Forever gone is the era when workers assembled each day at the office. Today, they’re just as likely to be working from home or spread across the globe. Collaboration has always been important among teams. But with team members no longer literally sitting side by side, collaboration tools are vital to preventing ineffective silos.

Business leaders are increasingly aware of the value of modern collaboration tools in ensuring teams stay connected. A recent survey from GoTo by LogMeIn found that 73% of businesses plan to increase spending on collaboration tools. Artificial intelligence plays a big role in these tools’ streamlining and efficiency, enabling digital assistants and automated administrative work. Put another way, AI-empowered collaboration tools are improving modern workers’ daily lives.

New Technology for a New Way of Working

Remote work doesn’t appear to be a passing trend, and it’s not just Millennials who desire flexibility. Recent surveys by Deloitte and FlexJobs found that workers of all ages appreciate autonomy in how, when, and where they complete their tasks.

The rise in remote work is occurring at precisely the same time that businesses are grappling with a talent gap. A lack of available talent is a top threat to business growth, according to a survey of CEOs by PwC. This gap is also feeding an uptick in remote workers: To attract and retain top people, companies are embracing remote or flexible arrangements.

This new way of working calls for new technology and new ways of forging connections among colleagues. Collaboration tools like Google Drive and Slack are as essential to success as the coffee machine and the copier were. These tools seamlessly connect remote workers to each other and their in-office counterparts. They increase productivity, lower costs, and even increase ROI. Collaboration tools also help companies maintain a strong culture — a keystone of success — in the absence of physical proximity.

Finally, collaboration tools can keep employees happier and free them up to focus on important work. An ICP studyfound that companies using Slack cut their email volume in half and held 25% fewer meetings. These companies experienced a 32% boost in productivity — probably because workers weren’t sifting through emails or sitting in pointless meetings.

Smart Technology Requires a Smart Strategy

Simply introducing new technology won’t immediately result in effective collaboration, which Slack’s 2018 International Work Perceptions Report defines as a melding of easy communication, mutual trust, and clearly outlined responsibilities.

Culture absolutely must inform the choice of technology and its integration into the workplace. If you haphazardly introduce new tech solutions without understanding the problems or hurdles your team faces, you could end up exacerbating issues.

Companies also make the mistake of confusing high usage of a tool with being a marker of its success. For example, many collaboration tool vendors, such as IBM and Salesforce, have copied features from social media platforms. This could mean workers are communicating more smoothly, or it could mean they’re spending a lot of time chatting. After all, sites like Facebook are designed to suck you in and never let go. The lesson here is to pay attention to how certain features are used and how they’re truly contributing to productivity and collaboration.

3 Ways to Use Tech for Enhanced Collaboration

Better collaboration equals better results. Much better results, in fact: A survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity found that companies with collaborative environments are five times as likely to be high performers. To help your team perform stellar work, consider these tactics:

1. Make use of social tools.

Social tools can facilitate communication and streamline operations. According to “The Digitization of Collaboration” survey by Harvard Business Review, 76% of companies now employ social tools. What’s more, employees say these tools are causing notable improvements in productivity, the speed of problem-solving, and employee engagement. “Social applications allow people to work not just faster and cheaper, but also in ways they simply couldn’t have done before,” explains Heidi Gardner, distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession and author of “Smart Collaboration.”

International aid organization Oxfam, for example, used a social platform to destroy email silos and improve collaboration and communication. Without the social tool, communication among Oxfam’s coalition of 20 independent charities was arduous.

2. Mix up reality.

Virtual and augmented reality are reshaping team collaboration, facilitating remote team project discussions, and providing virtual workrooms. “While the latest AR/VR and 3D technologies have been applied to the worlds of gaming and entertainment for years, the opportunity for more immersive experiences within enterprise learning, training, and workflow management is now, for the first time, on the verge of global adoption,” says James Henry, chief technology officer at PureWeb, an interactive 3D streaming service.

One such tool is Microsoft’s HoloLens, a mixed-reality headset by Xbox that represents the entertainment brand’s foray into business applications. HoloLens users can see 360-degree views of virtual spaces, create 3D items, and see holograms during video calls.

3. Unburden workflows with AI.

AI is key to honing and automating workflows. It can streamline workflows by handling repetitive tasks, eliminating human error, analyzing risks, and tracking schedules and budgets. Chatbots, for instance, can schedule and transcribe meetings, proofread content, and automate communication when project steps are completed. Chatbot technology has already been integrated with platforms such as Slack, Cisco Spark, Microsoft Teams, and others.

AI can also help filter and organize information, protecting workers from the constant and overwhelming stream of interruptions and data that modern collaboration tools sometimes produce. Slack, for example, uses collaborative filtering to free up workers to do what they do best: lead teams and dream up creative ideas.

