Not Every Business is a Startup?

Bharat Yatra: Meeting Founders Across India

Over the past 90 days, I've had the privilege of traversing through bustling cities and serene towns, immersing myself in the vibrant tapestry of entrepreneurship.

From the tech hub of Bengaluru, to the bustling streets of Hyderabad and the laid-back vibe of Goa, followed by the coastal charm of Udipi and Mangalore, and not to forget the ghats of Varanasi - each destination unveiled a unique array of young and seasoned founders brimming with passion and ambition.

I meet thousands of startup entrepreneurs every year to fund their seed stage idea at 100X.VC. I try to assess and evaluate what is driving them to take risks and do the hard work of building a company ground up.

As, Shashwat Eternal - a fellow well-wisher and ardent support of the startup ecosystem mentions in his blog (Must read!) - I literally can and have spent time even at the airport with founders ?? - trying to learn more about what they are building!

“While problems can be summarized in a formula or an algorithm, it takes a story to understand a dilemma. The future will be loaded with dilemmas, so it will take a lot of stories to help make sense out of them.”

My evaluation is based on a single parameter of everything in the pitches I see - POTENTIAL.

1. Do You Like What You’re Doing Now?

2. What Would You Like to Do?

3. Can You Do What You Would Like to Do?

Luckily, today entrepreneurial motivation is all around us and people with potential have a natural drive, an attraction toward success. Entrepreneurs Direction = To reach their potential, they must know where they want to go and where they currently are.

Do You Know What to Do So You Can Do What You Want to Do?

Yet, amidst the fervor of entrepreneurship, I observe certain pitfalls that young founders must beware of as they embark on their journey:

1. Losing Sight of the Vision
2. Overlooking Market Research
3. Neglecting Team Dynamics
4. Ignoring Feedback and Adaptation

"A good way to see India is as a four-tier market, with each tier being able to support a set of native startups, which struggle to expand beyond their market. Each market has its distinct audience profile, pricing sensitivity, cultural attributes and competitive dynamics." Sajith Pai - Full Article

India1, India2 & India3 are indeed akin to Mexico, Philippines and Sub-Saharan Africa.

It is only by being bold that you get anywhere. If you are a risk-taker, then the art is to protect the downside. The brave may not live forever – but the cautious do not live at all.

Potential = Hope + Possibilities + Future + Magnitude + Winning + Optimism.

A company purpose exists on a 10-year horizon and your product positioning exists more on an 18-month horizon, roughly from pre-launch to Series A.???What’s the thing that's coming to market? ???What does it do? ???What category is it in????Who’s it for? ???Why should people care? ???Who are you playing up against?

Have a framework:

?? For (Target Customer)

?? Who (Statement of need or opportunity)

?? (Product name) is a (product category)

?? That (statement of key benefit)

?? Unlike (competitive alternative) (Product name)(statement of primary differentiation)

What I do as an investor?

I’ve seen businesses that add on business models to generate more revenue. Ultimately, these business models dictate where you spend your time and attention, your profitability structure, and your investment areas. If you understand how these models work together, you can design a stronger, more sustainable business overall. As a VC, I am a salesman who is selling a growth kit along with valuable network + education which is designed to help an entrepreneur grow at scale with capital.

Adaptability Becomes The Linchpin Of Success

Founders possess an extraordinary genetic makeup. But in my experience, many don't consider the importance of discovering a product market fit (PMF):

• The Shifting Landscape: What worked yesterday may not resonate today. Founders grapple with the fluidity of market demands.
• Understanding the User Pulse: The process involves a blend of intuition, data analysis, and an unwavering commitment to user feedback.
• Balancing Innovation and Validation: The delicate balance between introducing groundbreaking solutions and validating them in the market requires finesse and strategic acumen.
• Resource Constraints: Navigating the PMF journey demands agility and creative problem-solving when resources are scarce.
• Iteration vs. Persistence Dilemma: Knowing when to iterate and when to persist is a conundrum. Recognizing the right moments for adaptation is a pivotal aspect of the PMF challenge.
• Scaling Ambiguity: While PMF is a foundational milestone, the subsequent challenge of scaling introduces new ambiguities.

Then again, what worked at 0 to 1 will not necessarily be of much benefit in your 1 to 10 journey.

The playbook evolves, and adaptability becomes the linchpin of success. At the inception, we focused on groundbreaking ideas, carving out niches where none existed. However, the transition demands a reevaluation of approaches, a recalibration of mindset.

What once served as a catalyst for inception might not be the rocket fuel needed for scale. From singular visionaries to orchestrators of teams, the transition demands a paradigm shift. Nurturing the spark of innovation is paramount, but so is the ability to build structures that can sustain exponential growth. It's about architecting the infrastructure for scalability while preserving the core values that set us apart.

Adapt. Fail. Do that part fast. Restart. Build. Scale.

It is not the strongest that survives, nor the intelligent but the one most responsive to 'change'.

In the realm of early-stage investment, I consider it a rare privilege to spend the majority of my days alongside these individuals.

www.100x.vc/class11

Special shout out to folks who made my previous 90 days full of new experiences!

Student Alumni Relations Cell, BITS Pilani-Goa Campus Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani Technology Business Incubator @ BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus Goa Startup Mission Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani - Goa Campus Goa Institute of Management (GIM) FiiRE? Goa

91Springboard BHIVE Workspace Headstart Network Foundation Startup Karnataka Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) Manipal Institute of Technology eDC (Entrepreneurship Development Cell) IIT Delhi E-Cell, MIT Manipal Hult Prize MAHE Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi E-Cell BHU E-Cell IIT BHU SanchiConnect TiE Bangalore Mangalore Institute of Technology and Engineering, Mangalore, India NIT-K Surathkal Alumni Association National Institute of Technology Karnataka iHub-Data, IIIT Hyderabad T-Hub

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Quick Statistics: 150+ Portfolio investments 100X.VC $20M (Fund I & II) with $100M+ in followon funding by growth VCs, family offices, and corporates.

Across sectors: #AgriTech, #BioTech, #Cleantech, #ConsumerTech, #DeepTech #EnterpriseTech, #Fintech #D2C #SaaS #MediaTech #Logistics #HealthTech