What to do with Startup Ideas?

So, you understand that most Startup Ideas are nothing without execution. But a lot of folks struggle with what to do next. How to take the first steps towards executing an idea. I've been interacting with a lot of wannabe entrepreneurs and they are stuck at this question. I have an idea and I don't know what to do next. Some people quickly build a solution (an app/website) and then realise that building a solution is not the best option. So, I've come up with a few things that a lot of guys were able to adopt and most of them realised that their idea was either not what their customers wanted, or not really what they wanted to do.

So, here’s what you can do with your startup ideas:

(This one is mostly for eCommerce and Marketplace related ideas. May not work if you are bringing in a New Tech to the market.)

Idea Validation Workshop @ IISc Bangalore

1. Think of your idea in the most primitive form. Keep all exceptional cases aside. Keep only the basic cases in mind. Imagine how would you do it if there was no internet or smartphones? That takes website and apps out of the equation. Can it be implemented using Phone number? Weather it is a
healthcare service, or food tech or hyperlocal they all are businesses that may be “facilitated” using technology (websites and apps) but it is a fallacy to think in terms of these mediums as business ideas. App is NOT your business idea. It’s a medium to reach out to your customers. It’s a platform for your customers to interact with your service. It may be mandatory to have a scalable business, but it is not the business idea in itself. And if it is, stop reading further.

E.g. 1. Hyperlocal delivery of medicines.
Can it be facilitated using an App?
YES. 
Does it require an app to function?
NO.
All it requires is Sellers (a pharmacy with drug distribution license), Buyers (people who want specific medicines home delivered), A platform to connect these two (doesn’t necessarily be an app or website, people can order on phone).

E.g. 2. Food Tech for delivering Milk.
Can it be facilitated using an App?
YES. 
Does it require an app to function?
NO. 
All it requires is Sellers (a dairy or shop), Buyers (people who want milk home delivered), A platform to connect these two (doesn’t necessarily be an app or website). People can order on phone and in some cases people just shout from balcony and get it delivered.

E.g. 3. Mobile Video Tutorials for Students/New Moms/Home makers/for Cooking/for Art/for Music etc.
Can it be facilitated using an App?
YES. 
Does it require an app to function?
NO. 
All it requires is Videos (and Teachers who can create videos), Consumer (people who want tutored at home using videos), A platform to connect these two (doesn’t necessarily be an app or website). You can get the video or links on email, deliver CDs etc.).

Think primitive.

2. Find one provider and one user. 
Find one real person who wants to sell, and one real person who wants to buy (outside of your group of friends and family). Sometimes it may be one of your friends or family but then, getting a stranger helps even more.

3. Think of yourself as the platform.
You are "The Platform". Much like "Tu Beer Hai". You Connect the real users. Fulfill that one user’s demands. Buy the medicine, prepare the food, create the video and deliver to your user. See what problems you faced, what’s the gap in demand and supply? Could you get that one customer? Could you get that one seller? Could you fulfill what your users were looking for? Could you deliver on time with required quality and delight the user? Did you make any money in the process (Did you earn revenue, was there any profit?)?

4. Do you still want to continue? 
Do this for 5 to 10 users before you embark on your journey to replace yourself (you are still the platform) with a technology platform and technology mediums like apps and website. That’s how you’d know for sure what idea to work on and how.

5. Action.
There is no real step here. If you’ve done last 4 (“done” and not just read them), you’d know what to do next.

Do it. Take action, go for it. You now have a very high chance of creating a winning startup.

All the best.

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How to write the BEST RESUME?

Most jobs still need resume. People are trying to disrupt it but Resume is STILL (as of today - June'16) very important. Writing the resume is serious exercise. Please spend some quality time on it.

Here are a few tips to get it right:

1.  Reduce the number of pages to single page. At maximum you can make it 2 pages. Yes, it works. yes, it works in India. Make sure it is either 1 page or 2 full pages. Half a page looks silly. When you do it you'd get rid of all unnecessary sections, redundant words and focus on extremely significant words and achievements. This itself makes your resume more powerful.

2.  Spell Check, Grammar check, Review. And get it reviewed from others whose resume may have worked. No points for guessing this is so critical. Ask friends in HR/Recruitment about how likely is your resume to get shortlisted - no one can tell you better than them.

3. Focus on quantitative aspects - How significant has been your role in past. Writing "Played a significant role..." is subjective. You need to objectify it using numbers. E.g. "Improved conversions by 5.4%". Throw as many numbers as you can. Or try to quantify the impact of your work in some other way. E.g. Saved a big account by reducing their costs.

4. Begin each sentence with an Action Verb. E.g. Managed a team of..., Created documentation for..., Improved signups by..., Increased lead pipeline by...

5. Format it for clarity. Don't make your resume look dull and monotonous. Make it scan friendly so that it highlights things that you want to talk about. If a person looks at it for 5 seconds, he should be able to remember 3 to 4 words that you'd want her to ask questions around.

6. Feel free to use colours, picture etc. But do not even think about it until all previous checkpoints are cleared.

7. Please make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date and provide a link on your Resume.

8. Please top up your resume with a personalized kickass cover letter that tells an organization/founder why you want to join them and why they should even look at your resume. Cover letters work. They are like the subject line of an email. Make it about them and not about you. Count how many I/Me have you used in your cover letter. Try to convert most of them to YOU/Your Organisation. Tell them how you can help them.

Comment here if you have any specific questions.





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