Blog of An Indian Entrepreneur

12 years of pure bliss

Tulika and I got married on this day in the year 2000. It has been a dream twelve years. This blog post aspires to capture some of the amazing moments we have spent together. Saharanpur 2000: That is where our story began. It was pouring that day. The wedding venue was bustling with friends and family. We went through the grueling process of 3 hour long Bengali marriage rituals. The wedding ceremony extended well past midnight. My brother in laws and sister in laws ensured that the bashor Raat was long and expensive. But fun. Mumbai 2000 - 2002: Newly married and with a new job. And it was Mumbai. Long work hours sometimes extending into midnight and beyond were the norm. So was the bindas lifestyle and fun over weekends. Countless movies, dinners at Dynasty and China Gate, innumerable trips to Lonavla, Goa, Alibagh, Mahabaleswar, Matheran made the 2 years memorable. Mumbai has been and always will have a very special place In our heart. This is the city where we started our new life. This is where we started our family. This also is the place where the seeds of our entrepreneurial journey were sown. Hyderabad 2002-2003: Our son Gogol was born on 8th April 2003 and our lives changed forever. Fatherhood is an amazing experience. Suddenly your life has a new purpose. A new meaning. We had to transition from a bindaas way of life to a more responsible way of life. After all a new family member had arrived and he was totally dependent on us. Hyderabad 2004-2007: The start up years. Tulika and I dived into the crazy world of entrepreneurship. Netelixir started On 26 Jan 2004. We had no experience in entrepreneurship. Gogol was 9 months old. We just had an idea. And, We had a dream. Of helping marketers succeed online. Of working with people we wanted to work with. Of trying to be in greater control of our destiny. To state that it was challenging is an understatement. Tulika managed our home almost singlehandedly with the occasional support of our parents. 16 hour work days were a norm. We were lucky. We survived. Princeton 2007-2012: A new world, a new culture, new people. It needed a big leap of faith on our side. We did not know what awaited us in the Big Apple. It had been a roller coaster ride for NetElixir thus far and future was at best uncertain. We took the plunge, anyway. Tulika was again a rock of support. The decision to move was good, the timing of the move could have been better. We literally walked into the big recession. We decided to re engage in our favorite vocation - traveling. Germany, Austria, California and most of the east coast. We traveled a lot till 2009. That's when Sayuri was born. Fatherhood again assumed a new meaning. Tulika and I had our hands full. And we're loving this new blessing. We made wonderful friends and were constantly supported by our families. US became our new home. Looking back at the past 12 years I feel blessed. I could not have asked for more. Tulika and I have been able to build a new life. We have a wonderful family. We have great friends. We have our own Company that allows us to be in greater control of our destiny. It has been a wonderful journey. A journey that started on 26 January 2000 in Saharanpur with two people who had just met for a couple of hours before they tied the knot. Happy 12 th Anniversary Tulika. Udayan

Forbes Entrepreneur RoundTable, NYC: Exceptional People, Exceptional Learnings

Forbes Entrepreneur Round Table

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tompost/2012/02/21/whats-your-worst-entrepreneurial-moment/

15 Greater NY area entrepreneurs were invited by Forbes for a 2 hour session on Feb 23,2012. I was one of the lucky 15. We had to discuss our worst entrepreneurial fears (what kept us awake at nights).  The panel’s diversity and unique experiences made the session a memorable learning experience for me. It was amazing to see – first hand – how the challenges you thought only you had were experienced by others. Entrepreneurs were extremely forthcoming with their advice and suggestions. Needless to mention, advice from someone who you could totally identify with and who had faced the same challenges, held immense credibility and was very practical.