Technology has rescued us from the days of “butts in seats,” and it’s providing the means to ensure that remote work really works. New collaboration tools incorporating AI, VR, and other cutting-edge tech are improving the way we collaborate and communicate, making virtual teams an asset instead of a liability.

https://samplecic.ch/how-to-achieve-tech-powered-collaboration-in-the-era-of-remote-work-3.html

Medical tech startups are regulated by the FDA and must abide by strict regulations at all times. For example, all medical devices must be approved by the FDA. Acting outside of the FDA’s regulations can result in harsh penalties including fines and even jail time.

Whether your medical tech startup produces low-risk or high-risk devices, compliance is a crucial and complex necessity.

1. Stay on top of regulatory changes

If you don’t stay on top of regulatory changes you could be in trouble. For example, the recently adopted GDPR regulations threw a wrench in every business owner’s compliance protocols. Businesses owners had a short period of time to comply before penalties would be legally assessed for violations.

The same can happen in the medical tech world. One day, you might be comfortable with the current regulations and the next day there’s a new regulation you need to comply with. Or, a current regulation might be amended.

The best way to stay ahead is to stay on top of proposed changes in regulatory compliance. Nothing becomes law overnight without a process beforehand.

2. Warn patients not to mix-and-match components

It’s important to warn against swapping out unauthorized device components for any reason. Patients may not understand why they shouldn’t use other components with their device. It’s critical to warn that using unauthorized components can result in injury and/or death, depending on your device. These warnings should be placed in the box for patients and in the literature given to health care providers.

Patients need to understand that the FDA authorizes medical devices for a specific use even when there are multiple components involved. For example, an automatic insulin dosing system comes with several authorized components including an insulin pump, a glucose monitoring system, and an algorithm that determines the dose of insulin. These three devices are tested and authorized together as a complete system.

Sometimes patients decide to mix-and-match components from other systems (or they buy a cheaper, unauthorized component to replace one that broke) and it doesn’t work correctly and ends up harming the patient. For example, the FDA received a report of a serious adverse event related to a blood glucose monitoring system. The system was used with an unauthorized component and resulted in an insulin overdose.

3. Keep a tight watch on your electronic record practices

According to Title 21 (Part 11) of the Code of Federal Regulations, all computer systems used to create, modify, and maintain electronic records and signatures (including mobile devices) are subject to FDA validation. All hardware and software must be readily available at all times for FDA inspection. Arbour Group explains 13 key elements of these regulations including:

• Validation of systems to ensure accuracy, reliability, consistent intended performance and the ability to discern invalid or altered records.
• Ability to generate accurate and complete copies of records in both human readable and electronic form suitable for inspection, review and copying.
• Protection of records to enable accurate and ready retrieval throughout the record retention period.
• Limiting access to authorized individuals.
• The use of secure, computer-generated, time-stamped audit trails to independently record the date and time of operator entries.
• Record changes shall not obscure previously recorded information and audit trails are to be maintained as long as the associated electronic record.
• And more

Handling electronic records according to regulations can’t be done on a whim. Compliance requires a strict system that uses software to restrict access and secure records, among other tasks. Compliance with electronic records regulations are complex. The stakes are too high; there’s no room for mistakes.

4. Be absolutely certain if you don’t think your product qualifies as a device

When you think of medical devices, you probably think of pacemakers, syringes, and nebulizers. However, even a simple tongue depressor is considered a medical device and subject to FDA regulations.

Whether or not something is considered a medical device is determined by The Federal Food Drug & Cosmetic Act. In summary, a product is considered a medical device when:

• The device is used in the process of diagnosing, treating, or preventing a disease or condition. Tongue depressors meet this qualification.
• The device is intended to affect the structure or function of the body without chemical action. This qualification separates drugs from medical devices.

If you’re not sure if your product is a medical device, head over to the FDA’s CDRH Classification Database to review products the FDA considers devices. If you find something that matches your product, it’s probably considered a medical device and is regulated by the FDA.

5. Don’t go to market without a pre-market application

There are two ways you can bring your product to market, but just launching on your own isn’t one of them. If your medical device is considered a Class III device, you’ll need to go through the Pre-Market Approval (PMA) process. If your device is a Class I or II device, you’ll go through the 510(k) process.

With the 501(k) process, you must demonstrate the device is “substantially equivalent” to a previous device. If this is the path you must take, you’ll need bench testing data and a small clinical study. The process may only take a few months.

The PMA process is more involved. You’ll need to perform larger, multi-center, randomized clinical trials to obtain your data. You can expect to involve hundreds or thousands of patients in your trials and it will likely cost in the tens of millions of dollars.

The FDA is strict with PMAs and in 2012, only approved 37.

