I started my startup when I was 21 years old. I bootstrapped it to over $1M in revenue in just 4 years which led to a successful multi-million dollar acquisition.
Here are my top learnings:
1. Fixate on a market: We stayed focused on the BFSI industry in India. This led us to build deeper relationships with the customers and helped us understand their larger problems. Do not hop industries too fast.
2. Build a great Culture: We had Saturdays working, no life insurance, no health insurance, only Government holidays and a simple office. But even then, we were rated 4.6 on Glassdoor because we had an amazing culture. Young people were given important responsibilities and freedom to execute. People were not penalized for trying something and failing. Team members had direct access to founders. Work culture was flexible with ZERO politics. People focused on customer problems and delivered. More than 95% of our early team members are a part of the company to date.
3. Focus on customer problems: So many founders waste their time chasing investors, competitors, and things that don’t matter. Focus on customer problems and solve them. Everything else is a waste of your time in Business. If you need money, absolutely talk to the investors. But don’t do that till you’ve figured out why.
4. Sales cures everything: I came from a Computer Science background, but my role at my startup was all on the Business side — Sales, Delivery and Customer Success. I spent 90% of my time in customers’ offices and 10% in my office.
5. Keep helping people and money will follow: Money is merely a measure of the help that you’ve done for others. The real value you create is the amount of help that you provide to others. It may, or may not lead to an immediate financial outcome, and that’s fine. Focus on helping others. Money will follow.
6. Learn to align the goals of different teams in such a manner that they lead to the desired business outcome. For instance, the goals of our marketing team are derived from the goals of the sales team by calculating the conversion rate and the average ticket size.
7. Maintain accounts professionally: My CA, from day one used to tell me — “Aman, you will build a big business in the future. Don’t pollute your accounts for small monetary savings”. It is such a peace of mind to build a business and not be worried about tax authorities coming behind you because you have nothing to hide.
8. Focus on long term: That $1000 customer you think is a waste of your time, can become a $100k customer tomorrow if you solve their problems well. One of our early clients who started with a deal of Rs. 10k a month in 2018, today, spends over Rs. 50 lakhs a month with us.
9. Take care of your team and they will take care of your Business. During the growth phase, the job of a founder becomes more of a mentor/supporter for the Executive team. Do that well and your business will outshine.
