The document summarizes the entrepreneurial journeys of four individuals - Justin Wagrhay, Shivani Parmar, Esin Akan, and Ravi Sinha. It describes how each identified opportunities and needs in the market, developed business ideas and products/services to address them, and are currently working to grow their startups, including conducting market research, developing prototypes, fundraising, and preparing for commercialization and scaling up operations. They have faced challenges raising funds, navigating regulations, and validating market need but remain optimistic about the potential of their ventures.
Let's Talk About Sales: Understanding the Five Customer-Funded Business ModelsThe Capital Network
A widely accepted notion in entrepreneurship circles is that the way to start and grow a thriving business is to come up with a great “idea”, write a great business plan, raise capital from angels or VCs, flawlessly execute the plan, and (Voila!) get rich! But it hardly ever happens this way.
The most cash-efficient entrepreneurs sometimes get their growth funding not from investors, but from their customers. Angel or venture capital can come later, once some customer traction is in hand. By doing it this way, they (and often their early investors) will end up owning more of their companies.
Professor Mullins is coming across the pond to teach entrepreneurs and investors alike the five customer-funded business models to put to work to fund their start-ups or grow their companies with some local rock star exemplars as case studies.
Today’s Start-up Process Is Seriously Flawed: Driven by business plans based on naïve and unfounded assumptions. Enter a learning plan, anchored in the building blocks of every business: revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, working capital, and investment
In his latest book, John Mullins, Associate Professor of Management Practice in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, uncovers five novel approaches to raise start-up capital and presents case studies of large (or small companies) that have successfully used them in the past.
Learn more about The Customer-Funded Business: http://bit.ly/customer-funded-business
Learn more about John Mullins: http://bit.ly/john-mullins
In this presentation I share what I learned the first 3 years starting my business. About entrepreneurship, saas, startup, products, software, bootstrapping and so on.
SEIS is offering investors 78% tax relief against start-up investments of up ...Glyn Powditch
SEIS is offering investors 78% tax relief against start-up investments of up to £150k. Ever wanted start your own business, do it now. This is what i told Manchester Business School's Entrepreneurship Club last night (slides attached). Also includes Reid Hoffman's A,B,Z plan from the Start-Up of You book.
People are what matters most. In businesses people make the difference. All great (tech) companies have shifted their focus on to attracting and retaining talent.
Company culture is one of the main success factors for keeping people motivated. Company culture and people management that's what this presentation is about.
Let's Talk About Sales: Understanding the Five Customer-Funded Business ModelsThe Capital Network
A widely accepted notion in entrepreneurship circles is that the way to start and grow a thriving business is to come up with a great “idea”, write a great business plan, raise capital from angels or VCs, flawlessly execute the plan, and (Voila!) get rich! But it hardly ever happens this way.
The most cash-efficient entrepreneurs sometimes get their growth funding not from investors, but from their customers. Angel or venture capital can come later, once some customer traction is in hand. By doing it this way, they (and often their early investors) will end up owning more of their companies.
Professor Mullins is coming across the pond to teach entrepreneurs and investors alike the five customer-funded business models to put to work to fund their start-ups or grow their companies with some local rock star exemplars as case studies.
Today’s Start-up Process Is Seriously Flawed: Driven by business plans based on naïve and unfounded assumptions. Enter a learning plan, anchored in the building blocks of every business: revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, working capital, and investment
In his latest book, John Mullins, Associate Professor of Management Practice in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, uncovers five novel approaches to raise start-up capital and presents case studies of large (or small companies) that have successfully used them in the past.
Learn more about The Customer-Funded Business: http://bit.ly/customer-funded-business
Learn more about John Mullins: http://bit.ly/john-mullins
In this presentation I share what I learned the first 3 years starting my business. About entrepreneurship, saas, startup, products, software, bootstrapping and so on.
SEIS is offering investors 78% tax relief against start-up investments of up ...Glyn Powditch
SEIS is offering investors 78% tax relief against start-up investments of up to £150k. Ever wanted start your own business, do it now. This is what i told Manchester Business School's Entrepreneurship Club last night (slides attached). Also includes Reid Hoffman's A,B,Z plan from the Start-Up of You book.
People are what matters most. In businesses people make the difference. All great (tech) companies have shifted their focus on to attracting and retaining talent.
Company culture is one of the main success factors for keeping people motivated. Company culture and people management that's what this presentation is about.
