Tag: startup

Don’t kill your dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Life is short. Get Set. Startup

It’s always a great feeling when your work is also what you love to do. A job may or may not provide that option. Entrepreneurship does.

I have often heard senior professionals tell entrepreneurs that they wish they had the guts to leave their jobs and startup on their own. But I have yet to hear an entrepreneur, irrespective of whether their venture is doing well or struggling, tell any professional,

I WISH I HAD YOUR JOB.

The reason is easy to understand. Entrepreneurs start ventures largely in their areas of interest or passion or competence. It’s always a great feeling when your work is also what you love to do. A job may or may not provide that option. Entrepreneurship does.

But just doing what you are passionate about is not the only reason why entrepreneurs are generally more excited about their work. In some cases, rare though, you may get to do what you really are passionate about in a job too. The big difference however is that while in a job you are living either someone else’s dream or a company’s objectives, in your own startup, you are driving your own vision, goals, dreams and aspirations. Every small step in an entrepreneurial journey feels like an accomplishment and gives you the satisfaction of having reached a new milestone.

And while the entrepreneurial journey is not always smooth and often fraught with risks, challenges and failures, the entrepreneur’s passion for the concept and the domain provides the person the patience and courage and the will to push ahead and sometimes, even if the venture fails, gives the person a personal high of having tried something.

Most importantly, irrespective of what the outcome of an entrepreneur’s venture – whether it fails or succeeds – the entrepreneur always wins, because even the failures teach you so much about business and life. They prepare your foundation for another leap. Another shot at glory.

Most entrepreneurs continue on the entrepreneurship journey. If one venture fails, they try another. If the entrepreneurial experience had not been a satisfying one, they would have given up and taken up a job.

But passion about what you do is not just a nice by-product of entrepreneurship. It is a necessary ingredient. Because, without passion and commitment you are unlikely to find the will to push through challenging times.

And challenges there will be many and at many different times of the venture’s life. That’s why I tell entrepreneurs – don’t start a venture because it was the first opportunity that came across, or because you saw someone else do something well. Don’t just think of the obvious business ideas that seem to be doing well around you, or businesses that investors seem to be funding currently. Don’t go after a fad or a sector just because it is seeing a lot of action. Do it only if your interest lies in that sector, and in what you want to do in that sector.



Most of us have a streak of entrepreneurism within us. Many of us dream of becoming entrepreneurs and starting a venture. Often we have ideas that we think we should pursue, and which we think we can build a successful business around.

But most people don’t startup. Something holds them back, and they find several excuses for not being able to even startup. How often do we hear people look at some successful company and tell their family & friends

I HAD EXACTLY THE SAME IDEA A FEW YEARS AGO.

BUT I DID NOT START A BUSINESS THEN. I WISH I HAD.

Most would know friends who have had this exact feeling of regret because the very idea that they did not act upon is now a successful company.

Today it is far easier to get started. Cost of starting up has gone down. Accelerators and incubators and forums like TiE and NEN provide mentoring to first-time entrepeneurs. Access to investors is easier through angel groups and online platforms that connect startups and investors. That opens up entrepreneurship as a career option to anyone with ideas and aspirations.

Get Set. Startup.

Author: Prajakt Raut

Prajakt is the founder of Applyifi. He was previously a part of the founding team of The Hatch for Startups, co-founder of Orange Cross, Asia Director for TiE (The IndusEntrepreneurs), and head of operations of Indian Angel Network. He mentors early-stage companies on strategy, business model & monetization, fundraising/bootstrapping and on preparing the company for growth.

This article was originally published in Inc42

Image credit: bretcontreras.com



6 Pro tips from Guy Kawasaki for growing your business

Sharing with you infographics to help entrepreneurs to succeed in their life.

Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, an online graphic design tool. He is on the board of trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, a brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz USA, and an executive fellow of the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley).

He was also the chief evangelist of Apple. He is also the author of The Art of the Start 2.0, The Art of Social Media, Enchantment, and nine other books.

Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

Sharing with you infographics to help entrepreneurs to succeed in their life.



Image credit: guykawasaki.com



Top 10 Indian Startups and how they took off

Here is a list of top 10 Indian startups that are riding the startup wave, and how they started.

The year 2015 was a definitive year for the Indian internet industry. As the economy continued to grow at a healthy 6-7%, the sluggish Chinese economy meant investors are looking at India with renewed interest. Nobody cashed in bigger than the e-commerce players.

Experts believe that while the Indian e-commerce market is currently pegged at $5 billion, the figure might leap to as much as $40-50 billion by 2020. A 2015 PwC report even states that Tier 2 and 3 cities have seen 30% to 50% rise in transactions.

With the rural and semi-rural markets catching up to the trend, no wonder the likes of internet startups are pulling out all their stocks to acquire customers with hefty discounts and schemes. However, while all this might seem very recent, it all started a while ago.

Here is a list of top 10 Indian startups that are riding the startup wave, and how they started.

1. Flipkart

This Bangalore-based e-commerce company is already registered in Singapore. Sachin and Binny Bansal launched it back in 2007, and the company now has launched its own product range under the brand name ‘DigiFlip’! Flipkart is currently one of India’s largest e-commerce players.

2. Snapdeal

Online marketplace Snapdeal was started by Wharton graduate Kunal Bahl and IIT Delhi guy Rohit Bansal. The company now has top investors like SoftBank onboard and is the biggest local rival to Flipkart.



3. Paytm

This Indian e-commerce company is based in Noida, India. Launched in 2010, Paytm has expanded to mobile recharges and bill payments, e-commerce, bus travel and even online deals. It is giving Flipkart and Snapdeal a run for their money.

4. OlaCabs

OlaCabs, commonly called Ola, is India’s home-grown transport network company. Launched as an online cab aggregator in Mumbai, this Bangalore-based startup is among the fastest growing online businesses currently. It is also India’s answer to global taxi giants like Uber.

5. Oyo Rooms

Touted as India’s largest branded network of hotels, OYO Rooms currently operates in more than 160 Indian cities.

This company, founded by a rather young founder-CEO Ritesh Agarwal, has been branded as one among the next start-up unicorns. It is backed by investors like Softbank Group and Sequoia Capital.

6. Zomato

This restaurant search and discovery service was founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah. It also provides cashless payment, online ordering, table reservation, and point-of-sale systems.

Users have access to restaurant contact details, scanned menus and photos sourced by local street teams. User reviews and ratings also help.

It currently operates in 23 countries, including India, Australia and the United States.



7. ShopClues

This online marketplace in currently based in Gurgaon, India. It was founded in California’s Silicon Valley in 2011. It came to India as the 35th entry in the Indian e-commerce space and now has over 12,000 registered merchants, 2,00,000+ products and over 42 million visitors every year across 9500 locations in the country.

8. Practo

Practo is a comprehensive health app. It currently has over 1,00,000 doctors listed from over 310 Indian towns and cities. It has over 1.3 million pageviews and 30,000 appointments booked every month, with traffic growing at 24% month-on-month.

The company has seven offices, in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Singapore.

9. UrbanClap

UrbanClap is an online platform that helps customers find and hire service professionals. The idea is really picking up amongst India’s nuclear families, tanks to the ease it offers.

10. Lenskart

Lenskart is an online eyewear portal founded by Peyush Bansal along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi. They currently sell prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses and contact lenses.

The company has self owned and franchise stores across India.

This article was originally published in Business Insider India.



27 Striking facts most people don’t know about startups

The world’s economy has always been dependent on startups and innovative business ideas, but what does the current landscape look like and who are the driving forces behind today’s entrepreneurial race?

The world’s economy has always been dependent on startups and innovative business ideas, but what does the current landscape look like and who are the driving forces behind today’s entrepreneurial race?



11 Times when Indian startup wars got very real

Here are the top 11 times when the things got a bit heated in the Indian startup ecosystem.

The Indian startup ecosystem is normally a friendly place. People offer each other tips, share insights and generally have each other’s backs. But when there’s intense competition and big money at stake, the niceness is sometimes cast aside and bitter rivalries surface.

Here are the top 11 times when the things got a bit heated in the Indian startup ecosystem.

1. When Rahul Yadav had a tussle with the Housing investors

The most (in)famous battle in the startups world began when Housing.com cofounder and CEO Rahul exchanged a war of words with one of his own investors, Shailendra Singh of Sequioa capital. This was followed up a reposte from Singh and another barb by Yadav including some colourful language. Rahul’s temper ultimately ended up costing him his job, as after falling out of favour with the board, Rahul was fired from the company he cofounded.

2. When Rahul yadav called Deepinder Goyal a restaurant menu scanner

During his whole Housing saga, Rahul Yadav challenged other startup founders to follow in his footsteps and distribute a part of their equity amongst their employees. While Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal decided to not dignify Yadav’s cheek with a response, Deepinder Goyal replied to Rahul Yadav’s Facebook post with a “cute”. Rahul Yadav followed the snark with some photoshop work where he called Goyal a “restaurant scanner.”

