Cactus Chords

At last, the basic product was ready.  We could have colleges register, students register, upload videos, view videos etc. The design was very plain. White background and a hint of blue here and there. The site was barely a portal but we had the functionality up and running. A few questions kept bothering me all the time.

- Now how could we prove this model to the market?
- How many of them will buy this?
- Will it be as useful as I thought it would be?

All these thoughts kept bothering me. I was beyond nervous. My last two posts were about how problems and challenges just don’t stop coming. Check this out….weeks before our soft launch, one of my partners decides to bail out as he had just gotten married and did not know whether he was up to the task. Though the whole team expected it, we were kind of taken aback on the sudden decision he made as he was the one insisting to join us in the first place. It does harm when you actually feel like you have a team to help you fulfill your dream and wake up to see that one member has decided to leave. Friendship and business are two separate worlds and the sooner people understand that, the better. We are still best of friends, but will never do anything professionally. Re-working the agreement, his resignation, re-filing of agreement and all the formalities took a good 2 and a half weeks and till then I could not start a bank account owing to all the changes in paperwork.

Eventually September 12th, we do the soft launch. We had nothing more than 2 technical guys (Shoban, Sreenath) and 3 marketing guys (Nisha, Aayush and myself). We did not know where the hell it would go, what was going to happen and whether we are going to be laughed at or embraced. I contact Aayush, the marketing backbone of the firm to fix up meetings with institutes in Pune. He does a swell job and within no time,we have met colleges in Pune and they loved the idea. The students praised us as they were looking for a portal to upload their work. We also had features in the platform that the colleges thought was a myth and thus welcomed us. But something was missing. Money…..

Even though we impressed upon the institutes, the money was not flowing in. People were waiting for someone to start using this portal to its hilt to see whether it is actually useful. You know one of those things…..The technical team, who has been with the previous venture of mine and seen no results starts to get impatient. They wonder if this will ever work out.  Making people buy your product is the hardest part of business.  I explained the same to the technical team and they were more than supportive. I do not blame them one bit. If I were in their place, I wouldn’t join them in the first place. But they still did, that shows passion always lies a step above money. It is hard to actually ask for a team that actually understands you and in fact sees the company as their own as much as you see it yours.

So the product is out, people like it, but there are certain factors that we have to incorporate before we can go big. We had gone a good month and a half with the soft launch and gotten a good response. A new design, more features. Till now we were just a video sharing site for educational institutes, but we needed something more for educational institutes that matter like pdf, presentations, images and audio etc. Bloody hell, we didn’t have time for that. That meant changing the whole architecture yet again. Why didn’t I think of it earlier? But I guess this is how we get to learn things. Only once we released the product will we know what is missing so we can upgrade it just as Guy Kawasaki said. So what’s next? Upgrade…..

to be continued……

image reference: http://www.fineartphotoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/the-show-is-over-say-good-bye-800.jpg,

One of the greatest challenges while working in a start-up is funds. Money is always, always a nightmare. We did not have a server to host the portal initially. To purchase a server, I had managed to accumulate some funds, thanks to my father and friends who were kind enough to loan me some. But we needed a credit card. That, unfortunately landed on a weekend and thus made it hard for us to find one as none of us broke bums had one. Who would give me a credit card? I was jobless, no income, penniless.

We finally managed to purchase the server to find out that one of our crucial modules isn’t compatible with the server and is creating problems. Another couple of nights of tension, phone calls, cigarettes, air castles tumbling down. Amidst all the tension and heightened haste, the technical team manages to find a way out. Something I have learned with time, there is nothing that can’t be done with technology. If it is done before, it can be done by us. All that separates us is the fund involved and thus the time.

The tech team also did not have a proper working internet connection to work with. The torrential rains ensured that there was no power when you needed it the most. They had to work offline most of the time. We could not coordinate with each other through phone as we ran out of balance after 2 to 3 conversations. The internet was out due to rains and power kept fluctuating. Kudos to Shoban and Sreenath.

3^rd September 2009, we run into some major technical issues during testing of the platform, which could be solved, but would pile on an extra two days to the soft launch. I don’t know why I worry so much. I felt like everything slipping away. The tech team took the role of a shrink as well as assured me it would be rectified in no time. What you need most at such times is moral and mental support. Blessed I am for my supportive parents and girl friend who never left my side and ensured my tension was kept at bay and for a team that is more of friends than work mates.

