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how to start a software company with no money
By Rajib Hasan Last Updated -- Oct 2024, 12:08 PM

How to Start a Software Company with No Money

Many of us are tired of some common questions of how to start a software company with no money. However, to do something special requires money. Whatever you do, capital is a readymade stair to reach your future destination. And planning is a way, by which you will go up through the stairs. However, opening a software company is a big deal. In that case, money is required but some crucial strategies can save your investment. Starting a technology business requires tech startup ideas to achieve goals without your own investment.

 

How to Start a Software Company with No Money

 

Won’t I need money to start a software company? Is that real? Yes it is, and technically you will not need money to open a software company. In that case, follow some strategies that can assist you in collecting money and minimizing overall expenses. So, let’s see deep tech tips or step-by-step guides on how to start a software development company with no money.

 

1. Generate and Evaluate Your Ideas

 

Planning and making the right decision on time can change a business structure. So, how much do you have, and how much can you invest? You only know that thing. In that case, make a sharp plan before starting a software company. 

 

Idea or planning plays a big role in setting up a company. It includes company location, number of employees, rent cost, utility cost, desktop purchasing, decoration, furniture, and other costs.

 

These are essential from the beginning of a software company. Therefore, visit the best startup software companies, consult with them, get ideas, and implement them. Make a plan to get those things with a cheap cost and find an easy way you can set up. So, this strategy can save your business start-up cost.   

 

2. Partner with Someone Who Has Money

 

Don’t you have money? Do you have a dream to set up a tech company? Don’t worry, find a partner who can assist you financially. Find someone who has more interest in investing in any newly running company. Share software company startup ideas, business strategy, business goals, and other things. If he/she becomes interested in all the explanations then he/she can invest in that business.

 

How can I deal with him? Indeed, no one wants to invest without benefits or profits. In most cases, we have seen that investors want a profit share or a percentage of profit. Let’s see an example, suppose your entire calculation says, you require $25000 to open a company.

 

In that case, if your partner invests 50% or 70% then he/she can demand 50% partnership or profit from your business. So, the best way is to find a person who understands business, has tech knowledge, and then get him as a business partner by following some legal evidence. So, it may be the best way to open a software company without money.   

 

3. Build a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

 

Before taking an office space, you may build software on a specific thing to perform a particular task. In that case, hire skilled software engineers from the online marketplace (Fiverr, freelancers, Upwork, etc.). So, hire them remotely and assign tasks to discover or develop software. In that case, make sure the software quality is high.

 

Quality is always key to staying top and easy to reach in the bright future. Whenever designing a software ensure the software is easy to integrate with others, customizable, easy to operate, and versatile. Ensure all the features work appropriately and the price is reasonable.

 

After completing a software development process, run a product-selling campaign. Hopefully, you will get better sales. So, as an entrepreneur, you may adopt this way to earn money and brand awareness. However, this MVP strategy can significantly save your investment.

 

It is noted that this strategy is not a great way to grab more customers but before taking a company space, you may follow this strategy remotely to save others costs. If all the things or jobs are done then take office and come to the front line. So, think first, then take a step on what you should do.

 

4. Use Open-Source Software

 

Open source software is a kind of free software where source code is available to edit, and customize as yourself. At the beginning stage use open-source software for managing your remote employees, tracking their tasks, and others. In that case, human resource management software (HR software) may be the best choice.  If you provide customer-related service or product-based service, then use CRM software or customer relationship management software.  

 

However, many software service providers offer free or open-source software. You may get that opportunity. Most of the software is customizable and cloud-based. So, get the license, customize it for your business or service, and manage whatever you need. 

 

If you have a question, may I have all the features available? Indeed, free software does not have all the features available. But whatever they have at the beginning level, may be sufficient to manage your crucial tasks on a small scale.

 

5. Hire Remote People to Reduce Costs

 

Do you want to reduce your salary and wages? At the software company startup stage, hire remote employees. Where to find remote employees? There are some popular online marketplaces (Fiverr, Freelancer, FlexJobs Corporation, and others. 

 

Millions of skilled people work there for different clients and different tasks. Find people from such a platform according to your requirements. Hopefully, you will get a skilled person for your software development service.

 

Therefore, you may search them in Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and other communities. Those who work remotely, probably charge a lower cost than a permanent employee. It is the best strategy for software development companies for startups and minimizes employee costs. So, stay with communities, find a skilled person according to your requirements, and work with remote staff at a cheap cost.

 

6. Use Crowdfunding Platforms

 

Do you know how to start a business without money? Crowdfunding is the best idea for starting a software business with no money. Collecting an amount of money from a large number of people for a new business venture, which is called crowdfunding. Suppose you want to start a software business and want to get financial assistance from the people. In that case, write your journey.

 

It means what you want to do with this money, which purpose you want to invest, business profit, etc. So, post that in different groups or communities. If the people feel better and are interested in your idea then they may contribute to your business.

 

You may Borrow money from them on a contract basis for a specific time. However, is crowdfunding a type of loan? Not really, some people provide financial support to the business owner without an interest. Other people may take an interest in the percentage. So, deal with the fund providers, if you feel better and everything matches between both of you then get the finance and invest in your software company startup.

 

7. Borrow or Lend from Relatives

 

Family members or relatives always play an essential role as the overall assistance. So, how can you get money from them? Well, first of all, share your software company start-up plan, and show a road map as well. If they give you money without their profit or only for starting a business then it will be a good thing for you.

