Halllp Needs a Mentor

I have previously highlighted the importance of getting a mentor (link) and I feel Halllp is in a stage where we need one.

First time building a classifieds business – Since I do not have experience of building a startup in this space, the role of mentor is very important in giving direction to the startup.

New geography; culture, marketing methods – Both my previous startups have been targeted to India and hence this would be a very different market and experience for me.

Building a scalable model – Help with building sustainability and scalability in my business model is key.

Confirming validity of idea – Having someone with experience in this domain give feedback can prove very beneficial for us.

Tech co founder – I am looking for a Tech co-founder. A mentor can help me in connecting to some potential co-founders in his/her network.

HALLLP’S JOURNEY – The Initial Marketing Plan

I have been working on testing out the prototype of Halllp. Also working out how to market is on my mind. Since I have very little money, identifying the right tool to market is crucial.

After a lot of deliberation, I feel the following may be the way to go, atleast in the very initial days.

Facebook – Student’s are on it and filtering is easy. Hence, this would be the most important tool in the early days.

Twitter & Linkedin – These networks also have a good population of students from Tilburg.

Emails – We have worked out some hacks which can be executed through emails. Getting emails of students from the college administration would be difficult though.

Offline Events – We will try to replicate the Hallp experience offline by organizing fortnightly/monthly events where buyers and sellers of products/services can come and interact, just like they do online.

Student Groups – I would be joining as many student groups and spreading the word.

HALLLP’s JOURNEY – Feedback from a Mentor

I got an opportunity to speak with Mr. Pushpendra Thakur, Cofounder at Mishtag. This was through an event conducted by 91 Springboard. He was overall happy with the idea and felt that there is a genuine need for it. He also said that using a top down approach was a good way to approach this category.

His advice to me was to focus on 3 things primarily.

Getting Initial Buyer Postings – He felt that if we can get initial buy side leads/posts, getting sellers would not be a big problem.

User Stickiness – He said that since the app is meant for students initially, building stickiness or repeat usage would be a challenge.

Spam – He felt that if not currently, moderating spam postings would be a challenge we will need to address at a later point in time.

HALLLP's JOURNEY - The Target Market

Halllp's initial target market consists of college students.

Target Market – College students (all years, UG & PG, beta in Tilburg, Netherlands)

Key Characteristics of TG

- Young, connected and willing to try new services

- Need for extra cash

- Can’t wait for things/Impulsive

- Socially active

Identifying Who To Reach Out To

Since our marketing budget is minimal, we need to use any resources we have efficiently. To do this, I sat down and tried to work out what exactly should be done. Since I am not aware of what the best ways to reach out to students in Tilburg are, I decided to atleast start off by identifying who I need to reach out to and with what message.

The following are some things I came up with.

Reaching out to 1^st year students (both UG & PG) – These are students who are new to  the place (generally) and require help in settling down, cleaning, buying stuff, learning a language, finding an accommodation etc. They can be reached out to for posting their requirements on the platform.

Reaching out to final year students (UG & PG) – These students would be looking to offer the products and services 1^st year students require. Since they would be moving out soon, they would be looking to sell their stuff.

Reaching out to Shops & Property Agents in Tilburg – Shops selling bicycles, second hand stuff, offering laundry and other services etc. will be looking to visit the platform to get leads.

Reaching out to PG students – These students tend to have less time and would look to outsource a lot of their daily chores like cleaning, cooking, laundry etc.

Reaching out to UG students – UG students have more time at hand and may look to use the time to earn some money. They might be interested in doing the chores which are looking to be outsourced.

Reaching out to 1^st year male students – They would be more interested in finding dates.

Reaching out to 1^st year female students – They might be interested in finding dates and may use the platform as well.

I am constantly thinking of new groups of people who might use Halllp for a requirement of theirs. The next step would be to find out the best way to reach out.

Working Out Market Size for Halllp

Since the app derives value from the number of users and their engagement levels, estimating market size is a difficult task. However, to assess whether the opportunity is big enough, I have tried to make a rough estimation of how big the target market can be.

Halllp is targeting college students.

Total number of college students globally - over 200 million
Average spend per student on products/services per year - >$1,000 ( conservative assumption taking into account students having different levels of disposable money)
Commission rates of any intermediary - 1% (conservative)

Hence Market Size = 200 mn * 1000 * 1% = $2 billion

Working Out Use Cases

To assess how users can interact with the startup, I started working out some potential use cases. While working out use cases, one must keep the features of your product in mind. The main features of Halllp were - Students only & 72 hours expiry.

