Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of Oyo, is not only investing in young startups, he is also using his own experience to help them grow. In a post shared today on Twitter, Agarwal spoke about his partnership with Naropa Fellowship and his advice to the fellowship’s latest cohort of young entrepreneurs.
Agarwal said that even 10 years ago, startup founders who did not know anyone in the startup ecosystem would have been hard-pressed to find investors, customers and employees. Things have evolved rapidly to the point where today, “more founders and operators are increasingly giving back to enable young entrepreneurs to get a foot in the door.”
“Today, if you have an idea and are willing to give it your all, you will find people to support you,” wrote Ritesh Agarwal.
It was with this belief and the aim of helping people that Agarwal partnered with Naropa Fellowship that supports entrepreneurs in the Himalayan region. He recently met with the founders of Siachen Naturals, Ladakh Brew, The Forest Collective and Nima Goos Goos and shared three pieces of advice with them, which he today detailed in his Twitter post.
Most of the founders I know had limited or no access to resources, capital, and networks while starting out.If you were starting something of your own a decade back and didn't know anyone in the startup ecosystem, it would be extremely difficult to meet investors, partners,… pic.twitter.com/xXRHbGQ17e
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— Ritesh Agarwal (@riteshagar) May 16, 2023
Agarwal said that resource management is key to a successful startup. Financial discipline and sustainable growth are no longer limited to tech startups but apply to all industries.
Second, he advised founders to focus on customer feedback to find faster product market fits. “Startups are willing to hustle to find PMF faster and shorten the feedback loop. Their go-to-market time is much faster and getting consistent customer feedback is key to achieving this,” he wrote.
Last but not least, he advised entrepreneurs to be patient, agile and focus on the tier 2 and tier 3 cities of India.
“If we truly want to see India develop and become the innovation capital of the world then we need to focus on encouraging entrepreneurship in Tier 2 and 3 cities,” he wrote.
Agarwal owes his own success to the Thiel Fellowship. Last week, he also shared four lessons he learned from his time at the fellowship.
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