The problem was slightly more serious than we had expected it to be and thus it piled on a good 4 days to the soft launch. Alls well that ends well, the tech team rectified the problem and we decided to push the launch date by a week to be safe. We subjected the platform to heavier testing. Thanks to all my friends who helped me out in testing the platform thoroughly.

to be continued……

image reference: http://cactuschords.in/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Money-stacks.jpg

We had everything in place, a Limited Liability Firm, the name we wanted – Spurr Wireless Solutions LLP. Spurr, a tweak to a word from the phrase “spur of the moment” as we worked on sheer spontaneity.

We had our company website – www.spurr.in

Two existing products – www.spurrsms.in and www.spurrring.in

Another major product in the making -  www.eduvis.in

Visiting cards, designations (one of the luxuries of being in a start-up, choose your own designation). From this point of the origin of the idea, till the shaping of the project, there was tremendous tension, haste and hurdles. Am skipping all those details as I shouldn’t bore you guys either, that is if you already aren’t

As our platform neared the launch date, I had my eyes glued every 12 hours on the famous blogs and business news to see whether someone was coming up with a similar idea. On the 31^st of August, I switch on my laptop and check my live feeds for the blogs and BANG…….right in my gut I feel a massive punch. I see a line that makes my stomach cringe and twirl into a tight knot, “……… plans to launch educational portal”. The 3 words I dreaded from the time I decided to go ahead with my dream, LAUNCH, EDUCATIONAL and PORTAL. I quickly clicked on the link and read the whole post and the related posts as well.

Someone was planning something similar if not exactly what I had in mind.I shared it with the team. According to the post, the portals were not to be launched for the next 2-3 weeks. That did not help one bit. If they wanted, they could easily release it within a matter of days. I was angry with myself for not doing this earlier, sad that there were others planning just when I was about to launch my product. But, then something dawned upon me that made me feel much better. “Why would this happen now? Either I could have decided to do this a month later or a month earlier? What a coincidence? How come none of them thought about it before me?” All these questions just led to one answer, “There is nothing you can do about it. Just do your part and cork your hole”.

It is not that, no one would think about this ever. Someone somewhere was bound to tap into this sector sometime or the other. One thought made me ecstatic. I was on the same wavelength as the guys at these big companies. They were partnering with god knows who all to make this work. I wanted to make this work with just the 5 of us. It was possible. It is possible. Nothing is impossible.

I took this as a catalyst to push me that extra mile and ensure that when our product launched, it had to reach the whole nation. How would I do that? How else, get my sorry butt everywhere myself and talk to each and every college and university, simple! I decided that I was not going to let money come in the way now since what I am aiming for was truly worth running for. Ecstatic would be an understatement to describe what I was going through.

So I decided to do a soft launch on the 5^th of September 2009 and see how the market would respond. I went to colleges and offered them the portal on a pilot phase. I was extremely nervous during the presentations and demo to see whether there was a positive or negative response. Eager to face the questions they had for me, hoping that those queries held the secret of bettering our platform. I conducted a rapid tour across India covering all the target colleges within a span of 2 weeks.

I had to let it ferment, let it sink in to the colleges, allow them to embrace it wholly, meddle with it, try and mess with it. I waited eagerly to hear what they had to say about our product. For that one week, I went through the worst time of my life, more sleepless nights, I was literally eating cigarettes. I had to wait it out. No other choice. I had no other option but to wait for Janta Ki Vote.

To be continued……..

image reference: http://thedoublethink.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/warning-challenges.jpg, http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/0286/4523f976-0975-471c-a102-10a38e018966.jpg, http://ttoes.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/salesman.jpg,

Our product designs were ready by now, top notch functionality, user friendly, problem solving etc. What was next? The launch…… My heart skipped a beat. What will happen? Will this be a hit or go down the drain? I do not mind if it does not become a hit or if someone stole our idea and came out bigger, but I want everyone to know that, we tried solving a problem that a lot of people were facing. Nothing grave, but still very essential. I wanted everyone to know that, we did it first. That was my aim.

Now you all might be wondering, what this bloody project is all about. What I have been going on about in the pas 4 posts. Patience……… at least grant me this much liberty to reveal the product a while later. I promise I will reveal it in my next post

Sleepless nights followed, I could not distract myself. I was lying in the bed all day, writing down notes on how all my project could be compromised. I was snappy, lost my appetite, had a craving to be drunk every night and even got myself wasted a few times. All tries were in vain. There was no way of finding out what would happen unless we did a soft launch. So I consoled myself. We had to face whatever was in store for us. I had done my part and my team had supported me in every which way possible.