3. When Haptik accused Helpchat of copying its business model and app design

Before the personal assistant chat app Helpchat came into its current form, it was a consumer complaint redressal forum called Akosha. However, Haptik, accused the then-Akosha of copying their entire app, despite Haptik being part of a judging panel of a hackathon organised by Akosha. “Imitation is the best form of flattery. And to everyone at Akosha, we at Haptik are truly humbled that you decided to build a clone to our app, not missing out on a single feature.”, the Haptik blog said. Not taking the barbs without a fight, Ankush Singla, founder of Akosha denied all such accusations and in a detailed blogpost explained how his startup came to make the app which for it was a natural progressions and a product of its 300+ engineers. Akosha is the personal assistant app Helpchat now, and competes more closely with Haptik than ever before. But looks like even after more than a year since the incident, the bad blood between the two startups is far from over as a current message on Haptik clearly seems to take a dig at Helpchat.



4. When TVF founders were embroiled in a legal battle over ownership

After its hugely popular take on India’s startup scene captured all the drama associated with entrepreneurship, TVF had a new resource to draw inspiration from – its own internal feud. TVF Founder Arunabh Kumar was dragged to court by former colleague Prashant Raj. Raj, who quit the company in 2014, demanded a 4% share in the company as well as cash compensation for his work with TVF.

5. When Zomato offended Dineout with its “first” claim

When last year Zomato launched its restaurant booking service and announced that it wanted “to ensure that we are the first in the market”, Dineout wasn’t pleased. Dineout had been taking restaurant booking since 2012, and sensing that Zomato was stepping on its toes, and not missing the marketing opportunity this would bring, Dineout wrote a scathing open letter to Zomato, pointing out how Dineout, not Zomato were the first restaurant booking service in India. Carrying on with the “cute” comeback, Zomato came up with this.

6. When Vijay Shekhar Sharma admitted to not respecting Snapdeal or Flipkart

Vijay Shekhar Sharma is known to mince no words when talking about Paytm. At a company party, VSS – as he’s popularly known – gave a rousing speech to his employees, proclaiming how “no fucking brand was better than us”. A few months later, in an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, VSS also mentioned how comparing Paytm with Flipkart and Snapdeal is unfair as those were mere “retailers”, and he didn’t enjoy comparisons with startups he didn’t even respect.

7. When Sachin Bansal wanted to have a go at competition, but himself was slayed

The otherwise soft spoken and reticent Flipkart co-founder and ex-CEO Sachin Bansal has had his share of controversy. Amidst talks of Chinese etailer giant Alibaba looking to set up shop in India, Bansal tweeted how Alibaba coming to India is a sign its investments (Snapdeal and Paytm) not doing so well. While VSS let this one pass without a comment, Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl wasn’t one to take Bansal’s slight lying down. He came up with this, to which Bansal had no response but a tame “:P”

8. When Rapido Bangalore blamed Uber of unfair competition

Uber launched its bike taxi service, UberMoto in Feb this year, and the response was grand. However, the bike taxi startup Rapido, that claims to be the first of its kind in India wasn’t happy. Not only had Uber poached many of its drivers for UberMoto, but had also compromised on training standards that rapido had provided, causing Rapido to respond to OfficeChai’s UberMoto tweet with a heartfelt message that read “No training, and poaching Rapido’s drivers. A fair playing field is all we ask for, @Uber”. Rapido’s tweet to OfficeChai has since been deleted.



9. When Uber took Ola to court over foul play

Ola and Uber are locked in a several battle for street dominance in India, but the two have sparred off the streets as well. Uber accused Ola of trying to sabotage its business by creating fake accounts to make and immediately cancel fake bookings, causing loss of revenue and customer dissatisfaction for Uber. While Ola has denied involvement, the court hearings are scheduled for later this year.

10. When Jugnoo followed suit and accused Ola of the same

Following in Uber’s heels, auto-rickshaw aggregator Jugnoo accused Ola of foul play just like Uber had. It claimed that Ola employees created multiple fake accounts to make and cancel bookings, trying to sabotage Jugnoo’s business. Jugnoo even published a proof of their claim through screenshots showing a pattern in the cancellations.

11. When Kishore Biyani dismissed the whole ecommerce industry

Retail oldie Kishore Biyani has never been a fan of e-commerce. As Chairman of the Future Group, India’s largest retail chain, he had predicted last year that “none of the grocery delivery companies will survive”, and he has been consistently disdainful of India’s e-commerce boom. He then decided to take on the entire ecommerce industry in a provocative campaign wherein Brand Factory, Future Group’s value retail chain poked fun at three main ecommerce players, Flipkart, Snapdeal and Amazon. With a straightforward theme of “Stop looking online”, the campaign was trying to wean users away from the e-commerce companies who’ve been luring them with discounts.



5 Skills entrepreneurs can learn from other professionals

Entrepreneurs need multiple skills to stay ahead of the competition and succeed in their chosen industry. Here are five skills specific professionals can teach.

Entrepreneurs need multiple skills to stay ahead of the competition and succeed in their chosen industry. While there are plenty of books out there that highlight the skills needed to run a business – and how to acquire them – the best source for learning is other professionals who can demonstrate in real time how they excel in their fields.

Here are five skills specific professionals can teach.

1. Taking risks – from surgeons

Not many understand think about the risky business medicine can be. A patient’s health, and in some cases even his or her life, is on the line. Surgeons have to perform procedures that involve risks, without letting those risks affect their performance.

Since being an entrepreneur is all about taking risks, risk is one skill to be learned from surgeons. Doctors are usually trained to take risks and speak to their patients about sensitive topics with confidence. Experts say the key lies in not having an emotional connect with the patient.

As mean as that may sound, entrepreneurs have to be ruthless. They’re out there to win, by hook or by crook. A good example is Donald Trump. While many criticize him for being harsh, he is clearly a risk-taker and seems to have learned the art.

Some related tips include:

  • Take risks, but calculated ones. There is no point in putting everything on the line without doing proper calculations.
  • Talk to someone about what you’re going to do and listen to that person’s opinion.
  • Don’t be scared of what you’re taking on.

2. Persistence – from athletes

A business is all about winning and losing. While nobody likes the latter, there’s no real way to avoid losses. Even biggies like Mark Zuckerberg, Vince McMahon and Lance Armstrong have tasted failure.

On his earlier challenges, Armstrong wrote, “Through my illness, I learned rejection. I was written off. That was the moment I thought, ‘Okay, game on. No prisoners. Everybody’s going down.’” He went on to win the Tour de France seven consecutive times. But he was later stripped of those wins and banned from most sports when he was charged with leading a doping program in cycling. He chose not to contest the charges. A CNN article commented that, “The epic downfall of cycling’s star, once an idolized icon of millions around the globe, stands out in the history of professional sports.”

Sometimes, not even persistence can make you a winner.

  • See why you failed the first time and try again with more commitment.
  • Work harder before you try something for a second time to be able to succeed.
  • Do not let failure or criticism demotivate you.



3. Negotiating – from lawyers

Negotiating is a skill all entrepreneurs need. While you may have a team of experts or managers to negotiate workers’ compensation benefits and other such contracts for you, you’ll still need this skill to succeed and be a force to be reckoned with. Jonathan Rosenfeld, an experienced lawyer from Chicago, says, “A lot of my entrepreneur friends ask me for tips on negotiating. I’d say it is all about being confident and knowing what you’re taking on. The key is in researching the topic and your opponent so you can beat them, even in their own game.”

  • Look into the other person’s eyes and exude authority. Don’t give signs of nervousness.
  • Have a game plan and know what your aim is. Do not move away from your stance.
  • Do not give up or show signs of defeat, even if it looks like you’re about to lose.

4. Problem solving – from gamers

Science has shown that people who play video games tend to have good problem-solving skills. This is because most games require people to come up with unique solutions to different problems, in order to reach a higher level, or stage. At the end of the day, problem-solving is all about staying motivated and fighting to win the game.
Similarly, entrepreneurs should consider their business a game, and their hurdles a stage they have to rise to.

Some related tips include:

  • Make plans and work hard to reach your goal.
  • Stay motivated and give yourself a pat on the back whenever you achieve your goals.
  • Don’t give up; if you find a problem, look at possible solutions and try the best ones. Then if one fails, move to the next solution.

5. Explaining – from teachers

Entrepreneurs have to do a lot of explaining, at times to people with no understanding of the subject at all. But teachers, who have to deal with all kind of students, can be a help in this. Teachers develop unique ways of explaining things, sometimes using practical examples and sometimes quoting research. Their success is a result of not only exceptional skills at explaining new material, but also patience, another skill entrepreneurs need.

Some related tips include:

  • Understand your audience well. See their mental capabilities and always plan ahead.
  • Do not shy away from asking and answering questions, and always double-check that your point was properly understood.
  • Use examples and simple words to explain new material, especially if your audience does not consist of professionals. Jargon or technical words can backfire.

Most successful entrepreneurs have the tendency to learn from others’ mistakes and successes. You too should make it a habit to learn from others and improve your craft.

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: blog.locomote.com





How can entrepreneurs improve their personal relationships?

How do you manage your own personal relationships? Have you had any conflict with your spouse, family member or close friend because of your entrepreneurial spirit?

It’s not uncommon for committed entrepreneurs to pour everything into their business and everything means everything because running a business becomes an obsession. Entrepreneurial fervor can dominate your daily thoughts, conversation, time and financial stability and it can adversely affect your relationships.

It’s not that entrepreneurs don’t want to spend more time with loved ones, it’s that there aren’t enough hours in the day and taking a break from your business can feel like a step backward.

That’s why other entrepreneurs were asked for their best advice to overcome this challenge. Following is a collection of tips and quotes from eight successful founders, CEOs and solopreneurs about how to improve your personal relationships while remaining productive and dedicated to your entrepreneurial efforts.

