With such a weird nature, it was obvious for me to go through the path of entrepreneurship rather than the execution path of working in a mundane 9-5 job. However, like most of the other Indians, I also had a fear in me – a fear of losing my full time salary that I was getting (I was not happy with my job though – working on some ugly green and black screen called AS/400).

I had worked for ICICI Prudential for a year and had seen the real end users use my programs. The thought that the piece of code that I coded as a part of my routine work was actually used by some people always excited me. Moreover web technology also excited me because you do not need a person to install a software to use your code.

When I went to France in 2006, I made up my mind that I will create a website when I return back. I came back and created a very crap looking website called puzzlesforyou.com. I ran it for almost a year and earned around $ 300 out of it. But somehow I was not happy with the type of work and thus my next website was Molu which was a search engine rather than a meta search aggregator that presented the search results in a user friendly manner and inline viewing of the results. It got featured on several sites across the globe and I even got many job proposals because of it. However I declined them all and continued to work on the green & black screen.

I then moved to do my MBA from IIMB in 2011 and then Bangalore clicked. I did not see such startup ecosystem, such zeal to work in startups among people anywhere in the country. Every road here has 5-6 startups and most of them are doing fair in their businesses.

I later joined a multinational company in the business development and new product development role. After working for nearly a year I thought, “Why am I doing this for someone else when I can do the same for myself?” That was certainly a eureka moment that led to a new beginning for me.

The ‘Senior Citizen’ Dilemma

I am in my early 30s and I believe I still have a good 25 years to work and earn my living. However, the people around you do not think the same. When you start your entrepreneurial journey at such an ‘old’ age, you will always face questions which make you ponder over the the drawbacks involved in such type of journey. Most of the people around you cannot get out of their ‘salary’ mode and the mere thought of not getting a salary for probably a year is like a nightmare for them. I will include myself also in ‘them’ at some point of time because being the head of the family; you have certain responsibilities that just cannot overlook.

Coming out of the ‘Who will do it?’ mode

When you are bootstrapping, you are working on a lean model. I have seen many people in startup circles around me who go into the hiring mode right from day 1 of their startups. However a person who is starting up should understand that it is YOU who needs to do the tasks. It is your startup and you ought to give your utmost before anybody else. You cannot say that I do not know this area so I need to hire someone else for this work. You have to open up your arms to learning.

I was working in a corporate strategy role and PowerPoints, Excel sheets, Financial statements were my strengths. However, today the complete 75000+ lines of code in our company are written by me. I did not know MongoDB but learnt it because we needed it. I did not know Python but learnt it.

Taking one day at a time with focus on Bull’s-eye

Biggest thought that comes to a founder’s mind is “Where is it going? What will happen after one month?” Leave such thoughts behind. I would suggest setting daily targets and meeting them no matter how difficult or unrealistic they seem.

Many startup guys start losing their focus when something goes wrong or continuously keeps on going wrong. This is not the right way. If you lose focus, you lose business. Thus patience is the key.

Plan Plan Plan and the Execute

Remember when you go on a vacation, you prefer a planned one rather than an unplanned one. The same happens with a startup as well. You should plan up your tasks for a week and whatever is the situation try to finish them and stick to them. Many founders lose the track of what they are supposed to do and keep doing operational things that are not a priority. Decide the priority and stick to it.

Any task should be assigned to one of the three categories. If it is most important and highly required – Do it. If it is not urgent but important – Delay it to give way to some priority tasks. If it is neither important nor required – Dump it.

A startup journey is an uphill ride. If one thing works in your favour, ten things do not. So just hold your nerves and enjoy the most memorable time of your life.

The post Age Limit, Uncertainty and an Unwavering Hope: The Roller Coaster Ride of Entrepreneurship appeared first on .

1. Never Get a “Real Job”

People are so content with their modus operandi and their regular 9-5 jobs. Well that is what author Scott Gerber is against. In his book, he tells readers why it is important to dump their monotonous jobs and get control of their own lives. With the use of case studies, experiences and observations Scott shares failures and presents a practical and affordable way of taking your business to great heights!

The author is of the opinion that young people should create something on their own as it is the safest job in today’s economy.

2. Screw Business as Usual

In his book, Richard Branson talks why it is important to shift our focus from revenue and profits to caring for people, communities and the planet. In his book, he writes: “It’s a vibrant and definite sea change from the way business was always done, when financial profit was a driving force. Today, people aren’t afraid to say, Screw business as usual!-and show they mean it.”

