💗Founders, Techies, Creators and Marketers - all under one roof one evening!! What an amazing turnout it was... 💯at Draper Startup House organised by eChai Ventures!!

Yes, and we all bonded over one common interest - #MarketingStrategy!

After all, who doesn't want it?? And doesn't get excited about it??

Right from #SteveJobs to an Aman Gupta!! And that's exactly what Penchala Tharun 🚀, the dynamic host made us do - think, ask, grill, imagine, visualize, find answers and have some serious fun.

As an experienced #BrandMarketer, it was always on my list to:

1. Quash doubts about Marketing for Startups - especially in Tech domain.
2. Clear misconceptions around Budgeting for Marketing
3. Guide them on how to go about GTM.
4. How to crack the Sales/Investor Pitch or Presentation.
5. And last but most important, the DON'Ts!
💗
I did try my best to address these in the short span of time that we had. If you still have any queries, please feel free to DM or write to: [email protected]

Special thanks to Jatin Chaudhary and Nivin Joseph to make this happen. 

That was a blast! On Saturday, I spoke at Draper Startup House x eChai Ventures with Rinky Pandey about:

- How to choose startup ideas
- How to pick the right channels
- How to build repeatable customer acquisition funnels

Rinky helped these budding entrepreneurs with insights on fundraising,
and what VCs look for, in founders.

1 hour of heavy rain from Whitefield to Koramangala,
made me feel it'd be an empty house.

Instead, the turnout was amazing!

Thanks to Mansi Baheti & Jatin Chaudhary for putting this together :) 

Is #Community Building Just a New Buzzword That Has Recently Popped Up?

Last week, I attended the #Bangalore Community Builders Mixer at Urban Vault. It was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with friends in this space.

One interesting discussion we had was about whether community building is just a new buzzword. While the term might be new, the practice has been around for centuries. Religious institutions are prime examples of communities coming together for the betterment of humanity and their beliefs, continuing their processes and rituals even without the physical presence of their leaders.

A personal favorite example of modern community-led growth is #Bitcoin. It has no CEO, CFO, or COO, yet it is widely adopted globally. At Draper Startup House, we firmly believe in the power of community, and we love building it every day. Communities like eChai Ventures and The Product Folks have been thriving for over half a decade.

Sohail Khan pointed out beautifully that communities with great SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) endure forever without needing their creators to constantly manage them. I completely agree.

Benefits of Building a Community:

1. Reduce Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
2. Increase Brand Loyalty
3. Direct Interaction with Your Customers for Feedback
4. Foster Collaboration Leading to Partnerships
5. Enhanced Customer Retention
6. Create a Support System for Members
7. Drive Organic Growth Through Word-of-Mouth
8. Build a Strong Brand Identity and Reputation

#Communitybuilding is not just a trend; it's a timeless practice that drives real results.

Special thanks to the Urban Vault team for putting this mixer together: Amal Mishra, Devishree A and Simran Chanda.

As some of you may know, I was a panellist at the eChai Ventures x GrowthSchool Marketing Summit on Saturday. It was an incredibly enriching discussion with my fellow panellists, whose insights across multiple industries were a goldmine of information 🙇🏻‍♀️

If I had to summarize the entire session into exactly 3 key takeaways, these would be:

1. Knowing your customer is an iterative process. Your customers will behave differently across geographies, markets, scales of operations, and sizes. Research, read, engage with them on social media, and learn everything you can about them.

2. Gone are the days of “shiny,” “buzz-worthy” marketing. Data is the best tool in a marketer’s arsenal. Excel is your best friend, and analyzing trends is your protein supplement. 😉

3. When it comes to content creation, don’t try to reinvent the wheel by focusing on creating “trends”. Unless you are Kim K 💁🏻‍♀️ Observe what is working, and then leverage it within your industry.

What floored me completely was the diversity of participants in the session—from Bitcoin to fintech to influencer marketing, we had them all! They asked tough questions and made the session even more fruitful.

Kudos to Jatin Chaudhary for moderating the session, and punctuating it with his thoughtfully curated questions and marketing puns. And thanks to the GrowthSchool team for being such wonderful hosts.

