Walked to Pune station, Reached in under an hour – thanks to bag being light. DQ was on platform 4, so did not have to use the pedestrian overbridge. Metro was running at 0645 hrs. Vistadome experience was good. Spent an hour in the rear gallery watching the tracks and the scenery. Met with an interesting set of entrepreneurs. They have a patented method to dry out the paper that goes into transformer windings. They use kerosene and vacuum for the drying process. Usually required for larger transformers, upwards of 100 kVA. My neighbour for the journey was Dr Rohini Kelkar, a microbiologist, retired from Tata Memorial. Trivia about Tata Memorial – it comes under the Dept of Atomic Energy. Rohini is niece of vu2en, and her 91 year old mom stays in the adjacent bungalow at Kamala Nehru Park. Her husband did his MD in preventive medicine, and retired as Head of Breach Candy. Spent most of his career in admin. The couple have a daughter, who works for Google in California. She spent 19 months of lockdown in their bungalow in Panchgani, purchased by her dad, also a doc from BJ Medical. In the seventies. She says that those where the best days of her life.  Thought that breakfast would be complementary – it is not. Walked down to VJTI – 2 km. The route is via Pritam da Dhaba, Dadar TT and Parsi Colony – really enjoyed the green space.

National startup day 16 January 72 startups have unicorn status tbi started in 2017 December and so far 49 startups have been here. Focus areas are energy sustainability clean tech and cyber safety. This is under DST scheme and the full form is technology business incubator. There was a panel discussion on Go To Market strategies for startups incubated at the center. Seema moderated the session – and the 15 people in the audience, a  mix of startup founders and students, pitched in with a few questions too. Along with me, I had two co-panellists. Nishat is head of innovation at Crompton Greaves. Ram is a business coach, who has founded a few startups. He usually gets a mandate from investors to mentor investees. Here are the threads around which the discussion revolved.

What strategies should we adopt when the product and the brand are both new? How do we find channel partners in such a case?

Atul: Going with b2b products is better. And start by dealing directly with customers, don’t worry about channel partners.

Ram: Brand identity. He talked of his Kenya experience with an NGO. It was funded by a For profit company. We had to work hard to get our own unique Identity, because most people still associated us with the For Profit. Spend a lot of time listening to customers for the first 6 to 12 months of your startup. 

Nishant. Be clear about your product. Benefit in some way. Brand is created overtime products happened faster. Solve a new problem. 99 out of hundred times your Idea has probably been thought of earlier by someone else already. So another option is to have a better solution. 

Channels which have proliferated less should be preferred. In new solutions, look out for convenience to customer. Start with a small base. No one listens to a lab story. Get out to the field. 

How can we ensure that our product meets the specific needs and pain points of our

Customers?

Atul: By getting customers to pay. Anything that gets paid for has value in the eyes of the customer. The quantum of payment need not be connected to the cost of your providing the product or service, which tends to be very high at low volumes.

Ram: The Kenya NGO mandate was skilling for high school dropouts. No requirement of formal schooling. Meet Kenya County head of education. Where is the pilot going to happen? Alignment of interest because the pilots had been planned in areas which were in the constituency that elected the county head. Problem faced in pilot. Government initially said we were willing to give teachers. It was extra work for teachers so they were not really in favour. You should also be able to set aside your ego and let the government take the credit for the project. Let them portray it as their own achievement.

How do we analyze the competitive landscape? How do we differentiate ourselves from competitors in terms of product positioning and messaging?

Atul: Start by solving unsolved problems. So in a sense do what the competition has not done yet. Bet way to differentiate is to invest in relationships with the customer. Try to integrate and customize your product/ service so that clients will have to think twice before considering a switch.

Ram: Solar lamp for the African market. Competition existed. Company was not good at product development. The problem faced by customer was payment / access. Can we make solar lamps easier to access? Tied up with funding agencies and microfinance companies. Important to be receptive to new ideas.

How do we reach various markets cost effectively? B2B,B2C and B2G?

Atul: B2G – I assume it is government. I would stay away from that, unless your family is into politics.

Took example of Navgurukul for b2g.

Between B2B and B2C, I would prefer B2B for startups.

For B2C, pilots are important. Making mistakes at smaller scale helps.

What are the most effective distribution channels for our product or service? How should we prioritize between online and offline channels? 

Atul: Start by doing stuff on your own. Once process  has been established, then look at adding channels.

Am a big fan of face to face conversations. If not, simple phone calls. If your sales can be done through these, best.

Online works best when the consumer is involved in the production process.

How should we determine the optimal pricing strategy for our product? What considerations should be taken into account when setting initial pricing and potential future adjustments?

Atul: Ensure adequate funding at the start to take care of pricing misadventures.

Never be a price warrior. That’s like signing your own death warrant.

Have enough room in price to take care of setbacks like product failures and high warranty costs.

In the long term, price is determined not by costs, but by the value a customer sees in your products or service.

Nishant: Don’t compromise on testing. What value does the customer attach to your product? Is it too expensive to buy? Is it too cheap to be trusted? What’s the outer limit of the value? What’s the lower limit of the value? This is the PSA model.

Tech is not a must for living, it’s just a convenience. To use Amazon music you have to be a member of Amazon Prime. I paid them because I wanted that piece of mind in my car when I listen to music. You can also listen to ad-inserted music without paying. Spotify lost a lot of subscribers when they started charging for its till then free service. Your product need not be Addictive for everyone. Most products will typically serve only a small niche.

Ram. Take care of overheads. Pricing should be based on real assessments. Overheads matter if you have a cost plus pricing model. Don’t draw a full salary for yourself. Reserve that money for team members.

How should we navigate regulatory challenges that may affect our go-to-market strategy? Are there compliance issues specific to our (for eg. – SaaS, EV, Renewable, AgriTech, Electronic goods) industry that we need to address?

Atul: Regulatory approvals are not negotiable, especially so when it comes to safety.

If compliance costs are very high, pivot and move to another product/service. Most folks never see success with their first idea.

One needs to follow the spirit of the law, even if it means not being able to read the letters!

What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that should be closely monitored during the initial stages of the go-to-market strategy?

Atul: Number of customers

Number of units sold

Field feedback about product/service quality

Contribution

Ram: Take a 2 year time frame. 6 months is too less. 5 years is too much for an investor

Caught up with some of the startups after the session got over. Found 3-4 of interest. 

• Reduce BoD of Sewage by killing bacteria by cavitation. Same tech used for juice preservation.
• Consultant on call at home. Visit is by BHMS/ BAMS doctor along with nurse. Consultant does tele checkup. Basic diagnostic stuff carried by team.
• AumSat – Borewell siting using satellite data
• Pune based Imaging solution provider – aka Bagchi

Seema had arranged for a talk with FE students of Electrical. About 50 students attended. We made it into a Q and A session. Here are some of the questions asked by students/

• What can we do to increase battery life?
• 5 years down will there be a good career in the EV industry?
• What are the types of motors used in EVs?
• What’s the future of hydrogen?
• Your views on ethanol
• When will EVs get better range and faster charging?
• Why are more folks not getting into retrofitting petrol and diesel cars?
• Tell us about your career. How did you get into the EV space?
• What’s your problem with milk?