First-Hand Learnings of an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship teaches one a lot. The learning is first hand and very diverse.

Learning is broadly from the following 2 things.

Experiences: Whatever you do teaches you something. If what you do goes right, your learning is good. If is goes wrong, your learning is great.

People: An entrepreneur should keep learning from people around him/her. The more skilled or experienced the people around you are, the better the learning is. From picking up core domain skills to learning how to build a team, there is a lot which can be learnt.

A good entrepreneur will keep learning from his/her surroundings and activities. We should always 

keep our eyes and ears open and should develop an interest in learning as much as we can. Besides these first hand learnings, reading is also a great way to learn from other’s experiences.

Trait of Successful People

Startup Pledge (Must for Budding Entrepreneurs)

All budding entrepreneurs need to take this pledge before becoming an active member in this wonderful world of startups. This will help them create an outlook which will make their journey smoother.

THE PLEDGE

- I pledge to never stop learning

- I pledge to make my startup my passion and be a parent to it rather than a manager

- I pledge to build a team of people in my journey who are equally passionate and zealous about my startup

- I pledge to be focused and share my focus and goals with my team

- I pledge to be open to feedback and to make alterations in my path whenever required

- I pledge to be non-biased in anything I do

- I pledge to be patient and not let anxiety or restlessness into any of my decisions

- I pledge to never let the morale of me or my team down

- I pledge to create a story which will inspire others

Developing a Habit of Following Up

You don’t have to spend every waking moment immediately responding to the chime of your email, but when you do allow time for this task, make sure you respond to everyone. If you don’t have time to give a long reply, then at least respond with a brief note telling your contacts that you received their messages and reviewed them and will get back to them soon. Then make sure you follow up.

In a startup, you’re building relationships with vendors, customers, investors, professionals and other entrepreneurs. That little bit of effort of responding to messages will go a long way in helping you build and maintain relationships.

(taken from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/271335)

Be Empathetic

Empathy is your ability to relate to and understand someone else’s situation and perspective. Strong, enduring relationships are almost always built on empathy. It’s a life skill that requires self-awareness, practice and experience. The ups and downs of your personal and professional life will influence how you empathasize, and with whom.

Common experience connects people through an instant bond and a shared level of trust. For example, I can easily empathize with others who have lost a job, started a business, had cancer, struggled with finances, or written a book because I too, have experienced those circumstances.

Just be aware, empathy does not mean you have to agree with others’ opinions or try to please everybody. Instead, consider the feelings of your employees, partners and colleagues when you make decisions. To cultivate this skill, react less, listen more and try to put yourself in the other person’s position.

Next time a client or employee is struggling, take a few moments to listen and, if you can relate, share a personal story.

(taken from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233709)

Never Blame Others

This is a rule we must not only apply to work, but to life in general.

As humans, we have a tendency to find fault in what other people around us have done before looking within. I might be guilty of this also from time to time. We tend to forget that we ourselves have chosen these people to be around us. Be it team members of my startup or my spouse, it was my decision to put them here in the first place and now simply cribbing out what they have done wrong is something a loser would do. Anyone can make a mistake and if I genuinely feel that the person is not deserving, I better do something about it.

Failure is the Best Teacher

To learn, it is important you fail a few times. Every failure is because of some mistake one makes. Learning from mistakes is a trait of a successful entrepreneur.

To Dropout or Not?

I loved this post which I read in inc42.com about whether budding entrepreneurs should drop out of college or not.

‘Do or Do Not, There is no Try! – Yoda’

This ongoing debate has been getting a lot more spotlight as we see more and more of the youth starting up early on. Before reaching to any conclusion, though, lets hear out both the sides.

The Pros

Many people find earning a degree arduous because either they find it a waste of time or they think they can do better things than that. Some are of the view that there are bigger problems that need to be handled and earning a degree and going for a 9 to 5 job is not their cup of tea. Thus, dropping out gives them a head start and time to start out early on things they are passionate about.

