By Nishant Kaul, Espark-Viridian, India

‘Veda Vyasa’, in his Sanskrit epic of Ancient India Mahabharat conveyed that ‘Tax be such, which should not prove to be a burden on the subject; the Government should maneuver like bees, which collect honey without causing harm to the flower.’

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the latest maneuver of the Indian Government to aid businesses, by reducing the tax burden. It is a system of taxation, which merges most indirect taxes (Excise, Service tax and VAT) into a single system of taxation. Currently, the GST tax system is decentralized and carried out at three different levels in the country, namely- center, state and municipal. It allows GST-registered businesses to claim tax benefits (tax credit) and pay taxes only on the value added at every stage of production. In GST, a consumer pays the final tax, but an efficient input tax credit system ensures that there is no cascading of taxes.

Also read: Impact of GST on Startups

Furthermore, the simplicity of GST would lead to easier administration and enforcement. From a business point of view, the biggest advantage would be seen in the reduction of the overall tax burden on goods; which would further reduce the cost to customers, creating greater scope for revenue maximization for businesses.

Coined as the biggest tax reform since the economy began to open up 25 years ago, it is said that GST is not merely a change but a development which is likely to impact all aspects of business operations in the country, for instance, pricing of products and services, Supply Chain Management, Accounting and Finances and Information Technology. However, it is notable that GST is not a CSR initiative by the Government, but purely a revenue augmenting measure which is aimed at generating the same revenue that it is collecting in its present Non-GST regime.

Be GST Ready

As a startup, it is crucial to understand what GST would mean to your business. Depending on the operational sector and operating geographies, changes might have to be substantial and may require proactive planning. The best way for a startup and an entrepreneur to be ready for GST compliance is advocacy for best corporate practices, gearing up for changes in procedures, training, educating teams and developing IT systems for impact analysis of all numerical data.

One of the key facets of any startup is its finances. Every startup focuses on improving its growth by cutting through cost inefficiencies. GST is expected to have a positive impact, as it provides flexibility in pricing, room for expansion in profit margin and stimulus to the startup’s bottom line growth. According to the study conducted by Internet and Mobile Association of India, India’s e-commerce market is estimated to have crossed $30 billion crores in 2016. The report further claims that India is expected to generate $100 billion online retail revenue by the year 2020. Though the sector has witnessed tremendous growth and is expected to grow further, many e-commerce ventures have faced pressure to ensure cash flows.

The GST initiative under ‘ease of doing business’ in India, claims to reduce such pressure and for the first time, the government has taken an initiative to regulate online businesses, which have largely been unregulated. Many analysts are of the opinion – that if GST is implemented correctly, India will gain a higher position in the ‘ease of doing business’ index maintained by the World Bank and will boost foreign investments into the startup ecosystem. According to the analysis by CRISIL, this will further boost the GDP growth.

Although GST is at the very initial stage of implementation, startups are advised to be proactive in the business decisions for GST transition. For startups in an e-commerce marketplace, smooth transition into the new GST regime would require:

Impact Identification– identify areas of impact across various processes of a business and further assess GST impact under identified business scenarios.
Transition and Testing– develop migration and transition plan. Thereby, conduct compliance testing and quality assurance.
Designing a Route Map– design future processes and plans to keep the business GST ready with the help of technology and trained people.

One of the major benefits of the GST regime is it’s transparent and easy to understand the system. Many startups lack dedicated resources to look after compliance. Hence, under the GST regime, all compliance has been streamlined and made simple for the benefit of entrepreneurs.

Conclusion
Though various rules and procedures are yet to be finalized, it’s safe to believe that GST supports other initiatives like Digital India and Startup India; thus creating more opportunities to capitalize on, by reducing the overall tax burden and revenue maximization. Despite a few complexities and a government revenue augmenting measure for earning the same or higher inflow from taxes, GST remains to be the friendliest tax reform in India creating transparency, efficiency, and more growth.

The post What is GST? appeared first on Espark Viridian | India's leading early stage startup Accelerator.

By Puja Parekh, Espark-Viridian, India

You believe you have a great product that solves a pain point of your niche, but the focus is all about going beyond and finding the users for your product.
These early adopters are your beta users. They actively solicit and conclude their feedbacks and use their suggestions to improve your product. Once they see your active responsiveness and the quality of the product you’re offering, they’ll become the brand evangelists who will push the product to the next stage of growth.

Know thy customers

Divide your target audience in small pockets of customers, understand what they like to do, how they do it and target them at places where they are most likely to be found. You need to be specific. Make sure your brand aligns with your potential customers. Get creative with your approach and get to the point early.

