Cactus Chords

I had no one to help me out with my business plan, financial projections or presentations. I just had my dear little internet.  I tried my best and put together whatever I could. Eventually when it took shape, it was quite impressive with a 15 page business plan, a 26 slide presentation, a 4 sheet financial projection spreadsheet. I opened all three documents in front of me, admired it for a long time. I could not believe I had made all these documents. I knew they were not professional, they were not what a seasoned company would have prepared. They would have a 100 page business plan, 40 sheet financial projection and 70 slide presentation. But mine basically outlined everything that the investor had to know about the project and us.

Started mailing these documents to investors one by one. Contacted nearly 15 of them by email, out of which I realize that 9 of them do not even exist anymore. They have either left the previous company or gone underground. I then decided to contact NEN. They were a huge network of entrepreneurs, investors and mentors. I was very apprehensive. After exchanging a few e-mails, they put me through a member of the IAN.

IAN had asked for more details about the project. My heart skipped a beat. Could this be it? Is something actually happening? I could not eat, sleep or think straight. I used to sleep with my inbox signed in and my laptop right next to my bed. Then one morning, I wake up to see a mail in my inbox.

Note: The names in the mail have been changed.

Hi Neha,

Would like to introduce to you Mithun, the founder of this venture. Mithun, a pleasure to introduce you to Neha from IAN.  She wants to schedule a call with you.  Could you kindly take this ahead?  All the best.

Thanks and regards,
Meera

My heart was in my mouth. A telecon? Why not face to face? I was always confident in face to face meetings and presentations than telecons. In telecons, they judge you by the voice and in face to face it is all about body language. The team resided in Delhi and thus the telecon. Replied to the mail, fixed a time and waited for it. Informed only my close family and a couple of friends who have been a good support. Prayers and wishes were flowing, but I was literally shitting bricks. From prior experience I had learned, until the cash falls into the account, never bank on anything or anyone.

I thought I would sleep early and have an early morning, but little did I know, my body had something else planned. I could not sleep a wink until 7 am and the telecon was for 12 pm. Wonderful.

What is the worst that could happen? The worst could be that I miss the god damn telecon by oversleeping……

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So we get back to our drawing boards to see where we went wrong and what we should have done. It is not that, we had a bad product, it is just that we approached the wrong client, what does that mean? There was only one answer. We had our target market wrong in the first place. The reason why we started this business was not to benefit colleges that had money in surplus, it was for those colleges that did not have money in surplus and wanted to still provide quality education to its students and prospective admissions. So what was it that we had to do? We had to try and sell it to those colleges. Done, but one small problem. No more money to keep going on.

We did not have an experienced coder on board to complete the product that was left incomplete by the developer who left us. He just upped and left one fine day. The whole team was beyond cheesed off with him but we had no other option but to move on. But how? I had just INR 30,000/- left in my account with which I had to manage rent, server charges (which at this point in time was idle), electricity, water, food, fuel, phone, internet which would easily shave off INR 25,000/-

I could not ask friends or family anymore, they had helped me enough and there is a limit to begging as well. When you are trying to set-up a business, you will have to beg, beg more than anyone would, beg to people you never thought you would beg to. Is that compromising with your morale? Oh please, if I hug onto my morale, I will be buried underground along with my dream in this wicked world of business. I had to find a way out somehow. What could we do? We had two options, rather, I had two options. Either beg some more from different people whom I had just met, but were sweet enough to lend me 10,000 here and there OR try and raise funds from Angel investors. The latter seemed to be an option which we hadn’t explored yet and why? I frankly, do not know. Maybe, we had to see all this before we could muster courage to reach out to these angels.

So I got to work, re-doing the complete business plan, financial projections, presentations, every little aspect starting from idea, how, when, why, what, development, initial set-up costs, overheads, investment so far, from where it came, investment required, disbursement of the same, how long till I break even or make profits, revenue sources, competition, current financial situation, current product standing, marketing and sales strategies , strategic partnerships, other revenue sources, team background etc.

How the hell do I do all this? I did not have the slightest clue. There were a million templates online on how to make a successful business plan, articles on what Angels look out for in a business plan. Some said, Angels realize that you are a start-up and it does not matter if you make mistakes or do not know how to make a business plan or financial projections, they need to see how much you know about your product, the business, the competition, the differentiators and entry barriers, how you will make money and how you plan to grow which I realized is not completely true. All the good Angels are hidden somewhere and you would be just lucky if you find them. Other ones that are there either, ironically, would not be interested in the same domain or say that we will wait for a bit until you prove the potential of the product. Ahem!!! isn’t that why I am approaching them in the same place, so they give some money and help me prove the potential of the product?