College teaches one on how to go on a full month on a few thousand bucks while not giving up on one’s ‘lavish’ lifestyle, giving one a before hand experience of a bootstrapped startup. No matter how meagre a startup’s income, it keeps on going and surviving because it believes in itself.

You will not be an ordinary person like the vast majority of graduates, because you will be forced at times to “think outside the box”. You were not told for 3-4 years about what is impossible or what should never be attempted which will give you the edge to get out of the box. Being a dropout will require you to be able to look at every problem from a fresh and investigative perspective that might help in working your way around a problem.

The Cons

Not having a formal degree makes you ineligible for hiring at the outset because people don’t take a dropout seriously unless he or she is somewhat exceptional.

“You miss the college life, the fun, last minute assignment submissions and those bunking hours of college but who cares when you have your startup and it is worth it.” – Ankit Oberoi

College is the time, especially in India, where one finally gets the time to explore one’s capabilities and interests. These are the formative years which could help discover your passion and direction in life, not to mention the network you build. Missing out on this could have a big detrimental impact.

Even though these people are dropouts, they made their path to success but this doesn’t work the other way around. They proved to be an exception because they never lost their passion and kept working towards their goal without any loss of enthusiasm. These were the ones who were so idea-centric about their passion that every time they made a breakthrough they were filled with zeal all over again. This made them overlook their education and follow their idea blindly.

In his blog post even Bill Gates states, “Although I dropped out of college and got lucky pursuing a career in software, getting a degree is a much surer path to success”. He further adds that college graduates are more likely to find a rewarding job and earn higher income than if they didn’t have degrees. The problem is not that enough people are going to college, it is that not enough people are finishing it. Even though enrollments rates are soaring but so are dropping rates. Even though above mentioned dropouts have struck gold but not everyone can do so because they don’t know ‘where ‘ to look. That perspective, that imparting of skills is provided by formal education.

On a lighter note, college leads to overall development of an individual. It not only provides with education skill but also important life skills which go a long way. Earlier, people used to stick to their passion and were not easily demoralised but the scenario is different now, with ever-shortening attention spans and lack of patience thereof, the road to success has become a treacherous path for many.

In Kunal Shah’s words, “They say people with high IQ have a good chance to be an atheist, but it doesn’t mean one will become high IQ by stopping to believe in God.”

‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. ~ John Dewey’

As with most debates, there are merits to both sides of the story. We’ll leave it up to you to choose your side!

Good Clothing - Better Performance

A recent study conducted by researchers at Notre Dame, the University of Kentucky, and Penn State found that using brand-name gear can provide a noticeable placebo effect that could boost performance. In other words: If you’ve ever felt like you give better presentation when wearing an expensive designer suit, it might not be your imagination.

In the study, researchers found that simply being told you were using a Nike golf putter over a no-name club improved participants’ performance by about 20 percent. And this effect isn’t limited to the physical: The researchers also found that subjects who wore earplugs while taking a math quiz did better when they were told they were using high-performance 3M earplugs. The performance bump for this part of the study was also about 20 percent.

“Some people have a power suit that they put on for important presentations, or they have some special cufflink that they put on to bring them luck,” said Frank Germann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of marketing at Notre Dame University’s Mendoza College of Business who worked on the study. “I think our research would suggest that engaging in that kind of behavior might actually work.”

Germann and his collaborators — Aaron Garvey of the University of Kentucky and Lisa Bolton of Penn State University — say that brands have the ability to boost users’ confidence and lower performance anxiety. “When you think that you have this performance brand, you have higher-state self- esteem,” Germann says. “As a result, you feel better and your self-confidence is elevated at a certain task. In turn, you're less anxious, and because of that, you're performing better.”

(taken from businessoffashion.com) 

Reasons for Startup Failure (Infographic)

Seth Godin: 'The Person Who Fails the Most Wins'

Seth Godin wears many hats: serial entrepreneur, prolific author, beloved blogger and inspirational speaker.

