, and it reinforced my belief that I had made the right choice in starting my own business.

Looking back, I realize the journey was tough, but it was also deeply satisfying. It took serious dedication and persistence to get to where I am today.

Jeremy Reis, Founder, Explore Startups

Four Months

It took my business four months of actively prospecting and creating content online to create a buzz and start gaining the attention of e-commerce merchants who were targeting.

In this period, what mattered most was relationship building and establishing credibility as a reliable e-commerce SEO app and service that merchants could use to grow their stores organically. In the four months my business was still looking to gain traction, we took advantage of it to study our target market in-depth and ensure we offered a standout solution.

Alvin Wei, Co-Founder and CMO, SEOAnt

From Immediately to Three Years

I’ve started several businesses, and in general, it’s taken two to three years for us to see traction. However, sometimes, I could piggyback a new business onto an existing one, and in those cases, we could see traction within a few months. The key in those cases is to use your existing audience, so there is already a high level of trust.

Larissa Pickens, Co-Founder, Dapper Confidential

About a Year

It took me about a year to get my business off the ground and begin seeing traction. I spent the first few months researching, developing ideas, and creating a business plan. Once I had a solid foundation in place, I launched the business officially and began marketing it to potential customers.

It was slow going at first, and there were plenty of challenges and obstacles to overcome. However, with consistent effort and patience, I could build up a customer base and start generating revenue. It took several months of hard work, but eventually, my business gained traction. In the end, it was worth all the effort, as I’m now running a successful business that continues to grow every day.

Michael Dadashi, CEO, Infinite Recovery

About One and a Half Years

Our journey of starting a SaaS company began in 2017 when we identified a gap in the market for a social media scheduler tool that was both powerful and user-friendly. It took us about a year to develop and launch the product, which we officially launched in the middle of 2018.

Initially, we struggled to gain traction as we were competing with several well-established players in the market. However, we persevered and continuously improved our product, taking feedback from early adopters and incorporating their suggestions into our product roadmap.

After about six months of launching our product, we saw an uptick in interest from potential customers, and we focused more on marketing and sales to speed up our growth. Over the next few years, we continued to refine our product and expand our customer base. Today, we are proud to say we have established ourselves as a leader with 20+ seasoned professionals, thousands of satisfied customers, and a rapidly growing user base.

Sakhavat Ismayilov, Founder, FS Code

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