Tag: Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship lessons that I learned amidst the global pandemic

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Authored by: Shriya Naheta

Entrepreneurship can be a tough and long journey for most of us, but it surely is a fulfilling one. More often than not, it’s a journey of perseverance, self-discovery and it’s an open secret that no year has been as testing as 2020. The world was presented with a huge unforeseen problem with no apparent solution: an ever-changing pandemic forcing global business communities at large to pause in confusion, panic, and distress.

Leaders across disciplines have been pushed out of their comfort zones and have had to adapt to new market dynamics. Like many owners of self–funded businesses, I had built-in contingencies and agility for anticipated curveballs, and yet, I was not prepared for a radical market shift overnight. This pandemic has forced us as a community to unlearn and redo our business priorities and strategy to adapt to the new normal, probably for the first time in a very long time.

Here are some important lessons this daunting global pandemic has taught me as an entrepreneur:

Be agile

When the lockdown was announced, we woke up to a sudden spike in customer order volumes which none of us could have predicted. It taught us that we must act fast and make decisions keeping customers at the forefront. Sometimes decisions are reversible and do not need overthinking especially when time is of the essence. We took calculated risks, optimized our available resources to meet the increased demand of customers, and delivered whatever possible, as timely as we could, despite the logistical challenges. I learned that every opportunity (even in adversity) comes with urgency. In a situation that calls for chaos, with an uncertain future, we must be able to find effective solutions quickly, even if temporary, to pivot and adjust to cater to the needs of our customers and the market.

Teamwork drives effectiveness

We truly understood the value of individual accountability and the importance of prioritising and being productive in these rapidly changing times. We prioritised the safety of our employees, farmer partners, and customers while looking at ways to support the significant surge in consumer demand. We realised that just like how we depend on our several local organic farmers they also depend on us for their livelihood. The only reason we could turn around quickly was that we chose to champion and support our employees and our farmer community rather than pressuring them.

Diversification is key

When our restaurant business took a hit, we had to reinvent and focus on different aspects of the business. As consumers opted for healthier options, we focused our efforts on the consumer home delivery business (B2C) in addition to our retail partnerships. Focus on cash flows and liquidity is equally if not more important than margins for survival.

Transparency and effective communication go a long way

While we were lean staffed and not fully equipped to support the significant demand increase amidst the initial supply chain disruptions, we tried to focus on good communication within the team and we were very transparent with our customers. We had delayed response times, produce shortages, and late deliveries—therefore communication was key while setting expectations, building trust with customers, and uplifting the morale of our team members.

Catering to consumer need-gap is pivotal

Every business must solve a need-gap that exists in the market. However, it’s critical to not only offer products or services that address the need-gap but also educate the consumers on the trends and unique proposition the business provides. The organic food space, for instance, is still a relatively new concept for us as a country and it’s our responsibility as a consumer brand to not just capitalise on a topical trend by plugging our products, but create a sustainable ecosystem that benefits them. We establish transparency and trust with our consumers while helping them understand the benefits of an organic lifestyle which does come at a price premium compared to inorganic food. This pandemic reaffirmed our belief about creating a sustainable tomorrow and increasing our focus on well-being.

Every entrepreneur has an interesting journey filled with learnings. It is important to share, learn from each other, and contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem at large. COVID-19 may have rocked our world – but it’s something all of humanity is going through together. I’ve been so impressed and moved by the simple acts of kindness I’ve seen from friends, family, and even strangers on the Internet. When you focus on the good, the good gets better.

—Shriya Naheta, Founder, Zama Organics, a homegrown organic food startup. The views expressed are personal

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Startups recovering faster than expected, says COVID-19 and Antifragility of Indian Startup Ecosystem report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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At the start of 2020, the Indian startup ecosystem was growing rapidly on the back of spectacular growth in 2019. However, COVID-19 jolted the startup ecosystem across dimensions and the impact was severe during the lockdown period from March to June 2020. There was a dip in overall funding by 50 percent during the lockdown as compared to pre-COVID levels, and around 40 percent of start-ups were negatively impacted. The lockdown even led to 15 percent startups discontinuing operations.

