Yes, Rodinhooders met in Delhi (thanks to Puneet for suggesting) after a long time. And it was a compact group, too enough to book a co-working space and too big for us to fit in Starbucks. Got to meet many RodinFriends, RodinClients, RodinNewbies and it was super exciting and refreshing. In six hours we had good food, drink and detailed discussion and idea validation for Mandar and Puneet.
1. Don’t underestimate the power of Podcasts. While driving, Podcast is the best way to be productive and listen to something sensible, if you are tired of RJs and radio ads. Here is a list of the best podcasts which I found on the net. If you have something better, pls add in comments.
2. Meditation se hoga. I am not going to preach over this. Just the summary. Meditation is a fluid solution which adapts as per your problem. It is very subjective and has varying effects on individuals. You have to do it to know it and love it.
3. Universe is too big to too reject any startup idea outright. It’s your confidence which matters. If you can sell it, there are buyers out there. But success chances are very high when you are solving any fundamental problem of your customers. Buying grocery is not a fundamental issue, thus Peppertap :(. Making a trip with family ‘seamless and an experience to remember’ is a fundamental issue to solve, thus MakeMyTrip 🙂
4. Go to the Indian roots and apply the gems from there in your startup. Loved the way how Mandar has reached out to chausath kalas (64 skills) to build his EduTech startup. Understand that how ancient learnings are derived and you can’t stop respecting them. Simultaneously it will become easier to apply those learnings and see things with a fresh perspective.
5. Most importantly, for the perfect Bald Look, shaving your head once in a week is sufficient (insight courtesy Prateek Shah and Puneet Aggarwal)
We are planning to make these meetups regular in Delhi (does last Saturday of the month sound good?). Next time when you are around, don’t forget to drop by.
@jangidtarun
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ADDED BY ASHA: PUNEET’S TAKEAWAYS!
It was certainly an awesome one.
Here are some of the things that I learnt :
1) When you are clear within, Noise does not matter : We tried to meet at Starbucks which was crowded, then we moved to a nearby cafe called “The Chatter House”. It was playing music in the background, but left with no choice, we said “Chalo try karte hain”. 11 people sitting around on bar stools, found solace in the conversation. The noise, music, the chatter did not matter.
2) The Community Thread : Most of us were meeting each other, for the first time and some others, meeting after years. It did not take us even 5 minutes to warm up to each other. We had one thing in common, the Community. All of us felt the Rodinhood phenomenon. Almost like “SatSangis”
3) Always be ready with your 3-pitches (50 words/30sec, 100-words/1-min, 200words/2-min) : I have seen many founders struggle to introduce their own startup. They start with “Hi, my name is ….. and I do XYZ” and then something bites them hard. They lose focus and start lacing their pitch with “Basically, Actually, Matlab, I mean, Its like, You know, Clearly”. This leads the listener to a Semantic Satiation, and the pitch never gets registered with the listener. So here are 6 things you need to remember while preparing your 3 pitches :
– Your Name
– Your Company’s Name
– What do you do ?
– Why should we care ?
– What is the biggest challenge that’s burning you inside
– An amusing punchline hook which helps us recall what you do ?
4) Dudho Nahao, Puchho Puchho : What is a challenge for us, isnt a challenge for someone sitting next to you. That day, Mandar while talking about his EduTech Startup said that he has started learning tech, so that he can manage on his own. There were some hard-core techies in the meetup who looked interested to help him. Group sharing enables you to solve your problems almost instantly solves problems. One person’s problem is next person’s offering.
5) Puneet Arora, while discussing his Education Startup about Notes-Sharing looked at it from one angle, but it was perceived by different people in different ways. When you talk about a product or service, the listener/potential/target audience perceives it in their own ways. They ask themselves “How can this help me ?”. And when they feel excited and offer their feedback, grab it. Don’t stay closed. Because if you are closed at that point in time, you will not recall what others shared. Puneet was very open to all kinds of feedback and assured everyone that he will go back to the drawing board and clarify his idea further.
6) If you think that you can’t help solving your friend’s problem, there’s still something that you can do. This is very powerful in a group of entrepreneurs. Just keep your hand over their shoulder, and say – “Arey Babu Tu Kar Naa, Main Hoon Naa”. This itself triggers the production of the “Confidence Hormone”. This happened a lot of times, when all of us were sharing our challenges.
7) Baaton Baaton Mein : Sometimes, you are sitting on a lot of ideas and jotting them down in your Evernote/Notepad till you find somebody who is active in that domain. Then, right there, you chose to share, bounce this idea off that person and you may even start working together. Akshay Chhugani, spoke to me about one such product in the Wellness Space, and we might soon bring that product to life.
8) Don’t hesitate to try that Wierd Sounding Drink on the Menu : While sitting at the Chatter House, I tried a mocktail, called “Amrood Chaat”. It was made from Guava Pulp, Rock Salt and Chaat Masala. One of the best things I have ever had. Try Karoge to Pata Chalega.
9) Are you solving a fundamental problem ? This point was highlighted by Rituraj. Re-emphasizing what Tarun
Planning Itineraries is a Fundamental issue. Hence Makemytrip is a roaring success. Ordering Groceries is not a fundamental issue, and hence Peppertap/Grofers may not be successful. Are you solving a fundamental issue ?
Is your problem – a need or a want ?
Khush Raho.
Regards, Puneet
@ayurvedaguy
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