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How likely is it an Indian entrepreneur without a team will get funded ?

By Asis Panda on 28 Comments / 2496 views

I will put it straight.

We started as 3.
We met at a hackathon and hatched the idea.
We strongly believed in the idea.
We made a mvp prototype on one platform.
Two dropped out ( couldn’t give full time and other ambitions in life).

I fine tuned the idea, organized the whole app process flow and started looking out for funds.
Been approached by few capital/funding firms. Will be presenting in front of them soon.
I tried hiring but the people i want to hire wouldn’t join for nothing.
And the setup cost for systems for the developers is huge too (4macs, 3ipods, ipads).

Now, 
i cant hire without funding and i wonder will anybody fund me without a team ?

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28 Comments

  1. Hi,I am an entrepreneur with intrest in funding companies in the mobile/app space,gimme a call on 9030948042.we will talk over it.

  2. Tough luck. I am in the same boat buddy. Most investors won’t. It is a matter of de-risking the business’ dependence on one person.

    On the other hand, since you have an MVP, getting collaborators (not investors) should be a possibility. 

    This is what I am doing. I am spending few hours each day learning to code my self, put out the product, get some initial motion and then attract talent. Though I am stronger in business and marketing, I figured that it will be easy for me to find a co founder with business skills than technical skills. So I decided to become my own tech co founder and will then partner with business skills to manage other things. To me spending time to validate and push the first version myself is a better bet than spending time trying to find a partner (though you don’t ever pass on opportunity to meet smart potentials).

    Anyway, it is an alternate solution. Bite the bullet if you can. Too much time spent on raising money than actually making some is a tough course.

    Vivek

  3. Quite tough ! Unless you have a lot of luck on your side along with a Brilliant product all sorted as a plan. 

    The VC will be a tough nut to crack. 

    The Indian Angels are who genuinely want to invest in projects are crippled by govt. policies !! 

    Sorry to be the carrier of not a very ” optimistic ” news but such is the reality of doing business here. 

  4. thank you Sudhakar for replying. mailing you the details asap

  5. Sugandha no need to be sorry, thats the truth, as entrepreneurs we need to gulp down the bitter hard facts and move on. like many others i will prevail or get to know something new, isnt it. 

  6. I am all for encouraging the entrepreneurs in India.
    Hopefully one day if I have the kind of resources where I get an opportunity to encourage I will. 

    I am so clear on what i shared as I have been on the road for a while, and though its not easy to sum it all up but you need to have  a steely resolve. To keep the fire burning this is the best group in the country to draw inspiration as well as learn !

     

  7. this group sure is. also a couple of others whom i owe a lot in t

  8. Collborate collaborate collaborate with people in the same boat….look for small amount and small investors, take loan with family and friends. If you find  5 people interested in your post try to arrange for a meeting and have a joint forum and pool money…the investment only comes when you have working functional product and potential exist.

    Also remember the small products are only successful if they are solving some client problem..Is it?

  9. yes it is solving a particular problem.
    collaborating doesnt content me as i think we need to give a lot of time to it for the next couple of months. Also geography sets us apart and i already tried working with geographically apart members, it consumed a lot of time and seemed ineffective to me.

    i was wondering to hire interns from college. the place i am, i am confident interns would work for very less capital, they are impact motivated, but they will be restricted to limited time and wont continue as a “team” for long. Pondering upon it now

  10. to take care of the development part, i have decided to “bite the bullet”, since i am a technical guy. then may try outsourcing design and get some friend help me out with marketing.
    But the thought of compromising on one step like design and marketing is upsetting me.

    I came across this question while becoming investor ready, it goes like this: “What is your dream vision ? that is what if i gave you a bottomless pit of money-what would you do ?”

    i think i should ideally tread that path, work should be done on that level without compromising. After all its your baby startup !

  11. My advise is to not wait for VCs / Angels, they wont come in coz 

    • You dont have a product which works yet (completely)

    • You dont have a team too 

    • due to above two, you dont have a customer as well

    Just get one of the above fixed first, and in my opinion Point 1 and 3, If you dont have a product which a customer is willing to spend money, then we are smoking high n dry !!

