Startup mantras from entrepreneurs (3)
How
important are financial resources, or is resourcefulness more handy;
should your startup be many things to many people, or just a few
things for some; what if you fail; what's more important, the idea
or the execution; how do you ride the rollercoaster that a startup
is; how hard do you really need to work; how ambitious should you
really be; should you start up in an upturn or a downturn.
Here
are the gems from the NEXT SIX
14. Praveen Tyagi, 39 FOUNDER, IIT-IAN'S PACE
'Be Honest and Committed'
14. Praveen Tyagi, 39 FOUNDER, IIT-IAN'S PACE
'Be Honest and Committed'
CLAIM
TO FAME
As founder of the coaching firm IIT-ian's Pace — valued at Rs 1,000-crore — he has trained over 30,000 students and is now setting up schools in Dubai.
STARTUP MANTRA
I learnt two important lessons. Be honest and committed to what you are doing. It works like magic — it helps you persevere through all the ups and downs in a startup's journey. When I started, my biggest wish was to see my students succeed. Keeping their needs in focus, we evolved an integrated course which combined medical/engineering coaching with studies for 11th and 12th. It was a new way of teaching and coaching children. But because it focussed on the students' needs, it has worked well.
I also learnt early that attracting and retaining the best talent (teachers) will be key to my success. And teachers should not just be knowledgeable but also have the ability to inspire children. Today, most of our teachers are IITians themselves and are role models for other children. To build a team like this, one has to really earn their faith and respect. executioner.
15. Ronnie Screwvala, 58 FOUNDER, UTV GROUP
'Have a Survival Plan along with a Success Plan'
As founder of the coaching firm IIT-ian's Pace — valued at Rs 1,000-crore — he has trained over 30,000 students and is now setting up schools in Dubai.
STARTUP MANTRA
I learnt two important lessons. Be honest and committed to what you are doing. It works like magic — it helps you persevere through all the ups and downs in a startup's journey. When I started, my biggest wish was to see my students succeed. Keeping their needs in focus, we evolved an integrated course which combined medical/engineering coaching with studies for 11th and 12th. It was a new way of teaching and coaching children. But because it focussed on the students' needs, it has worked well.
I also learnt early that attracting and retaining the best talent (teachers) will be key to my success. And teachers should not just be knowledgeable but also have the ability to inspire children. Today, most of our teachers are IITians themselves and are role models for other children. To build a team like this, one has to really earn their faith and respect. executioner.
15. Ronnie Screwvala, 58 FOUNDER, UTV GROUP
'Have a Survival Plan along with a Success Plan'
CLAIM
TO FAME
Created a media and entertainment Goliath with interests from broadcasting to film distribution, which was sold to The Walt Dinsey Co for Rs 2,000 crore. Screwvala now heads Unilazer Ventures, a private equity firm.
STARTUP MANTRA
In the late '90s, I was pioneering home shopping in India (as seen on TV). Indian consumers were then sceptical of buying anything they could not touch and feel. To buy by watching an infomercial on TV and have it delivered to your home was alien. Logistics and credit card penetration were in their infancy. I hired a strong team and a CEO from day one. My learning then and even now is that startups and mid-sized companies get their level of hiring wrong many times in their endeavour to control costs.
We launched with over 100 products but for us the instant 'hit' product was the "roti maker", which allowed the housewife to make fresh rotis fast on the dining table itself. Over the next three years, we faced incredible challenges that ultimately made us question its existence. In the process, I learnt many lessons.
One, that there is a small sliver of a moment to realise whether you are pioneering or are before time. And if it is the latter, how do you pivot or plan for it or call it a day and take a hard call.
Two, when you are embarking on a new concept with a lot of headwinds, you need a survival plan as much as your main success plan. It is not a Plan B. It is your plan that when things do not pan out the way you planned you can move to the survival plan for as long as it is needed.
Three, dependency on one thing — product/technology/person — can turn into a liability. Having a hit product like the roti maker on day one was a bonus but it became a liability as it made us complacent. We believed we had struck gold in home shopping. Soon, even the smallscale vendor of this roti maker could not cope with demand. So we had an entire company dependent on a product that was never in stock.
