Here are a few things I noticed while joining Bhavesh from Brands.live, Amit from AllEvents and Mahendra from Matrubharti to talk about scaling startups and businesses.

👉 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠:
Couple of questions had an interesting undertone. A 'no' from an investor was being taken as a validation on whether or not their startup could work.

I think that an investor could say no for great many reasons. Ultimately, a founder should try to look at their startup as a financial product in an asset class. It will be difficult to do so - but it has to be done while pitching.

This financial product needs to be put in front of atleast 100 investors before we take their responses as a validation. It is a full time activity for 1 founder for 4 months.

👉 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬:
Some bits were being asked around 'how to get customers to change their habits/behaviour?'

An arguable opinion of mine about this is that we should not. Changing consumer/customer habits is extremely difficult and an expensive exercise. We must understand that we will have to learn to fall out of love for our idea and build what the market wants.

Atleast in B2B, more often than not, change management is a huge responsibility that no-one on the client side wants to take. As long as you are cheaper, better or faster at enabling them to save time, save money or make more money - that should do the trick.

👉 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬:
Couple of interesting hacks were being shared around handling and dealing with negative reviews. These ranged from 'responding to negative reviews quickly' to 'offering the reviewer something for free'.

While these are great for consumer brands, they don't work for B2B. For B2B SaaS, the customer doesn't leave a review. They just churn. At Clientjoy (Acquired by Synup), Anupama and I had a strict schedule of speaking to 1 churned customer every week and we invested significantly in ways to identify churn related behaviours to detect early signals.

After $100K in MRR, a SaaS company is more of a retention game than an acquisition game.

👉 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐨-𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬:
Everyone is looking for co-founders for their own business idea. People who have specific skills are also searching for problems to solve.

What I noticed interestingly is no one is saying that 'I am a great AI engineer - I am looking for a business person who has identified a problem, is trying to build a solution and join them as a co-founder.'

It seemed like people felt they should work only on their own ideas and in absence of that, look for ideas. In my opinion, and most other founders, ideas are dime a dozen. Look for people with complimentary skills and relentless persistence.

At Momentum Ventures, I am proud of the structure and working relationship Jay, Harsh Koushikram and I have created as co-founders.

Lastly, thank you Jatin and eChai Ventures for the opportunity and i-Hub Gujarat for the venue.

Looking forward to the next one!

I am absolutely thrilled to share about my enriching experience today at a founders' meet! I had the privilege of connecting with an extraordinary entrepreneur Stuti Ashok Gupta who not only made it onto Shark Tank (Season 2) but also shared profound insights into the world of business.

During our conversation, I learned so much, but two key takeaways stood out for me:
Focus on Customer Needs: The Shark Tank star emphasised the importance of deeply understanding customer needs and tailoring your product or service to meet those needs effectively. This customer-centric approach resonated deeply with me as I believe it's the cornerstone of sustainable business growth.

Persistence and Resilience: Hearing about the challenges faced and overcome on the journey to success was incredibly inspiring. It reinforced the vital role of persistence and resilience in entrepreneurship. The ability to persevere through setbacks and keep moving forward is truly what sets successful entrepreneurs apart. Wishing Amrutam Ayurveda good luck! Thanks to eChai Ventures and Netcore Cloud for conducting a wonderful event, it was really insightful and looking forward to more such events.

Feeling incredibly motivated and energised after today's discussion! Who else here is passionate about their journey and building something impactful from the ground up? Let's connect and inspire each other! Subhajit Mukherjee Yash Kashyap

Amazing catchup with some Amazing *Sharktank* D2C founders in Bengaluru !

Mayank B Nagori ( Good Gum) & Sumit Rastogi (Artinci)

eChai Ventures 🙌

Here's eChai's Startup Social Stories...

From the last meetup at GVFL Limited's swanky premise in Ahmedabad. A room full of energetic, curious and inspirational entrepreneurs...

This social happened to be one of the most interesting event I've been part of.

It was awesome meeting Kushagra Pandya, who is building vidyo.ai - an impressive AI based video editor & currently boasting of 2mn+ users. Deep insights & candid conversations.

It's heartening to see some interesting work happening in the area of AI, Web 3.0, Content & Marketing space from Ahmedabad.

Mitesh Shethwala's Currently is a promising real time social media startup making waves.

Swayam Raval is building AI driven influencer MarTech tool Admyre.Club.

Shreyans Panchal's YOMO is another promising tool to drive AI powered users insights.

Met Rohan Patel, who is building Ariso - an AI driven personal nutrition platform.

Bhavesh Patel has already revolutionized how social media marketing happens! His Brands.live is a global venture now.

Ekta Shah is building Biziverse - an enterprise ERP loved by thousands of organizations.