A report titled, “COVID-19 and the Antifragility of Indian Startup Ecosystem”, released on October 14 by TiE Delhi-NCR in partnership with global management and strategy consulting firm Zinnov, provides an in-depth understanding of the impact of the coronavirus on the Indian startup ecosystem. It assesses multiple dimensions like funding and M&A landscape, sectoral impact, entrepreneur and investor sentiments, and changing market behaviour. The report is supported by Cisco Launchpad, NetApp Excellerator and Lowe’s Innovation Labs.

Covid19 took a toll on startups as 15% have had to halt ops & 44% have cash runway for less than 6 mnths according to @TiEDelhi & Zinnov. @ShrutiMishra_ speaks to @parinatarajan of @Zinnov, @MadhurimaAg of @NetApp & @SruthisTweets of @CiscoLaunchPad. #StartupStreet #WhatsBrewing pic.twitter.com/Rl4hmatmrI

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) October 14, 2020

The report suggests that as the economy opened up, pace of recovery – both in demand and in investor sentiment – has been faster than expected. The shift to digital consumption has provided the necessary tailwind to sectors such as education, healthcare and commerce; while several sectors like travel, hospitality and mobility, that were negatively impacted, are now on a recovery path.

For instance, 75 percent start-ups are gradually, but steadily, recovering post the lockdown. Around 30 percent of startups have pivoted to newer markets for alternative revenue streams, while more than 55 percent of startups are focusing on profitability and reducing cash burn.

Deal activity – both in terms of total investments and the number of unique funded startups – has recovered to pre-COVID levels during the quarter that ended in September 2020. Interestingly, four Indian startups became unicorns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and India is on track to have eight unicorns this year – almost the same number of additions were seen in 2019.

The startup ecosystem is expected to have 7-7.5 lakh direct jobs and 26-28 lakh indirect jobs overall by end-2020. The response of entrepreneurs and the ecosystem as a whole — to the uncertainty brought on by the pandemic — by adopting new business models in line with the evolving customer needs and market conditions exemplifies the antifragility of the ecosystem.

Rajan Anandan, President of TiE Delhi-NCR said, “Although the immediate impact of the lockdowns on the Indian startup ecosystem was severe, we have been amazed to witness how quickly Indian founders have acted to reimagine their businesses. What has been most impressive is how many startups have reduced burn and improved their unit economics very rapidly. Digitally-led segments have recovered much faster than anyone expected and in many spaces demand is well ahead of pre-COVID levels. Investor sentiment has also recovered quickly and we expect the Indian unicorn club to steadily expand through 2020 and 2021. Although COVID-19 has been a major setback for the ecosystem, we believe that the changes that the pandemic has brought on will make our ecosystem much stronger, across every dimension. India is on a path to have 100 unicorns by 2025.”

The report illustrates the range of the impact on various sectors and elaborates on the steps taken by entrepreneurs to reinvent their business models to minimise the impact of COVID-19. In Q3, the Indian startup ecosystem showed positive signs of recovery – funding reverting to 98 percent of Q1 (pre-COVID) levels, investor sentiments becoming positive, ticket sizes increasing, number of startups raising their first investment round also reverting to Q1 (pre-COVID) levels – ensuring that the startup ecosystem bounced back, with an expectation of becoming healthier and vibrant in future.

Speaking about the report, Zinnov CEO Pari Natarajan said, “Despite setbacks due to COVID-19, the Indian startup ecosystem has risen to the challenge, as evidenced by it’s faster than estimated recovery. In the initial days, the startups reduced cash burn and redeployed existing capabilities to focus on tiding over the uncertainty. Shift to digital consumption certainly provided an opportunity. By being nimble and rapidly responding to different challenges, looking at them as an opportunity, the Indian startup ecosystem has displayed its antifragile nature. Despite the trying times, and the death of many startups, the ecosystem has played a key role in employment generation and is expected to create ~15-16 Lakhs direct jobs by 2025. There is clear evidence that India’s future is about technology, policy, innovation, and entrepreneurship.”