Some Uses Cases:

Repairs – of computers, cycles, electronics, furniture etc.

Rentals – of cycles, cars, electronics etc.

Purchases – of first and second hand goods, electronics, furniture etc.

Home Chores – like cleaning, laundry, car washing etc.

Delivery/Pick Up – of documents and other stuff

Tuition/Project Work/Research/Home Work Help

Classes – like dance, singing, language etc.

Date – for a movie, proms, party etc.

Babysitting/Pet Care

Jobs – like internships, live projects, full time jobs etc.

Volunteers – for charity, exhibitions, events etc.

The HALLLP Logo & First Designs

The mindset while designing the logo was to keep it clean and simple, exactly how we wanted to design the interface as well. A simplistic design is a must to be able to convey to users exactly what the service does.

THE HALLLP LOGO

THE HALLLP HOMEPAGE DESIGN

Some feedback please :)))

Outsourcing Prototype Development

Being a single founder (assisted by my wife) not having tech skills, I decided not to look for a co-founder in a hurry and decided to outsource the development of a prototype for my idea. The aim was to create a fully functional prototype before reaching Tilburg, which I should in around end of August this year.

I contacted Radiant Web Tech Solutions, the web designing firm which made the first draft of previous startup Beveragewala. I believe dealing with a website designing firm is a lot about relationships. Obviously different firms have different execution levels, however if you have identified one which has reasonably good execution and you are comfortable working with, you should go in for that firm again if required. I explained the idea to the CEO of the company and took a quote for developing it. Feeling that the quote was reasonable, I decided to go ahead with the development.

The prototype development is currently in progress. In the meanwhile, I am now focusing on the other parts of the startup, i.e. marketing, making an execution plan etc.

Working Out The Features

Now that I had the idea, I started writing it on a document. We were basically going to create a buyer’s companion app, i.e. an app where buyers could post their requirements and sellers/service providers could come and connect with the buyers if they were offering what was required.

Features of the Idea were listed as follows:

Posting by Buyers – Halllp is going to be a buyer side classifieds app, an app where buyers would post their requirements. The idea behind this was that today, it is a buyers’ market and sellers need to make the effort of getting a sale. So why not in classifieds as well. Buyers should post their requirement and sellers should come, browse listings, find the ones which are relevant and make contact.

Limited Duration for Posts (72 Hours) – This was something which was partly based on intuition and partly on the interaction I had with 15-20 of my colleagues. A person requiring a service is generally very interested in getting the same within a short period, say around 72 hours (assumption). Most requirements (except certain requirements like finding a house, finding a partner for marriage etc.) are fulfilled within a period of 3 days and hence we decided to limit the duration of any post to 72 hours, after which it does not show on the app. One major advantage of doing this was to also target some major drawbacks of classifieds sites,  clutter and old and outdated postings. Sellers will be aware and assured that if any post is there on Halllp, it must most probably be live and urgent.

Students Only – I decided to make this app for students only. Since I was shifting to Tilburg to do a course, being a student myself, I feel, will make it easier for me to market to other students. Besides students are more active online and would be willing to offer and avail services through the app.

Now that I had the features ready, the next step was to build a prototype.

The Birth of the Idea - HALLLP

So now that my college was finalized, me and my wife started planning what all we needed to take with us. We started reading up more about life in Tilburg. On reading, we realized that we needed to buy stuff like a bicycle, some crockery, mattresses etc. Other than this, we would also require other services such as learning the Dutch language, house cleaning from time to time and so on.

I started searching how I can avail these services. I found a few classified sites and some local businesses which were offering this. However, as is the case with classifieds portals, there were a lot of listings and most of them were quite old. This got me thinking and I felt a need for a service which could help people like me who are looking to avail different services.

This led to the birth of the idea, which was to create a ‘buyer companion app’. Any person looking to avail any services can post them on the platform and people offering them can reply back. On thinking of what name to keep, since our core idea revolves around helping people, we decided to call it HALLLP (3 Ls because of the availability of the domain J).