If you met me and want to discuss a specific problem in depth, feel free to block time via my Topmate!

Feeling grateful about interacting with co-panelists from various industries for a marketing panel discussion organised by eChai Ventures & Growth School in Bangalore.

Some 'Ahaa' moments for me were:

1) Ayushi Mona Singh gives an incredible example of vimal panmasala to showcase how key it is to know your customer
2) Siddharth Kumar (SK) talking about how topicality can be leveraged for addressing key consumer pain points in your industry
3) Sanjeet Kathuria discussing challenges of tough industries like fintech especially while planning GTMs of various markets
4) Chandana Pitta having an incredible B2B SAAS marketer journey with a hypergrowth start ups and she sharing snippets of this wonderful journey
5) Deepu Sukumaran Nair explaining the 'why', 'what' and 'how' of personal branding on Linkedin.

The audience was incredibly wonderful and Jatin Chaudhary thanks for moderating the session so well :)

Thank you for joining us as I hosted the eChai Ventures Marketing Summit at Urban Vault, HSR!

My key takeaways:

Sharuti Mittal: Paying more attention to the labels on our foods is crucial.

Ajitesh Shankar Das: Working closely with the product folks enables in targeting the ideal customer profile.

Parasar Sarma: Talking to the customer is everyone's job. Stories that stay with us exist there.

Aquibur Rahman: There's immense value in talking to your customers on why are they coming to you and how can you serve them better.

Thank you for making this gathering happen, Jatin Chaudhary!

To HSR, With Love ❤️
Your Cheerleader from HSRisHome

🌟 What a weekend! Had the privilege of engaging with amazing audiences on two different stages, discussing startups, brand building, and product marketing.

On Saturday, I shared the stage with esteemed founders Ankita De
and Rapti Gupta at an eChai Ventures event, moderated by the fantastic Penchala Tharun 🚀. We delved into topics ranging from marketing and communities to startups and product marketing, with a special focus on the fintech space. A big thank you to eChai and Jatin Chaudhary for this opportunity! 🙏

Simultaneously, I had the pleasure of interacting with numerous entrepreneurs who are passionately building their own ventures. The insights gathered from diverse industries, from healthcare to the evolving Indian solar market, were truly enlightening. 🙌

On Sunday, the learning journey continued at a MyCaptain event, where I connected with over 80 individuals exploring the intricacies of Product Marketing.

We delved into the different strategies of product marketing, and I had the opportunity to walk them through a real-life campaign from Cashfree Payments, viewed through the lens of product marketing. Witnessing the participants' demos and the depth of insights they brought to the table was inspiring. 🎊

A huge shoutout to everyone who attended and engaged in these discussions. Your enthusiasm and curiosity made these events truly memorable. Special thanks to Tejaswi Vuppula and the entire MyCaptain team for this opportunity. 🙏

Looking forward to more such enriching events and interactions in the future!

Spent a dynamic Saturday morning with a group of dedicated entrepreneurs with eChai Ventures, exchanging invaluable insights and strategies for startup success. 🙌

We delved into key takeaways crucial for entrepreneurial success: 📈

1. Importance of Product Marketing: Emphasized the pivotal role of product marketing in effectively communicating the value proposition and benefits of your offering to the target audience.

2. Understanding CAC and LTV: Discussed the significance of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV) metrics in guiding sustainable growth and profitability strategies.

3. PLG and SLG Strategies: Explored the power of Product-Led Growth (PLG) and Sales-Led Growth (SLG) approaches, highlighting their respective advantages and suitability based on business models.

4. Finding Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Stressed the necessity of identifying the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) to optimize marketing efforts and enhance customer acquisition and retention rates.

5. Achieving Product-Market Fit (PMF): Recognized the importance of attaining Product-Market Fit (PMF) to ensure that your product resonates with the needs and preferences of your target market.

6. Importance of User Research: Underlined the critical role of user research in gaining deep insights into customer behavior, preferences, and pain points to inform product development and marketing strategies.

7. Significance of Customer Interaction and Insights: Highlighted the value of ongoing customer interaction and feedback loops in refining products, enhancing user experience, and fostering long-term customer relationships.

Here's to the power of collaboration and hustle! 💼🚀