Madhurima Agarwal, Director – Engineering Programs and Leader, NetApp Excellerator added, “Resilience, hardiness, and adaptability are inherent traits of startups that allow them to succeed despite all odds. COVID-19, a black swan event, wreaked devastation in its wake, both on the societal and the economic fronts. The manner in which startups responded to the challenges posed by COVID-19, is testament to the antifragile nature of this ecosystem. While certain sectors were impacted worse than others, it drove positive change in key areas like automation and digital transformation. In every challenge lies an opportunity; the mantra is to survive these turbulent times and prepare for the opportunities that follow.”

Sharing her perspective on the report, Sruthi Kannan, Head of Cisco Launchpad said, “COVID has shaken the world, causing disruptions across a multitude of parameters. Despite all negativity and bottlenecks, the Indian startup ecosystem has been able to hold its firm grip – courtesy of its antifragile nature. Startups have been nimble, despite the challenges, in converting this crisis into an opportunity. We are witnessing an inspiring response – from harnessing tailwinds in select sectors, to business pivots, to repurposing capabilities to new or adjacent markets. We continue to be positive about the impactful change that Indian startups can make, both locally and globally.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Udemy raises $50 million at $2 billion valuation: Co-founder Biyani narrates how the startup almost died several times

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Udemy, an online learning platform that provides courses for professional adults as well as students, has raised $50 million from Japanese investor Bensesse Holdings, an educational publisher that is the company’s partner in the country. The latest fundraise will value Udemy at $2 billion.

The fundraise is significant as the startup had last raised money in 2016 — a $60 million funding round that valued the company at around $710 million. So far, the company has raised around $200 million with its other investors being Stripes, Naspers, Learn Capital, Insight Partners among others.

The money raised will be used for the company’s expansion in areas of both students and enterprises. Udemy’s 150,000 online courses have so far been used by 50 million students and 5,000 companies. The company is also looking to expand international operations in markets like Japan, India and Brazil. But did you know Udemy almost died at least five times? Yes, the company was rejected by everyone in Silicon Valley.

‘An underdog story’

“Startups are never a straight line,” wrote its co-founder Gagan Biyani on Twitter while announcing the news of his company’s latest fundraise. “I’m biased but @udemy is a true underdog story,” he said.

Biyani met Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar, the other two founders of the company, in 2009 at incubator Founder Institute while he was looking for technical leads. “Eren + Oktay were clearly the smartest engineers in the whole group, but few knew who they were. They were brainy, less social with thick accents,” he says.

Elaborating on Udemy’s journey, Biyani said that it was an extremely tough start for the company as none of the founders had family money. “They were on visas so could not quit. Worked day jobs from 10a-7p; then on udemy until 4am. I was a consultant and flew cross-country every week. 70 hours in DC (District of Columbia), slept on plane, then 40-hour weekends in SF (San Francisco),” wrote Biyani.

However, despite the hardwork, the debt kept increasing as they were continuously rejected by investors. The three met more than 100 investors but were rejected by all. It is this time when the three almost gave up on the startup. “We agreed if we didn’t raise in 1 month, we’d quit.”

Finally, Keith Rabois, entrepreneur and investor, agreed to invest in the company. “Finally, @rabois (who knew this but didn’t care) said yes. Then @naval put us on @angellist.” “The famous names were great, but other investors – @rfradin and @msugarman – dug in. Taught us how to run a company. Russ insisted we create a board – so we put him on it! Starting a board at the seed stage was a company-defining decision.”

The struggle, however,  wasn’t over for the company as when it went to raise funds in round ‘A’, everyone passed again, despite a 20 percent month-on-month growth.

“We raised on rough terms. I look back on that as my biggest miss. Early rounds on tough terms lead to future rounds on tough terms,” said Biyani on Twitter.

‘No path to a great business’

Amid the struggles, Biyani was fired by Eren — Biyani said he would reveal the reason later on Twitter. Eren left the firm two years later. By Series C, none of the founders was at the company. “In fact, today we are on our 4th CEO and yet the business is as strong as ever,” Biyani added.

Biyani credits Udemy’s success today to its foundation as “Eren’s original vision was spot on and we built a growth marketing culture that knew how to grow”. “There is no one path to a gr8 business. You can lose your founders and still have a great business. You can be rejected by Sand Hill and raise elsewhere (or not at all). You can grow up in a one-room schoolhouse in a poor part of Southeast Turkey as Eren and Oktay did.”

