The Google search “user interface” has been the same for over 17 years now. The simple text search box with a button for Google search and “I’m feeling lucky”. That’s it. Nothing has changed at all. Same for iOS and similarly for Instagram, etc. Media properties go through several changes every 12 to 18 months.… Continue reading Why Some Apps and Websites Never Changed UI

After the initial 5 or so customers and exhausting your personal network, and having product market fit, you are likely to look outside and hire your first sales person. Here are the top 5 things you need to do before, during and after you hire that individual. 1. Ensure you have set the right expectations for yourself, cofounders and… Continue reading 5 Things You Need to Do as First Sales Person at Startup

I spent a good few weeks in Seattle meeting entrepreneurs, investors (VC’s and a few angels) and visiting local accelerators. While, still early, I formed some opinions based on my interactions and impressions. I initially thought I’d make a very comprehensive post on the pros and cons of both cities, their entrepreneurial talent, their support for… Continue reading #Seattle and #Bangalore: an Early Comparison of #Startup Cities

Here is a hypothetical “real” situation. Lets say you raise  some angel money from a few friends (IMF) and a few rich individuals (Germany and French banks). The money you raised is $250K, in a convertible note (loan). The intention was to get product to market (stabilize your economy) with that money and hire 2… Continue reading Lessons from the Greek Debt Crisis for Entrepreneurs

I have attended over 45 hackathons in the last year. Some as a mentor, some as a participant and most as a judge. There are many biases I have, including a “developer bias” – I prefer developer heavy teams to MBA teams or sales teams etc. I know some of these biases and many I… Continue reading What Matters More at the Earliest of Early Stages? Team? or Idea?

After doing a competitive analysis of your market landscape the next level of detail most people want to perform is a key competitor analysis. When I was a product manager, I tended to focus only on the product features, user experience, design and technology during my competitive analysis of a company. That’s usually what most CEO’s do… Continue reading List for Competitive Analysis on Your #Startup Rivals

Data driven means that progress in an activity is compelled by data, rather than by intuition or personal experience. It is what scientists call evidence based decision making. Metrics driven means that activities are driven towards a deadline and objectives pre-set, rather than organically. I think of Metrics-driven as inherently proactive and Data-driven as reactive. I don’t think being reactive… Continue reading The Difference between Metrics-Driven and Data-Driven Startups

I love tinkering and trying to do new stuff. It helps me figure out what entrepreneurs are going though. Whether it is learning a new language (Javascript again), a framework (Angular.JS) or new technique to get customers (Instagram FTW). Some of these projects take a few months and others a year. For e.g. we are… Continue reading The 5 Emotions You Go Through As a #Startup Founder

Over the last few weeks I had a chance to review 89 of the companies to understand their free to paid conversion and also a chance to talk to 13 companies. What I learned was that time spent on the pricing page was a key indicator of conversion and you can A/B test your pricing page for colors, position of your… Continue reading 5 Important Questions before Pricing Your SaaS Product