6. Know that apps aren’t automatically exempt from regulations

Health apps are abundant, claiming to measure your pulse, heartrate, and some apps even claim to help you lose weight. It’s unclear whether these apps are accurate or just for fun, but the FDA doesn’t care – when an app claims to do something that is also accomplished by a medical device, the app might require regulation.

The FDA announced they don’t plan to review all medical apps but will stay focused on apps designed for use with FDA-approved medical devices. However, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.

Apps are hot, but before launching a health-related app, find out if it requires regulation. It might sound silly now, but if a consumer misuses your app in the future and suffers harm, they might end up suing you.

7. Stay caught up with medical device lawsuits

Stay caught up with medical device lawsuits as a reminder that details do matter, and violations are enforced.

When you send out your weekly or monthly newsletter to your team, include a section for recent news. Use that section to make your team aware of any current lawsuits, fines, and other penalties paid by companies who chose to ignore compliance regulations. Keep the reality in their awareness so they’re not tempted to take shortcuts or forge data behind your back.

Medical device lawsuits are abundant. For example, in December 2018, Minnesota-based medical device manufacturer ev3 agreed to plead guilty and pay $17.9 million for disregarding safety laws. The company distributed a neurovascular medical device called Onyx. Onyx, a liquid embolization device, was originally approved by the FDA for use inside the brain.

According to the FDA, between 2005-2009, sales reps from ev3 encouraged surgeons to use Onyx outside the brain in unproven and dangerous ways. The company was told they need to perform a study to get those uses approved, but the company ignored the warnings. The company incentivized sales reps to promote unauthorized uses and the sales reps even attended surgical procedures where they instructed surgeons on what to do.

8. Prepare to conform to regulation changes

It’s possible that your device’s technology might be ahead of current regulations. If you’re an innovator, expect to be required to comply with regulations you may not have needed to comply with when you first launched.

Be aware that regulatory changes in the European Union and Canada can affect your company in the United States. For example, the Medical Device Single Audit Program (MDSAP) was adopted in the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Australia. This program is designed to enhance product quality and safety and help determine the lifecycle of a product.

The MDSAP program also changes the way inspections are performed, so be ready and willing to do things differently when required.

Don’t move forward before you’re ready

Avoid troubling situations by following regulation requirements from the start. Don’t procrastinate or skip any duties you have to the public. Don’t announce your device’s efficacy before the data comes in. Know for sure before you start marketing your device. It’s tempting to start marketing before your trials have been completed, but if the data doesn’t live up to your expectations you’ll be in a bad situation. You’ll either need to lie to move forward, or admit a mistake to make things right.

If you need more time to conduct trials and studies, take that time. People feel better about using medical devices when there’s strong evidence they’re safe and effective.

https://samplecic.ch/regulatory-tips-for-medical-tech-startups-regulated-by-the-fda-3.html

Virtually every startup has to find funding somewhere. Although some founders take venture capital in exchange for equity, that’s not the only way to do it.

To learn more about the pros and cons of venture capital — and founders’ funding alternatives — I caught up with Mark McKee. Before being named president and COO of OnPay, a growing online payroll solution for small businesses, McKee worked as managing director of The Lenox Group, where he advised growing companies on how best to raise and structure capital.

Here’s his take:

Brad Anderson: As someone who’s worked in investment banking and been an early employee at a startup, do you think most founders understand their financing options? Why or why not?

Mark McKee: Most first-time founders I’ve met don’t, frankly. Serial entrepreneurs usually have a sense of the funding landscape, but new ones typically assume venture capital must be the right route.

In my mind, that’s for two reasons: The economy is good, so venture investors are flush with capital. That creates a market where equity funding is top of mind.

The other piece of the puzzle is that equity deals tend to get a lot of press coverage. That makes new founders think, “Oh, this must be the way to go.” Oftentimes, it is. But there are real trade-offs that many first-time founders aren’t aware of.

Anderson: So is venture capital the right approach for most startups? What are the pros and cons?

McKee: I think equity funding can be the right answer. Any type of funding can be an accelerant, but that doesn’t necessarily make the work of an entrepreneur any easier. The journey is hard, whether you take venture money or not. 

With that said, there are some real advantages to it. VCs have been through it before. They can provide guidance, experience, and introductions that many new entrepreneurs struggle to get otherwise. 

The trick is to make sure they’re aligned with your plan: How big do you want the company to become before you make your exit? How do you collectively plan to finance the business as it grows?  Are they happy with the marketing and branding? Do they want you to expand to other markets and geographies?
That’s one of the real cons of venture capital. You typically have to give up control. When you give up some ownership to investors, you need to be ready to accept their input.
Do a gut check. Before taking any money, make sure your investors are smart people who can support the growth of the business. If you’re aligned on the front end, you drastically decrease the chances of conflict later.
Once you bring in equity, you need to be comfortable with that path. If you’re doing well, VCs will want to put more money into your company. If you’re doing really well, it becomes hard to take existing investors out at a reasonable valuation. But if you’re not doing well, of course, it becomes tough to bring other investors in. 