1. Assess your priorities.

Almost every entrepreneur surveyed mentioned prioritizing goals as one of the most effective tactics for making time for and maintaining personal relationships. Social Media Examiner founder Mike Stelzner explained it best when he said, “You can’t start something new without stopping something else.”

So, when you tackle new challenges, such as starting a business, you need to drop other activities from your day-to-day routine. To better maintain your work-life balance, assess your daily tasks by setting those priorities you must accomplish for both your mental sanity and business success.

Prioritizing can help you hone-in on what is really important and reduce unnecessary stress when other tasks compete for your attention. This process also helps identify whether any of your basic needs are out of whack for example, when you skip meals, slack on physical fitness or miss time with your loved ones. If any of these are true in your life, you may need to make a change and reassess how your business is affecting your life.

2. Create boundaries to align business goals and personal relationships.

To keep a balanced approach to your priorities as they relate to both your personal and business needs, you should set clear limits differentiating the two. For example, social media keynote speaker Neal Schaffer suggests entrepreneurs maintain a consistent schedule and boundaries to keep up with their personal commitments and avoid overworking.

“Create boundaries for your business that exist in a 9 to 5 corporate world,” Schaffer says “such as deciding the hours you will work each day and sticking to it. Additionally, make sure that you meet a friend or someone in your network for lunch on a weekly basis.”

If you struggle to cram your work into eight hours, you can add “no work” blocks into your calendar. For example, every few hours, go for a 15-minute walk or follow Schaffer’s advice and take a two hour lunch twice a week to connect with friends or a spouse. Those blocks can help you recharge, avoid burnout and improve your personal relationships while ensuring that you still allocate enough time for your other priorities.

Schedule a minimum of 90 minutes per day, with larger blocks (or even full days) cut out every five to 10 days. Experiment with different types of breaks to see what works best for you.

3. Separate work life from home life.

One of the benefits of being your own boss can be the freedom to work from home. If you decide that your living room also doubles as your office, you should be aware that the lines between work and home life can become blurred. So, again, differentiating the two is an important step, particularly when your family or roommates are home with you.



This was one of the more difficult challenges for freelance writer Kristi Hines to overcome. “I had a hard time ‘leaving’ work on a daily basis,” she says. “I ended up renting an office outside of my home, which has helped me separate myself at the end of the work day, so I can focus on spending time with the family without thinking about emails, blog posts and so forth.”

If you don’t have the luxury of renting your own office space, you can still create separation by setting ground rules for yourself and other housemates.

  • Develop an at home work routine. Get properly showered and dressed at an appropriate hour for work, even if you’re just moving from your bed to your living room.
  • Create an office environment.Make a space that is designed solely for work; avoid your bed and the couch.

While there are many other ways to work from home, these tips can help you and your housemates better distinguish when it’s time for work and when it’s time for rest or family. These can help you avoid conflict later.

4. Host your own parties.

For entrepreneurs who maintain a large network of friends and professionals, on top of their business and personal relationships, finding balance can be even more challenging.

Convince and Convert founder Jay Baer says he finds that it can be difficult to keep up with larger networks, particularly when he is on the road, traveling. He suggests that entrepreneurs manage their personal connections and networks by hosting events.

“The most efficient way to keep your relationships up is to have a lot of your friends in the same room,” Baer says.. “So, even if it’s not in your nature, learn to throw great parties, and do it at least three or four times each year. Invite everyone you know, and you get to catch up with a lot of folks in one day.”

If you’re frequently on the road, plan for a family get-together or a night out with a group of your friends when you return. Your events don’t need to be extravagant or even scheduled on a weekly basis, but making a concerted effort to spend more time with your network can help alleviate the distance friends may be feeling when you are particularly busy.

Baer also mentions that managing relationships can be accomplished to some degree through online channels, such as Skype, Blab or Facetime. Face-to-face interaction, albeit digital, can be a powerful way to build stronger relationships with your connections — particularly when compared to a text message, email or phone call.

5. Prioritize mutually beneficial relationships.

One of the most rewarding feelings while networking for your business is creating a win-win situation for all parties involved. This same principle cn be applied while developing your personal relationships as well.

Brian Honigman, content marketing consultant and CEO of Honigman Media, adds: “Like everyone else, my time is limited and valuable. Being an entrepreneur has helped me reflect on relationships in my life to better understand if they are mutually beneficial and make both people happy. I’ve done my best, which is far from perfect, to make time for the people in my life that really matter and let some relationships fall to the wayside, as they didn’t mean much to either of us.

“I’ve become more selective and more focused on the important friendships in my life, and you should too.”

Nearly all respondents mentioned letting go of past connections as a recurring challenge, but also a necessary step in their process to building stronger personal relationships.

So, start by thinking about the people closest to you. Are you open with them about the needs of your business? Are you devoting an appropriate amount of your energy toward those individuals? Are some of these people connected to your business in any manner?

Identifying who makes the cut can be a gut-wrenching operation; however, it can help you better determine which people really need your full-time support and alleviate any anxiety you may have built when paying less attention to the others.

For example, you should worry less about grabbing a beer with an old high school friend and focus more on giving your aging grandmother a hug and attention. Finding your key relationships can help your develop your own support group — an “inner circle” if you will.



6. Focus on your support group — cut negativity.

Founder of Social Selling Labs Koka Sexton offers a similar perspective to that of Honigman and advises that entrepreneurs focus on people who really support their ambitious efforts.

“For the people who do support you, you need to make time for them,” Sexton says. “I believe that the people who are there for you as an entrepreneur are going to be more understanding when you can’t go out as often or do the activities they are used to having you around for.”

Sexton goes on to mention that entrepreneurs should remove any negative people from their life, which can be difficult: “It’s not easy to let go of friendships, but if you want to be successful, you cannot allow yourself to be around these negative people.”

Start by identifying your support group. This could include your spouse, your mother, your best friend. Make sure that you establish boundaries in your work schedule to incorporate the needs of these people.

Next, assess the individuals who bring negativity into your life, and determine whether they are worth your limited time and energy.

Finally, ask yourself whether you should continue to allow those people to bring their negativity — or if they are serving as a motivating factor and pushing you forward.

This process can help you clear your conscience when you begin letting relationships become distant, and also help you really appreciate the people that have always been there for you.

7. Recognize that quality outweighs quantity.

Entrepreneurs are often reminded that there are only 24 hours in a day — and while you can’t cram more hours into your day, you can focus on improving the efficiency, productivity and quality of our relationship and business efforts.

Focus on creating quality relationships with the individuals you are closest with. Turn off your cell phone at the dinner table, remove yourself from work banter, engage in quality conversation, ask thoughtful questions, listen more and enjoy every moment that you get with them.

Offering a quick lesson in efficiency, Patel mentions that he has developed several personal relationships with his professional peers. This “blending of relationships,” he says, has helped him become really good friends with the people he works with.

8. Allow others to pick up your slack.

Tailored Ink founder Han-Gwon Lung adds a final lesson that managers, leaders and entrepreneurs can really get behind: Delegate tasks to keep your sanity and your closest relationships. “The only way I achieve work-life balance while running my own company (and scaling it) is by finding people more talented than myself in some areas and having them do the work for me,” he says. “Then, I get the hell out of their way.”

You may have to trust me on this one, but it’s okay to not be perfect at everything and you shouldn’t have to bear the load of your entire business on your own – at least not forever. Start by assessing your core weaknesses and rank them in order of priority for your business. Remember that prioritization is a recurring theme.

For example, your list could look like this:

1) web coding

2) graphic design

3) administrative tasks

4) email marketing.

It’s important to recognize that even tasks that you can accomplish on your own may not fit your optimal skill set. So, put them on your list if they cause frustration or angst, or take too long to accomplish effectively. From there you can better determine how much time to spend on each task and whether you should get outside help to improve your efficiency.

Finding new ways to manage your weaknesses can free up additional time for you to spend with your closest personal relationships while simultaneously growing your empire.

How do you manage your own personal relationships? Have you had any conflict with your spouse, family member or close friend because of your entrepreneurial spirit? What solutions have helped you improve your relationships? Share your experiences below.

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: 123rf.com



Exclusive: Hyper funded PepperTap to shutdown operations this month

On-demand grocery major PepperTap is shutting down its operations. The Gurgaon-based company will roll back its consumer centric grocery app by end of this month.

On-demand grocery major PepperTap is shutting down its operations. The Gurgaon-based company will roll back its consumer centric grocery app by end of this month. Navneet Singh, CEO of PepperTap, has confirmed to YourStory about shutdown. He said over a phone call,

We are pulling plug from B2C grocery business and pivoting to a full stack e-commerce logistics company.

The shutdown poses serious questions on the fate of other consumer centric on-demand businesses. PepperTap had raised over $51 million in risk capital from blue chip investors including Sequoia Capital, SAIF Partners and e-commerce major Snapdeal. The company didn’t share any further details on reasons for shutdown but according to YourStory’s sources lack of demand and poor unit economics forced PepperTap to back out from the business.

Navneet adds,

Shutting down PepperTap is extremely difficult call for us but it’s the need of hour. Our foray into full stack logistics space is a well-pondered decision and our experience in consumer as well as business-focused logistics will certainly help us to build next generation e-commerce logistics startup.

PepperTap has a sister concern, NuvoEx – an e-commerce focused reverse logistics company.

