In the early days of a startup, we have everything at stake. Chances of failing are more than making big. It is important to have a solid founding team who can go against all odds. Each one of us has to be open with our goals and should have priorities aligned with the organization. Most …
Category Archives: startups
bug
You have to be crazy to run a startup. 9 out of 10 times things get screwed. Be it team, customer, product, legal, investors or partnership. Nothing is certain. We have limited things in our control. The outcome like the shiny unicorn also depends on many externalities. All we have to do is to keep …
Effort and Incentive
We are lazy. All technological advancement: the washing machine, mixer grinder, and many others invented for the same. We don’t like changing habits as well. Making someone adapt to a new system is super challenging. Unless we are incentivized or rewarded 10X our effort, we are not switching our existing workflow. An incentive for your …
luxury
Since IMF is formally announced we are in a recession, a tough time is here. They also mentioned that this one is going to be worst that 2007. I am sure time will tell us more about it. But in the current scenario, things are messy. We are all indoors, everything is shut and the …
people
This is the time when you will be tested as a leader. This is a time when every single decision of yours will define the leadership for the future. This is the time when your decision can make or break someone’s life and belief. This is the time when you are going to be looked …
Sales Cycle
I have been told that enterprise sales take months to years in closing. But if the ticket size is small, decisions are taken quickly. Some of my learning from my mistakes has been simple. Do not take customers’ agreement on face value, get it in writing. Limit the trial period for a week or two. …
early adopters
As a founder, solving a problem one has to find early adopters. These are people who will use your product from day 0, even when your product is broken or half baked. These early adopters come in two categories. Those who like and care for you. You will find many well-wishers who will come as …
The mom test
I wish someone had given a copy of this book: the mom test, when I was starting up. It would have saved 1000 odd hours which as a team we consumed in meetings and shipping features. As an early-stage company and a first-time founder, I have gone through many cycles. Sometimes misread what customer is …
feature crap
As an early-stage startup building product from the ground up, please prioritize features early on. It is a feature creep that will kill you before the starvation of funds. It is very easy to fall for users feedback, compliment as an ego boost. We rally behind every other request we get from our users. We …
Corona Effect
Corona Virus is talk of the hour. Be it twitter, phone, WhatsApp, everywhere is surfaces. WHO has declared it a pandemic. It started in China and now traveled across the world. It will take at least 18 months to ship a vaccine. It is elderly who are worst affected by this virus. The dogs are …