What is the point of being grumpy? An ailing father is mad at his son because he could not join him for Thanksgiving. An employee is grumpy with his co-founder for working extra hours. An investor is unhappy with his portfolio for missing the quarter MAU. A customer is grumpy for poor vendor because he …
Author Archives: Atul
Paper: On product customization and customers willing to pay more
I was reading this behavioral economics paper [PDF] On product customization and customers willing. It cites how our bias plays its role (endowment effect, IKEA effect) and why credit card companies, E-commerce giants stress on personalized care and recommendation. Why we end up paying more for the customized coffee mug and feel worse if it …
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Assumption
An assumption can make us sick. It fosters our brain’s ability to switch things in our or against our favor. Love, hate, like, dislike all these are made up in our brain. Our bias, experience plays an equal role. The monkey mind will always have its fight mode open as are our assumptions. * My …
Worry
Marketers and other emerging professions are reaping profit from our worries. Do Yoga for a stress-free day. Avoid sugar or get diabetes. Eating meat causes heart disease. Gym every day to fight obesity. Eating tobacco causes cancer. These signals and messages receive more attention. Psychologists cite that worry trumps over sex in seeking our brain’s …
Transparency
Transparency seems to be the least regarded virtue in the startup ecosystem. Everyone stakeholder talks about its positive while forgetting to apply it. Founders will not tell the team about the real state of fundraising or money in the bank. An investor will never tell you he is not interested in you anymore. An employee …
Ask
Why are shy in asking, be it for advice or buying. Social scientists call it risk-averse tendency. The fear of losing hurts more than trying to gain. Asking from experts saves our time, no one is judging us. We make things look complicated. At the same time is it our ego or insecurity which plays …
Micromanage
The modern-day organization has gone bonkers, managers have become a surveillance machine. How does it matter what an employee wears and what time he comes and goes back from work? Why does he need to share his social media details or his affiliations to the management? I thought startups were about innovation and creativity. Nobody …
Hype
Hype is synonymous to oxygen in the current startup ecosystem. It is not limited to calling oneself a thought leader or a serial entrepreneur. Everyone is an expert in something, everyone calls himself or team a hustler. Most founders are under survivorship bias while investors on the hunt for a Unicorn. As a result, everyone …
Fearless
Starting a startup is a sign of being fearless. As a founder, you have to ensure that this philosophy gets propagated in every aspect. The hierarchy or pedigree should not hold back radical transparency. A fresher should get an equal opportunity like anyone else. They will be wrong at times. Encourage them to learn and …
advice
This crowded world of smart communication has a side effect. We have experts and advisors everywhere. Open Twitter, and you will find an investor sharing wisdom on running a successful startup. Open Hacker News, and you have some product guy sharing his wisdom followed by 1000 others in agreement or against it. …