Online Presence

Create a strong online presence for the brand and the product. Create a website with a strong and clear value proposition, create relevant social media pages and link them to the website.

Talk about it Everywhere

Use your first network of friends, family and acquaintances, identify the influencers among them and start spreading the word. Have a small pitch ready for the product, one that helps introduce it proudly and convince the network about the value proposition that you offer. Also remember that when you talk to people in your network it is critical that you ask them to introduce you to people in their network who might be interested in your product. Build a network that confides in your product and who are good at talking to people and ask them to spread the word about your product.

Good Blogging

Blogging need not always be professional but good content is a long-term investment for your startup. You don’t have to be a professional writer, blogs that are honest and transparent are very popular. Make sure that you optimize the blog reach to the potential customers, invite guests bloggers as well write for other related blogs to build relationships within the community and be different in a way that your product stands out.

Prepare early

When it’s launch time, make it BIG. Make the announcement and promote it. Get people excited about the fact that a new business is opening and is the problem solver.

Free Trial / Freemium

The free trial or freemium models are used to attract users initially and then convert users who want to use premium features into paying customers. They help create a large user group and eventually drive traffic and virality, it is a potent marketing tools and less expensive than traditional sales teams or ad campaigns.

Make the first experience awesome and ask for referrals

Once you get the customer onboard, go the extra mile for each customer and make them feel right at home using your product as these are the people who will define the future customers of your company. One customer who really loves the product can bring you more customers by word of mouth, leading to organic growth. Having said that, don’t be shy about asking for referrals. After all, your business is on the line!

Finally..

After giving the awesome first experience, ask them to refer at least 2 people to your business, and you’ll soon have multiple paying customers. How you make sure they bring their friends in is up to you and your creativity. Good luck!

The post How to get your first 100 customers appeared first on Espark Viridian | India's leading early stage startup Accelerator.

By Vineet Chauhan, Espark-Viridian, India

Let’s not get carried away with the title; nothing is perfect. However, after reading this article you would be able to elevate your pitch game a notch. There is no fixed rule to pitching. Nevertheless, there are certain basic rules, which if followed assiduously, will result in a strong and convincing pitch. This post may not contain fancy jargon since a budding entrepreneur needs to have his basics strong. Therefore, we will keep it at layman-level.

What are the ingredients of a captivating, exceptional and an unforgettable pitch?

I am mentioning some of the ingredients that hold high significance in a pitch. You may mold your pitch any way you wish, however, keep in mind the following points while doing so.

1. Start with the most basic constituent: Be passionate

Pitching, in all fairness, is an uncomplicated thing. If the facts are put right with passion and conviction, you have the proverbial toe in the door. You don’t have to fake passion, say it like you mean it. That’s all!

2. Be succinct

If you have an exceptional idea, but you take forever to explain it to the audience, then nothing could spare your idea from plummeting to the ground. Focus on the most important points and this will ascertain that you get these important points across before running out of time.

You need not try to explain everything about your business that you think is interesting and important. Just tell the audience enough to make them feel tantalized and ask for more. A pitch could be as long as 10 minutes or as short as a minute. Hence, you will have to cull the parts which are not important.

3. Use a hook, a creative story or a question

Nothing catches the listener’s attention like a catchy story or a question. Share anecdotes. Use analogies. Why did you begin your project in the first place? Throw a question at the audience. Weave all of it into a story.

You have to sell a vision. That’s all you need to give them, a vision of a fruitful business. Let’s be honest, at the end of the day, the investors are investing in a dream: your dream. They are bored of all the data and the numbers and the analysis. A story is a sure-shot, scientifically proven way to capture the audiences’ attention. Why not use it to your advantage?

4. Be direct

The opening lines of your pitch are not a good place to beat around the bush, so be direct. Don’t waste time introducing yourself and over-explaining your background, at least in the beginning. The beginning of the pitch is when the audience is most interested. Don’t leave them guessing what it is that you’re selling – start with the big picture and then zero in on the details. Show your prospective investor what exactly your business model is and how you are planning to acquire the customers and increase traction which in turn will drive the revenue.

5. Know the problem that you are trying to solve: Generating value

Rather than impressing the investors with big numbers or analysis, place your focus on the problem and how it can be solved in a clean and efficient way. When the investor asks what you do, they want to know what value you are creating for your customers.

5. Keep your number game strong

Now the problem/solution scenario is out of the way. It’s time to show them the money. At the end of the day, Investors want a good return on the investment they have made. Don’t just tell the investors who you are, what you do, and where you’re headed. Show them how you’ve planned to do this. Don’t just talk about traction and revenue; show them how to generate both. This can only happen if you have a robust financial model that can stand a trial by fire in the market.

