How much experience does one need before an investor takes him/her seriously?

By Neharika Roy on October 9, 2013 8 Comments / 1688 views

Hi,

I’m 22 years old and still a student. I’m studying Engineering at an IIT, and I want to start-up. It’s not tech-related though, it’s in fashion. I’m working on a Business Plan right now, and by the time I graduate, I will have some product samples ready. Though I haven’t got to that stage yet, I’m sure my products will get very good response from the target customers (I plan to test this out thoroughly before approaching investors). If not, I will need to work on my products first.

What I wanted to know, however, is that without any work-experience, and no background in the industry I want to work in, is it very unrealistic to expect investors to show any interest?

Should I try to work for sometime(I already got a very good job, but it’s in core engineering) and then try to startup?

I’m very confused, so any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Comments

Neharika Roy

8 Comments

Smit Ganatra October 9, 2013, 4:46 pm

Firstly you could sharpen up your Business plan and gauge if you actually have any requirements for funding.you could go through this incase you have missed it,- https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/you-don-t-need-funding?commentId=6328457%3AComment%3A132832

And if you really see yourself doing this for a long time,then the job will always be a distraction to you and you will end up doing injustice to both,your venture and your job..
Neharika Roy October 9, 2013, 5:22 pm

Thanks! That helped 🙂
Manish Golchha October 10, 2013, 6:55 am

I suggest, don’t start before working for some startup. Get practical experiences from them for a year or so and then plunge into this.

Reason: You will save double of your time, energy & money once you able to understand how things work in startup. Just to tell you, working for a startup and looking from outerworld a startup is totally different.

My 2 cents.

Best of luck for your future.

Cheers

Manish Golchha

http://www.dayhalt.com
Vijayaragavan Venkatarathinam October 13, 2013, 9:19 am

1. If you want to know what it takes to build a startup, then working in a corporate job will not help you. Try to work for a startup.

2. Although working in a corporate job would lend you some perspective, it is not so in every case. It is your call.

3. You need some money to keep yourself bootstrapped. Make sure you have plans for them

4. Investment is not your holy grail and is not an indicator of success. Revenue from selling your product can also be your investment.

5. Business plan is totally fine. Here is my suggestion. You say that you will be having a product sample ready by the time you graduate. Once you finish your product sample, why don’t you start selling it? Find your target customers, spread the word about your product,make your first sales,obtain feedback from customers,try to increase your sales MoM. Once you do all this, you would have validated your idea. Business plan can come in later.

6. Experience gained in actually doing things matters a lot than sunk experience obtained through a MNC job.

7. investor will take you seriously when you have proved your idea by generating sustainable revenue and creating enough moat
Neharika Roy October 13, 2013, 9:27 am

Thanks 🙂 I am considering doing that
Neharika Roy October 13, 2013, 9:29 am

Thanks! That was my plan too- to see what kind of reaction I get to the samples, and refine the product/ price point accordingly. Maybe I’ll do that while working in a start-up. That way I can get the ball rolling and still have a back-up.
Aman Jha October 13, 2013, 11:14 am

Hi Neharika,

Why worry about investors at this stage? It’s like selling your baby even before the baby is born.
Lets say investor gets ready to invest in your venture but then you will loose the control of the ship.

You are studying at IIT, so why not test your product within the campus. If you get good response then you can approach IIT entrepreneurship cell too.

First focus on product development. Try to figure out who is your competition, buy your competitions product, compare your product, build a better product at competitive price, build a competitive edge. Find out innovstive ways to reach final consumer.

Once you have all this and then you feel there is a need for an investor, only then you focus your energy on them.

Regards
Neharika Roy October 17, 2013, 9:08 am

True 🙂 I appreciate your advice, it’s just that setting out on a path with very little money, (and forsaking a job that is going to earn me a lot of money) is very daunting. Especially when I know that I would be needing external funding eventually.

Plus, explaining this to my parents and convincing them is the hardest part. They think I am mad to do even think about doing this. 🙁