iNM Magazine Volume 7 | August 2015
Cover Story
Two things were certain.
a. We did not want to do what our competitors were doing even if
they had many clients.
b. Develop our own products & put our soul in it.
We wanted to build & live our own identity.
Failing in everything else helped us realize that we are best at
doing what we were originally doing & this ensured our focus was
stronger now.
Trying to be like Facebook, twitter etc. is being ambitious & not
wrong at all. But it also is not unique unless you figure what is
missing and that, your product will fulfill it; in a big way!
Our idea was just not the genre of facebook & we knew we are not
going to get success overnight. We were prepared & that helped
by some margin. Although no matter how prepared you are, this
journey does take you to your weakest point which no book will
help you fight unless you have experienced it & have the right
mentors (or motivators).I had my Parents.
But then that enthusiasm has to take us somewhere. We then
learnt this simple b-trend:
Idea -> Prototype -> Test -> Build -> Product -> Launch -> Learn ->
Iterate -> Custom(er)ize -> Success!
We had an idea & few prototypes too. We started marketing
them. It went on for few months but did not work. Simple
workshops were not something people wanted. I spent few days
with myself in 2011 after a not so great year to develop PRIME
concept. We kept working on it for six months. We did not put it
in many schools since we were a small team and the idea required
a lot of time to evolve. The prototype took us one and a half years
as operational for us to be confident on the same. It was in 2013
that we launched it pan-India.
In such journies, having the right kind of people in a must. People
you can trust financially; Invest your mental capacities and likes.
One of the co-Founder, Krupesh Shah, was also my classmate & a
known family friend so, it built a strong foundation where money
was never a factor to fight, but only productivity at work was.
At TGS, we had one more Co-Founder but it all turned out bad.
We fought; we panicked (losing a founding team member is not a
good feeling). If your co-founder is on such a war path then settle
it amicably even if you have to lose the battle “egos”. It was 2010
then & we had just rented our 1st office. It was a big decision since
both of us founders had given away our USA dreams to continue
with our venture. So good things do come along with not-sogood things; take them & do not shy away.
We did not raise too much money too soon. Starting with few
lakhs in first two years, we just managed. We did not want to scale
unless we were too sure. Because scaling up is just like taking a
plunge – there is no “Undo” button.
“But then that enthusiasm has to take us
somewhere. We then learnt this simple b-trend:
Idea -> Prototype -> Test -> Build -> Product ->
Launch -> Learn -> Iterate -> Custom(er)ize ->
Success!”
But then, is all this jazz really worth it? I asked myself the
following questions –
What is the problem that I am trying to solve? It was the lack of
technical competitiveness of Indian students to the best in the
world, even at engineering level.
What is my solution? A concerted, regular effort in technical
education using Robotics (kids love it, even adults do) at an early
stage i.e. Schools.
Do I have any competitors? Am I different? Initially we weren't
too unique but then we developed PRIME, an educational model
which is not offered in India as yet (we don't know about the
world yet).
Is there a need for my solution? Engineers know it best. World is
moving from traditional learning to digital learning.
What is my customer base/customer segment? Every Kid who is
older than 8 yrs. of age; quite a big market.
We did take money from a VC since the company will then be no
longer ours. Of course, we would be the founders, who own a
part in the company but that's about it. As we were an education
based company we did not want to make it purely commercial by
involving an external agent who would help us earn, but at any
cost (even if it hurts). Fortunately friends & families helped us.
We asked a lot of our friends and family for feedback. Connected
with few academicians & took their opinion. My many friends
who were doing their M.S. in various universities helped us a lot.
But since it was our recipe, it was us who could nurture it with
selective choice of ingredients. All opinions matter but ensure
there is no over-kill.
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