He’s also a master at failure, mostly because he’s done it so many times. “I think it’s fair to say that I have failed more than most people,” Godin said today from his onstage perch at New York City’s Advertising Week. “And I’m super proud of that. Part of the rules of this game is, the person who fails the most wins.”

While liberating, this presentation of failure as a trophy isn’t new. Silicon Valley has long fetishized failure, to the point where “fail fast” has become an informal industry mantra; it’s not uncommon for business leaders and entrepreneurs to publicly present their failures like so many badges.

But as Godin goes on to clarify, failure is a skill. You can do it successfully, or you can fail at failure. “If you fail too big, you don’t get to fail anymore. If you never fail, then you haven’t done anything,” he said. The key is to find and consistently hit the sweet spot between those two poles. “If you’re failing consistently in a way where you get to keep playing, that’s pretty cool.”

On one hand, Godin encouraged the 200-plus audience to pursue their “art,” no matter the lack of corresponding monetary gain or critical praise:

You have to get to the point where you say, this is what I’m going to make. And if [the audience] doesn’t get it, that’s ok…sooner or later they may get it. In Van Gogh’s case, they didn’t get it until he was dead. But that’s part of the deal.

At the same time, Godin gave a big nod to practicality. While the ability to risk failure is the essential in the pursuit of greatness, it doesn’t hurt to stack the deck in your favor and be strategic about your approach. If you feel your true artistic calling is to make toothpick sculptures, maybe take the process out of the woods and onto Kickstarter, where far-out projects often find an audience. Does it mean it will definitely gain traction? Of course not. But at the very least you’ve put yourself in a position where it’s a possibility.

This balance – between failing too softly and failing too hard – is nicely encapsulated by Godin’s description of skate skiing, a sport he only recently discovered “The entire sport is, the person who leans forward the most wins,” he said. During his first lesson, he asked the instructor “what happens if you lean forward too much?”

To which the instructor, not unsurprisingly, replied: “You land on your face.”

For Godin, that tension – leaning forward as far as possible without landing face first on the ice – is skate skiing’s main draw. “It’s what makes people get hooked on skate skiing,” he said. “It’s the feeling I look for in every project I decide to do.”

In other words, don’t hold yourself back. But don’t aim to fall on your face, either. Instead, search for that magical spot where you push against your own limitations in pursuit of real victory.

In skate skiing and in life “you feel this moment where there might not be a net, where it might not work,” said Godin. And then you continue on anyway.

(taken from entrepreneur.com)

Leadership Tips from the US Marine Corps

The Marines in the US have defined some principles for creating great leaders which hold in business as well. Adopting these principles will guide your actions and provide direction throughout your career. The principles are also an important tool for self-evaluation. As you progress, you can use them to identify your own strengths and weaknesses, and seek self-improvement.

BE TECHNICALLY AND TACTICALLY PROFICIENT

Maintain a high level of competence in your Military Occupational Specialty. Your proficiency will earn the respect of your Marines.

KNOW YOURSELF AND SEEK SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Use the leadership traits to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. An accurate and clear understanding of yourself and a comprehension of group behavior will help you determine the best way to deal with any given situation.

KNOW YOUR MARINES AND LOOK OUT FOR THEIR WELFARE

You should know your Marines and how they react to different situations. This knowledge can save lives. Knowledge of your Marines' personalities will enable you, as the leader, to decide how best to employ each Marine.

KEEP YOUR MARINES INFORMED

Informed Marines perform better and, if knowledgeable of the situation, can carry on without your personal supervision. Providing information can inspire initiative.

SET THE EXAMPLE

Set the standards for your Marines by personal example. The Marines in your unit all watch your appearance, attitude, physical fitness and personal example. If your personal standards are high, then you can rightfully demand the same of your Marines.

ENSURE THE TASK IS UNDERSTOOD, SUPERVISED AND ACCOMPLISHED

Before you can expect your Marines to perform, they need to know what is expected from them. Communicate your instructions in a clear, concise manner, and allow your Marines a chance to ask questions. Check progress periodically to confirm the assigned task is properly accomplished.