But it was a fact and I had to face it, either my product was just shit and would not work whatsoever or i was just not lucky enough. I tried to force myself to believe in the former, but I just could not. I had nearly all my time and money invested in this to think it was useless. Could be a great mistake or a brave move. We would have to wait and see. So I sat down to think what would happen, in case I did not get any investors. Scenarios kept zooming through my head, people making fun of me behind my back, start looking for a job, get into the rat race, running away to someplace far and live my life.

One thing you never run out of is emotional support, everyone you know will say, “go on man”, “you can do it”, “you are smart”, “it will work out” , but financially, not all. Of course, why would they. Even they have their expenses and why would they bank on a once failed entrepreneur?  I myself wouldn’t. Entrepreneurs become really selfish and self centred when it comes to building their businesses. They wonder why people can’t see the obvious potential of the product. But that is where the difference lies and the reason why you are a budding entrepreneur and they are seasoned businessmen. They have seen the in and out of business and can weigh a proposal by just brushing through it.

All said and done, I had to forage for myself. But this emotional support itself can replace financial support for a while because it is all about not giving up. I nearly thought of shutting shop as everyone around me connected to my life directly was getting weary. My family slowly started dropping hints, how long do you want to try? do you still think this will work? My younger brother was bombarding me with mails everyday asking me to do my MBA abroad. But for that too, you need close to 20 lakhs. We couldn’t afford anywhere close to that now.

My father was the only blind support I had who kept telling me, go ahead, if you think this will work then try, do not give up. After every rejection, he used to say, what’s the use if things came easy? You need a success story and not an easy story.

Keeping all this in mind, I decided to approach angel investors, Venture Capitalists (VCs) were out as we were too early to be funded by VCs. Made a list, researched and mailed them. This was it for me, make or break.

Either get funded and do well and get out of the hardship that I have been trough the past 3 years non stop or make a drastic decision to shut shop and get a job and earn some steady money. The mere thought of it sent chills down my spine. But I had no other choice but to do my part, believe in my product blindly and give it my best shot.

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Bharti Airtel has warned us that 3G mobile services will not be friendly to the end-user pockets, especially for subscribers in metros, as service providers shelled out a pretty handsome amount for the spectrum.

The amount for spectrum that has been charged for the metros Delhi and Mumbai is close to Rs 3,500 crore each. Rs 700-900 per month is the cost an end-user will have to bear if the operator has to just break-even after the input and licensing costs, mentioned Sunil Mittal, Chairman and MD of Bharti Airtel. I do not even want to think how much it would cost post the margin for the operators.

Bharti Airtel won 13 circles, including Delhi and Mumbai, paying Rs 12,295.46 crore, the highest among service providers.

The company could not achieve the objective of a pan-India 3G foot print as the prices rose beyond a reasonable level due to various factors like the auction format, a severe shortage of spectrum and also ensuing policy uncertainty, it had said.

And what’s next 4G?

As you move on with your entrepreneurial life, you find yourself facing a plethora of situations. One day you will be basking in the glory of success and the next day you find yourself almost drowning. Post you getting familiar with this constant turmoil, you realize a lot of things, some that were right in front of you and you missed and some that were hidden someplace else and you deciphered them.

One of the lessons I learned with my current venture was when I was faced with a question by one of the angel investors. After a couple of telecons and a few mails we had a face to face meeting. He asked me, “Mithun, from what I have seen and heard, your product has potential which is why we are having this conversation today. But let me ask you one question, does your product solve your  problem or does it solve the customer’s problem?”

I had done my market research and had an answer to this question which luckily he bought. That is when I realized how imperative this question was to a start-up before it went all out for its venture. And for a fact, I hadn’t thought of this. I was just lucky that it worked out and people started using it. But what if I was wrong and people hadn’t used my product? Then this question would have been that one question I could call as the crux of my business case analysis prior to development.

8 out of 10 start-ups come up with a product because it was a solution to the problem they were facing and wanted a solution to it and that is why most of them do not work because they can not find a group of people (prospective customers) who share the same problem. They lack the community that would use their product in other words, their target market.

Every product that is made has a market, there is nothing like a useless product. The key is to find the people who can use the product, once you have that figured out, the next step is to make them use it. Whether it is for free or not. Revenue models will fall in place once you have a modest user-base. Why go far, look at Twitter or Facebook or You Tube. These were products that had a mass appeal whereas another product might just have a state appeal or further restricted to a city or merely a small community. That is enough, trust me.

You do not always have to be the next Google or You Tube or Facebook or Twitter or My Space.