Four, when you are starting something new, especially when it's disruptive, it needs the founder's 100% focus. At that time, I was also busy setting up UTV and could not give this venture the time and focus it needed. Instead of asking ourselves the existential questions, I continued to blissfully whistle past the graveyard.
I went ahead to tie up with a US-based home shopping company that was a global leader. Even here, I learnt my lessons. When a company is so successful in its country of origin, it carries the assumption that what works on their home turf works around the world. They wanted a cost model the company could not afford and wanted to focus on the very top of the pyramid. I just did not see things that way for India. It was a nonstarter from day one.
Lastly, we had two of the savviest investors from Silicon Valley; they were very supportive and patient but their focus was how to take the whole concept online at a time when we were still struggling with TV shopping.
Looking back, if we had stayed the course, we could have been one of the largest companies in home shopping, and online shopping later. But that's a big if and another story.
Created a media and entertainment Goliath with interests from broadcasting to film distribution, which was sold to The Walt Dinsey Co for Rs 2,000 crore. Screwvala now heads Unilazer Ventures, a private equity firm.
STARTUP MANTRA
In the late '90s, I was pioneering home shopping in India (as seen on TV). Indian consumers were then sceptical of buying anything they could not touch and feel. To buy by watching an infomercial on TV and have it delivered to your home was alien. Logistics and credit card penetration were in their infancy. I hired a strong team and a CEO from day one. My learning then and even now is that startups and mid-sized companies get their level of hiring wrong many times in their endeavour to control costs.
We launched with over 100 products but for us the instant 'hit' product was the "roti maker", which allowed the housewife to make fresh rotis fast on the dining table itself. Over the next three years, we faced incredible challenges that ultimately made us question its existence. In the process, I learnt many lessons.
One, that there is a small sliver of a moment to realise whether you are pioneering or are before time. And if it is the latter, how do you pivot or plan for it or call it a day and take a hard call.
Two, when you are embarking on a new concept with a lot of headwinds, you need a survival plan as much as your main success plan. It is not a Plan B. It is your plan that when things do not pan out the way you planned you can move to the survival plan for as long as it is needed.
Three, dependency on one thing — product/technology/person — can turn into a liability. Having a hit product like the roti maker on day one was a bonus but it became a liability as it made us complacent. We believed we had struck gold in home shopping. Soon, even the smallscale vendor of this roti maker could not cope with demand. So we had an entire company dependent on a product that was never in stock.
Four, when you are starting something new, especially when it's disruptive, it needs the founder's 100% focus. At that time, I was also busy setting up UTV and could not give this venture the time and focus it needed. Instead of asking ourselves the existential questions, I continued to blissfully whistle past the graveyard.
I went ahead to tie up with a US-based home shopping company that was a global leader. Even here, I learnt my lessons. When a company is so successful in its country of origin, it carries the assumption that what works on their home turf works around the world. They wanted a cost model the company could not afford and wanted to focus on the very top of the pyramid. I just did not see things that way for India. It was a nonstarter from day one.
Lastly, we had two of the savviest investors from Silicon Valley; they were very supportive and patient but their focus was how to take the whole concept online at a time when we were still struggling with TV shopping.
Looking back, if we had stayed the course, we could have been one of the largest companies in home shopping, and online shopping later. But that's a big if and another story.
16.
Sandeep
Sharma, 44 CO-FOUNDER, YEPME.COM
'You get Tested Much More as an Entrepreneur'
'You get Tested Much More as an Entrepreneur'
CLAIM
TO FAME
Worked in companies from Accenture to Sapient and HCL Technologies before co-founding the online fashion retail venture in 2011
STARTUP MANTRA
You need to have enough passion and patience in anything you pick. You may not have complete control over external variables like funding, market, consumers but if you are passionate about what you are doing, it is easier. You get tested much more during entrepreneurship. You need to hold yourself tight. It will often be a rocky journey and you will need lots of patience. However, if what you are doing is aligned to what you are passionate about, the journey becomes easier.
Worked in companies from Accenture to Sapient and HCL Technologies before co-founding the online fashion retail venture in 2011
STARTUP MANTRA
You need to have enough passion and patience in anything you pick. You may not have complete control over external variables like funding, market, consumers but if you are passionate about what you are doing, it is easier. You get tested much more during entrepreneurship. You need to hold yourself tight. It will often be a rocky journey and you will need lots of patience. However, if what you are doing is aligned to what you are passionate about, the journey becomes easier.