Meeting entrepreneurs from similar businesses always stirs interesting conversations. Met Viraj Rajani and Dipti Parmar - who are doing some really good stuff in area of digital marketing.

Always a pleasure meeting you, Chirag Panchal, Pankaj Bhimani and Amit Panchal.

Very fascinating to know about Tridhya Tech Limited by Gaurav Barot, doing some exceptional stuff in area of #Drone #Surveillance.

Loved chatting, Heet Sheth!

A big shoutout to Jatin Chaudhary for putting together this lineup of speakers. Thoroughly enjoyed!

I could not interact with some of the fellas.. but I'd love to catch up again. Rushabh Shah, Harsha Bhurani, Koumal Kalantry, Kush P. and ABHISHEK JAIN.

Thrilled to host Pratyush Rai Co-Founder of Merlin AI by Foyer, at eChai Ventures AI Meetup in Bengaluru today evening ! 

Join us for an engaging discussion. See you at Urban Vault HSR Layout 1515 from 6 pm to 8 pm! 

In the next 5-7 years, traditional video editing may become less common, transitioning instead towards SaaS-based solutions!!!

I gained this insight from Kushagra Pandya of vidyo.ai at eChai Ventures social this week.

As much vague as it looks, the deliberations on this and various other topics validated the statement. 

Interacting with founders from various sectors always makes you learn so much. This is the power of networking.

Now back to the video editing topic, here are some interesting insights:

- Video content creation is rapidly growing, currently comprising 65-70% The video format of content creation is inevitably growing at a rapid scale. As far as I can see, around 65-70% of the content being created today is video-format.

- Short form content is the way ahead for the marketers. The ever-decreasing attention span of the audience has been the case for success of TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube shorts and many others.

- At the same time, Podcasts has been an interesting marketing funnel for dissemination of information. These podcasts are generally long form in nature with a minimum of 30 minutes till 3-4 hours.

- Video editing of these podcasts to capture the viral elements and put it across in the form of reels and shorts has been the core. And companies like vidyo.ai have scaled it to the next level.

As we see the next change in technology, more and more of such business models will thrive and scale better.

eChai Ventures Jatin Chaudhary GVFL Limited Kushagra Pandya Tanmay Shanishchara Viraj Rajani Pankaj Bhimani Dr Mayank Patel, CFA Nishtha Gurnani Harsha Bhurani  Gaurav Barot Amit Panchal Bhavesh Patel Mitesh Shethwala Ekta Shah Koumal Kalantry ABHISHEK JAIN 

Meet the Founders who made it to Shark Tank! 💼 🌊

An initiative by Netcore for Startups to enable budding founders to get a sneak peek at how they transformed their pitches into success while navigating the entrepreneurial landscape

🎙 Featured Speakers:
🔹 Stuti Ashok Gupta, the visionary behind Amrutam
🔹 Mayank B Nagori, championing sustainability with Gud Gum | Plastic-free chewing gum
🔹 Sumit Rastogi, the creative genius driving Artinci’s journey

📅 Save the date: 19th April, Friday
🕧 Time: 6:30 PM IST
📍 Venue: Netcore Cloud, Bengaluru

This event, co-hosted by Netcore Cloud, eChai Ventures, and Headstart Network Foundation, promises an evening of genuine connections, actionable insights, and perhaps a few jaw-dropping untold stories!

Secure your spot now. RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gKW7ctDF

I am in mumbai this week.

Will also be speaking at eChai Mumbai Startup meetup. If anyone around can join here.
 
eChai Ventures Jatin Chaudhary Sharad Bansal Warmup Ventures

Free registration

Imagine gathering a few marketing experts in a room and guess what they do.

Probably an intellectual fight over who is more 'creative'. 😄

Well, that was not the case yesterday when we met at eChai Ventures - social at GVFL Limited office yesterday. A productive session conducted by forever smiling Jatin Chaudhary was more than a chai-biscuit gathering.

Very very helpful to learn insights, marketing hacks, AI driven marketing and business strategies. Truly, a #CoRise moment.

Folks, here's an open shoutout to everyone - happy to meet again in person, to discuss more than just hacks. 😎

Jaydip Parikh, Amit Panchal, 🚀Jignesh Thakkar, Nikita Lalwani, Arpan Shah, Parth Brahmbhatt, Himani Kankaria, Viraj Rajani, Ankit Agrawal, Anil Salvi 🍉, Sahil Shah, Tarjani Shah

Founders contemplate whom to approach for funding, while investors consider where to allocate their investments. When one should seek funding or refrain from it is an individual choice. There are no definitive answers to any questions; it's always subjective and often seasonal.

