My lessons till date…

I have been quite for sometime now. Rest assured it isnt for the lack of something to talk about. We are currently in the process of launching with two different operators – one in India, and one Overseas. The fact that both these products are extremely large, and require dedicated focus is why I have been pretty ‘swept under’.

I was sitting back the other day and thinking about the journey – and there were a LOT of lessons that came to me, which I thought of sharing with whoever cares to read this, so I will just list them down with a one line explanation of why. Some I learnt early on – others I am learning as we speak, while still others were taught to me in formal class through the Startup Leadership Program. Here goes:

On Human resources:

1/ When hiring a team, measure them on the fit with your core values and past performance, and typically hire As (Thanks to Nikhil Nath for introducing this concept to us at SLP). The fact is that if you hire B’s, they will most probably hire Cs under them and you are in the death spiral. Define your core values for the company that you wish to build! Also read ‘topgrading‘ by Bradford Smart to find out more about this! I am reading it now – and its the single biggest investment I will make into my own business.

2/ You embody the company, be sure you want a company like you: People tend to think of themselves as sexier than they really are – but the company will turn out (if you follow point 1) as what you are. Be ready for that.

3/ You will be the driver: No-one will be able to drive the people as much as you can / will. If you think that even the As will be able to take everything on, they wont. They will be much better than the rest – but they also need direction and cajoling.

On fund raising:

1/ A VC is your friend till the time you keep following him: Stop following him, focus on the business. He will start following you.

2/ There are 1000 reasons why you wont get investment: You will hear a new one every time you meet some new potential investor. Till the time you launch and there is a simple uptake. Then – nothing counts.

3/ There are genuine angels out there, but they are far outnumbered by the naysayers: People want to invest – but no matter how well they know you, they will still want ‘traction’ at an angel level. Find the right guys if you can.

4/ VCs will waste a lot of your time – get a boutique firm to do the dirty work: I have had discussions with VCs about my business model, which they dont understand jack about, but behave as if their words are the gospel truth on my business. Let someone else deal with them

5/ Survive: Do what you have to, but survive till you show the upswing. Money will come in post that.

On the entrepreneurial environment:

1/ Entrepreneurs seem to like entrepreneurs: People from the industry seem to like you because you are on their side. The truth is that 90% of these guys dont care two hoots about you. They want to find out how they can associate with you and appear ‘entrepreneurial’, or get their pound of flesh / get publicity. Sorry – but after 2 years, I can see through the guys.

2/ Dont rely on bigger entrepreneurs too much: Every entrepreneur wants to have a bigger entrepreneur in his rolodex to learn from, and get mentored and use them as a sounding board or he might want to invest in you etc. Unless he is your uncle, he will stop taking your calls / responding to emails sooner rather than later. I was quite surprised when I realized this – but thats the sad truth. You gotta be ready to do what you have to – primarily yourself!

3/ People want money more than anything else: ESOPs etc dont work. Money does.

My key takeaways:

1. I am on a lonely road – If someone comes and walks with me – great, if not – bollocks to them.  I will get there – if I have to drag the rest of my team with me across the finish line.

2. The journey is the enjoyable part - have a healthy detachment from the outcome. Enjoy the problems and issues that will come up – and you will have a fantastic ride! I know I am having one as we speak.

3. Self reliance is best – Dont expect anyone else to give you anything (though you must try).

4. Be more wordly wise – Dont take people at face value, and dont bend down to anyone. Stand up straight when you speak with someone. Noone is above you as an entrepreneur.

My apologies if this post came out in a manner that is more negative than positive, but let me tell you this: Take these to heart and you will have lesser headaches!

M

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