https://www.64notes.com A blog by @kingsidharth on design, product, startups, and business Sat, 08 Jun 2024 16:36:32 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/hardik-pandya-google-hiring-portfolio/ In this Episode Hardik Pandya is a Designer at Google. He is @hvpandya on twitterand instagram. Transcript Sidharth: What’s up? Welcome to today’s live and today we’re going to talk to Hardik Pandya about like all the questions we collected. He’s a product designer at Google. Me and Hardik worked at Instamojo together there for about a year. Later on, Hardik worked with Ola. And then now he... Thu, 09 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/hardik-pandya-google-hiring-portfolio/ https://www.64notes.com/podcast/design-roundtable-3-designer-problems/ In this Episode Arjun Arunkumar is a UX Designer at Swiggy. He is @averageintel on twitter and @jedijun on Instagram. Hardik Pandya is a Designer at Google. He is @hvpandya on twitterand instagram. Madhuri Maram is co-founder of Xperian and is @iruhdam on Instagram and @iruhdam24 on twitter. Transcript Sidharth: Okay. Question time again. When was the last time? Technical debt impacted, yo... Sat, 04 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/design-roundtable-3-designer-problems/ https://www.64notes.com/podcast/switching-to-design-career-roundtable-2/ This roundtable turned to a conversation between the two — Abhinav Chhikara & Sidharth, since the other guests couldn’t make it. We talked about several topics but mostly covered: Switching to design career Switching from a non-design industry to design or designer roles Why self-learning is the future of design and why & how you should make your own “path” A framework by Abhin... Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/switching-to-design-career-roundtable-2/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/tools-of-the-trade-product/ What's up? *redacted* A section where I talk about what's new follow on twitter or subscribe to the newsletter for this. Once you define a problem; usually solutions and ideas are a dime a dozen. The challenge is not the brightest idea in the room. The challenge usually becomes these layers: Privatisation, Economics of the Idea Plausibility Risk Assessment Measurability ... Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/tools-of-the-trade-product/ https://www.64notes.com/podcast/building-career-using-internet/ While each one of us is born naturally curious, the education system & our mental-models, that our society runs on, train it out of us. Owning and honing this curiosity can change our lives — especially in the age of the internet.  With the internet, education yourself and building a career & wealth has become the easiest it has ever been. You can pick-up any soft-skill, learn a la... Sun, 08 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/building-career-using-internet/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/cant-hire-best/ "Hiring the best of the best" doesn't mean you went for the best in the market. Among those relevant to you, you find the best in the market — and then look for alignment. Someone who can buy into you/your organisation's narrative and align their own story to yours. When the story of an individual and an organisation aligns, you can create magic. This alignment requires a... Thu, 27 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/cant-hire-best/ https://www.64notes.com/podcast/design-roundtable-career-path-as-a-designer/ What if we could get some kick-ass folks to sit together and talk about questions and issues that most won't address.  With the first roundtable, we explored the topic "Career Path as a Designer", with:  Abhinav Chhikara — Designer, YouTuber, & Digital Creator  Arjun Arunkumar, Designer at Swiggy  Hardik Pandya — Designer at Google   Madhuri M... Mon, 24 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/design-roundtable-career-path-as-a-designer/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/fair-process-1/ From design & product decisions to policy decisions — organisations often deal with times where those affected feel the process was unfair or even rigged. But what's a fair process? Over the years, I had some rough guidelines to define what it should include. It has boiled down to these guiding principles: Listen to people — take their inputs and considerations Communicate how ... Fri, 07 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/fair-process-1/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/two-and-a-half-paragraph/ “Let’s go with this design; we will instruct [the team] to not write beyond two paragraphs.” They didn’t go beyond the two-paragraph limit for a couple of months. Then one day, a new line appeared below the second paragraph one page. It was a new hire who missed this critical bit during the onboarding. Somehow it skipped the manual review. Humans make mistakes. Now, it’s live. But it is... Wed, 29 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/two-and-a-half-paragraph/ https://www.64notes.com/podcast/nandini-gangal-product-designer-CRED-interview/ Nandini Gangal (from Udaipur, Rajasthan) started as an engineering student, taught herself UI/UX design and went on to become a product designer at Rentomojo, Flipkart, and (now) CRED. In the first part of her interview, we discuss her childhood influences, how she discovered & learned design, how she convinced her parents for this unconventional career choice. Sun, 26 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/podcast/nandini-gangal-product-designer-CRED-interview/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/industry-review-product-design-tech/ Check out the blog post I wrote about 2020 industry trends. Why are we rebranding For the last few weeks, we' been busy rebranding Headout. Why, you ask? The existing brand, while works well, has several issues: Too many colours to support edge-cases with no coherent colour system The brand message is fragmented, and all communication — from content to illustration ... Tue, 21 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/industry-review-product-design-tech/ https://www.64notes.com/2020-industry-trends-tech-design-product/ I use near years as an arbitrary check-point to reconcile thoughts, notes, and ideas gathered over the last year, and the year before that. Reflecting at and adding from the notes a year before, hopefully, makes sure that good ideas go forward, and short-term noise is easy to spot & drop. I feel these changes will have a significant impact on designers, product managers, ... Thu, 16 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/2020-industry-trends-tech-design-product/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/design-ethics-golden-rule/ If you're alive on twitter, probably you noticed a flood of #Dup19 — we did have a lot of fun. I've never seen so many designers in one place. The most significant idea, that stood-out for me, was "consequences" in design. An alternate way to look at it — the golden rule for design: Treat others like you'd like to be treated. turn it to the Golden Rule in Design: Con... Mon, 09 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/design-ethics-golden-rule/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/missing-tracks-roadmap/ Every company, with or without planning, runs two tracks with design, product, & engineering: We often talk about "bias to ship"; but if you ship too much on the New Track; debt will increase exponentially. If you solely focus on the debt track, it will add to the new track once we've found a reliable solution. Things get worse when you sit dow... Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/missing-tracks-roadmap/ https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/design-twitter-and-process/ Unless you've been on a "detox", you've likely come across #designtwitter on twitter. It's not a hashtag. Most conversations don't even use the hashtag. So what is it? It's People & Conversations. Follow enough designers and (or) tweet enough about design topics, and you're design twitter! The industry can't get enough of designers, and we see so... Wed, 06 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/newsletter/design-twitter-and-process/ https://www.64notes.com/design/design-framework-ux/ Millions of customers from over 120 countries use Headout every month to book experiences like guided tours, attractions, and activities. We have over 5,000 listed products; each may have several partners fulfilling the experience. For these products, we generate more than 5,000 types of tickets on our platform. This is how most of these tickets looked like: ... Tue, 22 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/design-framework-ux/ https://www.64notes.com/design/inherited-design-redesign/ Headout sells experiences (e.g., tours, attractions, events, live shows) across the world. Millions of customers find & book experiences with us using our websites and apps (products). I recently joined the Headout team to solve design & product problems. We found ourselves amid countless requests for "small design changes" that need attention "asap".... Fri, 23 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/inherited-design-redesign/ https://www.64notes.com/smart-links/ Payment Links, launched in 2016, achieved the product-market fit for Instamojo. Lakhs of MSMEs use Payment Links to collect payments every day. Our products are self-explanatory; we spend no money on activating a customer. 80% of our customers adopt our DIY products within 55 minutes of Signing up. Payment links & buttons are on the customer's website; before the co... Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/smart-links/ https://www.64notes.com/design/next-day-and-instant-payouts/ "It takes too long for the money to reach my account." Businesses use Instamojo to receive a payment. It takes up to 3 working days for the money to hit their bank account (payout). Settlement cycles are an industry standard (T+3 settlement cycle). This delay is not a problem for a business with sound financial management and a steady cash flow, for a small busine... Mon, 11 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/next-day-and-instant-payouts/ https://www.64notes.com/design/instamojo-redesign-concerns/ In August this year (2018), we launched Instamojo’s new brand (along with a new line of products) . As a part of the rebranding, we redesigned our products across the web and mobile platforms. There were many questions to answer, like: How much should the design, interface, and experience change? How will it affect the business and experience of our existing custome... Mon, 17 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/instamojo-redesign-concerns/ https://www.64notes.com/design/online-payments-for-indian-businesses/ In the past, a simple computer would need an entire room. Today, you can wear 100 times that power on your wrist. Thanks to technology and the disruption it brings, computers have evolved from enterprise undertakings to consumer products. Back in 2012, when Instamojo started, online payments & ecommerce infrastructure were still enterprise services/departments. They were beyond the financi... Sun, 17 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/online-payments-for-indian-businesses/ https://www.64notes.com/instamojo-365/ It's been more than a year since I joined the gang of badasses at Instamojo. During this one year, Instamojo has come from a being a product-in-making to a product-in-evolution. We've come from being an MVP to an evolving product used by thousands of people to collect payments online. These persons are from different worlds-they are freelancers, consultants, musicians, craftsmen, teac... Tue, 13 May 2014 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/instamojo-365/ https://www.64notes.com/design/stop-helvetica-arial/ Arial and Helvetica are the default font stack for most browsers and for most of the websites. That's bad, really really bad. Arial and Helvetica suck on web and for paragraphs of text - they are unreadable (as compared to many other typefaces created specifically for web). And Helvetica looks ugly without proper kerning and Arial is just an ugly bastard son of Helvetica. Some people actua... Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/stop-helvetica-arial/ https://www.64notes.com/design/the-design-koans/ I wrote them for Web Mutiny and refined them with help of Roma. They aim at expressing simple things about design that I believe people tend to miss out. They are more on lines of poetry than koans, but hey. The Real Design Design that just looks beautiful is mediocre Real science solves problems Simply, thus beautifully That is real design What Design Can Do Designers engineer experiences to... Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/the-design-koans/ https://www.64notes.com/end-of-web-mutiny/ Note: In recent development, Web Mutiny has not ended (technically). The legal entity lives on with only Aditya (my co-founder) from the original team. Opinions expressed here are no way neutral. These are biased from my personal experience and perspective. Everyone will have their own version. Symbiosis A mutually beneficial relationship between different people or groups. Parasite... Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/end-of-web-mutiny/ https://www.64notes.com/business-side-of-things/ “What’s the problem?”, I asked him calmly, looking him in the eyes. Trying to be firm yet comforting. “I will not take orders from him! Not from him!” he replied in a trying-to-control-anger voice. “They are not orders…” I tried to explain “They are! They fucking are!” I was cut mid sentence. “Who does he think he is? He doesn’t know shit about programming or anything technica... Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/business-side-of-things/ https://www.64notes.com/focus/ Time is valuable but focus is even more rare. There are 24 hours in a day but not 24 hours of focus a day. I don’t consider myself a very focused one. Just a couple of years back I was receiving “focus!” lectures by almost everyone around. I used to jump from one idea to another. For me every idea was worthy and inter-connected. I had energy for all of them. Even in school my train of though... Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/focus/ https://www.64notes.com/the-secret-path/ Daiju visited the master Baso in China. Baso asked: What do you seek? Enlightenment replied Daiju. You have your own treasure house. Why do you search outside? Baso asked. Daiju inquired: Where is my treasure house? Baso answered: What you are asking is your treasure house. Daiju was enlightened! Ever after he urged his friends: Open your own treasure house and u... Mon, 19 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/the-secret-path/ https://www.64notes.com/mistakes-failures/ In October I went to The Sanskaar Valley School in Bhopal to mentor and judge a (sort of) business plan competition with Aditya. A wonderful school in middle of a reserved forest. Everything about that place was just perfect! Except that the Domino’s wouldn’t deliver pizza there. Man, were we pizza deprived! The kids there were nothing less than genius. Day 1 - we present them our thoughts an ... Wed, 14 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/mistakes-failures/ https://www.64notes.com/steal-copy/ "Good artist create, great artist steal." This quote is thrown around a bit too much, without realizing the amazing difference between stealing and copying. Stealing, for many, is same as copying, rip-off. Let me tell you a thing - Copying is NOT stealing. [1] Recent case of Curebit ripping-off 37 Signals and other people's design in name of A/B testing and 'we are just a sm... Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/steal-copy/ https://www.64notes.com/design/design-and-subsets-essay/ Design is how it works. 'It' as in everything. How you work, how the tap works, how the female brain works. Design solves problems. And making something look more appealing is just very minute part of the problem. (Thus design is not just how it looks). It's like sexual attraction, seems like it's visual but there is a lot of logic and science behind it. Let me explain differ... Sun, 20 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/design/design-and-subsets-essay/ https://www.64notes.com/googles-social-underpants/ Search? Ask Google. But when it comes to social - Google knows next to shit. Orkut failed to seduce anyone save Brazilians and Indians. I know why Indians liked it but that's another story for another day. But as you read this, more and more Brazilians and Indians are ditching Orkut and getting laid with Facebook. Google Buzz and Wave came with a lot of buzz and went away in a wave. Now ... Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/googles-social-underpants/ https://www.64notes.com/notorious-business-at-11/ I am writing this in middle of 32+ hours train journey - from Bangalore to Delhi. Sort of on a flash-back journey too. I started a cute little business when I was 11. Now some people will shoot me in the head for calling 'business' cute but I couldn't care less. So read on. Back then my dad was trying his hand at network-marketing. He had a collection audio books and talks on cass... Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/notorious-business-at-11/ https://www.64notes.com/colleges-entrepreneurship-india-nit-trichy/ I love traveling. I love speaking. And traveling to speak - labour of love. Recently I went on to speak at Kamala Nehru College, Delhi and NIT Trichy. The Entrepreneurship Cell This was the second time I was interacting with Entrepreneurship Cell (E-cell) of a college (that’s about NIT Trichy). I think E-cell is a great idea. You get to hangout with like-minded people, make connections, get ... Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/colleges-entrepreneurship-india-nit-trichy/ https://www.64notes.com/dont-use-the-eraser/ Apart from regular shit, there are some interesting things that happen in my college. A while ago, we were working on "design" (Design as in design patterns thingy not the logical design). [caption id="attachment_557" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="It's good, right?"][/caption] I did all this by my own hand and a rotring pen, 8x... Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/dont-use-the-eraser/ https://www.64notes.com/to-college-or-not-to-college/ I finished my schooling back in 2010. As norms have it, I was supposed to join a college. But I didn’t. My question: Why the fuck? Hell broke loose! Relatives were all restless, self-righteous were giving lectures, concerned were trying to explain and dad nagged me day-and-night. But even after seeking advice of respected ones; there was little logic anywhere. I didn’t think I could learn an... Mon, 29 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/to-college-or-not-to-college/ https://www.64notes.com/the-power-circle/ tl;dr: Empower the people who interact with your customers. Keep them happy, train them, love them. They are your shining stars. Usually a company's power hierarchy looks like this: The inner circle of CEO and top-heads have the most power, they care about company the most and yet they are most distant from their customers. Managers and in-betweens have moderate power, sort of care a... Fri, 27 May 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/the-power-circle/ https://www.64notes.com/ideas-startups-in-betweens/ "... that's my startup!" he finished explaining his idea. Last time we met he was onto some other idea. I asked him again, "But what about the app you were building a month ago?" "Oh, that? That's my another startup!" "[Gulp!] Oh, I see. How many startups do you have, again?" "Erm.. dunno... several. 5-6, I guess." Suddenly, startu... Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/ideas-startups-in-betweens/ https://www.64notes.com/dear-co-founder-open-letter-to-your-co-founder/ Dear Co-founder, You already know the things I am about to say here. They are dead obvious; but that's the problem - they are dead obvious. You are not the best programmer in the world, I've seen better ones. Nor am I the best designer in the world, you've seen better ones. None of us is the best person out there. But you know what? That's irrelevant! Because we are best for e... Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/dear-co-founder-open-letter-to-your-co-founder/ https://www.64notes.com/applying-to-the-morpheus/ Note: These are my personal opinion and NOT official guidelines, I am NOT affiliated to the Morpheus. We (me, Utkarsh and Prajjwal) applied to the Morpheus back in 2010 with Besperk, back when it was called Createens (more on that later). After initial application, we landed an interview. We didn't get through - and we know the valid reason. But here are some tips form our experience: Wh... Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/applying-to-the-morpheus/ https://www.64notes.com/app-vs-business/ I've wanted to write this ever since I wrote a comment on HN while discussing Evernote's $800,000 monthly income, someone commented: "When I see news like this, all I think is that a proportion of Evernotes users must be quite dissatisfied with their services and would switch if there were a better alternative. Then I think - perhaps I should make a better alternative. I stor... Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/app-vs-business/ https://www.64notes.com/early-adopters-essay/ It has always been a classic question - If I build something, will people come? Will they honor this new way of doing things? Will they adapt? Will they like this creation of mine? Almost every new startup / ideas / business / product has this big question - will this work? Well, if you put something out there (especially on the internet) someone will take it, try it and if you are active on s... Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/early-adopters-essay/ https://www.64notes.com/find-good-names-for-projects-startups/ A lot of people struggle to find a good name for their projects and startups. Many people either end up crow-sourcing the name (something that has thin chance of success) or end up taking a bad name. I've done that too - 'the FRiEnDz' & 'Meditation Rocks!' were one of the worst names I ever chose for my projects. The Good Names But recently I've been helping a lot o... Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/find-good-names-for-projects-startups/ https://www.64notes.com/let-them-raise-the-bar/ Most of the people you meet will tell you 'rights and wrongs' of the world. Not of 'the' world but of the world as they know it to be. And Most of it is crap because how they see life is not how you see life. Most of it is their frustrations and opinion that will never come in agreement with yours. Don't pay attention. But there are special kind of people - let's call ... Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/let-them-raise-the-bar/ https://www.64notes.com/the-black-magic-of-marketing/ A few months ago, I happily took up responsibility of handling social media & blogging for a useful web-startup. Maybe because I was doing it 'right' for some other projects and for myself. So sun was rising from east, people were alive and life was normal. And then shit hit the fan.* I still remember the fine morning I sat down with a mug of coffee to schedule some tweets and writ... Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/the-black-magic-of-marketing/ https://www.64notes.com/whom-what-to-know/ There is always too much to know and you cannot know it all. And if that was not enough, you have friends who will tell you, "What?! You don't know about that? Looser!" Nice friends, you have! There is hell lot of difference between what & who you should know and what & who should know you! You don't need to know about your industry leaders, latest technology or who ... Mon, 11 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/whom-what-to-know/ https://www.64notes.com/entrepreneurs-vs-businessmen-the-vocabulary-wars/ There are entrepreneurs, there are businessmen and then there are those who think themselves to be entrepreneurs while they are businessmen. Usually because they think it's cool. Or just want to teach entrepreneurs otherwise. It's easy to spot them both. Watch out for the vocabulary Entrepreneurs use variations of: Bootstrapping Startup Ideas Discussions Version 1 Shipping Busi... Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/entrepreneurs-vs-businessmen-the-vocabulary-wars/ https://www.64notes.com/humble-student-syndrome/ Schools are funny, during first few years they teach you how to speak, write and express yourself - they teach you to stand up for yourself and what you believe. And later tell you to shut-up and follow the crowd. On some, this conformity works. You will see them humbled, supposedly eager to learn, have no decision-making ability, hands at back, head down and… you get the idea. I call this the... Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/humble-student-syndrome/ https://www.64notes.com/yes-your-excuses-are-lame-so-stfu/ I've a cell phone from a local company which often runs out of battery. It's so amusing to see it say 'Battery Low' and then turn off with loud music! I wonder how long it could have lasted without playing that music. So often people do the same thing, they complain about not having enough time / money / space / courage / ideas and whatever. Yet the have enough to waste on ciga... Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/yes-your-excuses-are-lame-so-stfu/ https://www.64notes.com/free-prize-inside-seth-godin/ I recently read Seth Godin's Free Prize Inside. Here are some thoughts from and about the book: "We don't insist on the biggest ads or the latest technology. We want cool stuff. Design matters. Style matters. Extras matter. We want the free prize, sometimes more than we want the thing itself." "A free prize is the essence of a Purple Cow. … It rarely delivers more of what... Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/free-prize-inside-seth-godin/ https://www.64notes.com/building-everlasting-systems/ My dad once told me, as usual, about some management / business book he was reading. He said something about building a 'Human Independent Systems'. As the name suggests, the idea was to build systems that did not depend on humans. It's an interesting thing because at one hand we know that it really is not effective if system comes down because of one person. And although having a... Tue, 28 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/building-everlasting-systems/ https://www.64notes.com/how-to-get-loads-of-customers-users-for-every-thing-you-do/ Some people just keep getting customers. They start something new and gallons of people gather to cheer them up and even pay for it! Seems like they have magnet or something. They launch a new web-app, a new outlet, new line of product, experimental flavor of coffee - they have shit loads of customers buying it. That makes you think that you should work on getting customers and that's it -... Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/how-to-get-loads-of-customers-users-for-every-thing-you-do/ https://www.64notes.com/most-dangerous-mistakes-the-web-startups-make-avoid-it/ At a web-startup there is a tendency to start building stuff with screens and mock-ups. While it seems so obvious and tempting to jump at a program and create a mock-up and wire-frames; it's not a wise idea. Of course your service / product are online and has screens and is a site but it's not just a series of screens. It's a flow of processes. Usually one integrated in other. Star... Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/most-dangerous-mistakes-the-web-startups-make-avoid-it/ https://www.64notes.com/missing-usp-power-of-limit-less/ When people think of USP (What's unique about you), more than often they are talking about added feature. But it needs not to be and 'addition'. Something missing or something limiting can be a USP too and in fact a powerful one. Twitter doesn't allow more than 140 characters - that's the reason we love it! On LinkedIn you can only connect to people you've worked with, ... Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/missing-usp-power-of-limit-less/ https://www.64notes.com/power-of-telling-a-story/ In a recent seminar in Delhi, the speaker told a story about one of his student's startups: He made artificial roses with a special material that had moisture and it looked & smelled like real roses. He was taking them from India to US, to pitch to investors. On his way, they stopped him at custom - they thought that the roses were real and the questioning began. He could not convince... Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/power-of-telling-a-story/ https://www.64notes.com/startup-vs-funding-focus/ Blogs and articles about startups are filled with talks about VCs, angles and funding, as if any of that matters 'that' much. The first thing the people starting up do is funding and pleasing investors. As if that's what they are meant to do. It's like a kid looking for a motorcycle when he is learning to balance his first bi-cycle. Are you focused on startup or funding? Buil... Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/startup-vs-funding-focus/ https://www.64notes.com/startups-hire-who-challenge-you-ask-why/ There is a vacancy at your nearby corporate, guess who are they looking for? Someone with student syndrome who can fit into their culture system and adjust and compromise and… you get the idea. There is a vacancy at a startup. Guess who are they looking for? Or rather… who should they look for? They must look for someone who will demand a change. Who will ask "Why? What's the point?&... Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/startups-hire-who-challenge-you-ask-why/ https://www.64notes.com/skills-vs-mindset-for-a-startup-hire/ When looking for hiring people for your startup, what is more important - skills or mindset? Skills can be taught but not mindset. In fact, they (co-workers) will learn most of the skills they need after they have joined. So a learning mindset is more important. They will need to cope up with ever-changing decisions and directions, so having patience and enthusiasm is necessary. Degrees, mar... Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/skills-vs-mindset-for-a-startup-hire/ https://www.64notes.com/your-life-is-a-fail-if/ Are you doing what you love? What you really want to do? If not, what is stopping you from it? Surprisingly, the common answer was - fear of failure. You might not use that word, but that's the reason behind your excuses. Imagine two scenarios: You Start-up and Fail You went on to chase your dreams, leaving the rat race behind. You live the dream you always dreamt, you do what you love, ... Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/your-life-is-a-fail-if/ https://www.64notes.com/be-trend-setter/ Every other company wants to copy what Apples does, what 37 Signals does and whatever the most successful brand in your niche does. I am not a left out either; I am always admiring what they do. But what does it take to be one of them? What does it take to deliver that? What does it take to be iconic? Often people try to copy the surface. They will replicate the body, the interface, the funct... Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/be-trend-setter/ https://www.64notes.com/change-or-die/ Change is the only thing that is not going to change. Your vision, dreams, path, ideas, work, ways, people, goals, intentions and so on - everything must change. If anyone or any organizations (govt., start-up, company, NGO etc.) refuses to change - they are dead. That's where their downfall beings. Change is inevitable. It happens even if you try to stop it - but in that case it changes ... Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/change-or-die/ https://www.64notes.com/who-will-speak-for-you/ As a kid, I always thought that I will tell all those people who are wrong - when I grow up / when I have a voice. I will appreciate and award those whom I really love - when I grow-up / when I have a voice. I am not alone, a lot of us thought that as kids. Surprisingly, most of us are sill waiting to grow-up and for that voice. Let me tell you what, the voice is not anyone's to give you, ... Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/who-will-speak-for-you/ https://www.64notes.com/fans-audience-customers/ Customers are easy to get. Give them something they want and get money in return - they are your customers. Every company has customers. Audience is harder to get, these are the people who listen to you, learn from you and whatever you say means a lot to them. Fans are rare to get, they love you, talk about you, maybe even worship you. I am a customer of British Library, but I don't care... Mon, 23 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/fans-audience-customers/ https://www.64notes.com/what-the-fuck-are-you-doing/ If you are bogged down in doing what you are supposed to do, then… You are not doing enough. You are not being yourself. You are following convection, a rat race. You don't have an opinion. You don't think you matter and you are proving it. You can't make a decision. You are not an entrepreneur. Do what you feel for, what you believe in what you were born to do. Be yourself... Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/what-the-fuck-are-you-doing/ https://www.64notes.com/entrepreneurs-risk-takers/ There is a lot of talk about 'risks' that entrepreneurs take. Do entrepreneurs have to take risks? Are entrepreneurs just classic risk taking people? Let me tell you what. When a pilot flies a plane, it's a big risk and those who fly with him are also at a risk. But world is now used to it and it's not big a risk. To those who fly and those who fly with them - it's not a ri... Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/entrepreneurs-risk-takers/ https://www.64notes.com/what-should-my-start-up-be-about/ Q: I so want to do a start-up. But what should it be about? (Asked on a DM on Twitter) [Are you Following me on Twitter] A: Start-up is not about starting your venture - it's more about taking the plunge as entrepreneur. Usually first start-up is about something you are passionate about or have fun doing. But it really doesn't matter what idea you get started with - you are going to e... Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/what-should-my-start-up-be-about/ https://www.64notes.com/teach-to-reach-create-audience/ What is the best way to build an audience / a following and what is the best way to keep them, grow them and turn them into customers? Teaching! Teach them why, how, what & who. Teach them what you know & believe. When I say teaching, I don't mean a classroom situation where teaching tells you 'the truth' and expects you to believe it and questioning it is annoying & ... Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/teach-to-reach-create-audience/ https://www.64notes.com/please-let-them-buy-your-stuff/ People hate being sold to. They feel dragged, they feel cheated and they feel out of control. You can sell them once, twice but it won't go on. You don't sell, people buy it. It's their decision to buy, let them make it. Your work is to help them decide. Helping them decide is not same as standing with your customer and telling them all the goodie-goodie stuff about yourself / you... Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/please-let-them-buy-your-stuff/ https://www.64notes.com/brand-vs-brand-awareness-which-one-comes-first/ It's good to see so many businesses becoming aware of quality branding. They are aware of what they are putting out there and what customers are experiencing. Also it is funny to see so many new business spending a lot on graphics, design aka 'Branding with a capital B' (I mean nice logo and all). Branding is really not about that. Branding is about what the customer experiences a... Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/brand-vs-brand-awareness-which-one-comes-first/ https://www.64notes.com/right-time-to-do-big-new-awesome-things/ While expanding my personal notes to these blog posts, I often come across a note which is relatively a new learning. I often catch my self saying, "I can't write about that. I need to practice it and learn more about it." Or "It's a new idea. I should wait." Or even worse, "It's such a good idea. I will blog about that later." Many of us want to put a... Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/right-time-to-do-big-new-awesome-things/ https://www.64notes.com/networking-with-people-online/ A lot of young entrepreneurs ask me the question - How do I start networking? And those who emailed / DM'd / or shouted out them question actually answered their question. They took the first step - connect. Just drop them an email, DM them, @reply them or write on their wall or anything. Just get started. At this point, often they say that they can't think of anything to talk about.... Mon, 09 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/networking-with-people-online/ https://www.64notes.com/corporate-to-a-startup/ Working with corporate and big organizations is not fun at all. They are so inhuman and just trying to catch up with something invisible. The vision starts to fade from CEO's office and never reaches to the working employees. But there are many international organizations which work wonderfully. There is creative energy all around them, people know the vision and are passionate about it - ... Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/corporate-to-a-startup/ https://www.64notes.com/whats-wrong-with-you/ So much focus on "What's wrong with you / this / that / everything." Looks like most people are trying to figure or point out what is wrong. Bosses are busy telling that to their employees. Critics are busy telling that about products and mentors to entrepreneurs. Stop for a moment and turn the other cheek. Look at what all is right, try to expand it. That is where you will find ... Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/whats-wrong-with-you/ https://www.64notes.com/business-plan-change-the-world/ There is a business plan you make for the world - to make them believe in what you do. I don't know about you, but I never could use those documents for my own good. My vision evolves too fast for business plans. To remind myself of where I am headed and what my 'plan' is (There is no plan just exploration, really) I answer a simple question: What am I going to change in the world... Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/business-plan-change-the-world/ https://www.64notes.com/the-thief-lord/ The Thief Lord is worth a 100 watch! This movie reminds me a lot about how to think like a kid i.e. think unlimited. You can be, do or have anything. Thought the film might have different message at heart but it inspires me to dream - dream big. It's about two orphan brothers who run away from their aunt's home to magical city of Venice. (Note to Self: buy a home in Venice) There they... Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/the-thief-lord/ https://www.64notes.com/will-it-matter/ If you are reading this chances are that you are working on a start-up, thinking of one or you have a never-resting idea-getting soul. Whatever the reason is, I want you to ask yourself a question: If you / your startup stops existing, will it matter to the world? If it won't, you are a no good! You are not doing anything that world needs. You are not being who you can be. If yes, just k... Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/will-it-matter/ https://www.64notes.com/my-mentor-was-a-5-years-old/ I have many friends under 5 (younger the better). They speak and think like, "When I grow up, I will do it this way." Such ideas seem illogical and irrational at first but they come true by the time they grow up and prove the limited thinking wrong. I remember how I thought about running a school with no curriculum or rules, a blog without limits and fun, a business that is just aweso... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/my-mentor-was-a-5-years-old/ https://www.64notes.com/educate-or-die/ People think it's all about fooling people into buying your stuff. They are ready to take advantage of their ignorance. But don't worry, they won't go far - generations get smarter and smarter. If you won't educate your customers - your competitor will. You loose. Educating your customers (without trying to sell) empowers them and empowered customer trusts you. Trust is the mos... Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/educate-or-die/ https://www.64notes.com/guide-to-protecting-your-idea/ People want to protect their ideas - their precious million dollar idea. They look into all options like Copyright, Intellectual Property Rights, Patents and what not. But nothing makes sure that it's safe. I have a better way. It's not 100% safe for idea but better than present options - keep the idea close to your chest and die with it. Do that, chances are it will go with you and i... Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/guide-to-protecting-your-idea/ https://www.64notes.com/guru-movies-for-entrepreneurs/ They say it's based on Dhiru Bahi Amabni's life (founder of Reliance - one of India's biggest Company) and it is awesome. It's story of an entrepreneurs from idea to world class execution - and many slaps in between. Guru (antagonist) leaves his job on promotion because he can't work for others, marries to get funded while his father is against it and changes the system t... Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/guru-movies-for-entrepreneurs/ https://www.64notes.com/businessmen-in-entrepreneurs-fur/ Funny things are happening all around the world. Businessmen meet under the label of Entrepreneurs. But it's so easy to tell the difference. Ask them what their passion is and businessman tells you that it's money. Forget it dude. If you are after money, you are not entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are after passion and money is not passion (maybe it is obsession). Passion is independent ... Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/businessmen-in-entrepreneurs-fur/ https://www.64notes.com/your-start-up-bigger-vs-better/ It's crazy how every start-up wants to be bigger. Usually when I see them presenting their start-ups, there is a lot of talk about 'scaling' and how big the market is. It is one of the biggest turn-offs. Start-ups don't grow up to be bigger ventures but to be better ventures. Don't go big - specialize, innovate and rule the world. I'd rather have my web-designs start-... Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/your-start-up-bigger-vs-better/ https://www.64notes.com/businessman-ngo-entrepreneur/ "What is more important: making money or solving a problem?" - The most asked question at gathering of entrepreneurs. Businessman says it is 'Money'! A struggling entrepreneur says 'Solving a Problem'! Want to meet real entrepreneur? They know that entrepreneur is one who makes money while solving a problem. Making money and solving problem is not one or the other... Tue, 20 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/businessman-ngo-entrepreneur/ https://www.64notes.com/make-right-decision-for-start-up/ Often, entrepreneurs delay a decision for long trying to figure out the 'right' decision. Guess what? There is none! You never get it done (your passion - which can be your start-up) and you never get it wrong. And the reason you never get it wrong is because you never get it done - you can always improve and be better. Non-decisive state waters down the passion and you ask "Dude... Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/make-right-decision-for-start-up/ https://www.64notes.com/numbers-are-killing-your-business/ In one of the conferences I heard the speaker say 'speak in numbers because people love numbers' - I couldn't disagree more. 1 million people die of AIDS. My mind says, "And…?" Mike, your neighbor died of AIDS. My mind says, "Shit dude! I better learn more. Numbers suck, big time. People are not numbers; numbers are not relations or emotions. Emotions and Relations is... Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/numbers-are-killing-your-business/ https://www.64notes.com/money-minded-employs/ Q: When I hire people, they are passionate about the money not about the work. They say things like, "I used to get paid X amount for this job. So you got to pay more." When I think they deserve far less than X for that job. It is becoming more of a culture of money oriented employ, no matter what you give them and how much of a family you make they leave you for more money. Where do... Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/money-minded-employs/ https://www.64notes.com/the-price-war/ It's almost laughable how companies will go mad about price reduction and loose a fight which no one can win. You cut a dollar, they cut two. Then you cut four and so it goes till there is nothing more to lose. And guess what? Customer hardly cares - ask them how much your stuff costs, they won't know. There is a limit to how much you can complete on price. Go unlimited - innovate. In... Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/the-price-war/ https://www.64notes.com/small-business-are-better/ What is the next logical step when your start-up takes off well? Entrepreneurs tend to go towards scaling it - making it big. And there goes all fun and passion of start-ups, there ends the love for it. But then comes the question, if not big then what? Instead of growing big, stay small and do the thing you always wanted to do - Specialize and innovate. Instead of big a big monster that doe... Sun, 04 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/small-business-are-better/ https://www.64notes.com/broken-departments-brand/ Recently I went to ask about credit cards in ICICI Bank, at help desk they pointed me to basement. No one at the desk for next two minutes in the basement. And when they meet me, they send me to top floor again. Finally they say that they don't want me as a customer! None of them sure about why I am in front of their 'department'. "Oh! That department is over there." They... Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/broken-departments-brand/ https://www.64notes.com/finding-customers/ I am 18 and I want a credit card. Guess what? In this world where they cold call to make you buy your 10th credit card, I can't have one. Reason? They are looking for customers in all the wrong places. Well someone could say that I have not tried enough and I might agree but that's what an entrepreneur sees and fixes innit? Everyday, you lose me as your customer, and Shiraz - who is a... Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/finding-customers/ https://www.64notes.com/product-communities/ A business that just makes money is big fail. Give and take is worst business plan ever. If you are not adding value then this world has no place for you. End of Information Age, Dawn of Community Age Information age is so over. We don't need to learn all that crap that everyone is trying to teach. We are not fascinated by information, we want something more (or less) we want a relation or ... Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/product-communities/ https://www.64notes.com/amazing-grace-movies-for-entrepreneurs/ Entrepreneurs just don't give up and sometimes that proves to be bad for their health and wears off their mind. But what if a song makes your hair raise and fill you with inspiration and make you eyes wet? You end up wining your cause. Though it has politics but not quiet. It's more about just keep going and by keep going many well-being people mean 'burn-out' well that's n... Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/amazing-grace-movies-for-entrepreneurs/ https://www.64notes.com/how-to-motivate-your-lazy-team/ While working on projects in a team, my biggest problem was not seeing people being as passionate as me. Not even close. I don't know about you but my heart burns when I see people just being around. But burned hearts doesn't do much except burning heart, so what can we do to motivate them? First thing first, you can't motivate them. If their life and desires failed to do that - t... Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/how-to-motivate-your-lazy-team/ https://www.64notes.com/naming-your-brands/ Naming your baby (brand) is not the easiest task in the world. The name is going to with it forever, after all. Aren't you tempted to look for the non-existence 'perfect' name that describes it all? I was. But ideas are too dynamic for a static name. Both, babies and business, evolve over time and if the name is too descriptive then the business cannot expand in new directions and ... Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/naming-your-brands/ https://www.64notes.com/kick-ass-2010-movies-for-teen-entrepreneurs/ Unlimited and wild thinking of young minds is core parts of entrepreneur's spiritual anatomy. And a die-hard attitude to just go for it even when everyone else thinks it's too risky is a main reason in success. That's exactly what this movie is about, the regular jerking off teenager has it both and his first attempt to be a superhero gives him some steel-hard bones and bad never e... Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/kick-ass-2010-movies-for-teen-entrepreneurs/ https://www.64notes.com/education-killed-956-entrepreneurs/ With all those MBA degrees and business schools, this really does sound ironic, doesn't it? The dynamic spirit of enterprising crushes the static pillars education tried to build. Education is all about 'let me teach you the way' and enterprising says, "Thank you very much but there is nothing as satisfying as finding my way." So a degree in enterprising will really be o... Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/education-killed-956-entrepreneurs/ https://www.64notes.com/sell-more-in-the-flow/ This is the last post about Rewalsar (Tso-Pema), I promise. Eating out at Dhabas (Indian Park is Road-side restaurants) on vacation is inevitable in India. I always wonder why I end up eating more than usual at Dhabas. Is it the awesome food, not really. Finally I made the discovery. The key to their selling more is 'the flow'. A buying customer is more likely to buy from you again, ... Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/sell-more-in-the-flow/ https://www.64notes.com/when-customers-talk-at-your-back/ On a recent trip to Rewalsar (Tso-Pema), I noticed people going about lake with their prayer wheels. As a human, I wanted it. And I wanted it so bad. The shop in front of my hotel was selling it but the price seemed too high, it always is (for tourists). Being the miser and non-tourist kind I am, I did what any customer would do: Ask other customers. It was a bit difficult but not as difficul... Mon, 31 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/when-customers-talk-at-your-back/ https://www.64notes.com/kill-your-brand/ Businesses are killing their brand in search of one. They are trying to be something they are not and need not be. Fancy logos, big bill-boards, fancy websites and all that stuff is not your brand; it's a way of marketing your brand. Your brand is the promise of experience. And nothing beats word-of-mouth as marketing. Don't be KFC! Last week I went to Rewalsar (Tso-Pema) for a brief h... Fri, 28 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/kill-your-brand/ https://www.64notes.com/how-to-build-so-they-will-come/ There is always a debate between those who believe 'Build and They Will Come' and those who don't. Both have evidences to support their points. Which one works? Before you get into debate (again) let's consider a new ... thingie... (they call it idea) Build With Them Let's take a different approach altogether and 'Build With Them'. Build it with your customer (reader... Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/how-to-build-so-they-will-come/ https://www.64notes.com/usp/ Countless words have been spent to make a point about USP and explaining it to noob. Here is one more effort. What is USP? USP or Unique Selling Proposition is the thing that makes you special. Out of all the people who are blogging about blogging, what makes you special? Sometimes Often, you just can't put it in words - it's just an experience. Apple's eye for beautiful design is ... Mon, 24 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/usp/ https://www.64notes.com/niche-dead-go-wild/ Playing with ideas is my passion. I've been playing with 'the FRiEnDz' a lot lately. I've tried so much stuff on it, many lessons here are a gift of 'the FRiEnDz' experimentation. 'the FRiEnDz' targets international market - teens worldwide. And its sub-ventures are ever-growing - magazine, film, blog and what not. Probably my biggest mistake, eh? After all the... Fri, 21 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/niche-dead-go-wild/ https://www.64notes.com/business-secret-pleasers/ And no this is not about sex. Not about porno either. It's about small pleasures that you love about interacting with a brand. I love peaking in refrigerators to buy ice-cream. I sitting in Cafe Coffee Day's and I love the way they cook in my food in front of me at Dhabas. (Dhabas are like roadside open park-in restaurants). I love clicking Gmail's new buttons. I have sent so many... Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/business-secret-pleasers/ https://www.64notes.com/beggars-teach-about-business/ A beggar in Tehran earns more than $1,500 a month -five times the official minimum wage. Things are similar in India (and many other Asian countries) where they are rich enough to own cell phones and iPhones. They are some of the best entrepreneurs out there. They know what they are selling and what sells perhaps more than any of those MBA degree holders do (or ever will). They sell experienc... Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/beggars-teach-about-business/ https://www.64notes.com/building-perfect-brand/ People love brands. That's what they are for - to be loved, to be known and to be trusted. People love to pay to belong to such tribes. I love Apple, facebook, Twitter, HP, Cafe Coffee Day - all so much a part of my life. They have become a verb. The Wrong Idea You hear people talk of logos, fonts, design, products, faces etc. when they are talking about brand. Brand is not that. They eve... Fri, 14 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/building-perfect-brand/ https://www.64notes.com/brand-success-test/ "...my cat. I Abrahamed (manifested) her." Abraham Hicks: "We've become a verb." How do you know if your brand has crushed it? How do you know it's about to? Here is a good litmus test: People love you. How do you know that people love you? Here is a great litmus test: You become a verb. "I think I will Google it" "I am facebooking / orkuting."... Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/brand-success-test/ https://www.64notes.com/kidnap-sell-customers/ This is another great lesson from Dilli - the heart of India. If you get a chance to visit Chandani Chownk - never miss it. But be on your guard. On entering, you will be amazed to see a number of shops selling exactly same stuff! Bangles here, bangles there - a whole block of shops selling exactly the same thing: bangles. And if an entrepreneur wants to open a shop he will select a place dif... Mon, 10 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/kidnap-sell-customers/ https://www.64notes.com/handle-geny-talent/ The new generation is not loyal to you, don't expect them to be. They are loyal to themselves. They are more enterprising than ever. Trying to contain them will be failure of you and waste of them. They will never work for your growth, they value their growth more. So how do you handle selfish talent like us? You can try and make us your company and make us work for you. That might work w... Fri, 07 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/handle-geny-talent/ https://www.64notes.com/delhi-street-business-plan/ India's capital Delhi or 'Dilli' is one of the world's oldest economic centres. Older and narrower the streets, more is the money that flows through them. Dilli is full of entrepreneurs, not your black coat-white shirt entrepreneurs but the classic Indian entrepreneurs who could be living in 3 room house and a million-dollar bank account. I am always amazed at what these old s... Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/delhi-street-business-plan/ https://www.64notes.com/turn-customers-into-brand-advocates/ "I have a big house, car, girls and loads of money. What do you have?" "I have mom, bro." - Famous dialogue between protagonist and agonist brothers (from a Bollywood film) Stop underestimating what you have. Right Now! You have best marketers at your disposal. They are best of best social media experts! They know how to advocate and stand for what you stand. The... Mon, 03 May 2010 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.64notes.com/turn-customers-into-brand-advocates/