yesterday, the entrepreneurship cell at iim calcutta invited me to be a part of a panel and give a lecture on how to create buzz about your startup in the early stages, as well as to discuss various potholes (and mitigation strategies) for startups in india today. the euphoria in the market is such that a lot of smart people from prestigious institutions are seriously considering giving up seven figure salaries to dive into the unknown. across the panel, whether other entrepreneurs were focused on b2b enterprise products and services or true consumer-facing internet products such as ours, a common thread could definitely be inferred:
- your product must speak for itself - no amount of marketing can save a shitty product. eventually, it will die.
- set a high bar with technology - build the best technology possible within your domain. for us, it just means that all of our features work, and work brilliantly and better than anyone else. setting up a front-end marketing and sales function while outsourcing all of your technology in the early stages is most likely doomed to fail.
- invest in the best team - build the best team you can, don’t lower your expectations bar, and create a collaborative, fun environment that will foster loyalty to the organization.
many thanks to ankur gattani and the entire entrepreneurship cell at iim calcutta - truly a very kind, generous and hospitable group of people that are well on their way to achieve big things. onwards and upwards…