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Posts Tagged: entrepreneurship

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Bootstrapping a business without shortcuts

 by Shalin  on   20 Jul 2011

It is not hard to Bootstrap a company. Many people think bootstrapping is all about thinking short-term. Generate money for the company today. I think otherwise.

Bootstrapping successfully needs a long-term vision. Doing services to bootstrap a product company is short-term. Building minimum viable product, selling as soon as you have a prototype is long-term.

Bootstrapped entrepreneurs are not in business because they see a gap in the market. They start companies because of their ideas and ideology. Sticking to long-term vision is the shortest path to remain viable.

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Starting up: 5 Reasons to hire freshers

 by Shalin  on   12 Jul 2011

At Tenmiles freshers have played a huge role in building the company – they’ve stayed the longest and most importantly delivered top-notch production ready work. Many years ago when ‘startups’ and product companies were not so often spoken about (hyped?), it was much easier hiring great freshers compared to the experienced lot with already fat pay checks in services companies.

So, if you are hiring, think hard about hiring freshers as well.

#5: They are in-expensive: They are not going to cost you an arm and a leg. While money is important as they begin, good chances that a talented person is on a look out for the right job and pay is not the most critical requirement.

#4: They share their experience: They are most likely to talk about their work to all their friends. Everyone’s probably got a job and are reaching out to each other updating where they are and what they are doing. A fresher any day spreads the word faster about your company.

#3: Likely to stay longer: They are fresh and you are probably the first one to mould, motivate and inspire them. They don’t just get a pay-check but also all the guidance they require to nurture their talent. If you’ve got this right, they are likely to stick around lot longer and be a part of the growth story.

#2: They are young: They’ve just passed out of college. They start looking at your company as an outsider without too much mental baggage about how other companies work. They bring in a fresh perspective and ideas to the table. They are full of energy and can really slog to make things possible.

#1: They are hungry: This is what I love the most about hiring freshers. They are hungry and foolish. They want to win the world. They want to make a difference. They are eagerly waiting for recognition that does not look like a marksheet or a certificate. They were waiting for this day and you’ve got an opportunity to turn their enthusiasm into great work.

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Monday mornings, an entrepreneurs take

 by Shalin  on   11 Jul 2011

Sunday night makes me think I am still at school, waiting to get out and start a business. Meet the real world. I must admit, I love monday mornings. I think many entrepreneurs I know love getting back to work – be it monday morning or back from a holiday. Some actually work most of the times during the weekend and get lot more work done than the they would the whole week. Irrespective, monday mornings are both important and inviting.

I can share all the thoughts I had over the weekend with my team. Reset priorities for the week. Start engaging with customers. Get responses to the emails I sent all of Friday. To say the least, get to do what you love to do the most.

Welcome, monday morning!

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Starting up: The first two hires

 by Shalin  on   07 Jul 2011

A long time ago, I was a solo entrepreneur. Worked out of my bedroom for 3 years. Extremely profitable, with a product that had become very popular in its segment. And one fine day, I was invited by an engineering college to speak about software and my experience being an entrepreneur while in college. All went well until they requested me to take a few students as interns at Tenmiles. I almost agreed and then realized that I don’t even have an office space. Honestly, that lead to me getting an office space, thinking of the next product and getting the first two full-time employees. I started with hiring.

Fortunately and quickly enough, I could find really interesting people in my network. Met two academically brilliant engineering graduates who studied with me at high-school. Location: Coffee shop. They had just finished their engineering while I was already 3 years in business. They loved my vision but couldn’t risk working for me in comparison to the offers they already had. I did my best but couldn’t win them.

I went on to next set of people, in LinkedIn terminology – they were my 2nd degree of contacts. Next interview location: high-end chinese restaurant. Web developer with reasonable experience writing web apps. Went well, he was ready to join Tenmiles. Of course, he asked me where was the office located. He couldn’t believe Tenmiles was a one-man show. I reassured him that the office would be up and running before his notice period ends.

Now, I was really desperate to hire one more person. Wanted someone who was good with SQL, designing database and write the core application. I was lucky. Found a guy over the same weekend. Interviewed him in a coffee shop. Told him about the other guy who was coming on-board. After 2-hour long discussion and couple of rounds of coffee, I got a ‘will get back to you’ response. My chances seemed 50-50. But I was sure, that I need an office space immediately. The hunt began.

Two days later, this guy actually got back to me. And he got back to me with a positive response. By then I had already found a great place close to my house. Ordered dell machines, setup interiors and even threw an inaugural party. My 3 year old company was reset into the startup mode.


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