Basic business advice for those converting part time gigs into "real" business ventures. Slides are a little wordier than usual; the Podcamp Philly Version will be a little more streamlined.
Rewiring Your Organization for Customer EngagementThoughtworks
The pace of change and customer expectation is moving companies into cardiac arrest - what are the symptoms, what is the cure?
Our world and future business opportunities are continuously emerging through advances in design and technology, and wider social and economic change. Organisations must continually revisit the question, “What business are we in, and where should we be?”. This session will discuss how to embrace business model and product innovation by building a culture of continuous experimentation and learning, to transform your organisation to an adaptable, resilient Lean Enterprise.
The integration of an acquired business, particularly a small or medium sized business (SMB), will have an effect upon not only the acquired, but also the staff of the parent company.
The 10 Biggest Questions We Received From Tech Startups - NextView VenturesNextView Ventures
These were the most popular blog post we created in the last six months for our startup blog, The View From Seed. This site is dedicated to seed-stage tech startups in the web and mobile spaces. NextView is a leading seed VC located in Boston. Topics include raising venture capital, hiring a COO, content marketing and blogging, and more.
Sharing the knowledge with JPS leaders of how to be the disrupter and avoid being the disrupted. To unchain the mental model and free the thinking necessary for disruptive thinking and leadership.
The slides of the workshop can be found at http://goo.gl/dj54A8
Cezary Pietrzak (Founder of Cezary & Co and Growth Strategist)
The MSA Launch (http://bit.ly/1yhQPZV) is a 5-day event aiming to provide an introduction to MaGIC Academy. It is presented as a condensed version of how MaGIC Academy is going to contribute to you and the startup community. You will be able to experience a series of workshops, skill and sharing knowledge opportunity, and mentoring with our selected network of mentors.
Website : www.mymagic.my
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/magic.cyberjaya
Twitter : https://twitter.com/magiccyberjaya
Youtube :
SlideShare : http://slidesha.re/1BfSncP
Email : enquiries@mymagic.my
Driving Continuous Innovation Every YearJon Mailer
Innovation is not an option in business today. To thrive in an ever-changing world, it must be a philosophy of your company. Learn how you can introduce and drive a culture of innovation in your trade business...every day!
There are countless books, blogs, articles, cases, and conferences dedicated to identifying techniques that drive innovation. Most offer the same tired ideas – hire good people, empower employees, reward risk, embrace innovative culture, create a progressive work environment, etc. While these suggestions are all reasonable, they are anything but radical. If companies want radical innovation, they should look at exploring more radical solutions. What would happen if your eradicate HR from your company? Will you innovate better if you require all employees to take an IQ test?
Whether you are bringing in over $1 M in yearly revenue or less, you can double that by paying attention to these tips & tricks. Everything is just based on Miquido wins and fails.
Basic business advice for those converting part time gigs into "real" business ventures. Slides are a little wordier than usual; the Podcamp Philly Version will be a little more streamlined.
Rewiring Your Organization for Customer EngagementThoughtworks
The pace of change and customer expectation is moving companies into cardiac arrest - what are the symptoms, what is the cure?
Our world and future business opportunities are continuously emerging through advances in design and technology, and wider social and economic change. Organisations must continually revisit the question, “What business are we in, and where should we be?”. This session will discuss how to embrace business model and product innovation by building a culture of continuous experimentation and learning, to transform your organisation to an adaptable, resilient Lean Enterprise.
The integration of an acquired business, particularly a small or medium sized business (SMB), will have an effect upon not only the acquired, but also the staff of the parent company.
The 10 Biggest Questions We Received From Tech Startups - NextView VenturesNextView Ventures
These were the most popular blog post we created in the last six months for our startup blog, The View From Seed. This site is dedicated to seed-stage tech startups in the web and mobile spaces. NextView is a leading seed VC located in Boston. Topics include raising venture capital, hiring a COO, content marketing and blogging, and more.
Sharing the knowledge with JPS leaders of how to be the disrupter and avoid being the disrupted. To unchain the mental model and free the thinking necessary for disruptive thinking and leadership.
The slides of the workshop can be found at http://goo.gl/dj54A8
Cezary Pietrzak (Founder of Cezary & Co and Growth Strategist)
The MSA Launch (http://bit.ly/1yhQPZV) is a 5-day event aiming to provide an introduction to MaGIC Academy. It is presented as a condensed version of how MaGIC Academy is going to contribute to you and the startup community. You will be able to experience a series of workshops, skill and sharing knowledge opportunity, and mentoring with our selected network of mentors.