TRAIN YOUR MARINES AS A TEAM

Train your Marines with a purpose and emphasize the essential elements of teamwork and realism. Teach your unit to train, play and operate as a team. Be sure that all Marines know their positions and responsibilities within the team framework.

MAKE SOUND AND TIMELY DECISIONS

Rapidly estimate a situation and make a sound decision based on that estimation. There's no room for reluctance to make a decision, revise it. Marines respect the leader who corrects mistakes immediately.

DEVELOP A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY IN YOUR SUBORDINATES

Show your Marines you are interested in their welfare by giving them the opportunity for professional development. Assigning tasks and delegating authority promotes mutual confidence and respect between the leader and the team.

EMPLOY YOUR UNIT IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS CAPABILITIES

Successful completion of a task depends upon how well you know your unit's capabilities. Seek out challenging tasks for your unit, but be sure your unit is prepared for and has the ability to successfully complete the mission.

SEEK RESPONSIBILITY AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS

Actively seek out challenging assignments for your professional development. Seeking responsibilities also means that you take the responsibility for your actions. You are responsible for all your unit does or fails to do. Stick by your convictions and be willing to accept justified and constructive criticism.

(taken from marines.com)

Not Correcting a Mistake is Fatal

Entrepreneurs will make mistakes. This is a given. The more you try, the more mistakes you will keep making. And this is totally fine as a mistake teaches you what went wrong and what you should have done.

The crucial part here is realising that you have made a mistake as soon as possible. And once you realise it, correcting it ASAP. If our assessment cycle is too long, the damage which the mistake can cause your business will be more. We need to keep assessing quickly, reasonably and continuously.

Once we realise the mistake, if I do not correct it, that is equivalent to a death wish. So why would an entrepreneur not want to correct a mistake? Believe it or not, this is quite common. At times, my ego may not let me. 'This is my project and it will work and I will make it work anyhow'. This can also be due to my irrational belief in the project in its current state. As entrepreneurs, we need to keep implementing new things, learn from them and keep pivoting the business if required. We need to have an open mind about the fact that the business may need a change in course and all actions should be based purely on learning and practicality.

Determination is More Important than Education

There are many different types of people in business with different educational backgrounds, so don’t feel excluded. Some successful people are quiet, some are loud, some are good salespeople or good at finance. All can make it if they have a good team to help carry forward their plan.

A degree of formal education is helpful for anybody and I encourage it. But having a degree is not an essential part of being successful as an entrepreneur. The qualities you do need are a lot of stamina and determination.

(taken from entrepreneur.com)

Tip to Succeed from the Great Rocky Balboa

“Nobody is going to hit as hard as life, but it ain’t how hard you can hit. It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It’s how much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done.” 

Learn to Embrace Rejection

If you’re planning to be an entrepreneur, be ready for things not to always work out. Be ready to realize you cannot control everything. Be ready to realize you can be the greatest at some things, and the worst at others. That is okay. At the end of the day, persistence and consistency is all that matters. When you put in the work, rejection and failure will end up as one of your largest sources of motivation, keeping things in perspective for you, making you want to taste success, and accomplish your goals, that much more. Learn to embrace rejection, and when you do, nothing in this world will hold you back.

(The author is Joshua Davidson, Founder of ChopDawg.com)

Steve Jobs on Hardwork

"I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance."

"Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.” -- Tony Hsieh, Zappos Founder & CEO

Zappos is a great example of a company having very clearly defined vision and culture. The founder Tony Hsieh has been very clear and explicate about defining either from day 1.

“Zappos is a customer service company that just happens to sell shoes.”

If you hear anything about Zappos from a Zappos customer, chances are it will be positive. There are dozens of stories about their outstanding customer service, including delivering flowers to a customer whose mom passed away and talking to a customer for over 8 hours (a record that now has been broken).

