Make a difference | Personal thoughts on how I see the world and my journey as it moves forward

The 1 thing you should do before you quit your job and become a full time entrepreneur

When the bug bites, you want to quit the job and move on and set up your business immediately. Every day counts. The road all set out. The world of fortune beckons.

I know the feeling. Been there, done that.

Before you start, hold on a bit!

Chances are, you have already done a lot of reading, and all those books of how people made their millions is not just making your impatient, but also giving you a sense of urgency of time being wasted doing nothing.

Before you jump in, consider doing this one thing before you jump in.

Invest some money-

– and buy some stakes into one start-ups that is new and struggling for money and guidance. In today’s start-up world, there are a number of companies that need both a little investment and a lot of guidance and advice. Both are difficult to come by unless they are willing to part with some stakes. With a little money, you can get a stake (and I am not talking of 50% kind of stakes- but more like a 10-20% of stakes) in return for guidance/ support.

I say invest money instead of giving time – because by putting your money in, you secure a seat in the table as a stake holder- and enforces your commitment to get a return on your investment (apart from just the learning) while ensuring the company also looks at you as a partner instead of a coach or a guide. Most start-up’s are quite averse to parting with stakes – and it is important they see the value of what you bring so that they are willing to give you some stakes. In return you help them with your skills that will enable them to grow faster (hopefully).

This will help you in many ways.

· Gives you an inside view of how a startup actually works (or tries to work).

· Support the Founders in a number of activities that may be your speciality. You will go beyond the scope of your “job description” and discover new skills (we all did).

· Learn the concepts of cash-flow and how the company works & how they grow.

· Understand the challenges regarding hiring and managing a team.

· Decide on processes you need to put in place to make a company run smoothly.

· Work out various marketing programs that you can design on a bootstrapped model and understand ROI.

· Help the founders in making proposals for investments. This could include making a business plan & a pitch document (significant learnings).

Most importantly, you learn how to manage your money better- and learn while you work.

The list can go on.

You super-charge your learning of how a startup works and after a period of 6 months to a year, you are better positioned to know how to really start and run a company.

Also, as a bonus, your stake in this company could help you as a cushion when you start your own company.

The benefits are numerous. And your learning is significant.

Don’t give up on your dreams of starting off on your own. I am just suggesting you give it a bit of time, and effectively learn what you will anyway have go through when you start a company – while you are still earning a salary.

It could be one of the best decisions you take.

We learnt this after we started 🙂 Sharing this with you so that you could learn from this – and optimize your investments- and maximize your learnings.

Get moving Tiger!

May.02

3 things you should do today to become irresistible to employers

Posted by Haja in Attitude, Career, Hiring, Leadership, Motivation, Personal Effectiveness

Posted in LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-things-you-should-do-today-become-irresistible-haja-sheriff

Recently, A close friend spoke to me about a job that he was pitching for. This was a fantastic opportunity for him – and I got excited with the possibility of what he could do. To get this “once in a lifetime opportunity”, he was working on a pitch that could help him “blow the CEO away”. To be fair, I did nothing more that give him some tips, but the activity opened up some interesting thoughts in my mind.

Do you realize how many people actually do things that could help them differentiate themselves from other potential candidates applying for the same job?

Very few.

This applies to people who have many years of experience. Also Senior Executives making a move to other bigger opportunities in their career. For the majority, a pitch for a new role is printing out a resume (in many cases, not required anymore because of email) and reading up on the company (briefly) before getting to the interview.

Does that make you any different from the others?

No.

Here are 3 things that are required to make your brand IRRESISTABLE.

· Research

This is simple of course. Right?

Actually no.

In today’s world, where information is available on the click of a key, it is easy to collect information on the company you are pitching for.

Which you should. No doubt.

Also research the manager you are going to meet. Find out their background. LinkedIn is a great place to do that.

But think for a minute.

How does that make you irresistible to the hiring manager?

You are now, at best, on par with some of the other candidates who would have done exactly this.