Prior to PepperTap, Localbanya and Townrush wound up their operations as they failed to raise risk capital and build sustainable business. Biggies like Paytm and Flipkart also launched on-demand grocery verticals but have pulled the plug on their operations soon.

One of the sources claimed that PepperTap was processing less than 1,000 orders since last month and had laid off over 200 employees last week. Navneet declined to comment on these details. The company claimed to ship about 20,000 orders each day in December 2015.

Launched in November 2014 by Navneet and Millind Sharma, PepperTap had previously closed operations in six cities including Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Softbank-backed Grofers also backed out from nine cities in January this year to conserve cash and keep tab on burn rate.

PepperTap had secured capital across four rounds. Besides a $1-million seed round, it raised $10 million Series A from Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners. In September last year it raised $36 million from Snapdeal and others while the final $4 million came in December last year. PepperTap also acquired struggling hyperlocal grocery marketplace – Jiffstore.

This article was originally published in YourStory

Image credit: YourStory



Is IIT IIM degree a must for startup success?

While there is no denying the fact that most of the entrepreneurs that we see today are from IITs and IIMs, but that does not translate into the fact that only these premier institutes can produce successful entrepreneurs.

While there is no denying the fact that most of the entrepreneurs that we see today are from IITs and IIMs, but that does not translate into the fact that only these premier institutes can produce successful entrepreneurs. Before presenting the non-IIT/IIM entrepreneurs who have made their mark, let us analyse why this ratio.

We personally believe entrepreneurship is more of an art or even better – a way of life, just like you can’t become an artist just by enrolling into an art course if you don’t have an aptitude for it, on similar lines you cannot just rise up to be a entrepreneur if you manage to get thru in these top colleges, un-till and unless you have those entrepreneurial qualities. The entire debate over IIT/IIM Vs Other colleges for being an entrepreneur is kind of overrated.

Had it been all about degree from fancy colleges Mark Zukerberg, Steve Jobs, Haim Saban, John Paul DeJoria, David Geffen, Les Wexner, Bill Gates, Ray Kroc, Dhiru Bhai Ambani, would not be names we would have in this post! These people either did not go to college or dropped out in the 1st or 2nd year itself but still made in it big in the business world.

To put it in simplest words, it is just your passion, your idea, your courage and how you sell your idea, that matters. Your educational qualification from a top notch university/college might add color to your resume and your networking profile and your popularity, but it cannot be the sole factor for making your startup a success.

What does help entrepreneurs from IIT/IIM is that:

  • They have a entrepreneurial culture in their college life.
  • They have exposure and interaction with people who are into it already.
  • Their network of people has seniors who are entrepreneurs them selves and they have the courage to turn to their plan B of getting a job even if their venture fails.

Having said that, a non IIT/IIM grad can work on these areas as well:

  • With numerous networking platforms you can connect to people who might turn into your mentors and guide you through.
  • If your idea has substance and you can convince the investors – why investing in your idea is a safe bet, you do stand a chance.
  • Learn and learn more, multitask and get habituated to it, this is going to help you in the long run.
  • Get into entrepreneurship only if you believe in your idea and you have the time, dedication and discipline for it and do have a secure plan B, so that the stress of failure does not impact your venture.



Here are some Indians who were not from from IIT/IIM but are making it big:

1. Ashish Kashyap, Founder Goibibo.com

Ashish holds an Economics (Honors) from University Of Delhi, India and a diploma in “International Masters in Practicing Management (IMPM)” from Insead, Fontainebleau, France.

2. Deepak Ravindran, Founder SMSGyan

Deepak Ravindran is a Kannaur University dropout.

3. Girish Mathrubootham, Founder Freshdesk

Girish Mathrubootham is a graduate from University of Madras.

4. Kunal Shah, Co-founder Freecharge

Kunal Shah is a graduate from Wilson College and then dropped out of NMIMS which he had joined for a MBA degree.

5. Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO of Hungama

Neeraj Roy is a graduate from Allahabad University and then did his MBA from SIMSREE.

6. Shashank ND, Co-founder Practo

Shashank ND is a graduate from NIT, Karnataka.

7. Shradha Sharma, Founder Yourstory

Shradha Sharma is a MICA graduate.

8. Vijay Sekhar Sharma, Founder Paytm

Vijay Sekhar Sharma is a graduate from Delhi College of Engineering.

To end it we would quote Dr. Napoleon Hill “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve”.

Image credit: wendyonline.nl





SoftBank investors ask for internal probe of its President and COO Nikesh Arora

The American law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner sent a request letter to SoftBank’s board dated Jan. 20, asking to investigate Nikesh Arora’s qualifications and track record as president of the firm.

After Sequoia, now Tokyo-based venture firm SoftBank is entangled in trouble but well for different reasons of course.

The American law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner sent a request letter to SoftBank’s board dated Jan. 20, asking to investigate Nikesh Arora’s qualifications and track record as president of the firm.

Also one of Sprint Corp’s investor which is managed by SoftBank, sent a letter to the venture firm asking Nikesh Arora’s removal as President, reports Bloomberg.

Nikesh Arora’s advisory role to the private equity firm Silver Lake has raised questions about his conflict of interests and suggests past wrongdoings and incompetent business decisions. The letter also says that Arora is getting compensated by Silver Lake for helping with potential technology company investments which he is supposed to be closing for SoftBank.

The investors have asked for an internal investigation by an independent firm.

Matthew Schwartz, a partner at Boies Schiller & Flexner, in the letter wrote, “Poor investment performance and a series of questionable transactions during his tenure. Despite these issues, the SoftBank board saw fit to make Mr. Arora the third-highest paid executive in the world without any track record of accomplishment at the company.”

SoftBank has denied to Bloomberg and called the letter “unsubstantiated allegations” from “unidentified shareholders.” The firm has strongly backed Arora and said it is completely aware of his involvement with Silver Lake.

Nikesh Arora had earlier worked with Google and had exited the company as chief business officer. Then in 2007, he joined Silver Lake but has clarified that his involvement with the firm has been ‘minimal’ since he joined SoftBank in 2014.

Image credit: www.bloomberg.com



30 Small but powerful ways that any entrepreneur can recharge

These are small and simple, yet effective, methods for maintaining peak performance and staying limber and adaptable all day long.

It’s easy to lose focus. As entrepreneurs, we are constantly making huge decisions and thinking about the welfare of our business in both the short- and long-term. That is why recharging is crucial.

It’s not simply referring to long stretches of time off. It’s talking about small simple moments in the day-to-day hustle. Allowing our minds to stretch, loosen up and move in new directions is an important part of this recharging process.

Without it we tend to become so emotionally and mentally taut that the littlest challenge or slightest whiff of altercation can make us snap. We can self-sabotage and derail the careful progress we are so anxious to make.

We have assembled a list of 30 ways that you can recharge. These are small and simple, yet effective, methods for maintaining peak performance and staying limber and adaptable all day long.

1. Play a game. The whole point of a game is to have fun. Get some friends in the office to play a hand of poker or sit down with your family and play. The idea is to do something that’s meant to be fun. If you must, play a video game.

2. Go to a movie. If you don’t typically go to movies, this would be an effective way to give yourself a break.

3. Have a family night. Intentional time spent with your family can do a world of good. Go ahead and block out one night next week to spend time with your family. No family? Pick some friends and hang out.

4. Work out. The science is unanimous: Working out makes us smarter and better people. Even if you don’t think you’re going to make a habit of it, do something active for 30 minutes.

5. Go to bed early. That is quite possibly one of the best things you’ll do all week.



6. Talk a walk. Walking can physically change your brain in a good way. Walking in nature is especially beneficial.

7. Call a friend or family member. This is effective even if you haven’t spoken with that person in a long time.

8. Recall positive memories. Spend time remembering one of your most fulfilling moments. A minute or two spent wandering down memory lane is an incredible form of mental recharging. Reflecting on your most awesome moments is even better.

9. Write a paragraph about one of your values. Personal values have the power to change our focus and impact our success. If you’ve never stopped to think about your values, make a list of them.

10. Do some yoga. The physical and mental impact of yoga has helped millions of people reduce stress and live more openly.

11. Meditate for 10 minutes. Like anything skill-based, meditation takes effort and practice, but it has powerful mind-clearing rewards.

12. Write in a journal. Research has shown that journaling is good for your health.

13. Watch a TED talk. Twenty minutes watching a TED video could change your life forever.

14. Draw a picture. Some of us are intensely visual people. So, give your creativity some time to flourish. The popular tendency to doodle isn’t simply a quirky habit. It’s actually a way to improve focus and memory.

15. Do some breathing exercises. Focused breathing helps you relax and destroy stress.



16. Set some short-term goals. Setting some quick simple goals can give the mind a quick burst of energy. What will you do this weekend, for example?

17. Plan a short trip. Often, the simple act of planning is just as enjoyable as the activity itself. Besides, it gets your mind focused on something entirely different.

18. Get a massage. Massage offers more than just pleasant sensations. It helps to release toxic build-up in the body and can give you mental space to think.

19. Go technology-free. Cut out technology for at least an hour. How connected are you to your phone or computer? Commit to at least one hour a day without it. See how it changes you.

20. Sing. If you’re a musical person, let loose. You may not want to grace your colleagues with your gifts, but your shower will provide a good spot

21. Take a shower. Speaking of showers, they’re great for reducing stress. If you’re especially bold, take one that’s cold.