It should come as no surprise that 75% of Zappos orders are from repeat customers. Hsieh hopes that, down the road, people won’t even realize that Zappos started by selling shoes. They want to be known and remembered as the best customer service and customer experience company.  Hsieh envisions Zappos being something like Virgin (dozens of companies), but instead of being “hip and cool [like Virgin]… we just want to be about the very best customer service.”

Hsieh says that he may expand to disrupt other industries, like the airline business, which traditionally has had poor customer service. Zappos doesn’t compete on price. Instead, they focus on providing the best customer service. So if Zappos does expand into other industries, don’t expect them to be the cheapest. Expect them to have the best customer service. Zappos has been quite successful in providing the best customer service and consistently being one of the best places to work.

Hsieh always believes that a company's culture is very crucial and should be established early.

In the early days of Zappos, Hsieh interviewed every job applicant. This was their way of protecting the culture and ensuring the right people were hired. Hsieh warns that this won’t scale well. He says that, when he got to about 40 or 50 people, he began to run into time issues.

In the interviews, a candidate would have to pass a normal interview (that is, their skills, experience, competency for the job, etc.), and they also would need to be a person that Hsieh would like to know personally. Hsieh says he would ask himself:

“Is this someone I would choose to hang out with or grab a drink with….if we weren’t in business together? If the answer is no, then we wouldn’t hire them.”

When asked about keeping work and personal life separate, Hsieh says:

“There are companies that focus on work-life separation or work-life balance and at Zappos we really focus on work-life integration and at the end of the day it’s just life…..and especially if you spend so much time at work you better enjoy the time that you’re spending there and people that you’re with….”

He expands on this in his talk at Stanford:

“We want the person to be the same person at home or in the office because what we’ve found is that’s when the great ideas come out, that’s when their creativity shines and that’s when true friendships are formed – not just coworker relationships. When people are in that environment, that’s when the passion comes out and that’s really what’s driven a lot of our growth over the years.”

It’s key that the people who are involved in establishing the culture (typically, the CEO) participate and vet each candidate that comes through, especially for those first few hires. The goal is that, once the company grows, it can build without needing the CEO involved in each hire. This can happen if the CEO hires people who are competent and a culture fit. The theory is that those people that were hired by the CEO will hire people who share the CEO’s vision.

(parts taken from blog.kissmetrics.com)

Never Underestimate Yourself

The mind is the most powerful tool we possess. We should respect that and always believe in it. Stay positive and hopeful and never let self defeating beliefs come in your path. Often we tend to feel that something is out of reach and cannot be done by me. Yes, you need to be practical in your assessment. However, you need to have a positive attitude and should always identify how you can achieve the same.

Belief is what has driven great entrepreneurs and this can be clearly highlighted with some examples

: the son of a poor truck driver is the CEO of the World's leading coffee chain

: a railway porter and waiter is today's one of the World's most successful investors

: a worker at a petrol pump was the greatest entrepreneur India has seen
and so on...

What Sundar Pichai Did Right?

I read this article written by a PM working at Google about what separated Sundar from his peers. 

"Besides being incredibly talented and hardworking like many of his coworkers and peers, Sundar did a few things:

Foremost, he led successful efforts for difficult projects that were core to Google's continued financial success, namely Toolbar and Chrome. Toolbar wasn't an obviously sexy product but it helped defend the presence of Google search on users' computers during a critical period following the revelation of Google's incredible profitability. Chrome extended that mission to improve the user experience of the entire web: keep users on the web and you'll keep them searching on Google.

He recruited, mentored, and retained a great team. Sundar's team of product managers had a reputation as being among the best of the best, similar to the reputation of the software engineers within Search Quality.

He avoided making enemies. Google has politics like any other large company, and Sundar navigated those politics to make his team successful while inflicting the least possible damage on any other team."

It's amazing to see how a little known soft-spoken manager becomes the second most important person at Google (the first being the co-founder Larry Page) and one of the most important CEOs in the world.