It was an enriching meetup eChai Ventures on very apt topic #funding - learning about this from the best Milapsinh Jadeja sir ,Umesh Uttamchandani sor @mihir joshi sir GVFL Limited , Dheeraj Bhojwani sir !!

Many congratulations to Jatin Chaudhary for completing 15 years to eChai Ventures journey and hosting the show!

Friends and family are typically the first investors in your vision, and early-stage startups often receive initial investments from them.

• Bootstrapping: Self-funding the startup with personal savings or revenue.

• Seed Funding: Initial capital from friends, family, or angel investors.

• Series A, B, C Funding: Increasing rounds of financing from venture capitalists as the company grows.

• Bridge Funding: Short-term financing to sustain operations between major funding rounds.

Pros of Funding:

• Accelerated growth potential.

• Access to expertise and networks of investors.

• Ability to scale operations rapidly.

Cons of Funding:

• Pressure to meet investor expectations.

• Dilution of equity.

Are you part of startup ecosystem?
And which stage you are into , bootstrapping, seed funding, more round of funds , Bridge funding or other??

I am just truly love the energy of all the founders !!

Pankaj Bhimani Ekta Shah Mitesh Shethwala Himani Kankaria Harshal Trivedi Yash Mehta Amit Panchal Nikita A Macquinn Harsha Bhurani Satya Mehta Novin Jaiswal Viraj Rajani Niraj Harlalka Bhavik Makwana Shreyans Panchal 

Wow, what an incredible time we had at the eChai Ventures Tallinn Startup Meetup! 🚀💡 We dove headfirst into the exciting world of startups, asking that age-old question: Do we need investors, or do they need us? It sparked some seriously thought-provoking discussions!

Sebastien Toupy and 🧙‍♂️ Erik Bhullar stole the show with their awesome insights, challenging our traditional views on early-stage startups. They showed us the magic of customer money and how it fuels sustainable growth. 💸💡

Navigating early-stage startups can feel like wandering through a maze, but fear not! Our speakers acted as trusty guides, leading us through the twists and turns of investment decisions. Every moment was packed with nuggets of wisdom! 🔍✨

Big shoutout to Kirke Leinatamm for steering the ship as our fantastic moderator, keeping the energy high and the conversations flowing. And huge thanks to all our amazing guests for bringing their brilliance to the table! 🙌🎉

Get ready for more excitement at Draper Startup House Tallinn! Innovation knows no bounds, and we're just getting started. Come join us as we shape the future of entrepreneurship together!

What a fabulous journey of @eChaiVentures from a local to a global brand based out of #Ahmedabad and connecting people & startups ! Echai has forged new relationships #echaicorise. 

Congrats @jatin10, Kunal &  echai team for nurturing the startup ecosystem when it was not a buzzword!  

We are collaborating with IIMA Ventures to host eChai's Startup Growth Meetup in Ahmedabad today (6th April, Saturday) at IIMA Ventures from 6 pm to 8 pm.

🎙️ Sandeep Patel (NEPRA - Let's Recycle)
🎙️Ankur Agarwal (Medkart Pharmacy)
🎙️ Udit Goenka (TinyCheque / FirstSales.io)
🎙️Ishit Jethwa (Ludic)

I'll be moderating this meetup.

We are collaborating with Draper Startup House to host eChai's Startup Growth Meetup in Bengaluru today (6th April, Saturday) at Draper Startup House Koramangala from 6 pm to 8 pm.

🎙️ Manish Maryada (Fello)
🎙️Aalap Sanghvi (Immersfy)

Free registration at eChai.Ventures 

We are collaborating with Pro Zero Carbon, CoKarma - Coworking Space and Ewoke Studio for Wudbox Climate Dialogue in Hyderabad today (6th April, Saturday) at CoKarma Hitec City from 6 pm to 8 pm.

🎙️Shruti Rawal (Ewoke Studio)
🎙️Rashi Agrawal (Banyan Nation)
🎙️Dashveer Singh (Maharaja Carpets India)
🎙️Sundeep Singh (C-Forth Energy)
🎙️Nikhil Somani (Somani Packaging)

It will be hosted by Charu Dhyani & Shantanu Sharma (Pro Zero Carbon & Wudbox)

Free registration at eChai.Ventures 

Couple of things I noticed during a conversation about sales strategies for #startups organised by eChai Ventures in partnership with GVFL Limited.

1. Most questions were around negotiation and pricing.
It is natural to think that the most difficult part of sales is getting the customer to agree on a price point. This is because that's what we as entrepreneurs hear most objections on. It is also because that is fairly relatable and happens to all sales folks.

But it is important to remember that whatever happens in the room (or video calls) is only 5% of the sales process. 95% of sales happens outside of negotiation and pricing.

Negotiation is just one of the stages.

