13th Incubator Seedfund Management Committee meeting organized by AIC-SMUTBI.
It’s a great honor to get an opportunity to help find the right businesses to receive the angel investment from government (tax payers money!) These meetings are a once-a-month affair. I enjoy these meetings for several reasons: 1) It gives me hope. I hear entrepreneurs coming from far-flung places in India doing innovation that makes […]
What does a Founder / CEO do when the operating plan of the business is owned by a capable team?
– Strategy (making key choices/bets) – Identify what’s changing, and what’s not going to change, and how will company respond to it – Human capital development, and succession planning, specially for leadership positions – Meeting clients and team-members to discover insights and feed into the system – Governance and goal review – Zero to One […]
How do you want to build your dream business?
I am happy for those who build unicorns and decacorns. I wish I can build one, one day. But I will prefer to build it my way. 1) I will bootstrap, 2) Build a solid profitable business, 3) Reinvent in every market cycle, 4) Keep the business alive, and 5) Grow at a consistent CAGR […]
Mountaineering and Entrepreneurship are two sides of the same coin.
In 2023, a mountaineer and loved member of Indian entrepreneur community, Anurag Maloo met an horrible accident on top of Annapurna (one of the deadliest 8000+ mts peak). Firstly, Why would someone attempt to climb a mountain where 1 in 3 mountaineers perish? And that too without oxygen support? This is similar to the question […]
Equipment failure in the pharmaceutical industry can have significant consequences.
Here are some facts that highlight the impact of equipment failure in this industry: 1. Cost of downtime: Unplanned downtime can cost pharmaceutical companies an average of $150,000 per hour. This includes direct costs such as lost production and labor expenses, as well as indirect costs associated with delays in product availability, missed sales opportunities, […]
The first thing you can do to address the perils of a ‘trust deficit society’ is to pay-it-forward.
How can you selflessly do something to help someone without any expected outcome or return? The effect is viral. The beneficiary will feel good and will most likely extend similar behavior to someone else in his/her network. This creates a cascading effect, which can snowball sooner than later. This needs a ‘giving’ mindset instead of […]
TiECON Kolkata 2023 was a celebration of entrepreneurship.
It hosted 500+ delegates, 30+ speakers, and eco-system partners to bring interesting conversations and learnings on a platform. I had a great opportunity to engage in a fireside chat with Prashant Pitti of EaseMyTrip.com. We spoke about “Challenges and opportunities of bootstrapping a hyper scale business”. The discussion was quite engaging and fun. We touched […]
Every job, however small, teaches you something valuable.
Today, I and Vivek Bajaj, a dear friend, recorded a podcast episode for his Face2Face MSME series. One of his question triggered some memories, and I felt it will be great to share my learnings from my four jobs! My first job was a part-time gig with The International Award for Young People, India in […]
Sales isn’t a hustle. It’s about human connection. 🤝
Forget the clichés of pushy pitches and endless follow-ups. Real sales isn’t about “getting to yes.” It’s about being the why behind a customer’s success. 🌟 Here’s the truth: Great salespeople don’t sell. They serve. They’re the ones who: + Pay it forward by sharing knowledge. + Solve problems that matter. + Are always available […]
Kaise hoga, Jaise hoga, Aise hoga – The key to getting things done.
I have another simple way of classifying team members based on their ability to get things done. This is a theory by my good friend Alkesh Agarwal (and all credit to him), which I have tried to extend a little. There are three kinds of team members: The “Kaise hoga” type – These are the […]