I booked my tickets to Delhi to do my first official market survey when the platform was nearly complete. Remember, I am operating on minimum expenses but there are some factors I couldn’t afford to avoid like a train journey which would easily push my trip by another 3 days as I was traveling from the southern tip to the north. Luckily, our domestic fares and recession were generous enough and I got myself a good return deal. Next on the list was accommodation. Having helpful friends all over the place is a gift and a blessing. My ex-colleagues from the very first start-up I worked with MobME Wireless Solutions Pvt Ltd (one of the start-ups you wish you were the founder of = heavy inspiration), were kind enough to bear me for a week and feed me and take care of my travel to an extent which shaved off a good chunk of expenses I would have incurred otherwise.

I consider myself lucky in that way.

I had the opportunity to work in two start-ups, one where I learnt “what TO do and how TO run a start-up” and the other where I learnt “what NOT to do and how NOT to run a start-up”. Though the experience spectrum was inverted in my case, I got to see both the sides and bore in mind not to repeat the mistakes I made earlier.

To be continued……….

image reference: http://www.hamiltonhall.info/images/nervous.gif, http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_j5DN7VQPE2Y/SWm11QTWmMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/B5mWPxFeua8/s320/insomnia.jpg, http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/4554217/SaveMoney1-main_Full.jpg,

It would not be inaccurate to draw a parallel between an entrepreneur and a hermit. When one sets out to be a hermit, he lets go of everything precious to him as all he has in mind is his eventual goal, Moksha. Isn’t this the same with an entrepreneur? An entrepreneur’s Moksha lies in his idea transforming into a successful business or for some, merely materializing into a business.

Entrepreneurship, as I always say, is not a job but a way of life.

I had mentioned that I was going to start something to two other friends of mine, one in Bangalore, Rahul, and one in Pune, Aayush (get acquainted). Both of them blindly hopped on board. But this time, I made it a point, every issue was addressed to and tackled before moving to the next step. Keep everyone in the loop and ensure greed, insecurity and ego did not come in the way. I warned them about all the unseen realities, I was aware of, in entrepreneurship. One was doing his MBA in Pune and the other a cozy job at an MNC. They were extremely talented, hard working and efficient.

To harness the technical aspect I rang up a friend, Shoban (get acquainted), who had also, at one point of time, invested his time and effort in my previous firm, while he was in an MNC, but ended up being disappointed with the way things turned out. I was apprehensive about asking him as he would think twice this time before associating with any of us. But decided to tell him anyway and explained the idea, how it should work, what separated us, what problems it solved, future scalability and everything a new member would want to know.

He instantly loved the idea and said he would help me out in whichever way possible. One of the things I would always thank god for, is the team I have. None of us keep money as the goal. It’s the idea and the passion. Money is a mere spin off in this journey. It is important, I agree, but one who chases money, always ends up in a hole.

The way I see it, this is exactly what separates a glorified business from a start-up, teach you the value of money. A son/daughter stepping into his/her family business and building it from there is commendable. He/She could kick start various other businesses from there as well, but would he/she have been equally productive, if he/she was to do it all on his/her own like his/her dad or grand dad did? Would he/she manage to even make a mark in the society without the name and fame their ancestors or parents left them? This is what separates you from them. In the case of an existing business, it is only revenues, profits, growth, scalability etc whereby in a start-up its always seeing an idea materialize into a product, watch the first customer use it, hang onto every word he says after he uses your product, the reaction of the market, the appreciation, the pride, the satisfaction. If it did not go as planned, the dejection, the tumble down, the heartbreak, the shame. Money seems to be a factor that is common in neither of the scenarios, whether a success or a failure. It is all about manifestation and the aftermath.

The next few days went into heavy discussions, market survey and ground work. I wanted to keep this project under wraps until I thought it was fine and the team responded beautifully. I do realize, had one entity in the firm faltered, the whole project could come tumbling down. It is imperative to keep work related secrets restricted to their office spaces.

The next aspect was design. We did not have a professional designer until my girlfriend, Nisha (get acquainted), stepped in and offered to help. She spent days on the concept and eventually came up with the perfect concept for our firm. Visiting cards, logos, website concepts, punch lines, theme etc were hers. It is always a touching moment when people offer to help expecting nothing in return. They just help you because they believe in you.

.
.
.
Office space is the last thing you need if you are not a hardware oriented firm. Being a web based software firm, all could be taken care of through the internet. We all had laptops, internet connections and phones, what more do we need? This followed by roping in one of my previous firm’s employees, Sreenath (get acquainted), to do this. Even him, who had faced the wrath of our previous failed venture, refused to take money for this project and offered to do it as long as he saw this project materialize. I can’t explain this feeling.
.

These are the people you should be thankful to all your life, for the ones who did the job for you and believed in you and your idea and decided to stick by you and do their duties without expecting anything in return.

