In 2002, Philip Deramo was part of an initial four-person team that
started Berkley Capital Underwriters, Inc. He served as the Assistant
Vice President and was responsible for producing and underwriting quota
share treaty reinsurance to provide ceding companies with capital
surplus relief. Deramo’s work as a startup executive enabled him to see
and experience some of the challenges that face startups, a few that are
explained below.
Market issues
One reason why startups fail is because there’s little or no market for their product offering. In some cases, the startup fails to generate a compelling value proposition that will make buyers want to purchase the product/service. In other instances, the timing of the product launch could be wrong. A startup can be ahead of the market by years, meaning the market is not ready for the solution.
Business model issues
Another cause of startup failure is that many entrepreneurs overestimate the work it takes to attract and acquire customers. They assume that because they have a nice website, service or product, that customers will scramble to buy it. That may be the case at the beginning, but it becomes costly to attract and keep customers.
If anything, entrepreneurs have to figure out a realistic cost of acquiring customers.
Poor management
Poor management dooms startups from the start. A weak management team will struggle to generate a sound product development strategy, will probably be poor at execution, and generally may fail to have a strong team working for them.
Philip Deramo’s experience at the startup enabled him to make the move to Berkley Re America in 2003, where he’s been working ever since.
Market issuesOne reason why startups fail is because there’s little or no market for their product offering. In some cases, the startup fails to generate a compelling value proposition that will make buyers want to purchase the product/service. In other instances, the timing of the product launch could be wrong. A startup can be ahead of the market by years, meaning the market is not ready for the solution.
Business model issues
Another cause of startup failure is that many entrepreneurs overestimate the work it takes to attract and acquire customers. They assume that because they have a nice website, service or product, that customers will scramble to buy it. That may be the case at the beginning, but it becomes costly to attract and keep customers.
If anything, entrepreneurs have to figure out a realistic cost of acquiring customers.
Poor management
Poor management dooms startups from the start. A weak management team will struggle to generate a sound product development strategy, will probably be poor at execution, and generally may fail to have a strong team working for them.
Philip Deramo’s experience at the startup enabled him to make the move to Berkley Re America in 2003, where he’s been working ever since.
