The first recruit & a deal

Once you have decided on the idea and ready for taking in the plunge in a choppy entrepreneurial ocean, one of the key challenges is getting the suppliers in place and recruiting a team.

When I was starting on my own, I started in a field that was in a category not directly related to the job role that I was doing for the last 10 years. I realised that reaching out to potential suppliers directly or through cold calling wasn’t going to work. Or it would have taken a long time to convert.

In fact, I used LinkedIn extensively and some start-up groups in Bangalore to make some early breakthroughs. I used to find the person I need to get in touch with, find out which of my contacts are linked to that person and ask for an introduction. Not that it guaranteed success, but it did shorten the efforts to get to the meeting (or realise the meeting will not happen. And then get on to other contacts).

Most of my earlier important break-throughs, in fact renting the office and getting empaneled with the largest supplier, happened through this mode (more about it in the subsequent articles).

An offer that I couldn’t refuse

When I was in the corporate world working for big names, I used to be constantly prompted with unsolicited mails requesting time for a demo or a preliminary meeting etc. Some of these were forwarded to the concerned persons in the team, some politely refused and many unanswered!

In a start-up most of these (if not all) dropped out. Primarily, because there was no way they could have found me - how do you find a company when it is yet to book its first revenue or customer and has only single digit staff on the board.

Incidentally, it was me who was reaching out to the larger companies and brands to solicit them to do business with our start-up.

I remember reaching out to one of the voucher companies for allowing us to accept their coupons as payment option. It was a big brand that I managed to reach out through contacts of contacts on LinkedIn.

The concerned person designated one of his team members to meet me. And believe me, the team member took his own time before agreeing for a meeting. The venue decided was a coffee shop that was between his two meetings that were 15 minutes apart. So I drove off about an hour away for a 15 min meeting with a junior guy (the word in italics was remnant of my thought process from my designation lens).

In my earlier job role- I would not have met the “junior guy”. In fact I would have insisted on meeting the “senior guy”; would have called him to “my” office and demanded pricing (and most likely would have got it).

Nevertheless, he made it a point to mention that I shouldn’t be late. The so called “window of opportunity is limited”, 15 minutes to be precise. And he turns 10 mins late giving me only 5 minutes for the meeting.

Knowing what I want, he quotes me a commission (that I know was way higher than what other smaller retailers would have got). I remonstrated about the pricing and some of the terms and conditions. He quipped “ We haven’t approached you for business, you approached us. Take it or leave it”.

Only difference, the above statement was made in chaste Hindi (try saying it with haughtiness and you will see the impact).

A voice inside me was prompting to say- DUDE! I am an MBA from one of the most reputed institutes, worked with an MNC brand where I had a large team with people like you reporting to me. I have worked for some of the biggest corporate names in the country. You can’t talk to me like this! Agree to favorable terms or the deal is off. Shut the…!

Instead, I asked my inner voice to shut up, entered the details and signed the document. At terms that the “junior guy” had put forth!

In a start-up, the first set of recruits, suppliers or investors will be evaluating YOU, your individual brand. The company is an idea, a fuzzy one at that, in your head

The Recruit

In a structured company environment whenever there is a need to recruit, the HR will ask you for a JD. You will quickly jot down some points of a JD, that HR will have to work on to put it in a proper format. They will shortlist CVs for you to select some candidates for an interview and schedule it based on your “calendar”. Once the candidate is identified, then HR will take up the negotiation process.

In a start-up there will be none of the above. You will be doing everything on your own. In fact, there might be no CVs in the initial stages because the name of your company is unknown.

I remember trying to recruit the first delivery executive. I literally walked across every lane of an industrial area in South Bangalore, trying to talk to every security guard, tempo driver, food stall asking for a delivery executive. I used to look at every person and wonder if he would join me as a delivery executive.

I was so elated when one walked-in after few days!

I took his interview (I wanted him to feel that he is joining an organisation that conducts interviews and selects people). Actually, my criteria was 2 hands, 2 legs and 1 head, who can pick and deliver orders. But when he saw not even a single order for 4 days at a stretch, he didn’t turn up on the 5th day. His phone was switched off. On day one, I thought he might be sick. Next I thought he might be more than sick, may be needs 2 days to recover! I hoped he will surely turn up. He never did!

I did the same rounds again and found another one. This time he stayed. Luckily, he saw 2 orders in first 3 days!

The Shift or a culture shock

In the early days of my career I had the fortune of working for some of the most reputed companies. These companies had built strong, extremely well-known brands. They had put in place processes and structures that were critical for the scale of operations.

With the backing of these powerful brands, the ease, or let me say the vantage position, of recruiting, getting suppliers on preferential terms was a given. Or sometimes taken for granted!

In fact it could be the other way round as well. People would want to be recruited in these companies. Suppliers would want to partner with these companies. These are the brands that they would use it on their newsletters or websites as a testimonial for getting more business.

Parallely, as a continuous process, you build an individual brand or a reputation as well. However, building an individual brand does take time. For example, If you have scaled a start-up and monetised it for a few millions of dollars earlier, you have a stronger individual brand and things might be different.

And individual brand is what will help you in the entrepreneurial journey, at least in the initial stages. A point to mention that the first few recruits, suppliers and investors will be punting (if that is the right word) on YOU, your individual brand. The company is an idea, a fuzzy one at that, only in your head!

And especially when the world is used to looking at you through a two-dimensional lens of individual brand and the organisational brand, removing the latter (much larger) from that view does blur the vision of the best of the people in your network. For many it might just blind the vision- you become invisible!

Setting expectations right

And you will have to be prepared for this change (or a cultural shock, if you may) because…a powerful brand or a company name opens doors for you. Try doing it at a start-up with a name not yet known, website under construction and office address under search. It’s not easy.

So tighten your belts, you will have to run around a longer distance at a much more rapid pace to get something that was just a phone call away in your corporate life!