Aurora's 10 Tips for Startup Success

Aurora Digital Signage founders Susan and Brent Robinson launched their Fayetteville startup last year as a vehicle for their patent-pending digital signage software. Here are their 10 tips for startup success:

• Believe in your product even when no one else does. 
• Hire a team that also believes in your product and is willing to make sacrifices alongside you because they also feel passionately about the future success of the business.
• Embrace competition; do not pretend it does not exist. The more prevalent digital signage becomes the more doors are opened for Aurora.
• Don't schedule yourself for burnout. You can drive yourself insane if you don't take personal time. 
• Be prepared and understand that capital is a major requirement in a successful startup and success will likely cost far more than you expected.
• Flexibility and the willingness to adjust and adapt are extremely important. We've changed our direction multiple times to best benefit the business.
• Realize that you can't be an expert in every field and surround yourself with those who can give you quality advice and support. 
• Don't be embarrassed to ask lots of questions and listen to the answers. You'll learn a lot.
• Trust your instincts. 
• Never be afraid to make mistakes. Our greatest lessons, which have ultimately benefited both our product and our business, have come from what others would consider errors or reasons to quit. 

Brent Robinson on Innovate Arkansas:

"Innovate Arkansas has been very beneficial in helping us grow. We started the patent process on our software when we began Fly-N-Hog Media Group in 2009, and it was formally filed in 2011. IA submitted our patent along with additional information to a group called the Invention Evaluator.

"The patent process often takes many years and we were not sure where we stood, but after the Invention Evaluator we feel positive about our product, where we stand in the patent process and the direction we are focusing our software development in comparison with other digital signage companies. 

"The startup world can sometimes be lonely. We've struggled to find people we can speak openly and honestly with about the direction of the business and ask for advice on different aspects of growth. We feel lucky to have a group that we can talk to in plain terms and ask questions. We know at the end of the day the IA team's only motivation is to help individual companies, benefiting entrepreneurial growth in Arkansas."