Website : www.mymagic.my
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/magic.cyberjaya
Twitter : https://twitter.com/magiccyberjaya
Youtube :
SlideShare : http://slidesha.re/1BfSncP
Email : enquiries@mymagic.my
Driving Continuous Innovation Every YearJon Mailer
Innovation is not an option in business today. To thrive in an ever-changing world, it must be a philosophy of your company. Learn how you can introduce and drive a culture of innovation in your trade business...every day!
There are countless books, blogs, articles, cases, and conferences dedicated to identifying techniques that drive innovation. Most offer the same tired ideas – hire good people, empower employees, reward risk, embrace innovative culture, create a progressive work environment, etc. While these suggestions are all reasonable, they are anything but radical. If companies want radical innovation, they should look at exploring more radical solutions. What would happen if your eradicate HR from your company? Will you innovate better if you require all employees to take an IQ test?
Whether you are bringing in over $1 M in yearly revenue or less, you can double that by paying attention to these tips & tricks. Everything is just based on Miquido wins and fails.
Clarity Focus Action - for business with marketing departments of one.Shannon Eastman
Find customers, get results from marketing, get clarity, bring focus, take action to move your business from stuck and frustrated to deliberate and in momentum.
Building and Scaling a Fintech Startup by Trusting your GutAltar.io
We see iconic entrepreneurs use their intuition to succeed every day – Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey.
But knowing when to trust your gut is, I believe, something every entrepreneur struggles with from time to time.
If this is you, I think you’re going to like this conversation with fintech founder, Jan-Philipp Kruip, founder of FitSense, a B2B health and fitness fintech startup.
QNet is one of the oldest and the most successful MLM businesses around the globe, now spread across 22 countries. Some people have been accusing QNet to be a scam after many of the other MLM businesses shut shop or scammed people. Lets take a neutral view at the operations of QNet and you yourself decide if QNet is a scam or a legitimate business.
ENTREPRENEUR INDIA 2013 in its 3rd yearhas become the marquee entrepreneurship event on building enterprising entrepreneurs. The convention is designed for Business Owners, Women Entrepreneurs, Start-ups and Enablers to provide the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem with a nurturing environment in which all could learn through the sharing of knowledge, experiences and information. The fabric of the Entrepreneur India 2013 conference is accordingly woven around 7 I’s (Inspire , Ideate , Individual , Incubate , Innovate , Invest , Internationalize) which are critical to the lifecycle from startup to becoming a world Class Organization. To know more visit: www.entrepreneurindia.com/2013
In this issue of Agency Food, we look at what
makes agency heads tick. We ask why you set up
in business in the first place, what your agency
ambitions are and your hopes and dreams for the future.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation: Transforming leadership for 2030 and beyondLondon Business School
This case study explores the custom programme developed by London Business School for the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation in conjunction with the National Technology Enterprises Company Kuwait. The study examines the scale and accomplishments of the programme, as well as the unique tripartite collaboration between the three key stakeholders that delivered its success.
Together, Microsoft and London Business School created The Public Sector Course: a customised programme, tailoring a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) model for Microsoft’s public sellers specifically. The programme aims to empower participants to build trust and credibility with customers.
Learn more about our customised programmes: https://www.london.edu/programmes/executive-education/topic/executive-education-for-organisations/custom-programmes
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking - Active vs passive investing
Active vs. passive – practitioner perspectives - Tim Hodgson, Head of the Thinking Ahead Institute, Willis Towers Watson
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking
Portfolio construction today - Cliff Asness, Managing & Founding Principal, AQR Capital Management
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking – Private Equity
Partners Capital View of the Future of Private Equity Investing
Stan Miranda, Founder and CEO, Partners Capital Investment Group
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking - Active vs passive investing
Risk taking the ATP way - Kasper Lorenzen, Chief Investment Officer, ATP
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking - Active vs passive investing
Is factor investing a bubble? - René M. Stulz, Everett D. Reese Chair of Banking and Monetary Economics, Ohio State University
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking - Active vs passive investing
Sharpening the Arithmetic of Active Management - Lasse Pedersen, Professor of Finance, Copenhagen Business School and NYU; and Principal, AQR Capital Management
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
Insight Summit 2017: Intelligent Risk Taking - Active vs passive investing
Money management in equilibrium - Jonathan Berk, A.P. Giannini Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University
Presented at the third annual Insight Summit conference held on 7 November 2017 by London Business School’s AQR Asset Management Institute.