To be continued…………..

image reference: http://www.toastmasters.org/OtherImages/Teamwork.aspx, http://www.indiamart.com/businessanalyst/pcat-gifs/products-small/market-survey-and-data-collection_10693656.jpg, http://www.rimes.org/App_Themes/rimes2/images/growth.png, http://www.vaastuinternational.com/vaastu/vi_vastu_office.jpg

I had lost money in my previous venture, but learnt a lot. It was killing me from inside. I had to distract myself before I tumbled down the hole of aimlessness and cluelessness (read depression). If you find yourself stuck in a job, take my advice and leave it before it destroys you. If you have the courage to quit, then you will have the courage to find another job or start something in no time. Hardships have to be embraced. They should teach you a thing or two about life and how to deal with it.

For those who actually feel stuck should watch the movie, Visioneers. It has, in a very abstract manner, covered the trauma and hassles the corporate world can induce in a human being up to a point where he literally explodes. A little incentive to watch the movie, the bearded, fat guy in The Hangover is the in the lead role.

Days passed and I found myself taking the situation rather well. The job I thought, if I left would ruin my life, made me feel like a new human being once I left it. That is when I realized that except my job, my life was perfect. I, knowingly, had put myself in a situation where I felt stuck. I stopped blaming others and blamed myself. I practiced what I preached. True, you will feel clueless at first, but then clarity will find its way into that head of yours eventually.

I sat down and decided to lay the foundation for the next step in my studies, MBA. That was the only step I could come up with, at that point in time. Without wasting any time, went to the book store, bought myself a brand new book to practice the GMAT, flipped my biological cycle by 180 degrees. I stayed up all night studying and slept till late afternoon. I found myself gaining momentum and self confidence.

One day as I was on the final chapter of the Math section, one of the many random thoughts racing through my head, most of them useless, caught my attention. Why don’t I just go ahead and do what I have always wanted to do myself? Why wait for a team or time or the opportunity or anything for that matter? If I know what I want, I will find my team. Whether it clicks or not depends on my product and they way I sell it and how useful it is. Simple!!! If not this, something else man. At least you did something on your own.

Opened a new document, wrote down whatever was in my head. Yet again, I had nothing but a ball of questions and answers on the document. Spent all night sorting it out and mix matching. Come morning, I had somewhat an idea of what I wanted. The business process and the how it must function. The next step was technical aspect. Hmmmmmm

To be continued………….

image reference: http://learn-wealth-creation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/losing-money.jpg, http://legacy.lclark.edu/faculty/jsmiller/objects/idea_bulb.jpg

After a long silence I am back. I was astonished by the number of text messages, mails and calls I received asking why I do not blog anymore. It is really encouraging to realize so many people not only follow but appreciate what you write. I wasn’t invisible because I ran out of topics, but because I was fixated on launching and touring to promote my dream project.

It is not a social networking site, not a way to get famous, not just some product I put together with my team. It is my dream. It is trying to solve a problem which I faced while studying and wanted to solve it ever since. Whether it is a success or a failure is something I will have to wait and see and I frankly don’t give a rat’s ass about. My priority was to launch this product and be happy if it helps in the smallest of ways and creates jobs and in turn help a few. If it bombs, what the hell, at least I won’t die asking myself the question, What would have happened if I had done it when I could?

What I want to share with my next few posts are the different phases I went through while developing this product, the traumas, the hurdles, what kept me going. In all, I was going through a mixture of emotions. So here goes…….

Staring aimlessly at my mail inbox, the stats read 0 unread e-mails out of 9436 e-mails. Every morning I wake up and login to see whether I have received a mail from someone unexpected regarding work. I have mails from family, friends, random groups I joined on a social networking site or the technical team. An average of 8 new e-mails every morning was the traffic in my inbox.

I then asked myself, the questions I was running away from all this while;

- Why would someone mail me?  I am no longer on any website, no one knows where I am, what I do. I am a no body. Even if they do, what service could I be to them?

- How can I make myself useful?

- How can I create a product and not just sell something someone else has created, which can make me useful to the society?

- Should I go ahead with my dream project?

- Can I take a risk at this time of my life?

- Am I up for the challenge?

The above mentioned trauma occurred post my resignation from my previous firm which I was a co-founder of. Not something my readers do not know of. For the ones who have just joined, don’t even get me started. The less said, the better.

When in a start-up, revenue inflow is not the only important aspect. The one and only thing that is important in a start-up is, PRODUCT. That is considering you have the other aspect covered ie: a trustworthy team. If you do not have a product, then stop! Do not jump in yet, because you will fall on your face. It isn’t quite a pretty sight after that.