Here are “fears” articulated by the panel –

• My business has a 12-18 month sales cycle. We are competing with large firms with deep pockets. The long sales cycle poses challenges to our cash flow.
• Hiring and retaining talent in NYC ad agency. Competitors are giant agencies like the WPP group who keep “poaching” from us.
• We have raised capital from 5 VC firms. Managing 5 VC’s itself is a full time job, and a challenging one as that.
• Spiraling healthcare costs are posing a big burden. We have built processes around everything in our firm, however, we do not have a way to control external factors like healthcare costs.
• Afraid of competing with “new world” firms. We don’t have much idea of how to use new media to keep us relevant to the customers.
• Managing growth is a challenge. We haven’t yet built a senior management team – everything revolves around me.
• We are a creative firm – we spend a lot of time ideating rather than executing.
• I have a strong executive team. I am so dependent on them that I spend sleepless nights thinking what will happen if any one of them leaves the Company.
• I am a Physicist first and business owner second. I want to change the world running a business. However, I can’t get VC’s excited about this business idea. The VC’s keep pushing me to focus on my second business – the one that I am not that passionate about as it is not stimulating enough.
• We opened an office in Hong Kong. Operating in a culture we know very little about concerns me.
• I have mortgaged my house, maxed out my credit cards and put everything that I had (that had value) at stake for my firm. I need to raise VC money but VC’s quote ridiculous valuations. How do I go about raising money for my business – I have placed everything at stake for it – without getting “cut-off” by a VC.
• I run a social concept site for women. I am struggling to explain the concept to VC’s – no one gets it. What do I do?
• My firm does not have any technologist (CTO) that can help us successfully make a transition to the digital world. I am afraid that if we do not make the transition, we can be in trouble.
• We are a consulting firm. We are struggling to scale. Also, despite having a senior management team, the only person who is doing all the “future thinking” is me.
• We have been funded by the top 2 VC firms in US. I am trying to build the sales team. I get sales reps to join me on sales calls to prospective clients. However, the process is time consuming. I have VC pressures for quick scale up. What can we do to scale up the sales training process?

 

The event was video recorded. I am not sure if they will add the video to Forbes.com. If they do, I will share the link.

This event is surely one of the “most interesting events” in my entrepreneurial journey.

2011: Lessons in Entrepreneurship

2011 has been a good year for us. Our revenues increased, we launched a new business line and most importantly were able to deliver exceptional value to our clients. 

Entrepreneurship is fun. You learn so much each day. It is amazing. 2011 was no different. 

Here are 5 things that I learnt as an entrepreneur this year (nothing new - but still worth mentioning) -

1. Time is the most powerful asset for any entrepreneur (actually, anyone): I am still learning how powerful it is. Whether it is decision making, whether it is being patient and not wavering from what you believe in or whether it is losing or winning a deal - time is of essence. All that we can do is try to be prepared - as best as we can - to adapt to the new reality.

2. Having a bigger purpose is essential for any Company: At NetElixir, we want to help our clients build successful online businesses.

3. Its all about people - your team. You can succeed only if their personal goals align with the company's goals. You can only build a successful business with people who are "in the game", both mentally and physically.

4. Prior to taking any key decision, use financial model to estimate its impact. I learnt this from a gentleman who has taken 10 companies from $100 million to a billion during his career.

5. Make a conscious effort to understand your customer needs. Very often we fall into the trap of thinking we understand our customers. Reality is,most of the time "we do not". 

 

Wish all a very Happy, Healthy and Successful 2012!

Thanks,

Udayan

40!

Turning 40 tomorrow. A queasy feeling. Time flies. This is the 7th year of running "my start up".(Well, I don't know if after 7 years it can be still classified as a start up).As NetElixir has grown, my blogging frequency has come down dramatically. In this post I have tried to offer my 2 cents on the top 3 questions I keep getting asked as an entrepreneur, almost wherever I go.Hopefully, it will be of help for all of you "budding entrepreneurs".

Q1. I want to start my own business. I do not have a family background. I do not have adequate finance available. What's your advice?

UB: Entrepreneurship may seem "glamorous" from outside. Its not actually so.. not even close. Entrepreneurship is about commitment, belief and relentless pursuit of ones dreams. It takes an immense toll on you both physically and emotionally. Its important to be objective about starting on your own. Sometime (actually, most of the times) its easier said than done. Keep emotions aside while deciding. Solid idea+ passion+persistence+unwavering focus+ integrity almost always succeeds.

One "litmus test" question  - What "pain" are you solving? For who? At what cost? What is the current solution that you are trying to replace?

Q2. How important is a solid business plan in starting a business?

UB: A business plan (and I do not mean a 100 page thesis but a 2 page summary of problem you are trying to solve, the target customer, description of your product offering, how it will solve the problem, how will you make money solving the problem and how much money will you make and by when) is very useful as long as it provides a structure to your plans and goals. However, its important to remember that things change when the rubber meets the road. The final outcome may be quite different from what you had set out to build initially. So flexibility and adaptability become important as does having a keen sense of spotting opportunities as you progress in your entrepreneurial journey.

Q3. What is the most difficult part about running your own firm?

UB: For me the most difficult challenge is spending enough quality time with my family (so, work-life balance). The next would have to be losing great team members who had been a part of our company for a long time.

Thanks,

Udayan