The ten commandments of business innovation | London Business SchoolLondon Business School
From his new book Breaking Bad Habits, LBS's Freek Vermeulen explores the ten commandments your business must follow to reinvigorate your organisation.
http://www.freekvermeulen.com/
Find out how Smurfit Kappa partnered with London Business School to design two precisely calibrated learning journeys that transformed participants from two distinct strands of leadership.
Systemic Risk in the Asset Management Industry - Michael Mendelson, Principal, AQR Capital Management
Presented at the AQR Asset Management Institute conference, Perspectives: Systemic Risk in Asset Management held on 26 April 2017 at London Business School.
Myths and Realities of ETFs and Index Investing - Ananth Madhavan, Managing Director, Global Head of Research for ETF and Index Investing, BlackRock
Presented at the AQR Asset Management Institute conference, Perspectives: Systemic Risk in Asset Management held on 26 April 2017 at London Business School.
Presented at the AQR Asset Management Institute conference, Perspectives: Systemic Risk in Asset Management held on 26 April 2017 at London Business School.
Together with London Business School (LBS), Nordea created the Strategic Leadership Programme to empower its next-generation leaders to: think strategically about the future and about customers; align functions and strategies to the overarching Nordea Future Relationship Bank Strategy; and build trust across the whole business.
Learn more about our customised programmes: http://bit.ly/2mzsMM5
We all have good and bad thoughts from time to time and situation to situation. We are bombarded daily with spiraling thoughts(both negative and positive) creating all-consuming feel , making us difficult to manage with associated suffering. Good thoughts are like our Mob Signal (Positive thought) amidst noise(negative thought) in the atmosphere. Negative thoughts like noise outweigh positive thoughts. These thoughts often create unwanted confusion, trouble, stress and frustration in our mind as well as chaos in our physical world. Negative thoughts are also known as “distorted thinking”.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
The Roman Empire A Historical Colossus.pdfkaushalkr1407
The Roman Empire, a vast and enduring power, stands as one of history's most remarkable civilizations, leaving an indelible imprint on the world. It emerged from the Roman Republic, transitioning into an imperial powerhouse under the leadership of Augustus Caesar in 27 BCE. This transformation marked the beginning of an era defined by unprecedented territorial expansion, architectural marvels, and profound cultural influence.
The empire's roots lie in the city of Rome, founded, according to legend, by Romulus in 753 BCE. Over centuries, Rome evolved from a small settlement to a formidable republic, characterized by a complex political system with elected officials and checks on power. However, internal strife, class conflicts, and military ambitions paved the way for the end of the Republic. Julius Caesar’s dictatorship and subsequent assassination in 44 BCE created a power vacuum, leading to a civil war. Octavian, later Augustus, emerged victorious, heralding the Roman Empire’s birth.
Under Augustus, the empire experienced the Pax Romana, a 200-year period of relative peace and stability. Augustus reformed the military, established efficient administrative systems, and initiated grand construction projects. The empire's borders expanded, encompassing territories from Britain to Egypt and from Spain to the Euphrates. Roman legions, renowned for their discipline and engineering prowess, secured and maintained these vast territories, building roads, fortifications, and cities that facilitated control and integration.
The Roman Empire’s society was hierarchical, with a rigid class system. At the top were the patricians, wealthy elites who held significant political power. Below them were the plebeians, free citizens with limited political influence, and the vast numbers of slaves who formed the backbone of the economy. The family unit was central, governed by the paterfamilias, the male head who held absolute authority.
Culturally, the Romans were eclectic, absorbing and adapting elements from the civilizations they encountered, particularly the Greeks. Roman art, literature, and philosophy reflected this synthesis, creating a rich cultural tapestry. Latin, the Roman language, became the lingua franca of the Western world, influencing numerous modern languages.
Roman architecture and engineering achievements were monumental. They perfected the arch, vault, and dome, constructing enduring structures like the Colosseum, Pantheon, and aqueducts. These engineering marvels not only showcased Roman ingenuity but also served practical purposes, from public entertainment to water supply.
The Art Pastor's Guide to Sabbath | Steve ThomasonSteve Thomason
What is the purpose of the Sabbath Law in the Torah. It is interesting to compare how the context of the law shifts from Exodus to Deuteronomy. Who gets to rest, and why?
