BEFORE starting a Business, Listen to this! | Mahavir Sharma | TBCY
Welcome to another episode of The Brand Called You. A vodcast and podcast show that brings you leadership lessons, knowledge, experience and wisdom from hundreds of successful individuals from around the world. I'm your host, Ashutosh Garg and today I'm delighted and privileged to welcome a very, very senior entrepreneur and leader from India, Mr. Mahavir Sharma. Mahavir, welcome to the show. Thank you, Ashutosh, pleasure. Mahavir is the past chairman of the TiE global Board of Trustees. TiE for those of you who don't know is the Indus entrepreneurs. He is the past chairman of the carpet Export Council. He is the chairman of the Rajasthan Angel
innovators network. He's an angel investor. He's a leadership mentor. And amongst all these things, he's a very successful businessman doing business of carpet, jewelry, in marketing and branding. Amazing journey, you've had, Mahavir so far. So I thought today we will speak
about TiE and startups. Absolutely. So let's start with TiE, as the global Chair of TiE, what have been the activities of TiE and what has been your role? So you know, TiE, as you know, is almost 30 years old as we speak today. It's been a long journey, promoting entrepreneurship, growing, as we did gradually across different continents in different chapters, in different cities. I think, you know, over the last
six years that I was on the board before I became the vice chair. In my seventh year in the chair in the eighth year, I realized that TiE is doing so much across various ecosystems, from schools, to colleges, to women, of late 2019. And there was not much noise or much impact or people didn't realize the value of the brand that we had. So I quickly thought that we have to establish certain parameters, certain brand expectations, certain deliverables. And that can only happen if you work in partnership with various
governments, work in partnership with various like minded organizations. And that's where I think the visibility of TiE and the outreach of TiE was very, very important. And so we started to reach out to many people, we created bridges between state governments in India and state governments in the US and national governments. And we tried to create the fact that entrepreneurship, technology, startup and angel investment are synonymous with TiE. And if there's
anyone who can mentor someone on entrepreneurship, or on tech, or then help angel invest, it's has to be TiE. So that journey or that thing is what we tried to started to create, which is continuing in the last two, three years, even after I was done with the chairmanship. The other thing we thought was that we give too much of mentoring, we give too much gyaan, we give too much of emphasis on networking, you know, these are all byproducts, these will always happen, we need to put our money where our mouths are, so we need to invest. And we need to be the first cheque writers to startups or teams or co founders who have potential to grow, whether the idea today might pivot, whether the idea tomorrow might grow, whether they might change their idea and start a new startup. But the fact that we have to help them at an early stage and an idea stage and help incubators and accelerators that the government of India has put across the country, we need to be relevant at the bottom of the pyramid and C. K. Prahalad
which is house of TiE has always been at the bottom of the pyramid whether it's micro small, medium enterprises, entrepreneurship, creating jobs or so, that's where I think we started a very robust angel program. I think US angel program and the Indian angel program and I continue to lead the India initiative because it was started under my leadership. And I think in the next two to three years, you will see the TiE will be probably, you know, co investor, if not the full investor in early stage idea stage companies in India, because we have a huge potential of 13,000 people who can invest and we are democratic. We can be local mentors to these startups across the world, we can help them reach out to the world market. So I think those are the few things that I always thought of and we started off