With real world examples, the book talks about successful people who focussed on their work rather than running behind fame. The book is perfect for those who have embarked on an entrepreneurial journey and wish to learn new ways of doing business.

3. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

Written by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, the book tries to cast away business myths and provide readers with some visionary insights. “This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies.” So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras.

The book is filled with practical examples that help readers in managing their business at all levels in a unique way.

4. The $100 Startup

In The $100 Startup, author Chris Guillebeau talks about how you can lead a life full of adventure and meaning and also earn good at the same time. According to Chris, the book is certainly not about business but rather talks about  freedom, something that most of the people working in corporate jobs long for! The book encourages readers to start living their lives the way they want by building something on their own.

5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The book helps readers in solving various personal and professional problems that are faced on a daily basis. Stephen R Covey talks about the seven habits of highly effective people and how these habits can be adopted by anyone. The book offers some great advice and can be read by people who wishes to improve the way they lead their lives!

So these are the 5 books that I personally admire. What about you? Leave your comments below and tell us about the books you would recommend to an entrepreneur!

HAPPY BOOK LOVERS’ DAY!

Illustration by Ghergich & Co.

The post 5 Amazing Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read appeared first on .

– Vince Lombardi

Some entrepreneurs only make excuses, while others are highly effective and successful. It is well understood that all the successful entrepreneurs share some common habits. Generally all the successful entrepreneurs come from a range of vivid financial, educational and family backgrounds. And many amongst them start working at the bottom level and make their way up.

Before jumping into entrepreneurship, you can look at certain basic habits which can be highly useful and be learned from successful entrepreneurs. They are –

PLANNING

Planning is a very important and crucial part of any business. It can be done on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, as it helps us to organise business activities, appointments and tasks. If a plan is not made, it is difficult to focus on work and as a result one can easily lose track of important things. If a person plans time effectively then it enables him to make the most out of it.

SET GOALS

Setting a goal is essential to achieve any business aim. If no goal is set then it becomes almost impossible to work as no tangible destination will be pictured in the mind. It even helps a person to stay focused, achieve business aims and even helps him to stay motivated.

NOT AFRAID OF CHALLENGES

Setting any business can be very challenging but, all successful entrepreneurs have to learn to trust their instincts. One should not get discouraged, even if others believe you are wrong. In the end it all depends on your passion and your own belief in your idea.

LISTEN

It is an important trait for any successful entrepreneur to learn to understand what others are trying to say before speaking themselves. It has been noticed that all the successful entrepreneurs understand the importance of listening that is the reason why they first listen to the answers given to them before answering everything themselves.

TAKE A DIFFERENT PATH

To be successful it is necessary that entrepreneurs should learn how to solve all the problems faced by them in a new and different form. To be successful a person has to take chances and choose a path which no one else chooses.

In short it can be understood that all the successful entrepreneurs rely on small daily habits and routines to keep the needle of their business moving in the right direction.

The post 5 Startup Tips for Soon To Be Startup Founders appeared first on .

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on”

-Albert Einstein.

Don’t we all just love smart phones? With a single touch you can explore a plethora of information, all thanks to internet access on our beloved phones. However, as of matter of fact only 21 % out of the 70% of the world’s population using mobile phones have internet access on their devices. 60 % of India doesn’t even know what Google is because computer penetration is so low. What about these people? They certainly can’t be ignored and their problems must be addressed. SMSGyan provides an out of the box alternative to those who do not have internet access on their phones.

SMSGyan is a software launched by Innoz which works on a very simple algorithm. All a person needs to do is SMS his query to 55444 and the software will search the databases for a reply. The query can be on any topic from how to make a particular dish to what to say in an interview. Their system generates an answer and sends it back within a few seconds. Each query costs Re 1, but there are also daily and monthly packages for unlimited queries. Innoz Technologies is working in partnership with Wikipedia, YouTube, Google and Yahoo to provide answers to customers.

Deepak Ravindran, Founder and CEO of Innoz and his other friends, Abhinav, Ashwin and Hisam studied in BS College of Engineering, Kerala. All  four had one thing in common: to not join the rat race and do something new. They weren’t oblivious to the fact that startups aren’t a facile task, especially student startups! It’s not a 9 to 5 job, investors don’t take you seriously, clients will criticize your lack of experience and your parents will always suggest that you take up a job to earn and live a smooth life! Deepak and his friends thought of implementing something with which a person can get information just with a help of an SMS. That’s when Innoz Technologies was born in 2008.