Here are some tips that make your Research on the company relevant-

o Think about what the hiring manager is actually looking for. Look through the Job Description to see what the role really requires.

o Understand the problems they face. Most probably, you cannot know the issues internally- but you can look at the problem as a customer of theirs. For example- if you are pitching for a sales job, find out how they are selling the product today. If through partners, ask for a quote, talk to a few partners and get an understanding how it is done. Find out about the experience- and share that feedback with the hiring manager- as a pitch document.

o Speak to some ex-employees (and in today’s world you are all connected to each other through LinkedIn and other social media) and understand the challenges they face. See how you could solve the problems. Think about what you would do to solve their problem.

· Create a killer Pitch

Why should a pitch be made only by Startups to VC’s?

Think of this as an opportunity to showcase your strategic thinking, your ideas, and your approach to the business opportunity. An opportunity to change the discussion from being a dull “tell me about yourself” to a discussion between equals. Talk about the challenges and opportunities you see for the business. Share candid feedback with the hiring manager on what you have heard with details of whom you spoke to. You rapidly evolve from a “potential employee” to a Consultant, a partner, who gives precious insights while explaining why you would help them in the role.

This, if done well, could differentiate you from every other person who pitches for the role.

Why? Because this is hard work- and most people don’t do it.

Remember, the pitch document need not be very accurate, because you don’t know the real story on the inside. But it showcases your enthusiasm, your strategic thinking ability & your drive to make a difference.

Key ingredients to get any job.

In an instance a few years ago, I was approached by a headhunter for a role in Apple India. Considering I had no background in Consumer Sales, I went ahead and did my research including walking into a number of Apple Stores, where I asked questions to them like a customer. I consolidated that and gave the feedback to the Apple team when I went for the interview.

Did I get the job?

No. But I went right to the end of the line and met their entire leadership team before losing out to someone from Cupertino. For someone with no consumer background- it was great- and the learning has stuck since then.

· Feedback

Ask for feedback after the discussion. It is a great closure to the interview. Most of the times, the hiring manager, would respond with some thinking on what your pitch was. It will give you some insight into his thinking, and gauge where you were right and where you could do better. Also, more importantly, it will give you an insight into the Manager’s thinking and his willingness to listen to new ideas. It also gives you the control to then decide if you want to work with that manager or not.

By doing these three steps, you assure yourself of a discussion where you are seen as being different, a great prospect, and if your pitch is perfect, the best candidate for the job.

All it takes is to spend the time & take the effort.

Do I think my friend will get his job?

Absolutely.

Why- because he has a story that is brilliant -and an attitude, that is not easy to find. He will get it because he leaves behind his pitch document with the CEO, which will remind them, just what difference he could bring. If he does not get the job, it is not from want of trying. He has learnt so much more about the company, and the business they are in- and an opportunity to perfect his approach in his next discussion.

Make an effort to make a difference. It could be all that you need to get the job you have been dreaming of.

I am happy to help if you need any inputs on this.

May.01

The ONE reason Uber will survive in the long run

Posted by Haja in StartUp

India is a battleground today. Between two of the taxi giants who are fighting tooth and nail to gain the market share leadership in India. It is a battle of equals, or is it?

While they both have investors pouring money into them- and they are waging a battle of epic proportions, both on the technology front and the infrastructure front.

Think about it.. The way the industry has changed in less than a year –

· App – The Uber app is an experience. But the others are not too much behind. Though they may lack the finesse or the sleekness of the Uber App, their apps are fairly nice and usable as well.

· Building a franchisee of cabs– Instead of investing millions in buying cars and then making them run- as would have been the case otherwise, they have created a new opportunity for these drivers who used to struggle to make ends meet.

· Created an ecosystem of budding entrepreneurs from these drivers, who now, make as much money or more money, than the professionals they ferry around.

But having been on all these cabs over the last few months, I believe, Uber, is going to succeed in the long run.

The reason? Not the technology or the infrastructure they have built. Only this!

The Customer Experience.

The company has thought through every single step. Both from an App perspective, as well as the entire experience the customer goes through in his journey with Uber.

· “Remaking” of the Indian Taxi drivers– This is one of the most difficult challenges to overcome. How do you take people who drive taxis for a living, most of whom have never been through a complete education- and train them to be nice to customers. To be friendly and wish them when the get into the car. Uber has managed to make that happen. Not all drivers, but a better part of them – and that is one of the biggest changes required. Their regular trainings (this I heard from the drivers themselves), is looked forward to by the drivers- and is making an impact. Many speak in English, are more polished, and more importantly, keep their cars fresh and clean.