22. Look at pictures of baby animals. Believe it or not, science says that baby animal images improve your productivity. Cue up the cat video.

23. Organize something. A drawer, a closet. The process of organization unlocks mental blocks.

24. Go green. Buy a plant or just look at the one you already have. Studies indicate that looking at greenery for as little as 40 seconds can boost your concentration powers.

25. Create a list. Maybe this could be an “accomplish” list. Not one for goals! Or a best-friends list. A values list.



26. Take a nap. A nap may feel like a waste of time, but it can give you a fresh vision and a powerful new take on the day.

27. Take a day trip somewhere new. New places help you think in new ways.

28. Work from somewhere different for a day. Try a co-working space, a coffee shop or another remote working space. The change in environment may spark a burst of creativity.

29. Write out your goals. The process of putting your goals on paper makes you more likely to achieve them, and thinking about goals gives you a powerful sense of recharging.

30. Have a snack. Maybe you’re just hungry, or hangry. Go ahead and grab that snack you’ve been craving. Your body needs nutrients and energy to function at optimal levels. That quick snack could do a world of good.

We’re entrepreneurs, and stress is our lot in life. So, if you feel the typical entrepreneurial strains – mental exhaustion, emotional flatness and physical weariness – don’t let them simmer.

Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be a sisyphean task. By putting some of these recharge techniques in place, you’ll be well on your way to living in a more fulfilling and successful way.

What are some of the best ways that you’ve found for recharging?





10 Must read books by Indian authors that every aspiring entrepreneur should read

Here are 10 must read books on startups and entrepreneurship that might inspire the CEO in you!

Building a successful, thriving business isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would do it. According to data presented by the Harvard Business School:

  • 25 percent of startups will fail within the first year.
  • Of those remaining, 36 percent will fail within the second year.
  • Of those remaining, 44 percent will fail within the third year.

It is tough being an entrepreneur. But, it is tougher learning to be a successful one. While everyone in the organization work on their specific skill sets, the task of the entrepreneur is to steer the ship. The process of learning, failing, re learning and succeeding is the lifeblood of every successful start-up, be it a newbie venture in booming industries like food and data or a well stabilized organization in Information Technology.

For an entrepreneur, reading and learning assumes critical importance. The better way to save some time from failures is to learn from others and their insights; books are treasure troves of knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries. Agreed that their schedule is tight and building a business is no easy task, but entrepreneurs with a habit of reading and a willingness to learn, are able to connect the dots much better than those who work in isolation. Here are 10 must read books on startups and entrepreneurship that might inspire the CEO in you!

1. Go Kiss the World

Author – Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of Mindtree

Citing experiences and anecdotes from his personal life and the entrepreneurial journey, author Subroto Bagchi beautifully describes the various influences and decisions of his life in the book. Infact, ‘Go, Kiss The World’, were his mother’s last words that have left an indelible impact on the author. The book also has detailed descriptions on Bagchi’s childhood, early life and career that also include co-founding MindTree, one of India’s well known software services companies. The last chapter impressively sums up his learnings on this journey and inspires the reader to imbibe those rewarding qualities.

2. How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company

Author – Varun Agarwal, co-founder of Alma Mater

Based on a true story, the book is about a young man who after serious deliberations and discussions finally decides to start up with his school friend. How I Braved Anu Aunty and Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company is a funny account of author Varun Agarwal’s struggles while deciding to put on the entrepreneurial hat. The two friends set on a journey to customize clothing and accessories for the alumni of schools and colleges across India. The light hearted book’s protagonist is Anu Aunty, Varun’s mom’s best friend who persistently trivializes Varun’s efforts. The book is an interesting read on the making of a startup.

3. MBA at 16: A Teenager’s Guide to Business

Author – Subroto Bagchi, co-founder of Mindtree

Another interesting read by Subroto Bagchi, in this book he gives business advice and talks about the next generation who are all set to become budding entrepreneurs. The author states the how, what and why of this industry and the book can be termed as a guide to the business world. Young minds are full of questions that need an answer in the most detailed way, and here it is. A delightful read for everyone, MBA At 16 is about interesting stories and the faith in youngsters that Subroto Bagchi assures very well with this book.



4. Start-up Sutra: What the Angels Won’t Tell You About Business and Life

Author – Rohit Prasad, professor at Management Development Institute, Gurgaon

Startups stir-up curiosity like no other and everyone is equally inquisitive to know the A to Z of these businesses. Start-up Sutra is a book by Rohit Prasad that, as the title suggests, elaborates on the intricacies of starting a business and how it takes over your life in good and bad ways. The book cites first-hand experiences of entrepreneurs and states the pros and cons of the business world that one would definitely want to read. All in all, a book complete with stories that will keep you hooked onto it while arousing curiosity about the business world at the same time.

5. Take Me Home

Author- Rashmi Bansal, co-founder of Jam Magazine

The charm about small towns in India is their ability to dream big and their capability to go to any length to achieve it. Rashmi Bansal has managed to capture these stories in the most enchanting and inspiring ways that motivate go after our dreams. Ideas from across India have turned into global companies that are making it big, and those are the enthralling journeys one finds in this book. This is a good dose of all the encouragement one needs to become a young entrepreneur in this country.

6. The Golden Tap: The Inside Story of Hyper Funded Indian Startups

Author- Kashyap Deorah, co-founder of Chalo, Chaupaati Bazaar and Righthalf.com

One of the most highly recommended books for existing and budding entrepreneurs, The Golden Tap is a book by Kashyap Deorah who has given a detailed analysis of the past 20 years of the startup boom in India. The beginning, the fall and the rise of businesses that come under this category is the highlight of this book that has been reviewed as one of the most exciting reads. An entrepreneur himself, Kashyap Deorah has covered all the questions and systems that are intriguing in this arena and has left no stone unturned in making this book a captivating read.

7. Young Turks

Authors – Shereen Bhan, managing editor at CNBC-TV18 and Syna Denuhgara, features editor at CNBC-TV18

Shereen Bhan brought us the show, Young Turks, every Sunday where she interviewed entrepreneurs and this book by the same name, co-authored with Syna Dehnugara, takes on a journey of highly inspiring stories of tech startups that have changed the business scenario with simple ideas. The anecdotes shared in the book are captivating and a delight to read. It has everything from the basics of where these businesses started to where they are now. To put it simply, the book is motivating and the stories of young entrepreneurs is influencing in all the right ways.

8. Bhaag! Inspiring Stories of Student Entrepreneurs in India

Author – Ganesh V, entrepreneur and marketing consultant

Ganesh V, the author of this book, has jotted down a quick read that is interesting from all perspectives. The young generation is all about taking risks and giving their business idea a shot, and this has been brought out in an apt manner by the author through his insightful perspectives. Ganesh V has been an entrepreneur himself and that is showcased well in the take-aways from this book, which brings us to the realisation of no idea is too small. An idea can work for the best when implemented with all the right steps and most importantly, by taking a big leap of faith.

9. Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey

Author- Ronnie Screwvala, founder of UTV Group

Ronnie Screwvala narrates his entrepreneurial journey through the years with all the ups and downs that he has dealt with. It’s a hopeful book for budding young business men and women about what the country holds for them in the future. The author has humbly penned down the trials and tribulations that he faced in establishing new businesses and how he came out successfully or unsuccessfully to the other end. The book has some great lessons to be learnt when it comes to startups and the stories are entertaining in their own ways. The title of the book manages to stir-up curiosity and the book lives up to that name.

10. Connect the Dots

Author- Rashmi Bansal, co-founder of Jam Magazine

Connect the Dots is another book by author Rashmi Bansal and the stories are absolutely exhilarating to read. The book is about entrepreneurs who have made it big in the business world without any management degree. An influential book that takes us on an expedition with small episodes which help realise that one doesn’t need a business degree to execute an idea that can change the world. If you have a concept, thoughts and a plan to back it up then no dream is too far to be turned into a reality. Just connect the dots and the picture will pop right up in front of your eyes.

These books should be on your reading list and shall definitely encourage you to take the big leap. Do share your favourite authors and books that can be added to this list.

Image credit: www.lifehack.org



DS Group’s Pulse candy hits Rs 100 crore in 8 months, equals Coke Zero’s record

Despite constituting a third of the total candy market, the hard-boiled segment is witnessing heightened traction due to entry of new players and innovation.

Candy sales are on the fast track, thanks to hard-boiled candies (HBC) such as Mango Bite, Pulse Candy and Alpenliebe that are pushing the Rs 6,000-crore sweet candy market to grow at 1.5 times the FMCG industry growth in the country.

Despite constituting a third of the total candy market, the hard-boiled segment is witnessing heightened traction due to entry of new players and innovation. For instance, Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group’s Pulse Candy reached Rs 100 crore within just eight months of its launch, its maker said, equalling the record of Coca-Cola’s diet drink Coke Zero.

“Eclairs and soft toffees segment grew in single digits in 2015 in comparison to hard-boiled candy segment. Lollipops are the other segment witnessing healthy growth,” said Vijay Udasi, senior VP at Nielsen India.

While the overall sweet candy market is growing at 14% Y-o-Y, the HBC segment, pegged at around Rs 2,100 crore, is growing at 24%, revealed data from Nielsen. “The category has low entry barriers that results in numerous new players entering the market every year. At the same time, there are fairly quick exits too. Low entry-exit barriers facilitate innovation on formats and flavours in the category,” Udasi said.