    Dont think that VC money will let me buy everything I wanted for my startup, coz this is dangerous money, it wont let you decide anything other then the revenues 🙂

    Mitul Limbani

  12. Do not think about vc at this moment just go ahead if possible invest and start with what you have,thats what we call a start up 🙂

    Reach a point where with x amount of money you can generate y amount of profit, VC do not see the value x only see how much proportionate is y to x

  13. send me your business plan

    alok@rodinhood.com

  14. sending it asap

  15. hey asis,

    what you do sounds interesting and i like the “last man standing” spot you are in…….

    i run a startup and would be keen to understand your product positioning and funding requirements….I’mm based in mumbai please mail me on james@egnite.net your contact details and lets communicate!!!!!

  16. I think the preliminary hurdle to cross shall be to convince the investors with the potential of the product, an equal belief in your plan which begins with how you can hire the right resources and lead the execution/ productization and sales along with a sound business economics excel sheet. If you are confident of that you do not need a team or co-founders and you should look out for funding.

  17. sure sending right away.

  18. Keep going ahead buddy. 

    You need people not just to raise VC money but to sleep at night. Depending upon the business model, growth will be more difficult to handle if you don’t have people who share the same level of passion. And as a founder you will have many more things to handle. Fund raising is a very time consuming and full time job. You need to look out. You’ll get a lot of people who would like to come along with you. I have met many many professionals who are now turning / looking to turn entrepreneurs more than ever before in India.

  19. please send me your business plan : rahul@rahulnarvekar.com 

  20. Hi, I am not sure if this is relevant here but I know a lot of other projects have received crowd-sourced funding. Check out http://www.kickstarter.com which is one such website that enables you to do this. You don’t need a complete product – just a killer description and prototypes – It is free or a nominal charge to list a product so it may be worth it to post it there and see the kind of funding you get. 

    If nothing, it would be a useful market validation opportunity in any case.

  21. thank you for the kind words, were very comforting.
    I agree with you, the scene is perfectly right here in India.

    I guess i will have to give time.

  22. thats viable.
    I am setting off to making the prototype on our targeted launch platform.

    Then shall dive into the world of seeking funding from eclectic sources.

    As you said it will simultaneously serve for more market validation.

  23. Hi Asis

    I am not an expert at this, just giving you bits of information which I subscribe to. Its a longish approach to get the funds, but also has longer perspective to it.

    • I started by trying to pool in funds first (mostly my own, a small loan from the parents, etc)

    • Now its evident that the app flow process and MVP prototyping has already been done. So its not a blue sky approach, which is fantastic.

    • Next, key is who is the target audience on this. Will the app be consumed by businesses / customers ?

    • Where are the areas of revenue for you – from Customers, from Businesses, advertising, tie ups, etc

    • Then comes the question of Building the actual app even if its version 1.0, for tangibility and you will find there are multiple sites, where you can actually a perfectly working app for Free. If you have a bit of cash, try and find someone to build it for you (if its complex). It will help since the aim is to get a product out as quickly as possible, at the lowest possible cost.   

    • When the app is ready, Distribute it your customers (target audience) for them to TEST and see if they like it and most important, WILL THEY PAY FOR IT.

    • An assurance of a revenue stream will not only bolster the acceptability, your confidence but also the ability to speak from strength when you get to an investor.

    • In this time, you will also learn the various intricacies involved with building the entire business and understand what aspects you are good at, what you need to outsource, who all / what kind of skills do you need to get onboard in your team

    • My second last mantra I try and use to prioritise everything – Concentrate on activities that generate revenue. Nothing else matters, period.

    • Lastly, try and not spend a majority of the time concentrating on funding, instead build the business. Get funding has a lot of other factors involved and is a full time exercise. Its also linked to something called being in the right place at the right time. Till you find the 2 rights and the right investor, don’t stop. 

    I hope this helps. I wish you nothing but the best in your quest.

  24. wow that was like the whole Almanac for me. Thank you Aditya. 

  25. Why you need funding?

  26. can you send me the details of the start up ?

    thanks

     Murtaza

    murtuzi@yahoo.com

  28. hey asis,

    happy b’day!!! 

    i was going thru this post of yours and realised it’s been nearly 3 yrs since you posted it! (and you got some really awesome replies here!)

    do update us on your journey – would love to know!!

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