Learnings from 4 years of startup
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This presentation takes you through Gaurav Gupta's learnings after four years of leading a startup of his own. It was originally delivered at Amity University Gurgaon by Gaurav Gupta (founder of SquareBoat) during the 'Startup-Guru' event on January 19th 2018.
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Learnings from 4 years of startup
- 1. Gaurav Gupta
- 2. § Ex-SlideShare, ex-Naukri.com, ex-educomp § More than 10 years working in technology § Serial Entrepreneur § Behind the technologies of companies like Paisabazaar.com, Jubiliant Foodworks, Kyor, Star Worldwide Group etc. Founder & Director SquareBoat
- 3. “An entrepreneur is someone who will jump off a cliff and assemble an airplane on the way down. Reid Hoffman ”
- 4. Early learnings Mid-level learnings Late stage learnings
- 5. What I learned from the very first year of my startup.
- 6. § There are just too many distractions at home for one to work § Coworking spaces are a great option to begin with
- 7. § Most people advised me not to go solo. § The best talent in my circle was locked up in high paying jobs or heavy loans. § Everybody has an idea but hardly anybody wants to take the risk.
- 8. § I wasn’t just responsible for my company’s services, I was responsible for my company § From the toilet flush to clients’ server, every problem was my problem
- 9. § Building a team from scratch was harder than I thought § Nobody wanted to be the very first person to join an unknown company
- 10. § Maintaining the balance between high quality talent and low burn rate was crucial
- 11. § India is a tough market for business § Less price is always preferred over anything else
- 12. § There was always too much going on in parallel § Sales, team management, getting your code to work, infrastructure issues, accounting work, new hiring etc. § It was important to focus on everything equally because each and everything was important at that stage
- 13. What I learned from the second year onwards.
- 14. § Delegation of work was key § I could get more done § I focused on things that really mattered instead of being caught up in routine work
- 15. § I made sure that I do everything myself before finding others to delegate it to § I knew the challenges they’ll face, and was able to manage them better
- 16. What I and most people face after 2 years of starting up.
- 17. § Unless you are fully committed to really making it happen, it won’t § Some days in your life will be so hard that everyone who’s running a company just to make money or to be “cool” will simply give up
- 18. § Delivering more than expected is important § Talk honestly without sugar coating things § My clients’ success was, and still is, my success
- 19. § Great work. Not good, but great § There are just too many people doing average work § Doing great work is the only way to differentiate yourself from others
- 20. § Watch all your numbers. Keep track of everything.Timelines, finances, people etc. § It’ll tell you where you’re heading
- 21. § People are everything § You make them happy, they make you happy § It actually works and is really that simple
- 22. § Going beta isn’t worth it § When you go for something, go all guns blazing § Even your loudest cry will reach a limited set of people
- 23. So, what did you learn?
- 26. WE ARE HIRING