Great tips for Entrepreneurs from two great names – K B Chandrashekhar (founder/CEO, Jamcracker) and Eugene Kleiner (founder of KPCB)
KB Chandrashekhar
Do’s:
- Take Risks – Be willing to fail and apply learnings
- Your passion for the concept is what brings everyone together
- Communicate openly – both good and bad news
- Stay focused on the core theme but adapt to market and technology changes
- Your success is based on making your customer successful
Don’t:
- Win one battle at a time – do not open too many fronts on market segments, technology
- Do not overspend till you know the concept works and you are ready to scale the business
- Do not create bureaucracy – start up is about small teams working together
- Do not neglect face time with employees, customers and partners
- Do not neglect family; make sure they are partners in this journey
Eugene Kleiner:
- Make sure the dog wants to eat the dog food. No matter how ground-breaking a new technology, how large a potential market, make certain customers actually want it.
- Build one business at a time. Most business plans are overly ambitious. Concentrate on being successful in one endeavor first.
- The time to take the tarts is when they’re being passed. If an environment is right for funding, go for it.
- The problem with most companies is they don’t know what business they’re in.
- Even turkeys can fly in a high wind. In times of strong economies, even bad companies can look good.
- It’s easier to get a piece of an existing market than to create a new one.
- It’s difficult to see the picture when you’re inside the frame.
- After learning some of the tricks of the trade, some people think they know the trade.
- Venture capitalists will stop at nothing to copy success.
- Invest in people, not just products.