· The Customer Support team– they blow you away. For a company that is managing so much of business, the speed at which the customer support team responds has been outstanding. And it is usually with a Resolution – instead of asking for more clarifications. And if money has to be refunded, there is no doubt in their mind, and they seem to have been given the authority to take the decisions locally – which allows for instant closure- and delight the customers.

The customer experience has been awesome and something that most companies struggle to provide in their early days. Let alone, sustain it.

If Uber is able to sustain this over a longer period of time, they will be able to carve out a significant niche for themselves.

Of course assuming there is profitability in their business model 🙂

May.01

When the going gets tough…

Posted by Haja in Attitude, StartUp

Don’t be afraid to start over.

It is a common saying that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.

That said, in the world of startups and entrepreneurship, the same may not necessarily hold true. It is important to assess your current situation, and then make the decisions that are most appropriate. The stakes are very high- and sometimes it is perfectly fine to decide that you will step away and get back to Employment.

There are no winners or losers in this. Every opportunity is a learning. Every journey has an end- and a beginning.

Don’t fret. Don’t worry.

Move on- and live to fight another day.

The world of entrepreneurship is just the beginning- and remember, having done something like this, is a winning step by itself. The learnings will prove very useful for you in the long run.

Apr.30

5 reasons why you should hire an ex-entrepreneur without a thought

Posted by Haja in StartUp

Investopedia offers an interesting definition of the word Entrepreneur. According to them, an Entrepreneur is “an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business and assumes all the risk and reward of a given business venture, idea, or good or service offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes”

That said, not all entrepreneurial journeys end successfully. The failure rates are very high. But that said, according to me, there is no such thing as a “Failed Entrepreneur”. The person who takes the journey, is a winner already because it takes a lot of guts to do something like that.

Should companies be open to taking up these ex-Entrepreneurs?

According to me, a big YES.

Without blinking an eye.

And here are the reasons why. Ex-entrepreneurs are –

Big Dreamers & Risk Takers – Ex-entrepreneurs are people who were dreamers- and who had the guts (or in a moment of madness- another characterstic you should admire) waged their entire savings to follow their dreams. These are the people you want in your team- who will see the value of the offering, and find ways of taking a position that could pay you back handsomely quicker than later. They see things differently- and do things differently. They are the Mavericks… that could change your world.
Have rare levels of Passion – Ex-entrepreneurs wear passion on their sleeves. Here are people, who did their best to follow their passion! They lived their dreams. The worked on their passion. These are the people, who can take your company and the offerings to new levels, if you can get them to see and own your vision. These are low maintenance people, who will chip away at the problem till it gets solved and keep moving forward, because that is the way to be.
Have tremendous levels of Self-Motivation – Ex-entrepreneurs have something that they have developed to a high level of perfection- Self motivation. They can find reasons to stay motivated at all instances, and do not need you to motivate them. They will find a sliver of hope and light up the entire room. Put the toughest problem to them- they will find a way to look at the positives- and then start chipping away at the problem.
Ready for Hard work & have oodles of Dedication- They realize that there is no substitute for hard work.These are the people who will not wait for someone else to do the job – they will go out and do it themselves. Because they have been doing it the only way they know… dedication.
Ability to see & hear before others do – Ex-entrepreneurs will see changes in the business environment that most of your other employees won’t be able to – because they have lived in the jungle- and survival requires them to be on their toes. Employees, because of their comfort zone, will not see the problem coming and will end up fighting for survival. Ex-entrepreneurs will see it before it becomes a problem, and find ways to move the company in ways to overcome the challenges.

Ex-entrepreneurs are trained warriors who you don’t need to closely monitor or maintain. These are low maintenance professionals, who will constantly be on their toes. Because that is how they lived when they were entrepreneurs.

So there!

The next time when you see an ex-entrepreneur sitting opposite to you looking for a job, don’t think. Find a fit. Give him the goal. Show him the direction- and let him run. The job will get done!

They could be your best asset in the years to come!

Apr.30