At the end of the ‘Connecting Ideas With Money’ session today, where 8 Startups pitched, both Jagdish Belwal and Ganesh Iyer, CIO Angel Network shared their thoughts and feedback with a room full of entrepreneurs. Here is a random capture:
1.It is important to get into the minds of the customer. They may perceive it to be a ‘nice to have’ solution however they may not want to shell out money to buy it. Understanding their mind will help you build deeper solutions.
2.Stay focused, target a unique solution and execute well. Do not try to ‘boil the ocean’ by taking on too much.
3.Building technology is important however owning the customer is also important today.
4.Develop a credible road map towards ‘non linear scalability’. What is the Startup going to do next? This should be thought through.
5.Study and learn from the models that already exist. This could help with many things – how to protect your Startup from the competition or how to build a unique value proposition.
6.Do not only be focused on who you are disrupting, rather also be focused on who is/can disrupt you. The big guys out there should not “have you for lunch”. Understanding this could also present an opportunity – is there a possibility to be bought over?
7.Understanding ‘who owns that customer today” is very important. The large players could simply turn on a switch and offer the same solution as you and take the customer away.
8.Finding a paying customer is no small feat. “Nobody opens up their purse that easily.” When somebody is ready to pay for your solution, it is a big deal. “It is time to celebrate!”
9.Do not do a free POC unless the Startup is getting some value in return. “Manage the customer and do not let them experiment with you.”