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
2. MY JOURNEY: JUSTIN WAGHRAY
You have an idea for a company and you’re not exactly sure
how it works or even if you started a company what you’d be
doing day-to-day; what your tasks would be, what it would be
like in three or five years. The clincher was we applied for and
were accepted on the incubator programme at London
Business School. That was external validation saying that
there is actual potential for a company, there is a need here
and you can develop a business around it.
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3. Most of our time is currently spent doing market research and preparing our documents for
investors so that we can create a dialogue about what the time frame is like, what the different
milestones are; preparing a very specific kind of value proposition so we can put that to
investors.
I’m working on it full time. We’ve got two neurosurgeons, on our team who work on a part-time
basis. And then we’ve also got an engineer working part-time. ‘This isn't rocket science, it’s
brain surgery’, is the line on our website.
Our product is basically a surgical Swiss army knife. In neurosurgery there’s constant switching
between tools. It could be scissors, it could be diathermy for cauterising or suction to drain
fluid. Surgeons will do this dozens to hundreds of times during a several-hour operation. Every
time they do this they break their focus. They switch and they risk damaging the tissue as well.
So what we came up with was a device which combines the four most commonly used
functions in neurosurgery into a single tool.
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4. We have validated this across different surgeons, ENT surgery and retinal surgery, to see if this
is actually a need. If you look at surgeries now, there aren’t any that can’t be performed given
the correct tools. The question is can things be improved? If this results in lower complication
rates, shorter surgery times or whatever the metric is, it will be substantially better for
healthcare providers and patients.
We’re working on a prototype, trying to go as far as we can without seed funding, which is
challenging. In terms of what’s involved – setting up a company, commercial property
protection, regulatory approval and so on – it’s a long time frame. We may not see cash flow for
a few years.
The biggest competition is the status quo. Senior surgeons are often reticent to try new
technology. There are entire sales forces hired to go and push whatever the latest and greatest
is. There is a massive graveyard of failed surgical tools. To actually make a product that people
love will be the biggest issue.
www.neurologicmed.com
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5. MY JOURNEY: SHIVANI PARMAR
I spent much of the last ten years exploring the world. I started
off doing HIV awareness work, did a lot of public health work,
turned to journalism, became a photographer for the US
Olympic rowing team and then came to London to start a
business. No matter where I went in the world I always noticed
there’s amazing people doing remarkable things. I was in India
for a year working in the red light districts and trying to do HIV
awareness. And as much as it’s very poor, it was actually
phenomenally inspiring.
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6. So there’s just a lot of positive stories, even in negative circumstances, and I think there’s a lot of
focus on problems in the world and not always on the people creating solutions. Our vision is to share
the amazing and positive stories of the world.
We launched in February. It involved a lot of testing with customers to see what they get excited
about and what drives them. And having done that, we have a clear idea of where we want to go, but
we need some time, and for that we’ll need angel seed investment.
We’re talking to investors now about an investment of £150,000-200,000.
That will get us another year. We’re probably on Plan F or G right now! The business is evolving so
much that every month you realise, we’ve learned something new. You come in with an idea but then
once you put it in front of people things always change.
What I’ve learned is the importance of keeping people really excited and passionate, always having a
big vision because otherwise what you have is just a website. You have to always have a vision and a
goal that you can get really passionate about so that when things aren’t going well there's actually
something much bigger that you're working on.
www.shivspix.com
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7. MY JOURNEY: ESIN AKAN
I studied in Istanbul. Then I worked for three years in the
fashion industry. I worked in Milan, Paris and Istanbul; studied
fashion design and accessories design; and moved to London
to get further experience.
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8. It had always been in my mind that I wanted to design a bag that would fit my lifestyle. There is a
need for a designer handbag for working women. It stayed in my mind for years, more than five years.
There are millions of women working every day, leaving home at 7am and returning often late in the
evening. They need a bag that can carry laptops, a gym pack, notebooks and everything in an
organised manner. It needs to be practical plus stylish.
The average price is around £450 and the range starts from £250 and goes up to £1,000.
We interviewed and surveyed hundreds of working women about what they want, what brands they
prefer, why they prefer them, what really is not good about them, how we can make a better product
than any other option in the market. It was a fascinating experience.
I knew about the product, I knew about fashion, but I had no idea about finance, how to value my
company, or what sort of ambition I needed to convince an investor to invest in my business or how
much my designs would be valued.
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9. We have developed the whole collection in the last six months. We found suppliers and our first client,
a luxury department store in Turkey. Now we basically need finance to be able to invest in the right
thing to make it work and grow fast.
