Ten years ago when we started on our own journey, we thought we knew a lot about scaling ventures and handling an organisation. Now, 10 years later, we smirk at our own selves and humbly share a few learnings that we picked up along the way - if you are planning to start-up or scaleup/windup or are somewhere in the middle, some of these might resonate with you. If they don’t, maybe you should read it twice!
Accept failure as part of your life - beware of the survivorship bias
Most entrepreneurs suffer from survivorship bias - we only see the survivors, not the dilapidated bodies that sacrificed their happy lives for unmanageable dreams. We don't see those who gave up, but the select few who got attention.
But when you see more failures around you, you also accept failures for yourself, and decide to move forward, that is when you realise that failures are the best teachers - something that very few corporate experiences help you with.
You don't always have to be crazy or a maverick to get noticed.
Sometimes we believe that the only road to success is the road that no one has taken - we appear to be different only for the sake of being different.
Arthur Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, once said: “The task is not so much to see what no one has yet seen, but to think what nobody yet has thought about that which everybody sees.”
Anti-finance Kotlers
If Nassim Taleb were a marketer, I am sure he would have published anti-finance as another bestseller, as that seems to be a big motivation for people to opt as marketers. On the other hand, most professionals believe that marketing is like ranting with a cup of coffee and six ears to listen to your pedagogues!
It then might seem strange when someone tells you that marketing is actually governed by laws! At least that's what I have learned from Prof Byron Sharp and Jenni from Ehrenberg Bass Institute, Karen's Attention Economy, System 1 with Orlando Wood, Peter Field and Les Binet. You know you have to constantly work on Mental Availability and Physical Availability. But when you learn from them, you know something is working for you - and you are already ahead of the curve.
Cicero, a Roman philosopher, once wrote that to be completely free one must become a slave to a set of laws. Accepting limitations is liberating. Maybe it’s time to reconsider finance!
Mask up against ignorance
"Is there a road from Bangalore to Pune directly?" In 2013, when we had gone to participate in a "fund raising" event in Bangalore, we were called by a seed fund to pitch privately. When we told her that we came by bus from Pune to Bangalore as we could not afford a flight, this is what we were asked!
Another one opined on our space, when we stuck to the principle "0% Chemicals and 0% Added Sugar", "Healthier is what works and not healthy. Brands have failed and so would you."
Whatever WFH you use during this pain-demic, Work from (your) Head or Work from (your) Heart, if you choose the right partners, there will always be confidence boosters.
Harappan ideas!
Perspectives change almost on a daily basis - use ears more than your mouth. If the theory of natural selection was applied, you would end up with the most efficient products for yourself and your customers. Unfortunately, we believe we are the only infallible primates in our ecosystem and stay obsessed with our ancient ideas.
Practice monogamy with your ideas
We did not blitz scale but step-scaled, fast steps of growth with intermittent periods of plateauing. A VC investor smirked at us once and our scalability, "after all, how big can you really get? Two crore max but what after that?" We fumbled, but decided to move on. Today the same VC wants to learn about e-commerce from us!
The world would lure you with multiple ideas and directions, based on their own worldviews - most of them might be right in their own world, but it’s up to you, the sage, whether to get distracted with these apsaras, or focus on your vision!
You don't have to worry about the grass being greener on the other side. It literally frees a lot of energy.
In summary, while the current era debates if Polyandry, Polygyny or Polyamory works best for humans, we believe we are like the California mouse - to our idea, to our people, to our dream and to our stakeholders, we remain individually monogamous!
Crossing the chasm of self-realisation
Between the two egoistic mountains of being egoistically rigid and self-respectfully firm lies a chasm of self-realisation.
While it's great to practice monogamy, it's also premature to stay obsessed. When an obsession becomes a fetish, it is usually unproductive for everyone. There is a fine line of difference between Rigidity and Clarity – it’s called the chasm of self-realisation. Most entrepreneurs I know of, including my earlier selves, struggle to cross this chasm. I’m sure Geoffrey Moore can help them out.
Turn a little to your left! Let them be (on the) right
Product development is one of the biggest differentiators (if not a moat) for any organisation - more for a food brand like True Elements - apart from being agile, one would ask - how do you get ideas to develop?
While I can give a lot of scientific ranting for it, the fact is that when multiple forces come together, based on old experiences or trials you would have done in the past - you pretty much get the aha moment and then go jump with it into the water.
This is unlike most other brands we see these days, who are like your classmate in high school who sat behind you during exams and just wanted you to turn a little to the left, so that they could easily mirror your responses like a true copycat. While the global truth is that most ideas are not original, and as entrepreneurs, one should literally steal ideas, but we would rather focus on solving problems and leave copying to our competitors.
1.3 billion Masterchefs
The funniest as well as the most exciting part of being on the 'maker' side of food is that whenever you take feedback on the products from potential consumers, they suddenly transform into George or Gary and you become a meek participant of Masterchef Australia.
Feedback is surely important, but you need to ensure you take just the right amount of 'salt' and 'sugar' from their feedback.
When we over-intellectualise something, we might be taking away the beauty as well as mystery. Hence, while we do believe taste precedes all other intellectualisation, culinary novelty still drives food in any shape or form.
Living on Lindy effect
With the average life of companies plummeting from 90 years to approximately 17-18 years now, there is bound to be a tactical vision at play (even though it may sound like an oxymoron). But some of us believe in the Lindy effect as well - the older the company, the longer it might last. Building a Lindy start-up is an exciting dream, even if the adjective sounds a bit weird.
Enjoy the heist
When we ran out of money, we got to know a concept called angel investment. We had two directions when we presented to investors, "Why don't you just keep it to corporate clients and enjoy your life? Take a bungalow and enjoy it for the rest of your life. Why take all this trouble?" suggested one investor from a known angel fund, when he looked at our business model.
As you travel the journey of building your own setup, some decisions might exacerbate your dream, while some might amplify it. But as you travel through the crests and the troughs, as you struggle with your own dichotomies and conundrums, you should always remember that the journey is more interesting than the end goal.
As you build your path, don't just think of a bridge. Make a path that you keep progressing. Enjoy the ride and make the story interesting. So trust the Professor / Promoter - it's not just the gold that you get but the experience of the heist and what you believe in that makes a much larger impact on your world.
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