A few details you might want to highlight in your pitch:

• Market Size and Value
• Current traction and User Base
• Revenue Projection
• Funding and Budget Allocation

6. Use a presentation deck moderately:

The rule of the thumb is: if it’s not required, don’t use it. Instead, use pointers to remind you of the things, should you fail to recall something. If you must use a presentation deck, then make sure to use pictures and keep the text minimal. Remember, the investor is there to hear you pitch, not to look at the presentation which could be sent via an email.

Investors love hearing pitches, this tells them about the people that they are investing in. You heard that right, the investors are not investing in your business, they are investing on you. You would be driving the business. The success or the failure of it will totally depend on how you run it. A business idea is just an idea if someone is unwilling to work on it. Your pitch is the tool to convince the investors that you are the right guy.

7. Talk about your exit strategy

Most of the startup entrepreneurs don’t even think about the exit strategy. Let me tell you, nothing shouts “serious” to the investors, more than an exit plan. Are you going to sell the company in a merger and acquisition or go public through an IPO?

You have to keep in mind that money invested in you is an illiquid investment to them. Hence, they are expecting a big payoff, not a marginal return. An exit strategy is an assurance to them. If you think your business will earn high revenues and pay the investor the return they are expecting, then you may not have an exit strategy. However, that is a rare case.

8. The more you practice, the better you get!

They didn’t say it for no reason: practice makes perfect. Keep practicing your pitch: in your mind, in front of a mirror or another fellow human. This will only help you get better for D-Day or as you call it, Pitch day. You should be ready to answer any question that may be thrown at you. If you come out unscathed from the barrage of arrows(questions) shot at you, then it means you have practiced well.

The post How to be Pitch Perfect appeared first on Espark Viridian | India's leading early stage startup Accelerator.

By Komal Shah, Espark-Viridian India
Starting up a new enterprise is fancy, exciting and a big rage amongst many today. But what comes along with this fascinating world of startup is a huge risk of failure. According to a recent research more than 75% of startups across the world fail.

Traditionally we have seen businesses putting a lot of efforts around building a business plan, pitching the same to the investors, making a perfect product, going out and building a dynamic team and finally selling the product. The question here is if this approach to the business is still the right one. The cost of missing the target or failing is huge.

The lean startup method developed a few years ago encourage startups to build their businesses on the  basis of experimental theories of doing business. Lean startup is based on 3 simple and quick steps as displayed in the image below: Build – Measure – Learn. It’s important to note that this is a cycle and not a one-time activity.

Startups can minimize their stake in case of failure by being ‘lean’ in their approach. When building the product, startups should consider building only the minimum viable product popularly known as MVP. The product should be built to deliver the most important or the core benefit for its consumer. Getting caught up in making a perfect product with all the features could pose to be a big potential risk.

The next step after building the MVP is to go out of the building and test with the target audience. This enables the entrepreneur to get real time true feedback from the target markets. Doing a deep dive in validating the product need and identifying whether customers are ready to pay for an ideal product or not is a critical measure for the startup. Many times entrepreneurs use the method of observational study by simply observing the way customers are reacting – are they able to identify with the product? Is the navigation simple enough? – These are some of the important questions they look into.

Moving from this ‘measure’ stage the entrepreneur derives the most important aspect of ‘learning’. Based on the feedback and research he would do a ‘pivot’ in the product and start building it again to suit the market and this is a continuous cycle till the time he arrives at a suitable product – market fit and it also continues after that.

Thereby, lean startup is a great way to minimize the risk of failure and investing in something that is actually required by the customers.

The post The Lean Startup Cycle appeared first on Espark Viridian | India's leading early stage startup Accelerator.

Today we discuss the biggest dilemma that an entrepreneur may face: Is this the time to Pivot? And if so, how?

In my honest opinion, this is a humbling experience to confess that they went wrong. And the long sleepless nights, the life’s savings and may be even the investor’s money, all went down the drain; only because the entrepreneur didn’t envision the product right. Some may be sucked into the dark tunnel of despair (or maybe even oblivion), because of their sheer misplaced determination that they might be able to see that light at the end of the tunnel and make everything right again.

Whatever the reason may be, the case in point here is: we should be cognizant and be prepared for a pivot in the business model, when every sign on the way to your “probable” destination is leading you towards a cul-de-sac. I know you might be in a quandary as to; “How do we know when to Pivot?” Let me let you in on a secret: There is no algorithm or some magic formula for you to use, but it is important to keep an open mind and watch out for the ‘signs’ as you advance with grit towards your business objective.  I have jotted down a couple of such ‘signs’ for your benefit. The list is only indicative and not an exhaustive one.

