It is very difficult… I wish there was just one thing. First is passion, if you are not passionate about what you are doing, then you are in the wrong place. Second is courage. The buck stops with you, does not go further. You have to make choices. You cannot say that may be, this or that. And you have to be comfortable with the choice even if it goes wrong. When you succeed, all your past and failure get wiped away.
You have to play multiple roles. You have to be egoistic, and you have to be humble. You have to be the guy doing it, yet you have to be the guy who stands back. You have to be leading, yet you have to be supportive. If the person who cleans your toilet does not come on the day of an important client visit, you have to clean it – no second thoughts.
Work experience did help in our case. The idea of focusing on a culture is from P&G. an amazing, culture, with a lot of focus on values and ethics. What ever I knew about analytics was from P&G. the domain experience was from P&G.
Passion cannot come without some knowledge around it. But there is no one size that fits all. You can always hire people with expertise.
More than VCs, an entrepreneur needs an angle. What you need at the start up stage is some seed funding. That can come from friends, family. You just want enough money to prove your idea. VCs should ideally come in once you know what you want, the model is proven and you think the best way to scale up is to get their investment. But you have to be prepared to accept outside control.
Culture is a set of daily behaviors exhibited by an organization. The senior guys walk the talk, others will follow. Because an organization, especially in the beginning, is nothing but the reflection of the founders.
It is a different kind of thrill when a client says, “your work has actually saved us. Your work has given us a great idea.” The closest example I can think of is what patients tell doctors.
Do you want to stay happy or do you want to grow? These are two different paths and you have to choose one. We made the choice to scale up.
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