17. K Ganesh, 52 FOUNDER, TUTORVISTA.COM
'Don't
Forget the Frustrating Rule of 3'
CLAIM
TO FAME
The serial entrepreneur who sold TutorVista for Rs 1,000 crore is now steering four startups and is an angel investor in 23 such ventures
STARTUP MANTRA
(Never forget) the frustrating "Rule of 3". In a startup, everything is three times more or longer — either you will need three times more capital than what you planned for, or it will take three times longer to reach your milestones, or it will take three times more sweat and tears than you were prepared for.
The serial entrepreneur who sold TutorVista for Rs 1,000 crore is now steering four startups and is an angel investor in 23 such ventures
STARTUP MANTRA
(Never forget) the frustrating "Rule of 3". In a startup, everything is three times more or longer — either you will need three times more capital than what you planned for, or it will take three times longer to reach your milestones, or it will take three times more sweat and tears than you were prepared for.
18.
Paras
Chopra, 27 FOUNDER, WINGIFY.COM
'Be Ready for a Rollercoaster Ride'
'Be Ready for a Rollercoaster Ride'
CLAIM
TO FAME
Founded the firm which makes web-based tools for online businesses in June 2009
STARTUP MANTRA
Running a startup is like a rollercoaster ride. One day you feel euphoric that you are inches closer to conquering the world. The next day you feel like your business may be doomed. And the reasons could be many — a complaint of a customer or a negative review or a product bug. There is always a lingering fear that we may cease to exist 12 months down the line. When established companies like MySpace with hundreds of employees face uncertainty, how can our small team afford to be complacent?
19. Amit Ranjan, 42 CO-FOUNDER, SLIDESHARE.COM
' Startup CEOs are Nothing but Glorified Recruiters'
Founded the firm which makes web-based tools for online businesses in June 2009
STARTUP MANTRA
Running a startup is like a rollercoaster ride. One day you feel euphoric that you are inches closer to conquering the world. The next day you feel like your business may be doomed. And the reasons could be many — a complaint of a customer or a negative review or a product bug. There is always a lingering fear that we may cease to exist 12 months down the line. When established companies like MySpace with hundreds of employees face uncertainty, how can our small team afford to be complacent?
19. Amit Ranjan, 42 CO-FOUNDER, SLIDESHARE.COM
' Startup CEOs are Nothing but Glorified Recruiters'
CLAIM
TO FAME
Launched in 2006, SlideShare is the YouTube for slideshows. Its slide hosting services allow users to upload files privately or publicly; recently Ranjan was called up by the Indian government to lead a project to open up its technology systems
STARTUP MANTRA
Hiring the right team is the biggest challenge for an early stage startup. When you are nobody, when you can't offer top salaries, how do you convince smart people to work for you? The first few employees will make or break your startup's destiny... Getting people with the right attitude and expectancies is very hard. As a founder, you always have to be in hiring model.
Something that inadvertently helped us in this situation was blogging. All three SlideShare founders were active bloggers in their respective areas. We wrote honestly about the experience of running our startup. Our blogs were read by lots of people and it helped us connect with them. They started trusting us and some of them approached us saying they wanted to work for SlideShare. Almost all of our first batch of employees (who played a pivotal role in building it) were people who read the founders' blogs.
Launched in 2006, SlideShare is the YouTube for slideshows. Its slide hosting services allow users to upload files privately or publicly; recently Ranjan was called up by the Indian government to lead a project to open up its technology systems
STARTUP MANTRA
Hiring the right team is the biggest challenge for an early stage startup. When you are nobody, when you can't offer top salaries, how do you convince smart people to work for you? The first few employees will make or break your startup's destiny... Getting people with the right attitude and expectancies is very hard. As a founder, you always have to be in hiring model.
Something that inadvertently helped us in this situation was blogging. All three SlideShare founders were active bloggers in their respective areas. We wrote honestly about the experience of running our startup. Our blogs were read by lots of people and it helped us connect with them. They started trusting us and some of them approached us saying they wanted to work for SlideShare. Almost all of our first batch of employees (who played a pivotal role in building it) were people who read the founders' blogs.
ET141228
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