 

On the other hand, if they don’t agree to lend money without profit then create a loan agreement. Yes, it would be a better idea to obtain money. So, create a loan agreement with low cost for a specific duration. This agreement will carry accuracy and authenticity. So, pay their loan timely and if you need more, then you may get it from them.

 

8. Utilize Free Marketing Strategies

 

The campaign is a key to building a brand. The company or company name is a brand. For building a popular brand, there is no comparison of campaigns. In that case, social media can be the best way to do that. How many people use social media globally? Surprisingly, more than 5.17 billion people use social media. This is more than 86.1% of the total world population.

 

  • More than 3.07 billion people use Facebook and India, the USA, and Indonesia are the top users.
  • More than 368 million people use Twitter. The USA, Japan, Indonesia, and India are the top users.
  • Over 1 billion people use LinkedIn in around 200 countries. The United States is the top LinkedIn user country in the world.
  • More than 1.04 billion people use TikTok around the world. Over 157.6 million people use TikTok in Indonesia.

 

Now think, how beneficial social media is for your tech business. In that case, you should apply some tricks. What is that? First of all, find your targeted country and which social media is popular in that country. 

 

Now, run the campaign by targeting traffic in that country. You may run paid or premium ads on a short, medium, and long-term basis by using low CPC keywords. Now collect the lead, track traffic source, and wait for the result.

 

However, in that, you don’t have to pay more. It depends on the keyword CPC value and ad duration. However, on average, you should spend $1 to $300 per month at the beginning stage. So, for a software company, it is a pretty low amount for brand awareness, lead generation, and traffic conversion. So, follow the right strategy and get the result.

 

9. Pre-Sell Your Product or Service

 

Pre-selling software carries a significant sign that the software meets better quality and customer requirements. Suppose you have developed a demo software that is versatile, scalable, compatible, customizable, easy to use, low cost, updated technology (AI, IoT, AR, VR) or languages or framework (PHP framework), Angular JS,  Django, CodeIgniter, and others), and attractive features. It also meets your targeted customer requirements.

 

Whenever this software appeared to them then they placed an order for fully developed software. In that case, customers may have some requirements to add a few features or modules. However, this process is also called a presell product. Although it is difficult for the newly startup software company.

 

However, there are other strategies to get pre-orders to develop software. In that case, get help from social media and other software buying and selling communities. Post your software development strategies or software development methodologies (technology, pricing, etc.). If people feel better with your strategies then they may order you to develop or build software.

 

10. Build a Strong Communication Network

 

Communication plays a fabulous role in building a company. Communication is the way to bring business growth to a supreme level. By effective communication, you can build a productive relationship with customers and developers. 

 

What type of communication should I use? Verbal and technological communication system. For verbal communication, use your verbal speech with the clients over the telephone call or physical meeting.

 

On the other hand, for technological communication systems, adopt email, or chatbot software that can be integrated into your website. Chatbot is an AI bot that suggests the next messaging option and it may be the short and time-saving way to communicate. So, focus on communication networks, build a strong community, and find customers to sell your products.

 

How to Get Clients for a Startup Software Company?

 

When starting a software development company, it is difficult to get more clients. This is because of trust, reliability, and public reviews. So, how to get customers for startup? In that case, adopt some strategies such as

 

  • Social media campaigns and run ads.
  • Email marketing.
  • Emphasize local marketing.
  • Focus on building a strong brand.
  • Focus on content marketing strategy.
  • Google ads by targeting traffic and country as well.
  • Run a software promotional campaign.
  • List software on different listing websites.

 

At the beginning level, apply these traffic-attracting methods. Hopefully, that will work. It is noted that whatever business you have, requires time and investment to get the expected sales and revenue.

 

Can A Non-Programmer Start A Software Company?

 

Yes, they can but need to know the software industry. Many tech entrepreneurs have no coding knowledge but they have been doing well in the software industry. If you have knowledge and strategy on how to start a software company without money then of course you can successfully do that job.

 

For some privileges, you may find a partner who has a coding idea and is skilled in programming languages. This is because he/she may help to let you know about the coding strategy, software requirements, the best programming languages, frameworks, and many more. So, it is not necessary that you must have coding knowledge to start a software company.

 

How Hard is it to Start a Tech Company Without Investment?

 

I have no money, may I open a software company without money? It is extremely hard to open a software company with no money. If you don’t have finances to invest then adopt some ways to collect money for opening a company. It may be lending money from your relatives, getting crowdfunding, bank loan, finding a partner to invest, and others.

 

However, clear me one thing, how much money do I require to start a software company? It depends on a few factors like country and location, company size, employee salary, buying computers, decoration, etc. So, on average $5000 to $10000 for a small software company. This amount may be higher or lower depending on the above factors.

 

However, I have shared some tech startup examples or sources to collect money. Those can be the best ways to start a new tech journey.

 

Final Thought

 

Do you have a low budget? Thinking about how to start a software company with no money? Where to collect money to invest? Don’t worry I have referred to some crucial sources to get money to start a software company without money. So, generate ideas, find a partner, apply your knowledge, start a software development company, and become a successful entrepreneur. Hopefully, the above ideas will work to start your business and bring it to the top-notch in the future.