Biyani adds that today many of Udemy’s peers which are valued higher are facing challenges as overvaluation means overspending, which increases the likelihood of failure. “Hype gets into people’s heads. Best of both worlds: build hype but stay humble,” Biyani says.

However, he urges entrepreneurs to not give up.

“Don’t be a sore loser. Eren + I are v good friends. We respect those who rejected us + those who fired us,” he concludes.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ratan Tata on his parents’ divorce, differences with father, grandmother’s support and breakup

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Big businessmen talk a lot about their balance sheets, but rarely do they allow a peek into their personal life. While we may have certain basic information about these industrialists’ personal life, we remain unaware of many interesting episodes from their past. Ratan Tata just shared some of such episodes.

The renowned industrialists, speaking to popular Facebook page Humans of Bombay, talked about how his parents’ divorce affected him and his brother, his differences with his father, his grandmother’s support throughout and his love story that couldn’t last long.

Tata says he had a happy childhood, however, as he and his brother grew older, they faced a lot of ragging and discomfort due to his parents’ divorce, which in those days, was not as common as it is today.

“I had a happy childhood, but as my brother and I got older, we faced a fair bit of ragging and personal discomfort because of our parent’s divorce, which in those days wasn’t as common as it is today,” Humans of Bombay quotes Tata as it begins the post.

Tata said it was his grandmother who “brought us up in every way”. “our grandmother taught us to retain dignity at all costs, a value that’s stayed with me until today. It involved walking away from these situations, which otherwise we would have fought back against,” said Tata as he explained how other boys as the school said “all kinds of things” about him and his brother after their mother remarried.

“I still remember, after WW2, she took my brother and I for summer holidays to London. It was there that the values were really hammered in. She’d tell us, ‘don’t say this’ or ‘keep quiet about that’ and that’s where, ‘dignity above everything else’ really embedded in our minds,” added Tata.

Talking about the differences with his father, Tata said, “I wanted to learn to play the violin, my father insisted on the piano. I wanted to go to college in the US, he insisted on the UK. I wanted to be an architect, he insisted on me becoming an engineer.”

He added that it was his grandmother who helped him get admission in Cornell University in the US. He said that it was because of her that despite enrolling for mechanical engineering, he switched majors and graduated with a degree in architecture.

“My father was quite upset and there was a fair bit of rancour, but I was finally my own, independent person in college, and it was my grandmother who taught me that courage to speak up can also be soft and dignified,” Tata said.

After college, Tata landed a job in an architecture firm in LA, where he worked for two years. It was in LA that he fell in love and “almost got married”.

“It was a great time — the weather was beautiful, I had my own car and I loved my job. It was in LA that I fell in love and almost got married. ”

However, Tata decided to move back temporarily since his grandmother wasn’t keeping well and his relationship fell apart as the person he was in love with decided to not move to India with him.

“So I came back to visit her and thought that the person I wanted to marry would come to India with me, but because of the 1962 Indo-China war her parent’s weren’t okay with her making the move anymore, and the relationship fell apart,” Tata added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bill Gates follows this one advice from Warren Buffett at his foundation for maximum success

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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As much as he is known for making an enormous amount of money, Bill Gates is also known for his huge donations as one of the biggest philanthropists. The world’s second-richest man and his wife Melinda Gates run the world’s largest private foundation aimed to help those in need.

The foundation that was started by the Gateses 20 years ago, primarily focuses on health and education and has spent $53.8 billion for global development and various programmes since it was established. This makes the foundation so far the most successful in the history of American philanthropy.

In 2015, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation distributed $3.8 billion at a time when no other foundation could even cross the $1 billion threshold, according to a Vox report.

So what’s the secret behind Gateses’ foundation’s success? The two have revealed the answer in their annual note.

Bill and Melinda have been following their “dear friend” Warren Buffett’s advice for maximum success of the foundation. Buffett, while donating a bulk of his fortune to the foundation, had advised the two to “swing for the fences”.

“As always, Warren Buffett—a dear friend and longtime source of great advice—put it a little more colorfully. When he donated the bulk of his fortune to our foundation and joined us as a partner in its work, he urged us to ‘swing for the fences’,” Bill and Melinda said in their annual letter.

