You may think that the only people interested in the financial markets are traders and big-money investors. However, anyone who wants to start up a new business should also keep a close eye on the markets, for the following reasons.
See Which Industries Are Booming
Rather than focus on individual companies, we can look to the stock market to see which industries and sectors are currently doing well. If you have an idea that you are keen on but aren’t sure how profitable the industry is, then take a look at how the shares in it are performing.
A good way of doing this is by looking at ETFs related to the industry. These are baskets of shares or other securities that allow you to see whether a particular sector is out-performing the market in general. While this isn’t a guarantee of a new venture in the same area being a success, it could help you to better understand the potential of what you are doing.
A look at the commodities market can also help you to see the latest movements in the materials and products that could have an effect on your business. The Trade360 Facebook page is the sort of useful resource to look out for. This account includes the latest technical analysis on the FTSE, as well as a look at how issues like Brexit are currently affecting the markets. These factors affect market sentiment which can be a good indicator of which industries are doing well and how your start-up may fare amongst competitors.
Understand When to Seek Funding or Launch an IPO
A decent understanding of how the financial markets work is also important in terms of looking for funding. You will want to know where you can look for investors and what sort of level of success you can expect, going by previous attempts by other businesses.
The same applies if you are thinking of launching an IPO to get the funds that are needed to expand your company or maybe to buy out a rival. You will want to understand how much you might be able to raise in this way and when the timing might be right to get it started.
By looking at the share price of similar companies that have gone through an IPO, you can get a better feel for the sort of price that you should be offering on each share. In early 2021, we can see the likes of Poshmark Inc and Kuke Music Holding listed as IPOs, at $42 and $10 respectively.
Look for Risks and Opportunities
The financial markets are where you may be able to spot upcoming risks and opportunities early. In other words, the financial market can prove to be a good indicator about which sectors & markets are booming and losing the sheen. If you see companies that stand out because of either poor performance or a very good performance, you may want to look into them, to see if you can work out what they are doing right or wrong.
An experienced trader will look for opportunities on under-valued stock or commodities. So, a start-up entrepreneur should also take some time to see if there is anything currently happening on the markets that they should be aware of.
By getting a good understanding of the current situation in the markets, you can approach the launch of your start-up with more confidence and useful knowledge.
The fortunes of some startups are closely related to financial markets
The onus of continuously studying the financial markets is relatively more on some startups. These include Fintech & NBFC startups as well as startups that hail from capital-intensive sectors like the manufacturing industry. Since these startups have an insistable need for capital for sustaining their operations, they have a special responsibility of closely supervising the financial markets. These startups may put a hold on their aggressive expansion strategy if the overall mood in the financial market is not upbeat, which implies that getting short or long-term loans at affordable rates would be almost difficult. This also implies that these startups have to closely align their business strategy in accordance with the mood & health of the financial market.