• When you get the feeling of not doing enough every day you get to work. Even after you have ticked all the right boxes, there is not a single sign of improvement.
• You feel like being the captain of a ship that is about to capsize and even after a full mast, the situation doesn’t change.
• You and your team have lost the rhythm and motivation is gasping for breath.
• Your product doesn’t seem to be too sticky to retain the customers. The traction is not building up and you are left with an incessant “Why” in your head.
• You are continually educating your customer about the USPs of your product. If you’re repetitively educating your target in the hope of creating a market, then you are in all probability, too early. This situation warrants a pivot.
• Your competitor is doing better than you and is getting all the media coverage. You feel like a redundant copy.
• You are not getting any investors or the existing ones are fleeing the battleground because they think your business is a lost cause. Same thing about the vendors.
• Most startups that try to be everything to everyone fail because they are burning their engineering resources on developing products that are bigger than they should be. Going after everyone or almost everyone might confuse your users. Do they want me? Do they like me? Is this product for me?

The trick here is to know: Business is like Poker; you should know when to fold.

Assuming that you have figured out that you need to pivot due to any reason, please bear in mind some of the things that will assist you in pivoting with confidence.

• First of all, get back to the drawing board and jot down all the possible reasons why your business idea took a nose dive. Always remember: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
• Reexamine the plans and goals you first had when you first started. What was your business objective and growth plan? Who was your target audience? Revise those goals and visions as necessary.
• After you have had the epiphany of vis-à-vis the business plan clarity, work towards developing the product.
• Develop a robust product with a strong value proposition. No amount of publicity or sales and marketing can get a lousy product off of the shelves.
• Build Quickly, Minimally and get an MVP out soon to get back in the rhythm and boost your team’s morale. You wouldn’t want to lose that in the early stage or for that matter any stage of business.
• Out a beta for the customers first to get their feedback. This will produce a well-developed product as the end result. When considering the rollout of a new offering, take a reverse engineering approach from the perspective of your customer. Remember, they are the ones making your business run, so your product better resonates with their preferences.
• Keep making a new iteration of the product before you come out with a robust MVP.
• Once you have a sticky product, success will follow, even if it comes at a slow pace.
• So “Research, Build, Pivot, Repeat” is the mantra.

The post To Pivot or Not To Pivot: The Buzzword in 2017 appeared first on Espark Viridian | India's leading early stage startup Accelerator.

As an entrepreneur who founded and runs a successful and growing business, Excalibre, I see many entrepreneurs with great ideas but no clue how the business will be profitable. For certain websites or apps, if the idea is good enough you can get lucky and sell the business after you get a spike in interest.

However, most companies require considerable planning and need both a competitive advantage and a solid business plan in order to succeed. For my company, I focused on a big market and found a profitable and attractive niche.

If you’re thinking about starting your own company, here’s my sharing’s:

Set realistic expectations.

While enthusiasm and faith are needed when planning out your business, you do want to temper those thoughts with realism. Your projections for the business should not be wildly optimistic so you can manage your expectations and those of any partners.

Consider the type of business and industry.

• Are you selling a lower margin product that will take time to gain traction?
• Are you taking a shot with an app that might be a dud or might attract 100,000 downloads a month?
• Plan for a realistic amount of sales and interest so you can conservatively manage your finances. Are you counting on advertising to bring in customers?
• Remember that most advertising simply does not work, and you’ll need to attract customers through other channels and the power of word-of-mouth referrals.

At Excalibre, I understood the Talent Evolution market is massive and knew a niche player could capture a large amount of revenue, but my initial projections were modest and I watched expenses closely.

Have a clear value proposition.

Your product or service should offer true value. The value assessment has to go beyond your own biased opinion. You’re invested in the business, so of course you’ll feel it has value for your customers. Gather some outside counsel to be sure the value is clear and easily explained to your targeted audience.

Envision someone referring your service to a colleague, saying “You need to get Service X because it will help you do A, give you B, and offer you insights into C.” If the value proposition is unclear, then you’re likely setting up the business for failure.

Excalibre’s value proposition is based upon superior pricing and service. In an environment with rate parity such as in training companies that offer consumers reduced prices, exemplary service coupled with strategizing the vision, is able to really stand out as valuable.

Offer unique attributes.

Does your intended service or product bring something new to the consumer? If they already possess what you are offering, can get it for free, or can an easily acquire it from myriad competitors, then how do you expect to stand out? Will customers be able to identify and discuss your competitive advantage?