‘Swing for the fences’ is a phrase used in baseball.

“When you swing for the fences, you’re putting every ounce of strength into hitting the ball as far as possible. You know that your bat might miss the ball entirely—but that if you succeed in making contact, the rewards can be huge,” the two explained the meaning they derived from Buffett’s advice.

The two added that they apply the same in philanthropy too as “the goal isn’t just incremental progress”. “It’s to put the full force of our efforts and resources behind the big bets that, if successful, will save and improve lives.”

However, Bill and Melinda admitted that not every dollar they have spent had the effect they hoped for. “We’ve had our share of disappointments, setbacks, and surprises. We think it’s important to be transparent about our failures as well as our successes,” they said.

Further in the letter, the two have shared in detail about the work they have done in the areas of health, education and others and how climate crisis and gender equality will factor into the next 20 years. Read the letter here

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekaran says need more unicorns outside software to create mid-level jobs

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekharan said there was a need to create unicorns across sectors outside software to create enough mid-level jobs.

He said use of technology to improve skills will impact 30 million jobs in sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and judiciary.

Chandrasekharan added the country needed jobs in the “middle” compared to the two extremes that exist currently—high-skill, high-productive and low-skilled, low-productive employees.

The Tata Sons chairman said technology should enhance productivity of employed people. India has a unique job profile – high-skill and high-productive people and low-skilled and low-productive people.

“There is a missing middle. We need to create jobs in the middle,” he added.

“Our assessment is we can impact 30 million jobs across healthcare, education, agriculture and judiciary,” he said.

According to him, it was necessary to demystify the work of specialists such as doctors so that those at the lower levels can do these with the help of technology. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud were the solutions for bridging the gap, he added.

Speaking at the launch of his book–Bridgital Nation, which he co-authored with Roopa Purushothaman, chief economist at Tata Sons, Chandrasekharan said the problem of SMEs needs to be studied, and that they mainly faced challenges of credit.

“There needs to be more unicorns outside of software. On average, employment among SMEs in India is 2 people. That needs to change, we have to study why they are not successful.”

“SEZs cannot solve the problem. SMEs biggest problem is lack of access to credit. Startups have venture capital funds but that’s not there for SMEs in other sectors.”

Chief architect Aadhaar Nandan Nilekani, who launched the book on Monday, cited how training people helped scale Aadhaar to 600 million people in 4.5 years and 1.25 billion people in 8 years.

“We trained 200,000 people as enrollment officers for Aadhaar,” he added.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Playbook: Manisha Raisinghani of LogiNext on what it takes to build an enterprise startup

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Startups are mostly associated with non-hierarchical organisation structures, cool workplaces and at times, overall disdain for “boring processes”. However, if the past decade of flamboyant startups and their maverick founders are anything to go by, perhaps there is a greater value in building “boring startups”; the ones that are predictable, are aiming to earn monies from the day one, and follow conventional rules of business.

For this episode of The Playbook podcast, I sat down with Manisha Raisinghani, cofounder and the CTO of LogiNext. Manisha had an early career as a software engineer at Mastek. After losing her job during the post-Lehman banking crisis, she reinvigorated her career to finally launch LogiNext.

Tune in to learn more

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Ratan Tata has this advice for startups of the future

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus Tata Sons, on Tuesday, said that the future of startups will be in the artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive business space.

Tata was speaking at the 11th edition of TiEcon Mumbai where the theme is, “The Decade Of Start-Ups, Kickstarting the Future”.

“Many startups depend extensively on technology. Startups of the future will be in the AI, predictive business space,” Tata noted.

The veteran businessman also had a word of advice for players just starting out.

“Startups should operate their business ethically. There will be startups that attract attention and disappear. Such startups will not get a second chance. So, the success mantra for startups is to do the right thing and do it ethically,” Tata advised.

Tata is of the belief that Indian startups need to be funded by domestic investors rather than foreign ones. At TIEcon he advocated a need for mentoring, advising new startups and mentioned that a shadow regulator might be the need of the hour.

