There are many factors, that determine the success of the startup. Software Stability: In order for a startup to compete with other startups in a sector, the software has to be stable. If the team doesnt have the skill, then they will always be struggling to find resources. If the software breaks, then might as well throw it away, start fresh. Skill is the number problem for most incubators and venture capitalists. You are only as good as the worst employee of the team. Maintenance Overhead: The software has to constantly be upgraded. The software packages, the dependency software to build a startup is always aging and has end of life. Hence the team has to be capable of providing versions, upgrades to the software. The technology stack always needs to be current. Pivot Ability: The software technical team has to be able to pivot, if a competition suddenly provides a better solution, the team has to change direction and find an open spot of execution. Time is a critical factor, because if it takes too long to build the software, then the competition will steal the idea, and the opportunity. Marketing: Many startups die because they don't know how to market their software. Building software is one thing, but able to market it, show it to a wider audience is key. It takes time before the industry trusts a startup. The constant marketing is necessary to create a long lasting brand. Distribution: Distribution is a way to widen the marketing, as to find new opportunity. Most companies have enclosed networks, i.e. the people and business they regularly work with. However, for a startup to go global, it must has a wider distribution. This is how social networks were built, because they distributed their offerings to all corners of the world. Social Proof: It is very important to have a social proof for the service. Who is the top customer?