Excalibre stands out because it presents a new model for executive coaching and mentoring. It hand holds corporations talent pool to uncover their unarticulated needs , identify clearly their stoppers and accelerators, thereby effecting a quantum leap in enhancing their productivity across spectrum. The executive education initiative hones their skills, competencies, capabilities thereby rehashing their capacities, to be a being of substance, thereby transforming from a common resource to a brand.

From womb to the tomb one has a facilitator, whose only aim to help the talent to be better than before- which sets us apart from our competitors.

What attributes would set your venture apart from the competition?

Find your niche in a sizable market.

Knowing your clear value proposition and your unique attributes will help you determine where you fit in the market. Coaching and Mentoring is a $500 billion annual business, so for Excalibre, we don’t require too much of a share of that market sum to reap considerable rewards.

Coaching is a good market for entrepreneurs, but it’s not the place for copycats. You can’t compete with big booking players unless you have an angle. Several of the large online agencies have a model of offering access at all locations; their angle is the sheer breadth of coverage.

In large and expanding markets, there is always a value proposition to be found with niche players who can provide a compelling service. In Executive Coaching and Mentoring, there is always someone looking to help research it, track it, or provide services for certain areas. As long as the niche service has a true value proposition and a reasonable market audience, it can pull in profits.

Design a sound business model.

An entrepreneur can have the most unique product offering, one that offers tremendous value, but if his underlying business plan is not sound he has nothing.

A quality plan is the key “how” of a business: how you are going to move forward with your service while keeping costs down?
How do you ensure there will be demand for your product that can be reasonably sustained over the long term?
How will you market your product or service to the intended audience on a reasonable cost? You need to be a hawk on the bottom line and ruthlessly manage top line expenses.

The hard truth is that most businesses fail, and not always because the idea itself was not sound. A well-constructed economic plan does not of course guarantee success, but it is necessary and can turn a failure into a learning experience instead of a catalyst for personal financial ruin.

A sound model doesn’t mean you can’t deviate from the model and innovate when it is the right call.

Pull in customers cost-effectively

Once you have the product or service and a solid plan lined up, you need to drive customers to create partnering solutions. As I mentioned before, advertising typically does not work. Look at inexpensive promotions or contests and your social media strategy as cost-effective ways to attract consumers. Encourage conversations about your brand by asking for reviews or finding a way for consumer-created content that shows off your facilitations unique features.

While none of this advice may seem particularly surprising, I’m always amazed by how many entrepreneurs have neglected to do this homework before they launch. If you want to beat the odds, make sure you’ve carefully thought through these non-negotiables before you start your business.

Excalibre Fact File
Excalibre – is dedicated to enhancing human transformation by offering ‘path re-defining solutions’ to enhance critical measures of performance- like quality, service, speed and cost.

• Leadership evolution
• Personalized coaching and mentoring
• Raising the skill matrix in sales, communications, customer orientation, relationship management
• Business Reengineering by Optimizing Productivity, thereby,
• Creating high net worth teams

Excalibre presently is preferred resource with 30 apex corporations, across 8 industries and has facilitated over 5.6 million hours in Coaching, Mentoring and Training Space. Additionally it’s a dependable ally for 20 educational institutions, wherein over 2.6 million man hours have been invested with students, academia and management.

Partnering Initiatives are designed to create new possibilities that drive innovation and commitment in their employees- creating a huge impact on retention and motivation.

Instead of the conventional approach of a website, Excalibre charted a different path to reach its target audience, by customizing information through 10 unique focused blogs and monthly thought sharing’s with 15 top periodicals. Aim was to equip first generation entrepreneurs and emerging leadership in understanding better the techniques to resolve their vexed challenges.

• http://ksahluwalia.blogspot.in/. Thoughts by K S Ahluwalia on executive coaching
• http://excalibresme.blogspot.in/. Addresses challenges faced by emerging entrepreneurs
• http://ksahluwalia-excalibre.blogspot.in/. Focuses on ways to revisit your inherent potential.
• http://excalibreiinc.blogspot.in/. Inspiring the entrepreneurial spirit in you
• http://excalibretnl.blogspot.in/. Get beyond. Effect Quantum leap thinking across spectrum.
• http://excalibredecisiveconversations.blogspot.in/. Learn the art of effecting decisive communications
• http://www.speakingtree.in/public/ks.ahluwalia. Thoughts on being a being of substance.

Retention ratio with our partners has been 98% + till date.

We believe – that if you have it in you, you need to hone it – never be tense, simply be ready- think beyond, think ahead and make it happen in the now.

Your call now folks

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