during my tenure, which continued to grow and are continuing to help TiE grow as we see it. So you know, I see the activity of TiE because I've been a charter member, haven't given back as much as you have. But you know, and we'll have hundreds and hundreds of startup entrepreneurs listening to our conversation. What is the advantage other than what you've just outlined in terms of knowledge and money for a young startup entrepreneur, or anyone to join TiE? I'll tell you inspirational stories. I mean, I from a traditional business of handicrafts, carpets and jewelry to become an angel investor to know more of tech, to being part of this thing is just because I was inspired by so many people from Silicon Valley to Delhi, and their success ratios, their impact on the society, their impact on revenue, their impact on employment was immense and huge. And I said this 20-10-15% growth year over year is not the way to go, acknowledges the future. So I think, you know, be surrounded by good people,
surrounded by better people, listening to their inspirational stories, and talking to them, becoming part of their lives and taking them along in your journey, in itself is a great achievement. I think positive, encouraging, growth oriented, technology driven environment is not easy to find. And I think that in itself, whether you get funded or not, whether you get mentored or not, that, in itself is a change that society needs. We don't need to be graded by the grades that we get, we don't need to be graded by the city that we live in, we don't need to be graded by the language that we speak, I think it is the inner ability to be confident, successful, and take people along with you. I think that's the positivity that I bring. And I think that's something that we or the youngsters who don't, I mean, who are not the toppers definitely need that. And that you know, is 90%
of all of us, I mean, I was never a topper in school, but I was you know, above average, but average, you really need to have to you know, grow from there. So, these stories, these inspirational journeys are something that you will get one, you know, 10,000 amongst various chapters, various ecosystems, various events, online or offline. Fascinating. So, another question that I wanted to check with you was the TiE is a global organization, for someone in say, the Delhi chapter, how easy is it for them to access someone in another country? Not easy. Obviously, successful people are very busy people, and they are inundated by
people reaching out to them. And everyone is not as responsive as you and I could be. Because, you know, responsibility and responsiveness are not synonymous with everyone. But it's not that you will on either one or event one or day one you will be able to access, it's a process. I've always realized that whether it's relationship,
no matter what relationship, or whether it's an organization, you get as much as you give, if you give your time, if you give you energy, if you volunteer, if you work with other people. And if you're willing to help people who are below you, you will be recognized, you will be supported, you will be known. And you will be able to reach out to anyone sitting in Silicon Valley. But it doesn't happen in one day, one month, one year. It is a process. And it takes time. And I'm living example. I mean, I was a very non participative reluctant charter member for the first seven years. And suddenly, you know, for the lack of being a better choice, I was made the president of Rajasthan. And luckily for me, the global retreat
happened in Jaipur that year. And suddenly, I realized that all that four or five months of hard work to deliver the best retreat ever, got me into not only recognition, but talking to people across the globe, and also the fact that Jaipur, you know, since 2009, grew up as a startup ecosystem. And so everything collectively fell in place. Everyone worked very hard, collectively. And we have an ecosystem in Jaipur. That's in the top 10 in India. And I think, that initiative, that encouragement, that opportunity that I got, would not have happened, it took seven years. So you don't know. And because I decided to give back that year. And I decided to do something
without expecting anything. And I think we as a team delivered a great event participants attendance, the government of Rajasthan at that time, everything fell in place. And I think it's positive energy invites positive growth. And I think that's what happened. And since then, I've never looked back. I mean, I was you know, and that's what I feel. The more you give,
the more you get. Fantastic. And that's an amazing mantra, I think any organization, which has members, the more you give in it, the more you get back. Fantastic. So now let's talk a little bit about your next Avatar, which is as a startup entrepreneur and as an angel investor. Let me start by asking, you know, and as someone who has led TiE, a very common question that a lot of startup entrepreneurs have is should I go solo, or should I have a co founder? What is your view? Oh, definitely not solo. Startups and entrepreneurs journey is very tough.
