7 Perils of Accidental Startup Success That Can Doom Your Business to Imminent Failure

Sometimes the faster you rise, the faster you fall. Beware of these seven perils that can slice your venture’s lifespan into a fraction of its potential, even if you’re on the fast-track to success.

- Rachel Greenberg

One of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is that once you crack the code to sales, you've created an invincible money-printing machine. A lesser-known truth is that a few looming perils can doom even an initially successful business to failure, and you may not see them coming until it's too late. Here are seven perils to keep at the forefront of your mind so that you can steer your business clear of the death traps ahead.

1. Failing to predict that your well might dry up

If you're one of those lucky founders with direct access to the right target market for the product or service you're peddling and begin amassing word-of-mouth sales through friends and family without spending a dime, you could be susceptible to an unexpected drought. While free organic marketing is great, it seldom lasts forever and may leave you shocked when your network's demand dries up, especially if you aren't selling a recurring revenue product.

The solution to mitigate this disruption is to accept that your direct network isn't the entire universe; once it gets saturated, you're going to need to generate new leads and reach a broader market. Thus, lead generation and audience growth is one of the most under-emphasized, yet mission critical priorities for early-stage founders.

2. Chasing publicity without a post-viral conversion plan