The Intent to Startup Again

Having closed down my previous startup Beveragewala in September last year, I took some time off to decide what to do. I was unsure and was going through a tough phase of life where I did not know what to do. With all I had learnt from my previous startups, I was wanting to use the same and start a company again. However, I also had this deep craving for ‘stability’, i.e. following a path which was more certain and well defined. Eventually, the second feeling overpowered the first and I decided to get a job.

Having no concrete work experience for a job, I felt that a course would be a good option to land me a job. I started researching and arrived at a conclusion that an MBA would be the best option for me and chose Netherlands as the destination I was interested in. I chose Netherlands because of its culture and the fact that the country’s economy is relatively stable and based on some core Industries like Agriculture, Chemicals, ICT etc.

I finalized the business school and got admission in March this year. I will be going to TIAS Business School in Tilburg, Netherlands and will be leaving around the mid of August. SO now I had 5 months and started planning what to do during this period. I felt if I can think of a potential business idea for the Netherlands and can build a prototype and a business plan around it in the next 5 months, using the benefits of being a student entrepreneur I could start up again in a more planned way.

And so it got me thinking!!!

Start up and Stick it out!

Your time will come. You need to stick it out till then. Keep at it and don't give up!!!

The Thrill Will Go, The Passion Shouldn't

The definition of a thrill is temporary excitement, usually experienced for the first time.

It's thrilling to ride a roller coaster. The fifth time you have to ride it, though, it's more than a chore, it's torture.

The definition of the thrill is that it's going to be gone soon.

You might have been thrilled to go to your first job the first day. Or thrilled to see the first comment on your blog or thrilled the first time one of your books was translated into another language.

But after that? How can repeating it be thrilling?

The work of a professional isn't to recreate thrills. It's to show up and do the work. To continue the journey you set out on a while ago. To make the change you seek to make in the universe.

Thrilling is fine. Mattering is more important.

(taken from http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/02/the-thrill-is-gone.html) 

Sacrifices of Being an Entrepreneur

One of the best pieces I have read (source: http://yourstory.com/2016/02/entrepreneur-sorry) on how startup guys get labelled as insensitive, self-centered by family and friends and how they try that extra bit to make up but at most times are not able to.

'Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have missed weddings of distant relatives and sometimes close ones as well.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have not attended birthday parties of college buddies and of their children.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have cancelled movie plans and outdoor trips with family and friends.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have not given time for relationships with the girls I was with in the past.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have been wearing the same formal jacket to all the conferences over all these years.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I never contributed to discussions on new mobile phones and their features.

Yes, I am an entrepreneur and I have failed, in so many instances, my relatives, friends and family.

Today, I want to apologise for every failure and mistake, but before I do that I want to ask –

As an entrepreneur, did I miss the funeral of any relative, no matter close or distant?

As an entrepreneur, was I not there when my friend had a break-up with his childhood lover?

As an entrepreneur, was I not there to listen to your dreams and discuss the challenges you would face in the race for fulfilling them?

As an entrepreneur, didn’t I hear about your fights with your family and loved ones?

As an entrepreneur, didn’t I answer your calls or reply to your messages when you were feeling lonely?

With most of you I never shared the moments when I had two or three rupees in my pocket. I did not share when I was feeling so lonely that I needed a friend to cry with. I did not share the desire to hug you when you shook hands because you became too formal as I could not join you at your last birthday party or at your wedding.

Yes, some of you labelled me ‘workaholic’ or ‘insensitive,’ but my dear friend, relative and family member, the only way I knew was to go about establishing my startup, so that in future I am there for all those things I was not part of in the past.'

My Allies during My Journey

During my startup journey so far, there have been a number of ups and downs. At times when the business was up and running, I barely got time to sleep. At other times like now :(, I do not know exactly what to do and keep thinking of what I need to do next. This entire time, I have realised that I have always had 3 allies by my side who have not left me and have always had a great effect on me - my wife, my laptop and my cup of coffee.

My Wife: She has been a great influence on my life. She has listened to me, understood me and guided me from time to time. She is not passionate about startups or work in general. However, knowing the passion I have, she has urged me on through thick and thin.

My Laptop: I spend more time with my laptop, more than the time I spend with wife or any other thing in my life. My laptop has been the source of most of my learning and has been a platform where I pen down all my thoughts and ideas. All it needs is battery and it keeps going on and on (fingers crossed).

My Cup of Coffee: Preferably Starbucks :). The effect coffee has on me is something I can't describe. It calms me, makes me think clearly, relaxes me and helps me focus. 