The very next day, they sat in their college library and started working on the idea of giving internet to the offline world. Deepak dropped out of college and went to Gurgaon to meet Telecom Operators who could provide support to their idea. After being rejected by many, their idea was accepted by Bharti Airtel and they finally managed to launch their product. Airtel also joined hands with Innoz to launch Airtel Gyan.

Innoz Technologies have also partnered with True Software Scandinavia AB to enable users to search for people by texting their phone numbers. True Software provides an app named Truecaller which helps a person to identify people from all over the world by just entering their phone numbers. According to Innoz the feature is already live. One needs to send SMS TRACE <10-digit mobile no.> to 55444 and the user will receive a response with the details such as the name of the person, service provider and region.

The reason for SMS Gyan’s success is simple; they effectively identified the problem faced by the majority of people and chose to solve it. Not everyone owns an iPhone, iPad , Pocket Laptop and has internet on their devices. They took a step ahead than just cribbing about the problem and executed their idea. Today it handles one million queries a day and is working on achieving the target of 10 million a day by the end of 2015. More than 60 percent of the queries come from tier II and tier III cities and the company has already reached the one billion-mark in terms of total SMS queries.

Deepak Ravindran, Founder and CEO of Innoz

Deepak was named one of the MIT Technology Review outstanding innovators under 35, for the year 2011. He advises entrepreneurs to not join a startup just because it’s trendy and every other Tom, Dick and Harry are coming up with one. You should have a thirst for innovation and not a monthly paycheck. Positive reviews of your work in print or TV media can do wonders for your startup. Aim at solving a problem; keep the technology to minimum so that even a layman can understand it. Never fear competition even if there are some juggernauts in the market you are entering and always take it as a challenge. There might be million times where people will suggest you to quit your dream but you need to keep working on it because at the end of the day it’s your dream- your passion.

The post Don’t have Internet Access on your Phone? Your Queries can still be answered with SMSGyan, the SMS Wikipedia! appeared first on .

– Milan Kundera

Anyone who owns a dog will understand how special and unique they are as pets. No matter what, they never leave your side or make you feel lonely. No other animal can understand human emotions and actions better than a dog. In 1924, a Japanese Professor adopted a dog named Hachiko. Every day Hachi boy used to wait for his master at the station and greeted him when he returned from work. One day his master suffered from a cerebral haemorrhage and died at work, never to return back. But Hachiko went to station every day for 9 years and died waiting for him. How many of us think that it’s time we humans start doing something for them? Well Ishmeet Chandiok has done something beyond imagination.

Mumbai based Ishmeet has come up with a catering service for dogs which prepares healthy and scrumptious homemade foods. Many pet owners doubt the quality of packaged food which contains preservatives. It’s of prime importance that a dog gets proper balanced diet for a longer life span and a stronger immune system. Ishmeet and his wife collectively have 25 years of experience with handling, preparing and serving food.

The catering service has been named after his two year old dog Harley who was adopted when he was a 2 month old pup from a construction site. Ishmeet and his wife Nicola who is also the co-founder of Harley’s Corner, always fed Harley with home cooked food that he relished. No wonder he has such a beautiful and shiny dark brown coat! After four months of research and trials, they decided to come up with a catering service for dogs with an exclusive menu. All food items are prepared after consulting a vet.

The menu of Harley’s corner offers meals like Amie’s Cheesy Wessies which is dried Chicken Sausages with grated cheese, Gusto’s Protein Mix which is the best option for dogs suffering from Obesity and Hip dysplasia, Magic Meat Balls prepared using rice, vegetables and chicken. And of course, how can we forget Harley’s Signature Feast made with vegetables, brown rice, chicken, liver, chicken stock and healthy herbs. That’s not all! Harley’s corner also provides Doggie Cakes to make your beloved pet’s birthday celebration memorable. The item Puggu’s Birthday cake is a sugarless sponge cake with chicken liver pate and iced with chicken breast mousse.

For clients who opt for daily services, the Chandioks offer a mix of different items so that no dog gets used to a particular dish. They prepared a special dish after consulting with a vet for a Client’s Golden Retriever who was suffering from Hip dysplasia to make sure the dog got the maximum amount of protein. “Harley’s Corner truly knows what a doggy’s tummy craves for. Best doggy food (approved and loved by the true consumers), prepared by a wonderful couple with loads of love. Please keep up the good work!!” says one of the clients.

Ishmeet Singh Chandiok has redefined the significance of entrepreneurship. He makes sure that the food content is not only safe and healthy but replete with abundant love!

The post It’s time to have a Dabba Party for our Canine Friends! appeared first on .