The most rewarding thing is to see your product, something that was in your mind and then on paper,
becoming real. That gives you a feeling of huge, limitless further creativity. There is nothing to beat it.
www.esinakan.com
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10. MY JOURNEY: RAVI SINHA
The company is called Local Pay and we call ourselves an
alternate payment gateway for e-commerce. If you shop
online and you don’t have credit cards or debit cards, or if you
feel insecure about using a credit card or debit card to
transact online, you can choose Local Pay, and pay cash at a
local retail outlet.
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11. We started life in August 2012 and are targeting markets where the rate of internet penetration
is fairly high, but where credit cards or debit cards are not highly used and cash is still largely
preferred. India is our first market and we now have an office in Calcutta.
One of my partners comes from a family business background in India. He has a very good
background in the market. The other, our CTO, is from Estonia. We complement each other as
each of us brings in a unique background and experience to the table.
The biggest factor in our business was the regulatory aspect. In order for us to start
operations, we require approval from the Reserve Bank of India because payments is a highly
regulated sector in India. As a young company, getting access to regulators and policy makers
has been a daunting task.
Just to give a sense of the numbers in India, in 2011 there were more than 130 million internet
users in India and of those only eight million people transacted online.
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12. We’re completely bootstrapped so far but we will need to raise money, probably later in 2013,
to set up a sales force and to develop a business development team. We are in constant
contact with a few angel investors and hopefully this will culminate in our first round of
fundraising when the requirement arises. We will not seek external money until we realise that
our growth will be impeded by the lack of money at our disposal.
Our closest competition is cash on delivery, which effectively means that people pay in cash
upon receipt of merchandise. Using cash, e-commerce merchants lose out on working
capital. Moreover, cash handling is not the core competency of delivery companies and the
risk involved in adopting a cash-on-delivery payment method for e-commerce merchants is
significantly large.
We firmly believe there’s massive potential in the market. There’s a huge unbanked population
in India, which has the buying power, but doesn’t have access to some products. So, if Local
Pay takes off, we will essentially be reducing this digital divide. It’s important that people start
using technology. The benefits are tremendous – economic and social. That’s a very big part
of our purpose.
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13. MY JOURNEY: ABHISHEK GARODIA
In 2011, I was in the Philippines on an internship and
subsequently in Australia for an exchange term. As a
person interested in sports and fitness activities, I was
frustrated at not knowing where when and how I could play
a game of cricket, football or take a kickboxing class. That
led me to think about PlayEnable.
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14. The entire convenience of being able to book flights, restaurants and hotels online seemed to
be completely absent in the sports and fitness booking space. When I came back to London,
I found the same problem. I also found that gyms and sports facilities did a terrible job of
reaching out to customers as they pass through the city.
I bounced the idea off friends, got some feedback and dropped my job hunt to focus on
PlayEnable. In order to get further validation, I participated in the European Student Startup
Business Plan competition and after three rounds, found myself in the finals. I didn’t win but it
gave me the encouragement to keep working on the idea.
In June 2012, after two to three months of work, I launched the website as a Minimum Viable
Product. I knew it would be easier to show people a basic product, even one which was
clearly not perfect. I then used the active feedback from sports facilities and consumers to
keep iterating and changing as much as possible quickly. The product is now in its 40th
iteration.
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15. Today, we have 160 facilities signed up and one or two per day are joining up. Around 2,000
facilities are in our target range in the London area alone.
The overall business plan hasn’t changed much. The main aim is to centralise and socialise the
workout and exercise experience. With PlayEnable, you can discover all of the fitness-related
organisations, gyms, yoga studios, and kick-boxing centres, in your area, browse their interactive
calendar of upcoming classes and sessions, and register online to reserve your spot.
Initially, I put in £25,000 of my own money. We then raised another £25,000 through the
crowdfunding platform Seedrs. Now we are in the advanced stages of talking to angel investors.
At the moment we have a team of five who manage finance, sales, technology and an online
marketing manager. In addition, we have an admin team in the Philippines and a technology
partner in Ukraine.
It has been a great learning experience and a high-level perspective, and not just a pure focus on
unnecessary details. I hope this helps me as I try to lead the business further in future.
www.playenable.com
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16. This was first published in Business Strategy
Review Volume 24 Issue 3 – 2013
Visit our website www.london.edu/bsr
BUSINESS STRATEGY REVIEW