Building a predictable, repeatable and scalable sales engine is significantly harder than handling negotiation. I'd strongly recommend focusing on the sales engine a lot more, a lot early.

2. People do not focus enough on building trust.
Trust is one of those very few things - takes a life-time to build but a moment to lose. Most folks did not realise how valuable proofs, cases and testimonials can be if used the right way and how quick it can make the sales process.

One of the recommendations is - early on, see if you can ride on trust built by someone else. If your #agency does not have enough clients yet, work with an existing agency as a sub-contractor. If your #product does not have enough users/customers yet, launch on marketplaces like AppSumo.

3. In an effort to show our expertise, we end up ripping apart the customer.
No one. Absolutely no one wants to be told they are wrong/incompetent over and over. The customer already realises that they have a problem to be solved and that is why they are there to have a conversation with you.

Once you establish in first few minutes of the conversation that you can help them fix that problem, stop pointing out their mistakes. Consider using cases and portfolio to showcase your value. Consider existing ROI calculations to convince them on the pricing.

4. No one likes being sold to.
But all of us love an interesting conversation. Ultimately, sales is just interesting conversations. Asking open ended questions to understand them better and sharing your experiences to show them who and what you and your company are.

Doing this as a genuine individual (neither as a sales person nor a strategy) has helped us significantly at both Clientjoy (Acquired by Synup) and at Momentum Ventures.

Strongly recommend treating prospects like a person. Not like a bag of money or a record in your #CRM.

Lastly, focus on the process. Everything else will fall into place.

Thank you Jatin for considering me to join in on this discussion with Vikas from Magenta Insights and Shrijay from LegalWiz.in. It was meaningful. Looking forward to the next one.

Had a great day at eChai Startup Demo Day pitching Impler.

Just 2 minutes of pitch and a few minutes of Q&A were enough to open doors for genuine pain points and insights.

The event was filled with many amazing people, fantastic startups, and interesting questions. Even the 12th grade does join and network with people.

Nice meeting with Kshitish Dixit, Mehul Shah, Maulik Domadia, Ravi Gandhi, and Viraj Zaveri

Special thanks to Jatin Chaudhary and eChai Ventures for an amazing opportunity.

eChai Ventures and Draper Startup House will be hosting the in-person 'Startup Open House in Tallinn' with founders and startup folks on 4th April, Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm.

eChai Startup Socials are volunteer driven small gatherings with founders and startup folks happening all over the world.

Speakers:

Small Group. Candid Conversations. Startup Folks.

This meetup is free and open for all.

Venue: Draper Startup House, Pikk 7, 10123 Tallinn, Estonia Office 1, Second floor

Date & Time: 4th April, Thursday. 6 pm to 8 pm.

Free registration at eChai.Ventures

As the echoes of The Climate Party still resonate within the walls of CoKarma and the hearts of our vibrant community, we're excited to announce the next step in our collective journey towards sustainability: the Wudbox Climate Dialogue event! ♻️🗣️

Imagine a place where your ideas have the power to morph into actionable climate solutions. That's what we are all about! This dialogue is your platform to mingle with eco-warriors in our ecosystem! 🌱🤝

- Charu Dhyani - She's not just the Founder of Pro Zero Carbon; she's a beacon of hope, leading the charge towards a zero-carbon future! 🌟🌿

- Shantanu Sharma - As Co-Founder of Pro Zero Carbon, Shantanu is here to prove that sustainability and success go hand in hand. 💼♻️

- Shruti Rawal - The brain behind Ewoke Studio, Shruti is stitching the fabric of sustainability into every creation. 🧵🌏

- Dashveer Singh - Steering Maharaja Carpets India towards green horizons, Dashveer's journey is nothing short of inspiring. 🌿🔍

- Nikhil Somani - Nikhil is here with Somani Packaging to wrap the world in eco-friendly solutions. 📦🌍

- Rashi Agrawal - As the Director of Banyan Nation, Rashi is transforming the landscape of sustainability through innovative waste management. 💼🌱

- Sundeep Singh - Sundeep, the Executive Director at C-Forth Energy, electrifies the scene with cutting-edge energy solutions. ⚡🌐

Amidst the constant warnings of a heat wave in Telangana and rising temperatures, be there to be the change. Let's make our planet proud, together! 🌟👫

🗓️ 6th April 2024 6PM onwards
📍CoKarma, Hitech City

RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/eMpMUiaT

No professional epiphanies or LinkedIn gyaan today.

Just a bunch of folks that met through the Ahmedabad start up community and became good friends.

Thanks eChai Ventures for doing what you do best- connecting likeminded folks who sometimes just want to laugh over a good cup of chai.

Founders have lives, too 🙂

Arindam Sengupta Faraz Wadhwania Rushabh Shah Jatin Chaudhary EduFund