Maltese entrepreneurs looking to set up successful start-ups need to start looking at the bigger picture and think beyond the local context, according to Google experts.

While in Malta to train budding application developers as part of a Google Developers Launchpad project, Bartosz Balewski and Milan Guenther said that while many entrepreneurs here were eager to focus on very specific ideas, they needed to keep in mind size constraints when developing such concepts – or risk failing.

The pair have worked for the technology giant for over five years and have travelled the world, training entrepreneurs with different expertise and providing basic knowledge on developing a successful start-up.

“The Maltese market may at times be too small and so the start-ups need to acknowledge this at the very early stages. They cannot be closed off from the rest of the world because then they risk failing,” Mr Balewski said.

They cannot be closed off from the rest of the world

The pair held a two-day training session recently, working with seven start-ups, helping each of them develop their own idea while using strategies which had contributed to Google’s success.

According to Mr Guenther, start-ups with the potential to grow identify the importance of being relevant on the local level but also the European one. Only by amalgamating the two could start-ups succeed in the long term.

The experts also highlighted the importance of entrepreneurs being very aware of their surroundings. “Whether building software or any other project, the entrepreneurs should never focus solely on the end product.

“Many people just starting out often focus so much on the final results that they do not give enough importance to strategy, their business model, the people who would be using their product and other details which are ultimately crucial to their start-ups being a success,” Mr Balewski said.

The two-day seminar, organised by local application development company Incredible Web, was held over the weekend at the University of Malta’s Take Off Business Incubator.

The Google Developers Launchpad programme uses Google’s infrastructure for the sake of helping start-up companies focus on building, distributing and monetising new projects.