Industry experts said, Pulse Candy, a kaccha aam (raw mango) hard boiled candy with a tangy salt filled centre, was one such innovation. “We launched it at Re 1. Other companies followed suit. Before that, everybody was selling 4gm hard boiled candies for 50 paise,” said Shashank Surana, VP, new product development, at DS Group, the maker of Rajnigandha pan masala, Pass Pass and Catch spices.



Mandar Keskar, category head at Perfetti Van Melle India, agrees. “Although the confectionery category in India is highly cluttered and price-sensitive with nearly 40% of the category volumes still coming from 50-paise price point, an encouraging trend is consumers lapping up innovations at higher price points,” he said.

While Perfetti leads in the caramel category, a flavour which constitutes 20% of the HBC segment, Parle is the dominant player with its Mango Bite brand. Interestingly, kaccha aam (26%) and mango flavour (24%) put together command 50% market share in the HBC category, followed by caramel and orange (16%). Inbisco is the other big player with its Kopico (coffee flavour) brand.

“The HBC segment is growing fast due to marketing push and innovations,” said Pravin Kulkarni, marketing head at Parle Products. “The chocolate eclair and soft toffee category is struggling because margins are low due to the premium nature of the product. By selling a candy for Rs 1, an HBC maker will make more money than a chocolate eclair company.”

This article was originally published in The Economic Times

Image credit: www.campaignindia.in



Where Rocket Internet went wrong with India

Fabfurnish, an Indian online furniture brand built by Rocket Internet AG, was recently sold to Indian retail giant Future Retail for an estimated 15 crore. That is less than $3Million after having absorbed funding which was more than 10 times the value.

Fabfurnish, an Indian online furniture brand built by Rocket Internet AG, now a publicly listed company was recently sold to Indian retail giant Future Retail for an estimated 15 crore. That is less than $3Million after having absorbed funding which was more than 10 times the value. The condition of the rest of its entities in India – FoodPanda, Jabong is not too different. And then, you have all the ventures that silently died – HeavenandHome, PricePanda, OfficeYes, 21Diamonds among a few others.

Where did Rocket Internet really go wrong? Having worked with them for about 18 months for two of their ventures, Fabfurnish.com and OfficeYes.com, I have formed some opinions that I thought would be good to share at this point.

1. Either you are a multinational or a VC – you cannot be both while being neither

Amazon is a multinational entity with a CEO at its HQ. Amit Aggarwal is an Amazon veteran who may not have a very high stake in the company, but has the experience, affinity, and probably compensation to motivate him and build Amazon India.

For entities like Flipkart, VCs invest, connect, believe in contributing as an advisor and allow the entrepreneur to run the venture as they know that both are trying to maximise shareholder value.

Rocket Internet tried to act like both. It had an obsessive control on day to day metrics and micro-managed funds. It believed that it had a template based on which it could replicate success learnt from very different geographies that represented very contrasting consumer behaviours. At the same time, it would put pressure on the Managing Directors to stake their careers by calling them co-founders, pushing them to the limelight, and forcing them to grow too fast.

2. Hyper-funded Growth at the cost of product market fit

Furniture, office supplies, jewellery, and food delivery are very complex models. Without giving someone time to figure out product market fit, forcing founders to grow with a sword of withdrawing funding was ridiculous pressure for anyone to perform at.

Throwing money on day one at a problem which was solved very differently by another company in a different country didn’t really work out for them. The best of businesses are built under constraints.



3. Skin in the game

This pressure could probably still be handled by someone who has skin in the game.

Rocket Internet had a theory that if it could hire from top-notch consulting firms and investment banks, it would solve the leadership problem. Both OfficeYes and Fabfurnish are an extremely smart bunch. However, most of these co-founders had all come from individually contributing roles and were suddenly thrust with teams of 100 and above within a couple of months with no time given to learn and organically grow as leaders.

With negligible equity stakes given to founding MDs, and allowing them to draw salaries that match the highest paying consulting firms gives a very different sort of motivation than what drives an entrepreneur. It leads to hiring less optimally and forces a spend that cannot be justified by the gross margins earned in a non-product-market fit scenario.

This was the kind of pressure that probably led to the exodus of most of these co-founders in 2015.

What could have been done better?

Should Rocket Internet continue with its cloning strategy? Yes, it’s not that bad an idea. It needs to recalibrate what it defines as execution. Some simple things, as mentioned below, could have taken these ventures in India to much higher levels:

1. Higher stakes to founders.
2. Lesser cash available in year one for focus only on product-market fit.
3. Lesser interference from Rocket with only advice and learnings to be shared.

Author: Mohammed Ali

CEO and Founder of Primaseller – a SaaS platform for multi-channel retail and has worked with Fabfurnish and OfficeYes in their early days helping them setup their operations.

Image credit: www.bidnessetc.com



Is entrepreneurship addictive?

The adrenaline high of being an entrepreneur beats all other ‘highs’. The thrill of launching something new, the freedom of being your own master and the satisfaction of chasing your dreams is a high no other can beat.

The adrenaline high of being an entrepreneur beats all other ‘highs’. The thrill of launching something new, the freedom of being your own master and the satisfaction of chasing your dreams is a high no other can beat.

Little wonder then, even though most entrepreneurs fail to succeed in their first few ventures, they insist on getting back onto the bandwagon all over again with all the gusto. It’s almost like an addiction which consumes your being and you just can’t seem to get enough of it!

A recent study by the University of Wisconsin and Syracuse University professors has identified what can be called as the “Serial Entrepreneur Syndrome”. They closely interacted with quite a few entrepreneurs who were juggling more than one enterprise at once and had plans for some more.

There were quite a few defining factors that were a common thread defining these individuals:

  • No looking back: A lot of the entrepreneurs never went back to a corporate job even after facing multiple failures.
  • Exhibit obsessive behaviour: They are constantly thinking about work and feel the urge to remain ‘plugged in’ (through texting, emails, calls), even all odd hours. They are unable to ‘switch off’ even on weekends or vacations.
  • Prioritize work above all personal responsibilities towards family and friends: It feels okay to them to miss out on their children’s birthdays and anniversaries, cut back on social and recreational activities because they are ‘hooked’ to their work.
  • Put in more and more money into their business even when not feasible: They didn’t shy away from borrowing or selling assets, even though it’s a great personal risk, to keep the sinking ship afloat.
  • Experience withdrawal symptoms when not working: They showed signs of anxiety, restlessness, anger or depression, when not working.

All these factors have an uncanny resemblance to issues plaguing addicts and people with compulsive disorders!



So, what is it about being an entrepreneur that is so all consuming?…

Without a doubt, it is the thrill of being on the edge of something big, almost like a gamblers who have their eyes set on the ‘big win’! Serial entrepreneurs are drawn to the intense emotions they feel when they succeed or fail. Everything else feels flat in comparison.

Add to it the feeling of ownership; it’s almost like creating your own baby. These factors together get an entrepreneur to fall hook, line and sinker for their work.

There comes a stage when sleeplessness, moments of euphoria and exultation in triumph, and lows of disappointment and helplessness give the highs and lows akin to a junkie. In fact, their whole sense of self worth is connected with the creation of a business and this is what drives them to keep going.

Nothing drives them more than creating something new and they enjoy the journey of ‘getting there’ as much as the end goal. They almost thrive in the madness of trying to achieve those little milestones that take them closer to their vision.

Above all, they are not deterred by failure. For them, failure is just another lesson learnt; a stepping stone to success. They are not afraid to keep trying till they succeed, and they view every challenge as another opportunity to test their own mettle. And once they experience that ‘high’ of making a venture successful, they want to do it all over again. And that’s how the next idea is born!

This article was originally published in Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: www.inc.com



How to use a sample business plan to write your own plan

If you’ve never created a business plan before. In fact, you may have never even seen a formal business plan document then here are some sample business plans for you to inspire from.

If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve never had to create a business plan before. In fact, you may have never even seen a formal business plan document let alone had to put one together.

This is why we gathered this collection of sample plans for you here on Bplans. Our business plans can give you a great sense of what a finished plan looks like, what should be included, and how a plan should be structured – whether you’re building a plan for investment or just to develop a better strategy for your business.

But, building your own plan isn’t as simple as just cutting and pasting from someone else’s plan. In fact, if you do that, you will be doing yourself (and your business!) a huge disservice. Here are a few tips to get the most out of our sample business plans and build the plan your business needs to succeed.

1. Find a plan from a similar industry to your business, but don’t worry about finding an exact match. In fact, you won’t find an exact match for your business. That’s because every business is as unique as its owners and managers. Every business has a different location, different team, and different marketing tactics that will work for them. Instead of looking for an exact match, look for a business plan that’s for a business that operates similarly to how your business will work. For example, a business plan for a steak restaurant will actually be useful for someone starting a vegetarian restaurant because the general concepts for planning and starting a restaurant are the same regardless of what type of food you serve.

2. Use the sample plans for inspiration and ideas. Staring at a blank page can be the worst part of writing a business plan. In fact, that’s probably the reason that’s preventing you from getting started right now. Instead, take advantage of our sample plans to avoid writer’s block. Feel free to copy words, phrasing, and the general structure of a plan to start your own. Also, as you read through several plans, you might find ideas for your business that you hadn’t considered. Use our plans for inspiration and ideas, borrow phrasing when it makes sense, and just get going!

