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 ?
Sudhakar adapa
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.
Vivek Lath
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
Sugandha Dubey
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.
Asis Panda
thank you Sudhakar for replying. mailing you the details asap
Asis Panda
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.
Sugandha Dubey
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 !
Asis Panda
this group sure is. also a couple of others whom i owe a lot in t
Rochak Sharma
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?
Asis Panda
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
Asis Panda
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 !
Mitul Limbani
My advise is to not wait for VCs / Angels, they wont come in coz
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
Jack John
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
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
send me your business plan
alok@rodinhood.com
Asis Panda
sending it asap
Jamsheed Gandhi
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!!!!!
Deepak Mittal
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.
Asis Panda
sure sending right away.
Aditya Singh
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.
Rahul narvekar
please send me your business plan : rahul@rahulnarvekar.com
Perzen Darukhanawalla
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.
Asis Panda
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.
Asis Panda
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.
Aditya Babbar
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 hope this helps. I wish you nothing but the best in your quest.
Asis Panda
wow that was like the whole Almanac for me. Thank you Aditya.
Sheth Raxit
Why you need funding?
Murtaza Amin
can you send me the details of the start up ?
thanks
Murtaza
murtuzi@yahoo.com
asha chaudhry
asis..
pls check this out!
https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/rodinhood-tee-time-and-the-september-winners-are
asha chaudhry
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!!