Slack, Trello, Salesforce, Hubspot, Pipedrive, Google Cloud Platform, and Amazon Web Services—software programs and IT infrastructure that are essential for many startups. And, in the eyes of many, have also contributed to making founding a startup significantly easier over the past five years.
In one current surveyIn a study of 227 startup employees and developers, 90 percent of respondents are not only certain that founding a startup has become easier over the past five years thanks to tools like Slack and others. 80 percent also believe that it has made it cheaper.
Not only is the use of these tools cost-effective, but they also allow founders to work on their projects from anywhere, anytime. Especially for startups in the early stages that don't yet have their own office space or whose teams are spread across different cities or even countries, the use of these programs creates entirely new opportunities.
And which tools are on the top list of startups?
- Communication and collaboration: Slack and Trello
- Hosting and data storage: Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform
- Customer management: Salesforce, Hubspot or Pipedrive
- Data analysis: Google Analytics and Tableau
- Payment services: Paypal or the study sponsor Stripe
These software programs and IT infrastructure make the work of many young companies easier and, in some cases, make it possible in the first place. The downside: Startups also become dependent on them. In the survey, two-thirds of respondents stated that their company could not exist in its current form if they could not rely on third-party software tools. This dependence also brings with it risks that could easily cause young companies, in particular, to stumble.
