Need Advice - How to begin working on a Idea/Startup ?
1. I am having a strong problem statement, which is thoroughly validated, along with a business plan, but I am not working or starting it as I lack confidence because I don't have a team in place. ( I am an IIM graduate and currently a product manager - giving these details just to get a sense of my background, which might help in the type of suggestions from your side). 2. How can I find a co-founder/partner/core team member? Please advise me on where to look for co-founders or people that share a similar mindset. Show quoted text Please help me to navigate through this situation. Thanks in Advance 🙏
MetalMan20
Stealth
a year ago
Been in your shoes man, and while it's easy to say to build your MVP with no code etc, the psychological toll and fear are real barriers to go ahead with it! A lot of times it is the fear of failure and self doubt that's the hardest to overcome than anything!
While I have no context on what sector and problem you're solving, sharing a few generic excerpts from my journey on how you can get started. Might be a long thread, so brace yourself but hoping it helps :)
1. The first step you can do is validate some of your basic ideas with people outside your network, this will help you remove any bias you or your connections might have on your thesis and will help you get more clarity on the problem you are solving
2. Finding a co-founder is hard, it's like a marriage of sorts imo so trust and communication are the most important pillars. If you don't have people within your network, try using Y-combinator founders platform or Interesting personas on LinkedIn. I've met amazing people by simply reaching out
3. Breaking ground zero is absolutely hard, while you can follow the path of building on no-code, another missed opportunity is finding ventures in similar or connected areas that have failed. This can open up doors for you to have some basic infra set along with a potential co-founder who has already learnt a lot from their mistakes which will help you avoid common pitfalls. You can chalk out a plan to either realign or pivot their entity or use the IP and/or product to build a fresh brand altogether. I suggest the latter for ease of legal documentation and fundraise.
4. Once you've vetted a part of your problem and found relevant people& infra from steps 1 to 3, it's time to turn into the next gear to your most important piece. Customers!
5. Identify who are your potential customers, look for the low hanging fruits that come within your network because they will usually come with the patience required to deal with a new venture
MetalMan20
Stealth
a year ago
6. Next up is focusing on providing value service over product initially. While it may feel counter intuitive as a PM, what this does is it gives you all the real time flow of the issues you'd face and will be solving while also being quick with output for your early adopters. This might not be true for b2c apps maybe, but works mostly if you are b2b or are providing consumers services.
7. Once you've figured out the operating model in step 6, then comes the plan to what skill sets you'd need to build your core team. This is important so that you don't make the wrong hire!
8. Post the operating model, you create a barebone tech offering that will help you scale those services and understand traction. This is important for you to gauge if there is a real PMF that tech would achieve.
9. After you've done all of this, start with the most crucial features and opt for fundraising given that now you have early believers, a decent team and some cash flow & traction for an investor to put in capital with you to enable your product building and growth phase.
Hope this gives you a starting point and some ideas on how you can take this off the ground. Happy to give suggestions on the model or deeper insights if you want, once I figure out a way to anonymously discuss or chat with you somewhere :)
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
Thank you soo much for such valuable insights. I absolutely agree that psychological toll and fear are the real barriers.
I have already made significant progress on the 9 pointers you have mentioned but the one main challenge for me is taking that step.
Hope I'll get that sorted within me very soon.
Would definitely love to connect with you and discuss more. Let me know the medium through which we can connect.
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BingoMadAngles
Stealth
a year ago
Look, I don't want to give you gyaan about "execution > idea", put out your idea in public, let people know, if someone's really interested they will reach out to you.
BiryaniEnthu
Stealth
a year ago
Question here
If I put the problem statement and idea (solution startup is providing), why can't someone with better resources and experience start their own. I can't even refute that it was my idea
BingoMadAngles
Stealth
a year ago
If you feel your idea is groundbreaking and can be easily copied then, just put out what sector and sub-sector your idea is.
For ex: building a Fintech product, that is going to be solve for personal savings. Mention something like this.
In the longer run, you will realise that what you thought as an idea, is just a feature.
Bro there are so many no code tools out there right now. You can just build an MVP yourself, test out the idea, and see if people actually need it.
Ideas are cheap. Execution is priceless.
Trust me everyone has the same ideas, but the one who executes it better wins.
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
My bad I should have mentioned it earlier. Tech is not the challenge I am facing and neither I am looking for a Tech Co-Founder. Thanks for the the advice ! 😀
Hi @FatFourths92
Would be great to help you, as much as I can. I work with 3 startups, on similar lines.
Reach me at [email protected]
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
Thank you soo much for the revert ! Will definitely reach out to you via mail.
DenseDog1
Stealth
a year ago
Hey, if you’re looking for a Co founder on the business side, let’s speak!
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
Hey, Yes I am looking for a co-founder on the business side. Can you let me know how can I reach out to you ?
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
@DenseDog1 @Tyreburst @MetalMan20
Context/Background: Currently, there is no Pan-India brand that caters to the Dietary/Healthy Meals needs of the Home Away from the home market. Eatfit was the only big player in this segment, but they too still didn't crack the equation or PMF. This is a fragmented market and largely filled with local players who primarily focus on Salads or foreign food items, etc, in their offerings.
Problem Statement: To solve the problem of unavailability of "Healthy", "Sustainable", "Indianized" meals for Home Away from Home category, which helps in meeting their health goals.
DenseDog1
Stealth
a year ago
Hey, let’s talk further. Hit me on nikhilmp507@gmail
BengaluruLandLord
Stealth
a year ago
Why would anyone want to work with you if you can't power something yourself. Try and start building it yourself nothing is that difficult. And stop being just product manager, that will get you no where. Become builder, build small & show people, they will join you then.
You have to be a builder in your journey, not just wish to have someone build your dream for you and then you can simply take credit.
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 😀
> Show quoted text
Are you also cold-mailing people in hopes of finding a co-founder?
FatFourths92
Student
a year ago
Nope currently not doing this. Can you elaborate further on this ?
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