3. Write a business plan that’s right for your business. As tempting as it is, don’t just cut and paste from a sample plan. Any banker or investor will be able to tell from miles away that you copied someone else’s plan. Not only will you be less likely to get funding if you copy a business plan, you’ll be greatly reducing your chances of success because you didn’t write a plan that’s right for your specific business, its specific location, target market, and your unique product or service. Thinking through how you are going to launch your business is a critical step in starting a business that you shouldn’t let go.



4. The value of business planning is in the process, not the final document. By creating your own business plan, you are going to have to think about how you are going to build your own business. What marketing tactics are you going to use? What kind of management team do you need to be successful? How is your business going to set itself apart from the competition?

The process of writing a business plan guides you through answering these questions so that you end up with a strategy that works for your business. You will also end up with a plan that you can share with business partners, investors, and friends and family. Sharing your vision and your strategy is the best way to get everyone on the same page and pushing forward to build a successful business.

5. Use your plan as a management tool and build a better business. When you’re done with your plan and your business is up and running, your plan shouldn’t just end up in a drawer. That would be a huge waste of all the time and effort you put into your strategy, budgets, and forecast. Instead, using your plan as a tool to grow your business can be one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business. In fact, businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30% faster than those businesses that don’t.

To use your business plan to grow 30% faster than the competition, you need to track your actual results – the sales that you get and the expenses that you incur – against the goals that you set out for yourself in your plan. If things aren’t going according to plan, perhaps you need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan is one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

This article was originally published in bplans.com

Image Credit: www.ndoi.com



8 Common business plan mistakes

What are the most common mistakes when writing a business plan? Here is a list of the ones to make sure you avoid.

What are the most common mistakes when writing a business plan? Here is a list of the ones to make sure you avoid. While including the necessary items in a business plan is important, you also want to make sure you don’t commit any of the following common business plan mistakes:

1. Putting it off

Too many businesses make business plans only when they have no choice in the matter. Unless the bank or the investors want a plan, there is no plan.

Don’t wait to write your plan until you think you’ll have enough time. “I can’t plan. I’m too busy getting things done,” business people say. The busier you are, the more you need to plan. If you are always putting out fires, you should build firebreaks or a sprinkler system. You can lose the whole forest for paying too much attention to the individual burning trees.

2. Cash flow casualness

Most people think in terms of profits instead of cash. When you imagine a new business, you think of what it would cost to make the product, what you could sell it for, and what the profits per unit might be. We are trained to think of business as sales minus costs and expenses, which equal profits. Unfortunately, we don’t spend the profits in a business. We spend cash. So understanding cash flow is critical. If you have only one table in your business plan, make it the cash flow table.

3. Idea inflation

Don’t overestimate the importance of the idea. You don’t need a great idea to start a business; you need time, money, perseverance, and common sense. Few successful businesses are based entirely on new ideas. A new idea is harder to sell than an existing one, because people don’t understand a new idea and they are often unsure if it will work.
You don’t need a great idea to start a business; you need time, money, perseverance, and common sense.

Plans don’t sell new business ideas to investors. People do. Investors invest in people, not ideas. The plan, though necessary, is only a way to present information. So make sure you’re ready to wow your prospective investors with your knowledge and leadership skills, and don’t expect your business idea—or the business plan you explain it in—to do the work for you.



4. Fear and dread

Doing a business plan isn’t as hard as you might think. You don’t have to write a doctoral thesis or a novel. There are good books to help, many advisors among the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), business schools, and there is software available to help you (such as LivePlan, and others).

5. Spongy, vague goals

Leave out the vague and the meaningless babble of business phrases (such as “being the best”) because they are simply hype. Remember that the objective of a plan is its results, and for results, you need tracking and follow up. You need specific dates, management responsibilities, budgets, and milestones. Then you can follow up. No matter how well thought out or brilliantly presented, it means nothing unless it produces results.

6. One size fits all

Tailor your plan to its real business purpose. Business plans can be different things: they are often just sales documents to sell an idea for a new business. They can also be detailed action plans, financial plans, marketing plans, and even personnel plans. They can be used to start a business, or just run a business better.

7. Diluted priorities

Remember, strategy is focus. A priority list with 3-4 items is focus. A priority list with 20 items is certainly not strategic, and rarely if ever effective. The more items on the list, the less the importance of each.

8. “Hockey stick” shaped growth projections

Sales grow slowly at first, but then shoot up boldly with huge growth rates, as soon as “something” happens. Have projections that are conservative so you can defend them. When in doubt, be less optimistic.

Which business planning mistakes have you made while writing your business plan?

This article was originally published in bplans.com

Image credit: innerconfidence.com



Head, Heart, and Hands: Three essentials for startup success

Starting up a business requires a diversity of assets.

Starting up a business requires a diversity of assets. First-time entrepreneurs often feel anxious when they think about all the factors that must play a role if their ideas are ever to get off the ground. In their minds, success or failure seems to hinge upon finding deep-pockets funders, expert mentors, willing publicizers and other “champions.”

But the truth is you already possess some of the most important assets you’ll need to achieve success. These are nothing less than your personal faculties — the awesome power of your own head, your own heart and your own hands.

In other words, much of your potential for success will be determined by:

1. The quality of your idea
2. The strength and sincerity of your belief in it
3. Your effort to make it a reality

Succeed with your head: The impact of innovative ideas

Big or small, every successful business begins with an innovative idea.

Nike was born when Phil Knight recognized the hidden potential of a waffle iron to improve soles for running shoes. Howard Schultz brought the espresso bar concept from Italy to the United States and grew Starbucks into a global phenomenon. And when Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com in 1994, many people had never even heard of something called the Internet.

True, your business aspirations may be on a more modest scale than these world-famous brands. Nevertheless, your first step is to come up with an innovative idea.

But where to begin? Tim Berry, President and founder of Palo Alto Software, says there is no better starting point than looking in the mirror. Each of us is a unique individual, and within ourselves each carries the seeds of entrepreneurial success: concepts that interest us, questions that intrigue us, things we know we can do better than most people, things we suspect ought to be done differently.

It’s good to have role models in business, but you should not seek to mimic someone else’s success. Successful businesses are always built from the special aptitudes and unique insights of the people who founded them. Your truly innovative idea will be as one-of-a-kind as you are.



Succeed with your heart: The power of positive belief

In order to bring your idea to fruition, you must genuinely believe in it. Good luck persuading others to invest if you cannot convince them of your own passionate belief. An idea for a business might seem “great,” but if it fails to ignite your sense of passion, it probably isn’t the right one for you. Go back to the drawing board and come up with an idea you can truly commit to.

A secure and persevering spirit will be an essential factor in your success. Trust that you will adapt to changes; learn to conquer fear and approach uncertainty with confidence. Become fiercely committed to seeing your goals through.

For example, if you’re an aspiring entrepreneur who feels “mathematically challenged” (and many of us do), then you may feel intimidated by financial forecasting and fall into a pattern of prioritizing other tasks. You may tell yourself you’re “too busy” tending to outside obligations or allow yourself to get bogged down in other details of business planning.

Sometimes we engage in such behaviors just to procrastinate. At other times we are actually creating preemptive excuses for the failure we fear is inevitable. If left unchecked, negative belief can grow into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Freeing yourself of negativism will requires a conscious effort. Take note of the goals you tend to put off and the productive tasks you habitually avoid. Ask yourself why. As you learn to identify the negative beliefs that are impeding your progress, you will feel empowered to begin changing them.

Succeed with your hands: The effectiveness of effort

The brainiest ideas and most heartfelt belief are of little value without the resolve to take action and work hard.

You will sometimes hear people explain a business leader’s success by giving credit to “good luck.” People who talk like this have little knowledge or practical experience of business.

If you believe in succeeding through perseverance, you have the right frame of mind to be an entrepreneur — those who believe in success through luck might be better served buying lottery tickets. In business there is no such thing as luck; you achieve success because you are willing to work hard for it.

People who are accustomed to working hard are less inclined to feel overwhelmed by challenges. They are eager to acquire new skills because they can quickly put them to good use. And contrary to the image of the “head in the clouds” visionary, you will probably find that your most inspired thinking actually occurs when you are engaged in productive work. Research even indicates that hard-working people tend to live longer than take-it-easy types.

Thomas Edison famously said, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” Much has changed since Edison’s day, but sweat equity is still the most effective kind of startup capital.

Image credit: businesscollective.com



When to start a startup?

When to start a startup? You really have to look within.

What do entrepreneurs, astronauts and artists have in common, other than they begin with syllable ‘Ah’.
Take astronauts. Some moments are indelibly imprinted in our minds. I remember the space shuttle Challenger launch in 1986, the excitement and anticipation leading up to the launch and 73 secs into the flight the somber disbelief and grief over its explosion. The loss of the young teacher Christa McAuliffe felt deeply personal.

“Sometimes, when we reach for the stars, we fall short. But we must pick ourselves up again and press on despite the pain,” Regan said in addressing in the aftermath, a quote that hugely influenced me all my life. There were other lessons too. The commission which looked into the disaster concluded, “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations”. That again has been one of my guiding principles throughout my career. The accident, tragic as it was, is used as a case study for various topics, engineering ethics, dangers of group thinking, decision structures, client intimidation, topics that are relevant even today for startups and their management teams to contemplate, but that is another blog for another time.