A few things you must check out on the to-do list before getting your product up are;

- Develop a product that has at least one differentiating aspect/feature compared to your competitor

- Do not hesitate because there are other players in the market. It is all about the target market

- Ensure that you have a community around you just before you commence building your product or as you finish

Once you have the product developed;

- Give it to them for free (pilot phase). Let them play around with it. If it does not work out there, it won’t anywhere, stop running behind it

- If it works with them, find a way you can make them pay for it. Even if it is a small amount, generating revenue is always good

- Consult industry experts, friends, mentors on how you can better the product and what would actually make the users pay for it

- Focus on quality, deliverance and most importantly look and feel because 80% of the users of any product are laymen and purely judge a site by its look and feel. If you have a differentiating aspect, you might still lose a credible number of users if your site is not presentable.

All my views pertain to low cost products that do not require heavy investment and resources. A simple yet effective solution to a problem.

Cheers

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Now, of course, this is not something that I compiled myself. It is something that has been on the internet for ages. But shamefully, I hadn’t come across it do far for many a reasons, topping the list is, ignorance.

But to save my shame, I luckily knew 60% of the information mentioned here. But the rest of them anyday is knowledge and I, for a fact, felt immensely proud to be an Indian.

If this helps you in the same way then go ahead, spend 2 minutes and read this completely. For the ones who know everything mentioned here, keep it up

Facts about India

Q. Who is the GM of Hewlett Packard (hp)?
A. Rajiv Gupta

Q. Who is the creator of Pentium chip (needs no introduction as 90% of the today’s computers run on it)?
A. Vinod Dahm

Q. Who is the 4′th richest man of the world?
A. According to the latest report on Forbes Magazine, it is Mukesh Ambani

Q. Who is the founder and creator of Hotmail (Hotmail is world’s No.1 web based email program)?
A. Sabeer Bhatia

Q. Who is the president of AT & T-Bell Labs (AT & T-Bell Labs is the creator of program languages such as C, C++, Unix to name a few)?
A. Arun Netravalli

Q. Who is the new MTD (Microsoft Testing Director) of Windows 2000, responsible to iron out all initial problems?
A. Sanjay Tejwrika

Q. Who are the Chief Executives of CitiBank, Mckensey & Stanchart?
A. Vikram Pandit, Rajat Gupta, and Rana Talwar.

- We Indians are the wealthiest among all ethnic groups in America , even faring better than the whites and the natives.
There are 3.22 millions of Indians in USA (1.5% of population). YET,
38% of doctors in USA are Indians.
12% scientists in USA are Indians.
36% of NASA scientists are Indians.
34% of Microsoft employees are Indians.
28% of IBM employees are Indians.
17% of INTEL scientists are Indians.
13% of XEROX employees are! Indians.

Some of the following facts may be known to you. These facts were recently published in a German magazine, which deals with WORLD HISTORY FACTS ABOUT INDIA .

1. India never invaded any country in her last 1000 years of history.

2. India invented the Number system. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.

3. The world’s first University was established in Takshila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects.. The University of Nalanda built in the 4 th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.

4. According to the Forbes magazine, Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software.

5. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans.

6. Although western media portray modern images of India as poverty striken and underdeveloped through political corruption, India was once the richest empire on earth.

7. The art of navigation was born in the river Sindh 5000 years ago. The very word ‘Navigation’ is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH.

8. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is now known as the Pythagorean Theorem. British scholars have (1999) officially published that Budhayan’s works dates to the 6 th Century which is long before the European mathematicians.

9. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India . Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11 th Century; the largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Indians used numbers as big as 10 53.

10. According to the Gemmological Institute of America, up until 1896, India was the only source of diamonds to the world.

11. USA based IEEE has proved what has been a century-old suspicion amongst academics that the pioneer of wireless communication was Professor Jagdeesh Bose and not Marconi.

12. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.

13. Chess was invented in India .

14. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted surgeries like cesareans, cataract, fractures and urinary stones. Usage of anaesthesia was well known in ancient India .

15. When many cultures in the world were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley ( Indus Valley Civilisation).

16. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.

Quotes about India .
We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
-Albert Einstein-

India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grand mother of tradition.
-Mark Twain-

If there is one place on the face of earth where all dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India .
-French scholar Romain Rolland-

India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.
-Hu Shih-
(former Chinese ambassador to USA )

ALL OF THE ABOVE IS JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG, THE LIST COULD BE ENDLESS.
BUT, if we don’t see even a glimpse of that great India in the India that we see today, it clearly means that we are not working up to our potential; and that if we do, we could once again be an ever shining and inspiring country setting a bright path for rest of the world to follow.
I hope you enjoyed it and work towards the welfare of INDIA .

Say proudly, I AM AN INDIAN.

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