This was the mental scenario I was in weeks before the launch of my product which I will elaborate on in my future posts. You know how nervous you feel before an exam you have prepared well for. Not that you are scared of flunking, but scared whether it will be worth all the hard work. That feeling just skims the surface of the trauma I was undergoing. It has been two whole months of work, day and night. No night outs, partying, long hours on phone, shopping, watching movies, meeting up with friends. All I did those two months was travel around and meet people, mail every Tom, Dick and Harry, do market research, stay up nights and weigh the pros and cons of my project. Create designs of what I want the website to look like, how I want it to function, process flow, prepare necessary documents for the project, read as much as possible and learn about what I am getting into. I wondered whether it would make a difference to the society. If so, then to what extent, my running costs, my revenues, future scalability.

I do not know if it is just me, but when I really sit down to write, my head gives me nothing but a ball of answers which has to be separated manually and matched with the respective questions which is another ball in a separate corner in my head. I presume I am just too confused a soul.

There are a lot of questions one must subject himself/herself to before they take the plunge into entrepreneurship.  There are two basic traits one must possess to succeed as an entrepreneur.

- HAVE A FOCUS

- BE A RISK TAKER, GO GETTER

When I mean focus, it isn’t necessary that you have a product in your mind. But you need to have a goal. In my case, I always wanted to give something back to the society, to be more specific, the educational society to start with. A lot of services I was working with could have achieved this, but I could not hone in on which one would fit it perfectly and how.

Be a risk taker, does not mean you jump from your cozy job to a start-up that has a sure-to-click idea and funding. I mean you should have the balls to be part of the team that is out there with nothing but an idea and believe in it blindly. Be ready to sacrifice a lot of luxuries in life.

If you lack even one of the above, trust me, you will not succeed unless you are one of those extremely lucky buggers. I envy those fuckers…but good for you.

To be continued………………….

image reference: http://cristinalaird.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/depression.jpg, http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u107/risky%20sign.jpg

Something I truly believe and came across when a friend shared it. Thank you for sharing it Sujay.

Please take it easy and do not worry too much in life. There is absolutely no use worrying. It will just add on to your problems. My mantra….Hassle-free!!!

Quoted:

“Life is one of those races in nursery school where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and all relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

Don’t be serious, be sincere. “

Cheers!!!

image reference: http://justanotherwordpressweblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/bhagat.jpg

“Secure your future”, “Get a job”, “Get promoted”

I do not know how many of you consider this gospel. A job is necessary, I agree. Getting promoted is also necessary, I agree. Saving up for your old age so you do not depend on anyone is also necessary, I agree. What I insist up on is, get a job, but get one which you are happy and satisfied in. Get promoted and progress, provided you do it on your terms and based on your skills and not by being a kiss a$$. If you have these two sorted out, the third one of securing your future will automatically fall in place.

Logic: When you doing something you love, you automatically put in your 200% and you won’t expect heavy monetary returns as your heart is content. A 100% in a job you are not satisfied in is as good as 50% input and you also expect a lot as the work you did was purely physical and not from heart. I have confused you big time, haven’t I? Pardon the vagueness. It is an innate trait that I can’t seem to get rid of But if you dig what I am trying to get across, then good.

But as the universe has it, you reap what you sow. If 200% is what you pitched in, whole “heartedly”, you will reap the benefits, inevitably. On the other hand, you can not expect much at all for the other as the work was more mechanical and not soulful. Thus, the outcome will also be compromised.

What if I am not a person who can afford to lose a job, even though I am not happy in it, as I am the only one providing for my family?

First of all, I bow to you for being so responsible. Hats off! Second of all, if that is the case then do what you have to do initially but have it in the back of your mind to step out and do your own thing or get a job you are satisfied in later on. You can not expect yourself to be chained to the same job for eternity in which you are not satisfied in. I know a person who has been afraid all his life about quitting his job and doing something he loved doing. Eventually he said, “I could not take it anymore as I was putting my self esteem and credibility at risk. My boss was literally piling work on me and expecting me to work 15 hours a day”.

He moved out and I won’t lie to you, he struggled for a good 6 months without a job and trying to figure out what to do. But after that he got a job which made up for all the 6 months he did not have a job and is beyond satisfied. So it’s all a matter of taking the risk. If you do not know what you want in life now. Relax!!! A lot of people don’t like Baz Luhrmann says in his song “Sunscreen”. Get your hands on this if you can.

If you are scared of being stuck in the purgatory after quitting, make sure you have honed in on your passion before hand and laid steps t achieve the same once you have quit.

Cheers!!!

image reference: http://images.askmen.com/money/keywords/promotion_965844.jpg, http://sloone.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/kiss-my-ass-3-2.jpg,