interesting #statistics

I was going through some reports on the locations from where people have accessed my blog! very interesting! :)

Mr. V - thanks for visiting from Switzerland!

India (IN)
United States (US)
United Kingdom (GB)
Europe (EU)
Canada (CA)
Russian Federation (RU)
Singapore (SG)
Switzerland (CH)
Asia/Pacific Region (AP)
Australia (AU)
Turkey (TR)
Bahrain (BH)
Germany (DE)
Malaysia (MY)
Netherlands (NL)
Slovakia (SK)
France (FR)
Ukraine (UA)
Japan (JP)
Vietnam (VN)
Sri Lanka (LK)
Brazil (BR)
Hong Kong (HK)
Egypt (EG)
Greece (GR)
Korea, Republic of (KR)
Serbia (RS)

fundraising and VCs

Venture Capital Crash Course with Jason Mendelson from Andrew on Vimeo.

Startup Central?

how friendly is society towards startups? well, its slowly dawning on me- not very. 

1. finances: if a startup needs a loan - its not available unless you have been in existance for 3 years with all audited financial information- which kinda defeats the purpose of a startup. 

2. market sentiments - well- everyone seems to be out to take you for a ride- esp if you are not doing some form of mild rocket science. thye are like- you are a startup - so what canyou possibly do. so the moral of the story is  - market whatever you do as rocket science.

3. realestate- realised that the folks in the building need to see fancy spancy crap to think that you are a worthwile company- which is annoying to say the least. Just today - i had the watchman for the office building saying that the parking is not available for us- which is very strange- because the owners have had parking slots for almost 3 years. 

guess its a matter of perspective- as to who can be walked over and who would turn around and bite you back.

being on your own

Today was a day of reckoning. we took some decisions as a company. and we are proud of them. Being on your own its nice- this feeling. At times its troubled thoughts on how one might put food on the table, but its also a sense of liberation which allows you to do anything you might want at any time and any point. explore limitless possibilities and all along be happy- simply because you are choosing to do so. 

decisions

when you work for an established orgnization, you assume that all bills will be covered. however, when you are on your own - you have to make sure you have enough money to make sure the bills are covered. so if you want to buy an AC for the office- hmm- thought needs to go in - to how much the bills are going to be and whether this is a necessity or an extravagance. that rule of thumb literally goes for everything that we need to purchase. getting money is the 2nd most critical thing, the first being - the balls to take off. you need money for eveyrthing- and every tom, dick and third bihari thinks that since you have a startup - you are flushed with cash. which is not the best thought since- they will jack up the prices. here- being a startup- you will be as cost conscious as possible- comparing vendors to even supply you toilet equipment, whereas most of the suppliers think- hmmm... new company... more money! :( sadly - the saga for the entrepreneur is never over. 

another golden rule-  time is money. when you decide not to work - you loose business. you can't afford to sit back with your feet in the air saying - im my own boss- i think i wont go to work today. nein - that does not work these days! :(

so a tip - think a million times before you jump in! :)

The Entrepreneur

Sunday 22nd June 2008- sitting in office at 4pm, wondering what the hell were we doing pushing ourselves so hard. It was Saturdays, sundays, all days 8am to 2am almost. I had always wanted to be on my own, so decided, if i can work so hard for someone, doing something for which the benifits I will never see, I must have it in me to do it for me? well, at that moment, I logged into the system, and clicked on the one button all of us stuck in the rat race always dream of clicking- "submit resignation". That being done, Startedworking with even more gusto, because i saw light at the end of the tunnel. something which i felt that wll allow me to explore the relems of life, and enjoy the joy of success. 

Thursday 31st July 2008- Was effectively my last day at the company. I went about finishing my formalities, had a small farewell party - a cake and a lovely gift voucher - most importantly, it was a gathering to say goodbye. The light at my tunnel was appearing brighter, many a times during the 1.5 months, I wondered if i had taken th right decision. If this was the case, then should i withdraw my resignation? so, here i was, at the cusp of the next big step of my life. I was finally going to be an entrepreneur. my dream and my ambition.