It's very competitive. Having people alongside you, people who are equal or better than you, as co founders will always help, I think going solo is a very, very rare thing that I would do, I would need a team, I would not go solo. Okay. And there is also, you know, lots of statistics thrown around that one, only one out of 10 startups make it. I'd love to get your perspective, the what, in your opinion, are some of the major reasons, startups don't make it? Oh, you know, multiple reasons. I mean, of course, even if you have a great idea, and a great team, sometimes you don't realize the competition that there is, and people only see competition as direct competition, or they think that they are innovative, or they can sell something for free, or give something for free. And sometimes there's so much of indirect competition,
sometimes, and you don't realize that and that's a lot of that takes away all your effort that you have done, you've created a product or a service. And it can be a byproduct for someone else. And then the Googles and Facebooks, and Amazons of the world will just eat you alive, because you've given something that they can do free, because they have revenues coming from everywhere. So I think that's one reason why they don't realize
that they don't realize is in great competition for many, many people, number one. Number two, the lack of mentoring or lack of vision to pivot when they need to pivot or evolve. And you know, evolution is natural. And if you static in your product or service, if you're static in not improving what you're doing, I think people have lacked and they became complacent, and then they you know, slowly died or slowed down. So I think that's the other thing. I think innovation and pivoting and mentoring is very critical. Lastly, I feel that many times topline, bottom line, growth, and fundraising are challenging things to answer. So while
some investors say I need a top line, I don't care about how much you burn. Some people will say that hey boss, you never know if you will be able to raise the money next round or not, whether it'll be 18 months or 24 months, you need to make sure that you're unit economic positive, your operations are positive, cashflow positive, you don't start to burn and lose the money unless you raise the next round of fun. So there's conflict and everything in one shoe doesn't fit all. The problem is that some sectors need top line, some sectors need bottom line, some sectors need both. And the next round of funding is very,
very critical for them to survive either ways, and so many good ideas, many great ideas, many teams die because they're not able to raise money at the right time. And that's unfortunate. And then COVID has done some damage to some startups. And some startups die on their own. Because you know, it's very tough and competitive to convince every angel investor or VC or a B fund. So it's a challenge. And I think it's a journey that is marred, full of not internal lack of competence,
but external forces, which are beyond the control of startups, and I don't blame these kids. But so long as you've learned something, you've organized something and you know the reason why you were not able to raise the next round of money. That in itself is a great learning and worth a lot of money than the money that you would have raised. So your response
on money gives me the segue to my next question, which is again, a million dollar question. A lot of startup entrepreneurs want to hear and you're as probably one of the best people to ask, should one bootstrap as long as possible or should one raise money as soon as one gets it? I think bootstrapping is the best thing to do. But outside validation, even for a small equity is not a bad idea. Because there is a Hindi saying, you know, Ghar Ki Murgi Dal Barabar, you know, all these things are very, very relevant. You have to go outside of your city or your comfort zone and say, this is what I'm doing.
Would you invest in this and I think it's important, but bootstrapping, nothing like bootstrapping, nothing like growing organically. But you should know when you're ready to swing into a much faster higher ground. And that's when you should raise money, but bootstrap as long as you can. And the most important thing which people don't realize, continue to think like a bootstrap startup, even after you raise your money. If you start to splurge money and get swayed by on acquiring companies backward integration, forward integration, or cost of customer acquisition decision going up because you're under pressure, it doesn't work. Think like an entrepreneur, think like a bootstrap company. There are plenty of people investors, investing. But there is a lot
at stake when you have to raise the next round of money. So it's very, very important that you continue to think like a bootstrap company. My next question to you is that, at what stage should a start up start to scale up? Because again, the big question that everyone seems to talk about is PAN India, global. And I keep saying, but if you're in the National Capital Region, you've got 24 million people to get to. So it depends on the sector to sector. It depends from city to city that you're in. It depends on who your competition is, and how much money have you raised. So all these three factors being same. If we were all in
New Delhi-NCR, if we were all raised, we had always saved money and had enough money to spend. And if we were all in the services sector, I would say that once you have, I have a dominant position in Delhi NCR in that service, and you have been validated by outside funding, and you're able to raise the next round of funding to go to 10 other cities in India, I would scale up at that point of time, that's when I would ramp up because you have to have the backup plan, you have to have funds in place and cashflow in place for the next 18 to 24 months. And you should be team ready-product ready to scale up. I mean, unless you are ready to scale up with your team and product, even if you have money, don't do it. Wait because customers and consumers have a very, very short span that they give you, they only give you one opportunity, they like your product, then they start using you they don't like it, they never come back to you, why?. And that's bad publicity. And as you know very well, it takes 10 times effort to wipe off a negative statement, then it takes to build one. Absolutely. So time for a few more questions
