I have started up thrice. Two of them not so successfully, but the third one was successfully acquired by a larger player in the market. What I am sharing is all experiential in nature and no preachy advice. Everything in here might not be a perfect fit for you, but most should. The structure of what I am presenting to you is as below: Introduction (these slides) Idea (2) (http://www.slideshare.net/suhasd/30-things-that-i-lear) Startup (3) | Executing (4) Funding (5) | Marketing | Selling (6) People | Emotions | Learning (7) Results

1. things that
I learned
from my
startup
experience
Suhas Dutta

2. Context
• This was my third startup.
– The first one was right after college, many years back.
Parental pressure killed it.
– The second (delhigate.com) in the mid 90s, had lot of
potential and we saw some success too. We just
couldn’t devote enough time.
– The third and the latest one (koolskool.com) had the
most potential, went through rounds of funding and
was successfully sold.
• What I am sharing is all experiential in nature and
no preachy advice. Everything in here might not
be a perfect fit for you, but most should.

3. Background
•
Hello! My name is Suhas Dutta
•
I have had a fairly successful corporate career spanning more than two
decades, worked in multiple countries across IT, Technology, Retail,
Consumer Products, Outsourcing, Strategy and Consulting.
– Have had an entrepreneurial streak, which has surfaced more than once
– Besides my day job, used to speak at various forums and industry conferences
internationaly.
– Occasionally dabble in a bit of consulting with some of the big names.
•
Why am I sharing?
– There are many things that we did right, and many which we did wrong or clearly
could have done better. If you have the entrepreneurial bug, and are about to step into
the unknown, hopefully my experiences will help in learning without having to make a
costly mistake. I know that we could have done with some practical advice in the
beginning.
•
I have broken the slides into volumes to avoid a large deck which can get
boring very quickly. So, here goes…

4. PART 1 – The building blocks

5. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
•
These are the blocks I am using to categorize the 30 things; 30 things
which run across the various areas of building and running a startup. I am
sure you could categorize them in different other ways too; but am using
this for ease of reference and explanation.

6. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
• This is even before planning. Still in your head, and
perhaps on some sheets of paper. You might have done
some basic calculations.

7. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
• Both these are action oriented and essentially are
about putting your ideas on the canvas of reality,
rubber meets the road kind of thing.

8. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
•
These are essentially about selling (or preparing to sell) – to your customer,
to your investor etc. Doesn’t matter who you are selling to (or preparing for),
it is about how strong your story is and how you narrate it.

9. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
• These three are all about the softer side of the
business, and to a large extent about what goes on in
your head and heart!

10. The building blocks
Idea
Starting
Executing
Funding
Marketing
Selling
People
Emotions
Learning
Results
•
Results are what you are doing all this for. Will you get to the desired goal? What
happens if not?...and very importantly if you are doing it right, how do you do
better…or if not doing right, how do you fix it. And thus the loop back from Results to
Idea and Execution. I won’t have a separate section for this, but the setting up and
measurement of goals, and results would be a constant theme across the decks.

11. • Now that you understand the format, go on to Part 2 where I shall
cover the ideation stage of a startup.
• In each of the decks, I shall try to add in some relevant tips as well.
• I might add / modify / delete material as I go along creating the
decks and that might cause a loss in uniformity.
• The material will get published on the web as I create. So, if you are
one of the early viewers, you might not be able to see the entire set
up for viewing right away.
• BTW, many of the things that you will read I (we) would have done
well in the past. But, there also are things which were not done and
there was some suffering because of that.

12. • If you a little help in terms of mentoring, reviewing
material, vetting a plan or the like…I would be
happy to help another entrepreneur start her/his
journey. It will cost you just a cup of coffee.
• If you have already started and could do with
some strategic advice, helping create your
business plans or your investment pitch, marketing
strategy, fulfill your company’s training needs,
need advice on the pitch etc, please feel free to
reach me.
• My coordinates are:
– reach@delhigate.com
– linkedin.com/in/suhasdutta/

13. OUTSOURCING STRATEGY
IT ADVISORY
LEARNING STRATEGY
RETAIL
OFFSHORING STRATEGY
PROCESS ENGINEERING
TRAINING
CONSUMER PRODUCTS
CIO ON TAP
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CONTENT DEVELOPMENT
STARTUP ADVISORY
+91 9980711477 | +91 9980525553
reach@delhigate.com