mahesh@seedfund.in @maheshmurthy 15 15 <seedfund> Learnings from brands managed <seedfund> Learnings from brands created <seedfund> Geography is history 1 You can design your business to start from anywhere. Even Yeshwantpur. <seedfund> The trend means the end. 2 Prepare to be a trend-setter, not a trend-follower. Toil a few years in anonymity till then. <seedfund> The winner takes it all. 3 No room for complacence. Be no.1 or no.2. Or dont bother. Big rewards for success. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 A B C D E 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 A B C D E <seedfund> Hard to enter a pre-existing sector. Easier to create a new one. 4 Forget billion-dollar market size. Discover how big it is as you go along. <seedfund> Biggest determinant of success is insane customer delight and resulting word-of-mouth. 5 Will your friend rave about your product or service to a stranger in a bar, unbidden? <seedfund> Your marketing IQ needs to be inversely proportional to your marketing budget 6 Are you remark-worthy to your TG? If not, start again. <seedfund> Digital is not just cheaper than TV as a marketing medium. Its bigger. 7 Can you get digital word-of-mouth working? Facebook = 2.5 X IPL match, Google = 15 x ToI + > > + <seedfund> Dont think just 360. Think 360 by 365 8 Its not just about talking. But listening, responding, analysing, then talking. Do so 24 by 7. Restructure. <seedfund> Most important technical skill you need: recruitment & retention. 9 Have charisma & vision to recruit for less or free? Can you stave off market salaries? <seedfund> Worlds most successful VCs: customers 10 Vast majority of Indian and global Fortune 500 never got VC money to start. Were the second-best option. <seedfund> Before getting a VC in, think about getting them out. 11 Can you IPO? Really? Can you be acquired? Do you want to? <seedfund> Forget about team. Here it starts with one person. 12 VCs may parrot the Silicon Valley line. But its different here. Ones a good start. <seedfund> Hereditary brilliance isnt bankable. Institutionalised brilliance is. 13 Can your firm survive without you? Do you get richer over the weekend? <seedfund> Be eco-friendly with money. Break even by burning as little as possible. 14 Downturns can happen at any time. Survival is 80% of winning.
<seedfund> The pot of gold is the rainbow. The payout is an awesome life. 15 Nobody dies of entrepreneurship. Its the best kind of life there is. <seedfund> Thanks, Im mahesh@seedfund.in @ @maheshmurthy