for you. And I'm going to shift now again gears and talk to you as an angel investor. What do you look for, Mahavir before you take a decision to make an investment? Oh, so many things. But of course, the team, as I said is most critical, obviously, the product, the idea are important. But the timing, you know, sometimes I've seen products and services that are not ready, people are not ready. We also look at validation from
the market. And people sometimes, startups or co founders sometimes don't realize that when we say validation, it is not validation from the customer that's buying it. But validation from the supplier, because he's making money while he's selling on your platform and his or your, you know, is that viable for him to continue to do that? And the third most important thing is that, are you making money? Or are you just using a platform to take A to B and not making money in between, it has to be a win-win situation, every element has to be a winner, and you have to check all the boxes no matter who's paying you the revenue. And similarly, if it's a B2B2C, then it has to be four winners, if all the players from the supplier to the end consumer and no matter how many hands it's changing, if everyone is not happy with the money that they're making the product that they're getting, it will not work. So it's very critical for me to see will they sustain the test of time, if this thing continues, or if the supplier suddenly decides that I will not give the product to him or the technology team quits, will this be able to survive the test of time and all those things are very, very critical. And I think those things are very
important. Obviously, you know, get into valuation in unit economics, on cashflow, on other things that are important because valuation and the funds required, have to make sense, the numbers have to add all the money that you require, it cannot be 8 to 10% of the equity, or valuation that you 10 times the valuation, all these things are very, very important. So we do a lot of work. We listen to them, we ask them all sorts of questions. We even go to the extent of asking them what if you're not able to raise the money that you're trying to raise? What if it's a partial raise? What are the answers going to be, are they ready to deal with that situation? So all these things are very, very critical and COVID in last two years has made us, you know, we have to be COVID proof, we have to be travel proof, we have to be you know looking at markets to scale or to grow without people with feet on ground. All those things are very, very important. And then critical and add up to this. But though it depends on product and service and the sector that they are in, of course, patents, IPS, you know, all that does add value. Colleges, education and work experience does add
value. But it all has to add up. I mean, if there's one red mark, you're gone. I mean, we won't invest that. If there's some red flag that I see, it will not work, it will not work, because irrespective of the nine good thing that you might be doing, or might have, if there's one thing that I feel will not work, which we as investors would stay away from. It's a very, very slow process. Very, very tough process. And we're not gods, we could be wrong. So we've gone wrong, I have not invested in companies that have done well. And I've invested in companies that haven't done well. So basically, it's perceptive, it's something that
everyone thinks differently. So be persistent, continue to grow your product and service, and also reach out to as many right angels, as you see fit. Well said. So my last question to you now. And again, this is for the 1000s of people who will listen to our conversation. As someone who's been there, done that not just as an angel investor, but also led the organization which is supporting and mentoring so many investors, what would your advice be to a young entrepreneur starting off on her or his journey? I think my advice is to everyone, forget if you're entrepreneur or not, keep learning.
You know, at our age, Ashutosh I still learn every day, I still read a lot, I still try to question various things and get try and get answers for them. So I think keep learning, entrepreneurship, success, failure, startup, one startup, two startup, 10 investor, investment, businesses, they're all journey. They're all there. They're all means to achieve better life, better goals, better environment, better society, but they're not the end. The end game is where so long as you continue to evolve as a person, you continue to give back to the society, to your employees, your family, to your to everyone around you, life will move on and you will continue to grow. And I think it should be again, you know, a journey full of happiness,
live every day of your life. Don't wait to succeed, don't wait to have an exit. Don't wait to have a series D or E. If you're not enjoying what you're doing, it will become a drag. And you will wear out much faster than you are, life is unpredictable. So enjoy every single day, enjoy everything that you do, and continue to give back. Because what goes around comes back. Well said. What a fantastic conversation. And on that note of keep learning. Mahavir, thank you so much for speaking to me, thank you for speaking to me at such length about TiE and about the amazing things you did as the global chair. It's such an amazing organization
that I am also fortunate to belong to. And it's leaders like you who make a difference in the life of all TiE members. Thank you for all the direction that you've given. And thank you for talking to me in so much detail about an entrepreneur and entrepreneurs journey about the challenges and entrepreneur faces and about your words of wisdom right at the end of keeping to learn. Thank you again and good luck. Thank you. It's a pleasure and an honor to be on your channel. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for listening to The Brand Called You, videocast and podcast. A platform that brings you
knowledge, experience and wisdom of hundreds of successful individuals from around the world. Do visit our website, www.tbcy.in to watch and listen to the stories of many more individuals. You can also follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Just search for The Brand Called You
2022-04-16 05:23