Let’s spend some more time on astronauts. Many kids dream of being astronaut. Have you ever wonder about the odds of being selected? In 2013, for example, more than 6,000 people applied for NASA, but only eight individuals were selected. That’s 0.1% selection rate. We, the VCs are more accommodating. I believe on an average VCs invest in 2–3% of the companies they review, slightly better for startups to take off. Kelly Slack, a psychologist who sits on the astronaut selection panel once said, “It’s challenging to pick astronauts for a lot of reasons, primarily because we are predicting behavior so far in the future”. Also, the job the astronauts are selected for is probably not going to be the job they have by the time they fly. Sounds familiar to me. It is challenging to pick entrepreneurs for a lot of reasons, primarily because returns depend on predicting behavior based on future pivoting and the selected entrepreneurs will have to do a different job than what they have done to date. They have to lead an enterprise in order for mission landing, i.e, landing a unicorn for the VCs and themselves.

Again, NASA looks for intelligence, adaptability, physical condition, mental endurance, education in their astronauts, and it runs extensive tests to get data to decide on each candidate. On the other hand a VC also looks for the same traits in an entrepreneur but runs no tests and usually has limited time to make the decision.
Artists are a different breed, compared to astronauts. A typical astronaut is methodical, time bound, left brained, the kind of person who would draw a check list and adhere to it to the last. A typical artist on the other hand tends to be impulsive, tends to muse, rather than by the clock, right brained and the kind of person who would let his instincts guide him rather than a check list. Again, astronauts tend to be team players, systematic, and like to have as much clarity in communication as possible and reduce all the uncertainty that is humanly possible. Artists tend to be individualistic, they seek and thrive in chaos, communicate in metaphors and seek and find hidden meanings in ordinary objects. These qualities might be daunting to some, but it’s these qualities that help them be creative, inspire them to explore new territories, and push the boundaries, and find out new things.

What about entrepreneurs? In my view, entrepreneurs need to be both astronauts and artists. They need both precision and creativity. When it comes to having a vision, when it comes to coming up with a product or a service that even customers don’t know they want, they need to be like artists. And when it comes to execution, turning that vision into a product or a service that a customer is willing to pay, they need to be like astronauts — systematic, precise and methodical.

Both are demanding, and both are exciting. I know something about this. I have spent last two decades on two sides of the table, about a decade as an Entrepreneur and another as a Venture Capitalist. That affords me to have a perspective through personal experience.

A recent evening, while stuck in Bangalore I wondered how does the journey of an entrepreneur start. How does an entrepreneur decide when to take the plunge? Is he a technician — following a precise path, or is he an artist — guided by his passion and instincts? Do they wait till they reach certain age, or have a certain amount in the bank balance, or wait for ideal business environment, or wait till they put together the perfect team, or once they move to a perfect location?

Age is no longer a factor, it might actually favor the young. The stories of young entrepreneurs abound. Bill Gates was still a student at Harvard when he decided to drop out and start Microsoft Similarly, Mark Zuckerberg was just 20, when he dropped out of college to start Facebook. Old age shouldn’t deter you either. Gordon Bowker was 51 when he co-founded Starbucks, although it was really Howard Schultz, CEO, who really created the Starbucks we know today. Ferdinand Porsche was 56 when he founded Porsche. We have great examples in our own back yard, Bhavish Aggarwal, founder of Ola Cabs, Kunal Bahl of Snapdeal, Ritesh Agarwal of Oyo Rooms all started in their 20’s.



Your bank balance doesn’t matter. Entrepreneurs don’t wait to have a million dollars in their bank account before they start up. Rather, they startup so they can have a billion dollars in their bank account soon. One of the defining images of startups — that they are started in garage — also underlines the fact that many entrepreneurs aren’t exactly flush with cash when they start up. They make do with whatever resources they have. They borrow from friends and family. They do their planning not in board rooms, but in their dorm rooms, they conduct interviews not in corner offices but in cafes. They stretch their limited resources to the fullest, and think of innovative ways to find some.

Twenty five or thirty years ago, entrepreneurs in India didn’t have it easy. They had to wait for months to get a telephone line, Forex was hard to come by, it was too complex to import computers and computer parts, and India didn’t have the same reputation it has today. Yet, it didn’t stop entrepreneurs to start up, and build iconic companies. Today, it’s a different story. India might be ranked 130 in the ease of doing business — a list that World Bank publishes based on criteria such as how easy it is to start a business, getting credit, paying taxes etc. but it’s the second fastest growing startup country. Prime minister Narendra Modi slogan Startup India, Standup India reverberates across the country. Entrepreneurship is in the air everywhere. You just have to go to any campus and you see this clearly.

Similarly, entrepreneurs don’t wait for the best team to assemble before they start up. Entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury to wait. Entrepreneurs just start up. Their vision, passion and momentum attract great people — and eventually they end up with the dream team.

They don’t wait for the perfect business plan either. Don’t get me wrong. Business plans are important. Without one, you have no business to be in business. But, there is nothing like the perfect business plan. A plan is just a plan, and it changes whenever it meets the reality. These can be small, and sometimes a complete pivot. The team behind Twitter were building a podcast service when the entry of Apple into the segment changed everything. They quickly pivoted and the result was Twitter.

So, when to start a startup? You really have to look within. Do you feel the burning desire to become an entrepreneur? Do you have a vision that consumes you? Do you want to change the world with your work? Do you spend your days and nights thinking about starting up, as if you are madly in love with the idea? Do you have the confidence to find your way in the world? Are you good at failing and quickly recovering, facing rejection, facing your doubts? Are you an optimist? Do you feel the flow of adrenaline when you think of the things you can achieve as an entrepreneur, the problems you can solve, the challenges you can take on, the passion you can kindle in others? Then you are ready for starting up. Detailed business plans, money, team — they are all important. But as an entrepreneur the most important quality you have to have is that all consuming passion to become an entrepreneur.

If you have it, what are you waiting for? Get into the game. Today. Now!

Author: Vani Kola

Vani Kola is a Managing Director at Kalaari Capital, based in Bangalore, India. Her leadership at Kalaari centers around her commitment to the development of entrepreneurs and her conviction that Indian companies are poised to become global players. Vani brings 22 years of Silicon Valley experience as a founder of successful companies to her role as a mentor and enabler of startup companies in India. She serves on several company boards and speaks widely on entrepreneurship and leadership.

This article was originally published in Medium

Image credit: www.browngirlfromboston.com



Investments in Indian start-ups decline 24%

Investors infused some $1.15 billion into Indian start-ups in the first three months of this year, down almost a quarter on a sequential basis.

Venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms cut investments in Indian start-ups by almost a quarter on a sequential basis in the three months to March, the second consecutive quarter they did so, as investors starved of exits and fearful of souring bets hold back cash.

Investors infused some $1.15 billion into Indian start-ups in the first quarter of this year, down as much as 24% from the December quarter, which itself had seen a slump in investments of 48% from the preceding three months, according to a joint report by KPMG and CB Insights.

The $1.15 billion reported by KPMG includes at least $150 million of secondary share sales that went from one set of investors in Snapdeal (Jasper Infotech Pvt. Ltd) to another.

The number of start-up deals fell 4% to 116 in the quarter, the report said.

The largest deals in the January quarter included $150 million received by online grocer BigBasket; $150 million raised by online marketplace Shopclues; and $50 million raised by Snapdeal, India’s second most valuable e-commerce firm.

“With mounting investor hesitation and concerns of overvaluation, Indian investment continued to decline in the first quarter,” KPMG and CB Insights said in the report.

After pumping more than $9 billion into Indian start-ups since the beginning of 2014, investors started pulling back late last year because of a mix of global macroeconomic factors such as a growth slowdown in China, as well as concerns over massive losses incurred by start-ups.



This year, investor caution has increased manifold, resulting in an acute slowdown in funding, fall in valuations and delayed deal closures.

“We have not been in contact with investors to raise funds but the sense we are getting is that there is a wait-and-watch situation that is going on,” said Ashish Goel, chief executive at online furniture retailer UrbanLadder. “There is definitely lesser investment in early-stage start-ups when compared to the last 4-5 months and (the number of) deals have certainly reduced.”

Even India’s top start-ups are struggling to raise cash at their current valuations.

Mint reported on 14 April that Flipkart Ltd and Snapdeal have held funding talks with several investors over the past six months, all of whom have refused to invest in the companies at their preferred valuations of $15 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively.

Both denied that they have been trying to raise fresh funds.

There are two main reasons why companies are struggling to raise money, said Aseem Khare, co-founder of home services start-up Taskbob, which raised Rs.28 crore in February.

“First, companies have been using investor money for giving away discounts that have beefed up top-line numbers but have not been able to create brand loyalty. Due to this, the percentage of revenue that comes through discounts is very high and has put doubts on the business model. The second reason is that of unit economics. There are businesses that are solving a problem, but the margins are too low for them to be sustainable or operationally profitable,” Khare said. By unit economics, Khare’s reference is to the cost and revenue from one transaction—say, a food delivery order taken online, and fulfilled.

The funding slowdown is not restricted to Indian start-ups alone, said Varun Khaitan, chief executive at home service app UrbanClap.

“The US has much bigger problems. And since some of the biggest investors are US-based, this problem has flowed into India. But if a company is doing well, then irrespective of the environment, it will attract investors,” he said.

The report by KPMG and CB Insights confirmed Khaitan’s views and said start-up deals in the US were much lower in the first quarter compared with the peak levels seen in 2015.

This article was originally published in Live Mint

Image credit: www.bitlanders.com