5 Essential Tips About Starting Up From an Entrepreneur

Peeyush Rai is the co-founder at Canvera, an online photography company that has raised $13 million from two rounds of funding till date. Capital backing in no way is the sole benchmark for measuring the ability of a company, so to support it, Canvera has impressive numbers in terms of growth and customer acquisition. We got in touch with Peeyush to know about things they did right and being an entrepreneur who's been there, done that, he gave us 5 very simple but hard hitting tips an entrepreneur must keep in mind:

1.      Do not do it just for the sake of doing it

People from even the best b-schools get lured by the sheer tag of “entrepreneur”. The Silicon Valley’s success has lured many students into starting up on their own, but the major issue is, one should not do something just for the sake of doing it. If you do not feel the inner urge to go ahead with something, then maybe it’s not worth going ahead with.

2.      See if you can solve a real problem

You should see if you are adding value. Is the state of the domain improving with the introduction of your product/service? You should be working towards addressing an existing issue.

3.      Young entrepreneurs might feel inexperienced; take it as a challenge

One must start at some point of time; the fact that you have not experienced the ‘outside world’ should not deter you from dreaming big. Learn taking that as a challenge. Fight against the world to support your belief, one day you shall succeed. Ricardo Semler highlights this point in his book Maverick.

4.      Understand the domain well

Take time and study the market well. Does your product have high market potential? Will it cater to a large pool of customers? Check out your potential competitors, and study their mistakes. A detailed analysis of the market will help you plan things out.

5.      Lean is the Key

Eric Ries has accentuated upon the Lean Startup strategy, in his book The Lean Startup. One should figure out ways to start small. The organization can always grow, but to start with a large pool of human resource or investments can lead to a huge burden on one’s shoulders. Incorporating a lean strategy will lead to agility in the startup and quick growth can be achieved.

Read more about entrepreneurship and also download a guide about 'How to raise a Series A funding Round?'