Ratan Tata who calls himself an accidental investor has funded close to a dozen startups to date. He backed Ola and Paytm in 2015 in his personal capacity. His other top includes fitness startup CureFit, auto website CarDekho; online furniture store Urban Ladder, eyewear e-tailer Lenskart and home rental platform NestAway.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

How Oyo — and every stumbling startup — can win back its mojo 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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I am amazed by the deluge of reactions that recent developments at WeWork and Oyo have generated. The extent of glee, “I told you so “, berating of the founders, investors and management of these companies is unprecedented.

After everyone’s uncles and their neighbours have expressed their opinions, sniggered at the founders, trashed the investors and given in to schadenfreude on the Oyo developments, let’s take a step back and see how companies can navigate such a situation. What should founders, board members, employees, partners do when challenges come up?

Could Oyo have avoided missteps? Could its crisis have been predicted?

No. It has been repeatedly observed that no progress is possible without trial and error. Whenever something big, audacious is attempted especially new business models, the failure rate is high. No one plans for it. No one expects it. No one wants it. But such is the nature of startups.

Without failure, there is no learning, no progress, no success and no breakthroughs.  This is bound to happen and is far more likely than stellar overnight successes that we often hear about.

Startups are always experimenting, trying new value drivers and are not geared to ensure zero failures in their attempts. They get valued not on how many times they have failed but how big they have won. It’s like a team that wins in a football game — it’s based on goals scored and not on goals missed or percentage of shots at goals that succeeded.

Companies are started with big dreams, desire to change the status quo and attempt something new and untried. The founders take a huge risk, leaving the comfort and cushion of stable jobs and enter into a life that is fraught with emotional, financial and mental stress.  It’s a roller-coaster ride and it is not easy.

Let’s see what the various stakeholders can do in such stormy situations.

What should the company do?

It’s never an easy situation … not an easy decision for a founder and management to shut down an initiative, let people go and take other drastic steps. Apart from admitting failure, it also leads to weakening morale and causes a ripple effect in the remaining employees.

1. Communicate clearly and unambiguously. Avoid rumours spreading through office gossip and water cooler conversations. Be transparent and share the full impact. Be as transparent and honest as possible.

2. Don’t couch the communication in euphemisms. Most people are smart and will see through any cover-ups. Be frank and accept blame.

3. Don’t blame the employees or non-performance. Even though some of the layoffs will be of people who would anyway have been fired, this is not the
time to bring up any performance issues. It creates mistrust and is unfair to others because market will perceive they have been sacked due to competence issues.

4. Think ahead!  Make the changes and announce the decisions in one stroke. Don’t do it in steps, month after month. It creates more angst and uncertainty.

Share the full impact and announce all the changes in one go. Communicate clearly that after its implementation, the rest of the organisation is stable and there will be no more cuts.

5. Be fair. Ensure, at the minimum, that the contractual obligations of the notice period, severance pay, leave encashment, etc are met fully. Ideally, do a bit more than what the contract requires, as much as possible. For this, the company must act well in advance when there are funds available rather than wait until the last minute. Keep the cushion for restructuring, payouts due and start in advance before cash runs out.

6. Make the process of settlement simple. Pay the dues in time and ahead of time, if possible. Don’t make the employees chase and follow up. Wherever
possible, add non-cash benefits such as medical insurance coverage for additional three to six months, accelerated vesting of ESOPS, giving extended time to exercise options, additional month(s) of notice period. Every bit over and above the contractual minimum helps.

7. Outplacement services and counselling: not everyone can handle sudden changes the same way. Though everyone is aware of the possibility of losing their job, having a support system, a helpline to counsel them, showing them ways to move ahead and helping them with alternative employment options will ease the pressure.

8. Handling customers, vendors and partners: In addition to employees, there are other stakeholders who get impacted adversely. Clear communication, with a specific new contact in your company going forward, an escalation mechanism, and an assurance of continuity of business and terms is important. Since social media very quickly spreads and amplifies any negative news, it important for the company to set the record straight through proactive reach out and communication.

9. Build confidence and morale. Share the new, revised plan, the vision, steps being taken to grow, why the company is confident of bouncing back post the reorganisation, the new opportunities and all the learnings from the past. While there are bound to be concerns, people often buckle up and rally behind the team when they are taken into confidence and feel part of the solution.