Working with your Spouse

Should you or should you not? A question which may not have a same answer for everyone, but the reasons in favor and against this decision seem more or less the same in all cases.

My wife and I were working together in Beveragewala, although she was not formally a part of the business. She was involved in the daily operations and looked primarily after the packing/dispatching activities. Some of the experiences I had because of this and would like to share are as under:

POSITIVES

Better Understanding: Since we both understand each other very well and also the business, we were able to work together with a common vision.

Shared Passion: Since we both spend so much of time together, our individual passion and energy used to rub off on each other. Working late hours with no resentment back home is a big positive :).

Better Feedback: This is one positive I felt was very good for the business. Your spouse will not think twice before saying anything to you. My wife, from time to time, pointed out a lot of mistakes we were making and she was quite candid about them. A lot of the time we see team members not being very open and honest to each other because they feel uncomfortable and having a fear of being misjudged.

NEGATIVES

More Conflicts: There used to be more disagreements between us as we started spending literally 24 hours with each other. Space is required to analyse matters individually so that you can have a more unbiased view of things.

No Personal Life: Since both of us were working in Beveragewala and extremely passionate about it, we used to discuss it even when not at work. In some sense, we did not have a personal life while Beveragewala was running. This, though, is a more work-life balance issue.

Casual Attitude: Since the only person you need to answer is your spouse, you may tend to be more laid back and casual in your attitude towards your responsibilities at times.

To conclude, I feel there is no 'one size fits all' solution or suggestion. The best thing is to look at the pros and cons in your case and take your call on this.

Infographic on 'How to Start a Startup'

An interesting infographic by Funders & Founders on Paul Graham's essay 'How to start a startup'. It takes you through the journey from when you have an idea to when you take your company to an IPO.

Winning is Everything -- there are no 'Participation' Trophies in the Real World

This is an article from www.entrepreneur.com which highlights a lesson we can learn from Donald Trump. It is a contrarian view but an interesting one nonetheless.

"The younger generation today is being set up for failure. Its members are being taught at a very early age that participation alone is acceptable, but in fact that is so far from reality.

Trump never sets out to be a participant, in anything. He’s going for the win in the election and I guarantee he never opens a Trump resort with hopes of being one of the "top" hotels in the area.

I remember an incident back when my dad was the president of our local Little League. A parent was livid that the first-place championship trophies my team received were significantly larger than the ones awarded to the other teams. And my dad? He just smiled and said, “Welcome to the real world.”

I can’t help but think how he would have loved this TV commercial from Kia. It addresses a very serious problem head-on. While most companies play the PC card, Kia says it like it is, and for that I applaud them.

Trump is going for the win, and nothing less, which is the kind of attitude that every entrepreneur should adopt."

Raghav Verma's Second Innings

Raghav Verma is the cofounder of the Tiger Global funded tea cafe chain, Chaayos. It has 16 outlets across Delhi NCR and Mumbai. Chaayos has been operationally profitable at each of its outlets, within 3 months of opening up and the unit economics have been positive. However, his success with Chaayos is fueled by a failed entrepreneurial venture.

Back in 2012, he cofounded an online education startup called PrepSquare. The startup was however shut down in 2013. “There was a certain sense of naiveté with which we approached things back then. We believed that building a product would be enough, and students would come automatically. We believed the price point of INR 2000 would be a no brainer, given people paid as much as INR 2 lakh for classroom coaching. But we underestimated the time and money it would take to build a brand and get customers onboard. We realized that we were probably too early in this space,” said Raghav.

This, however, did not budge him from co-founding Chaayos with Nitin Saluja. The idea was Nitin’s. “It was a simple idea; in a chai drinking country, there should be a place to step outside your home and get a freshly made cup of chai to your liking. It was not the first time that someone had tried to start a chain with chai at the centre, but I think what we did right was to stay true to the way chai is consumed in the country. The initial response was fantastic and we have just built on it from there,” said Raghav.

His learnings from PrepSquare helped him build Chaayos – distribution of responsibilities within the team, definition of long term vision and being very clear about positive unit economics. One other major learning was to talk to many people, not only within the food space, but across categories and startups. We tried to operate in stealth mode in PrepSquare, but realized later that learning from people’s mistakes made more sense than reinventing the wheel each time. So we reached out to many people in the industry and were mentored by many of the senior people,” he added.

(taken from inc42.com)