Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of joining ABHISHEK from Naapbooks Limited, Swati from Mantras2Success.com, Ravi from Univia and Nirav from WOGOM on a panel to discuss 'Growth Stories' organised by eChai Ventures and moderated by Aditya from Cibos Techno Solutions Pvt Ltd
Here are some notes:
๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐จ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐: One of the interesting conversations was around how to align/retrain people who have taken the company from zero to one and have them effectively contribute in the company's journey from one to hundred. This is required because it takes very different people to bring something to life vs people who take something that is alive and take it to scale. One of the things we do at Momentum91 is to build a 'New Initiatives' team. This is our 'zero to one' team and it always works on the frontier. Things that have not yet been figured out completely yet. This team builds solutions on those lines. This way, once they have charted the path, the rest of the team comes in and makes the path more 'followable' through processes, frameworks and templates.
๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ-๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ-๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ: I am of the opinion that starting a company is like entering a haunted house that might have a treasure buried inside. I would not go in alone. I need someone to keep me honest, be sad when we have lost, share joy when we have won. I need someone to fight, debate and argue with. It's a personal and arguable choice. Some folks are comfortable going at it alone as well. If you are like me, consider finding a co-founder who has complimentary skill sets. A person whose thought process is different than yours and a person you fully trust.
๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฉ: Almost everyone on the panel had degrees in things that were drastically different from the nature of the company they were running, including myself. It's important to understand that half of running any company is the same - whatever one builds, they still have to build a team, figure out marketing, learn sales, read balance sheets and keep the company compliant - things that are not taught. A good way to look at education is to think of that as 'time allotted to build an approach' - an approach of problem solving. If one is able to build that approach, most things get easier.
It was fun listening to other people's stories around recruiting their first 5 team members, journey of meeting their co-founders and approach towards making difficult decisions under uncertain circumstances with less than accurate data.
Thank you Jatin for the opportunity. Until next time.
Here are some notes:
๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐จ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐: One of the interesting conversations was around how to align/retrain people who have taken the company from zero to one and have them effectively contribute in the company's journey from one to hundred. This is required because it takes very different people to bring something to life vs people who take something that is alive and take it to scale. One of the things we do at Momentum91 is to build a 'New Initiatives' team. This is our 'zero to one' team and it always works on the frontier. Things that have not yet been figured out completely yet. This team builds solutions on those lines. This way, once they have charted the path, the rest of the team comes in and makes the path more 'followable' through processes, frameworks and templates.
๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ-๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ-๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ: I am of the opinion that starting a company is like entering a haunted house that might have a treasure buried inside. I would not go in alone. I need someone to keep me honest, be sad when we have lost, share joy when we have won. I need someone to fight, debate and argue with. It's a personal and arguable choice. Some folks are comfortable going at it alone as well. If you are like me, consider finding a co-founder who has complimentary skill sets. A person whose thought process is different than yours and a person you fully trust.
๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฉ: Almost everyone on the panel had degrees in things that were drastically different from the nature of the company they were running, including myself. It's important to understand that half of running any company is the same - whatever one builds, they still have to build a team, figure out marketing, learn sales, read balance sheets and keep the company compliant - things that are not taught. A good way to look at education is to think of that as 'time allotted to build an approach' - an approach of problem solving. If one is able to build that approach, most things get easier.
It was fun listening to other people's stories around recruiting their first 5 team members, journey of meeting their co-founders and approach towards making difficult decisions under uncertain circumstances with less than accurate data.
Thank you Jatin for the opportunity. Until next time.
The eChai Effect - In Their Words
"We found eChai to be a force multiplier throughout our startup journey. Through it, we connected with folks from DevX, Allevents, Plutomen, and more - many of whom became friends of IndiaBizForSale.com and even part of our clientele."
Bhavin S Bhagat
Co-founder of Indiabizforsale and IBGrid, TiE Ahmedabad President
"eChai has played a truly pivotal role in HummingBirdโs journey โ even before Day Zero. From ideation to establishment and into growth, itโs been a constant source of support.ย It connected me with incredible people whoโve become more than just friends. One of the biggest reasons I chose to stay in Ahmedabad is because of the eChai community. It has shaped my growth โ both personally and professionally โ in ways that are hard to articulate.ย Honestly, words fall short when I try to express what eChai means to me. Iโm deeply thankful and forever grateful to eChai for being such an integral part of my journey."
Harsha Bhurani
Founder, HummingBird Consulting Group
"After moving back from the USA, eChai became my go-to space to learn how the Indian startup ecosystem works. It offered direct exposure to startup thinking and a community that openly shares business insights. What stood out was how easy it was to connect, learn, and grow through real conversations. As we built our IT hardware rentals business, eChai helped us find our niche and refine our path. Proud and grateful to be part of this amazing community."
Heet Sheth
Growth and Tech, Sheth Info
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