10. Empower people with new responsibilities, bigger roles and greater authority. Wherever possible, give additional compensation, cash and especially stock options. Show them the potential and new possibilities under the new structure.

11. Finally, treat each individual case humanely and with sensitivity. There will be lots of criticisms, negative sentiments, blaming and shaming going on. In
that noise, it’s important to keep focused and ensure each person is dealt with sensitivity and respect. While there needs to be email communication, town hall, public announcements given the large number of people impacted
and geographical diversity, it’s important to ensure personal attention to
each person. This needs planning in advance.

What should employees do?

1. When things are going well, create a good network and ecosystem with the outside world — colleagues, peers, experts in your field, and mentors. This situation can happen to anyone, at any time, especially in a startup. It’s important to have a group to go to and rely on.

2. Stay updated in your field, learn relevant and latest skills and don’t get boxed into a super specialty in your organisation that makes mobility difficult. Even if you are in the same organisation for a long time, seek out diversity, opt for job rotation, different functional responsibility.

3. Don’t be negative or resentful. This is easier said than done. Be positive, constructive, take action to handle the situation. Blaming others or yourself is a waste of time. Everyone goes through this and comes out of it successfully sometime or other. It is in testing times that the strength of character comes out. Have faith in yourself and the larger environment.

4. Don’t trash talk your employer, manager or others — however strongly you feel wronged. Take up the issues with the company strongly at the right
forum, including legal action if needed. But, unnecessary emotions, giving vent to your feelings is not helpful.

What should partners, vendors, customers do?

1. Take prompt action, establish communication with the right person at the company at the senior level. Normally lots of rumours and false news float
around at such times. It is important to know the real status and the impact on the ongoing business.

2. Form a group to represent the collective interest so that you can approach the company. Try to arrive at a collaborative, win-win approach especially you have a lot invested in the relationship and cannot switch easily. Usually, the company will come through and be grateful for your support during tough times. Confrontation does not help you. Take legal advice if necessary.

3. Avoid over-dependence on one large partner or organisation as this can happen to any company. If that is the case, ensure that the terms do not leave you completely at their mercy if things don’t go as planned.

The startup journey is a roller-coaster ride, exciting and fun but also scary and dangerous.  Being aware of the uncertainty and dealing with that is important to everyone — whether you are a founder, employee or business partner. Even things are not going fine, remember that lifelong relationships are important and it is important to not burn one’s bridges.

The only thing certain in uncertainty.

K Ganesh is partner, GrowthStory and promoter of BigBasket and Portea Medical.

Read his columns here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Restaurant singer to attending Davos summit: How Bhuvan Bam became India’s YouTube superstar

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

From an unsung college kid in 2015 to making it to the guest list at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a jamboree of the world’s rich, the rise of Bhuvan Bam has been swift and a classic example of securing ‘fame through the web’.

The internet sensation, whose claim to fame is his YouTube channel BB ki Vines, is one of India’s biggest influencers. Bam’s channel BB Ki Vines (Bhuvan Bam Ki Vines), which he set up in 2015, currently has 16.1 million subscribers. In 2018, Bam became the first Indian individual on YouTube to hit 10 million subscribers.

Bam, who is a singer, comedian and songwriter, is among India’s highest-earning YouTube stars. According to a 2017 report by Business Today, Bam earned Rs 3-4 lakh per video, on average.

Bam’s videos, which are mostly targeted at young audiences, are usually 2 to 8 minutes long, showing the life of a common man with hilarious content, with all characters portrayed by himself. The irony, however, is he has remained nothing like a common man — while we write this, he is probably in Davos, attending the annual WEF summit, which is also attended by world’s top political and business leaders including President Donald Trump, Christine Lagarde, Angela Merkel, Sundar Pichai and many others.

“Being invited to WEF 2020 is an honour. I’m looking forward to meeting world and industry leaders to open discussion on important subjects. WEF was founded 50 years ago, and the initiative of having an annual meet where powerful people from across the globe unify for the betterment of the world is what we all need, especially in a time like this,” Bhuvan told IANS on being invited for the WEF meet.

Here’s Bhuvan Bam’s journey — from being a restaurant singer to attending Davos summit:

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow