This deck was presented by Gautam Sinha at the TiE Institute Knowledge Series (TIKS) : Starting Up- Session 1 in July 2011. This session was organised by Tie Mumbai.

1. The 10 year journey of an accidental entrepreneur…….. From start to millions………. The story of 3 start ups and 2 busts!

2. The spark to start Middle class existence….. boredom with job…the problem of having alternatives ….knowledge of ONE market ….strong enough desires to carry for a decade..

3. Dealing with the no personal cash syndrome…low self esteem and lots of time What am I doing….why don’t I get back to a job … the first 2 years…no market for what I do…shall I change my idea…hey why don’t you do this to make a fast buck….

4. The first taste of money….and then the BUST… Just when you figured it out they changed the market!! Why me? The difficulty of starting again…the collapse of plans…the year 4 dilemma….do you know how to fish?

5. The 2nd start…failure and debt Influence of the media…..getting carried away by the idea……poor execution capability and low ability to attract people who can……no focus on benefit and ability to deliver it

6. 3rd time lucky? The first customer through a friend…mining and relationship….the golden years in Indian IT 2002-07 …building a culture as business by default…the desire to be the 1 st ….DDT….getting carried away by money…arrogance….innovation......the lifestyle entrepreneur trap…. financial Vs strategic investor dilemma……… SALE

7. There is no ONE way to build a company It is like a fingerprint… inspiration YES but find your own path ….. Self evaluation is the key but also very lonely so make and keep friends (NOT networks) …Don’t forget to have fun……. it is the only opportunity to experience complete freedom and create an asset which ensures that you never have to “work” again…..