What are your thoughts on the Gujarat ecosystem for startups ?
Gujarat is Home to >12000 startups & having studied in Mumbai , worked in Delhi & natively coming from Rajasthan here is my thought on Ahmedabad as a city :
1. Quite economical in terms of rentals & manpower costs for sure 2. Super infra & govt support with places like Ihub by Guj Gov offering coworking starting at just 3k per person which is like 4x in Mumbai. Alongside a lot of fund support also with Schemes like Srujan 3. Very safe & better quality of life (specially Space :)) than both the cities. With the recent new Delhi AQI at dangerous level, I feel Ahmedabad might emerge as a good option (although AQI here is sometimes at dangerous levels too) 4. With the biggest stadium & project like Gift cities some of the best events like Cold play , probably Olympics & recent Diljit show happen here too. For Tea totallers what else would they need :)
Of course there are a lot of challenges in terms of finding the right people to work or also concerns about rapid urbanization but I think Ahmedabad will be able to retain its charm !
If I missed any point do add in comment below ๐
Ps : let's discuss more in depth today in the sessions by one the most active folks in this ecosystem Jatin Chaudhary !ย
Founders, Managers, Directors, and CXOs often get asked, "Can we publish you in the newspaper?" That's what we call a ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฌ๐.
Here are key insights and notes from yesterday's eChai Ventures session on "๐๐ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฒ":
1) What makes newsworthy Press Release content? โด Instant news like Product Updates โด Funding announcements โด New location launches โด Award recognition
2) What channels are available for Press Releases? โด Newspaper articles, Featured sections, Website blogs, Videos, Podcasts, and more
3) What types of Press Releases exist? โด Paid: Working with PR agencies for guaranteed features โด Earned (DIY): Securing coverage through relationship building and valuable content
4) How to start with Earned Press Releases? โด Connect with journalists to share industry opinions โด Consistently provide valuable industry insights โด Build and nurture media relationships - they matter immensely!
5) What to look for in PR Agencies (Paid)? โด Strong media connections โด Content SEO authority โด Proven track record
6) Should you choose an Agency or DIY approach? โด Agencies work best for occasional releases (saves relationship-building time) โด DIY approach builds long-term authority through regular PR stories โด Start by offering expert opinions to newspapers
๐ Remember: Credibility is currency!
7) Limited budget dilemma: Regular small news vs. one big story? โด Consistency wins - regular small news shows better results
8) Does publishing across multiple media houses create issues? โด No problems! Different websites mean no duplicate content concerns โด Media houses generate hundreds of pages daily, ensuring quick Google indexing
9) How do service-based organizations benefit from Press Releases? โด Builds thought leadership for attracting talent and clients โด Enhances societal credibility โด Makes you a preferred business partner
๐ฅ Virality Hack โด Leverage community connections through groups and meetups โด Mention and tag participants to tap into their networks
Special thanks to Shrijay Sheth and Mukul Goyal for sharing these valuable insights, and to Manoj Adwani for organizing this eye-opening session on ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ฒ๐ - a topic that is unknown to many!
This Saturday at Draper Startup House India , we discussed about Building Startup teams and culture. Mohit Sharma spoke about an ai powered automated food making device that chops cuts sautes weighs boils steams and cooks all in one with step by step procedure with video guidance!! by upliance.ai. we debated about โjain briyaniโ No we wont tell you what is it, ask Ashfin Francis if want to know ๐
I am super impressed with the composed passionate and sincere founder in Mrinal Rai who was very kind and humble with every soul who meets him !! he felt like a dream founder to me and loved to know the culture they strive to build in his company Intugine - Logistics through Innovation , that makes supply chain movements predictable and has latest updates at all times and effectively improve gdp itself if implemented at country level!! massive respect to the startup. he talked about the importance of PMF ( product market fit )
His advice - treat first customers as team members, they offer a lot - Team and problem statement is important - Market pulls product out of the starup rather than startups pushing them ( they do push a bit initially) - No Super star engineers needed, bad for company in long run
and the mystery Satya Bar , i didnt know until today ๐
Dream big. Start small. But most of all, start." โ Simon Sinek
Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending an eChai Ventures event at IIMA Ventures , and it was an inspiring experience as always!
Every time I attend these events, I come back with a renewed sense of motivation and invaluable insights into the world of entrepreneurship. Being surrounded by passionate entrepreneurs constantly reminds me that if they can achieve their dreams, why canโt I?
A heartfelt thank you to Bhavesh Patel sir, the founder of Brands.live , for not only sharing his profound knowledge but also for personally advising me as I work on building my own SaaS company for financial advisory and algo trading services. His insights completely shifted my perspective and left me recharged to take on new challenges.
Weekend is always a preferred time for socializing, but when socializing happens along with learning with like-minded people, it is super awesome. Glad to share our journey from using tools to discovering use cases and finding the product-market fit for AiVANTA in our AI video space.
It was insightful to listen to Udit Goenka, who has done the journey of zero to one multiple times. Plus, his way of approaching building a product is something every aspiring co-founder should listen to.
Shubham Dumbre and Aanchal Verma๐ made sure that the entire session was not just well managed but also very interactive. This structure gave participants the chance to ask their questions, and even we got to learn from them.
I request all of you reading this to follow eChai Ventures for such events in the near future and do attend them โ definitely a great way to socialize and learn with like-minded people on a Saturday!
