ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL..LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR

LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR

The rewards of entrepreneurship are worth it, but be ready for 5-10 years of life-changing hard work says Bala Parthasarathy

Research and find out alternatives to your product or service, and then devise your strategy
Having been an entrepreneur for over two decades in the Silicon Valley and here in India, with a mixed bag of successes and failures, I’ve learnt a few lessons that might be worth sharing.
Is it for you?
The rewards of entrepreneurship are well-published — the excitement of building a product or business, being your own boss, making a lot of money, etc. Far less known are the not-so-fun parts: Constantly living in a bipolar world where you might be a hero tomorrow or a total failure, making big decisions with little guidance that might affect not only you but your entire team, perpetually tight on money and, most of all, a major sacrifice on your family’s part. The rewards are worth it, but be ready for 5-10 years of life-changing hard work.
How to get started
While technology startups dominate the headlines, opportunities exist everywhere. Pick something you’re passionate about or know a lot about, and find people who are amazing to work with. While many startups have at least one founder who is an expert, it doesn’t always have to be so. When we started Snapfish, none of us knew anything about photos. But we learnt fast. So can you, if you decide to jump into a brand new area.
What startups overlook
The one thing you can bet on is that you are going to have more bad days than good. You need people you can trust and who are of a high calibre. The common mistake I’ve seen, especially in India, is to just go by trust and not find the best person. One of my worst failures was at a startup where we had an amazing team on paper — with great pedigree and experience — but had to shutter it in six months because we just could not get along.
Have a Deeper Purpose
Many startups are built by founders with a particular mission. My close friend just launched an elite online university in the US because he wants to change the face of college education. What if you don’t have such a deep yearning for anything special, but still want to be an entrepreneur? Do you still need a purpose? You do, and not just to get rich and famous. I see many entrepreneurs come to me with an idea on how to sell their business in two years. First, such quick ‘flips’ are rare in India. Second, buildingto-flip dramatically reduces your chances of success. Even if you didn’t start with a particular passion, spend enough time in the field, talk to potential customers and acquire the passion. Develop a deeper purpose. Do your research and look around to see what the alternative to your product or service is. At Snapfish, we had more than 100 competitors when we launched. Our product offering was not that different, but we picked a different market segment — Internet Moms, which was very small in 1999 — and chose to compete on price. Today, nearly 85% of the 100 million Snapfish users are mothers and price differentiation actually mattered to the customer as long as we could sustain it. Create a basic plan for two years. It is typical for this plan to become outdated every few months. But not having a plan is like sailing in the high seas without a compass.
Know when to give up
Perseverance is undoubtedly critical, without which you’re guaranteed to fail. But there are times when gracefully closing shop, recuperating and starting afresh is the right thing to do. Identifying these situations and not giving up easily is hard.
I think there are some interesting opportunities ahead. In technology, mobile broadband, cheap smartphones and tablets will push Internet penetration to 300 million users by 2015. That is the entire population of the US online! We have world-class talent and plenty of risk capital for the right team and idea. Dream big!

Bala Parthasarathy
DESIGNATION
Managing Partner, Angelprime
FIRMS FOUNDED
EzeTap, Unamia, Snapfish, iSelect, Wyatt River Software (US)
ONE THING I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
Pick a bigger market, we picked a niche
MOST EXCITING SPACE TO BE IN
Ecommerce, mobile apps and services for small enterprises in India, education

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