Anderson: What if founders aren’t willing to accept those cons? What alternatives should they consider?

McKee: If you’ve grown your business to the point of positive cash flow, you should explore debt options. OnPay took private debt, but alternative lenders like Kabbage are great options as well. SBA loans are another low-interest route to consider.
If you do know a wealthy individual who would guarantee a loan for you in exchange for options in your business, go for it. That way, that person doesn’t have to outlay the actual cash. Your bank will be happy, too.
One area I think is often overlooked is grants and competitions. It’s non-dilutive capital you don’t have to pay back, plus it tends to create a great PR opportunity. You could try an online platform like Kickstarter, but you’re probably better off entering a venture competition. 
Basically, a bunch of tech startups pitch or demonstrate their product to a committee. The winner usually gets somewhere between $10,000 and $100,000. It’s a supplemental source of funding — and winners often get the attention of local VCs. 

Anderson: Can you describe how OnPay has viewed fundraising and how your path has worked for you?

McKee: We’re a payroll software company, but we spun out of a traditional payroll firm. That initial structure didn’t allow for us to bring in an equity growth investment. We bootstrapped the company, operating in a break-even cash flow environment.
That was tough, and we were eventually able to take on some debt. We reached out to high-net-worth individuals and small funds. We used those assets to growth further; now, we have equity investors and a bank loan.It wasn’t necessarily easy, but that path worked for us. Our approach is to be capital-efficient; we only take in what we need. We view ourselves as stewards of our investors’ money.  

Anderson: What if OnPay hadn’t self-funded at the start? What can other entrepreneurs learn from OnPay’s approach?

McKee: If you can get equity funding early, do it. Had OnPay’s initial capital structure allowed for it, we would’ve done it. You need all the money you can get when you’re first exploring what an idea can be.
Be patient if venture investors aren’t biting. We couldn’t take equity money, so we found other ways to finance the business until we found product-market fit and started scaling. We took money from smart people with the experience to help us, and it actually put us in a much better place today.
Just as importantly, bet on yourself and your team. We’re proud of OnPay’s people because they allowed us to stretch. Before we raised equity, we knew we were asking a lot from our team. That was frustrating for us at times, but we pulled through.

https://samplecic.ch/venture-capital-is-just-one-funding-option-reminds-onpays-mark-mckee-3.html

One of Silicon Valley’s most compelling attributes is its lack of interest in the traditional bottom line. While most companies focus on revenue and profitability, Silicon Valley leaders tend to view valuation as a success barometer. Because of this mindset, Valley-based companies don’t mind taking significant risks as long as they help achieve big-picture visions. But we can learn from Silicon Valley about blockchain Adoption.

What is the Risk of Blockchain?

One new risk that has begun to pay off is blockchain, and non-Valley companies are taking notice. The International Data Corporation predicts that blockchain spending will reach $11.7 billion by 2022 and extend its reach beyond the tech and banking industries.

Who Embraces Blockchain?

Despite blockchain’s obvious applicability to several industries, it’s a solution that some leaders still haven’t embraced. Some of that hesitation stems from a confused association with cryptocurrency, which has good and bad connotations. Some, however, is because of blockchain’s perceived small impact on the bottom line. In 2019, however, blockchain’s potential value is becoming more apparent.

Most leaders who are aware of it are seriously considering its use cases, while more skeptical executives now find themselves much more open to investing in the technology. Silicon Valley drafted the blueprint for embracing blockchain — it’s time for companies beyond the Bay Area to take a risk and follow suit.

Clearing Up Blockchain Confusion

Similar to any emerging tech, blockchain comes with a slew of new terms and terminology that don’t necessarily mean a lot. People interested in creating unique marketing opportunities for themselves can take advantage of the buzzy nature of terms like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data. These buzzwords enable them to peddle products or services that don’t really do anything new — or don’t actually exist.

Misinformation is floating around, and C-suite executives are understandably dubious of new technology.

Because so much misinformation is floating around, C-suite executives are understandably dubious of new technology and hesitant to embrace more modern solutions to old problems.

To get a better sense of blockchain’s value, leaders must understand the truth regarding several common misconceptions: • It’s the same as bitcoin.

While blockchain is essential to how cryptocurrency works, it’s worth doesn’t begin and end with bitcoin. At its core, blockchain is a decentralized and secure way to keep digital records. A blockchain consists of different “blocks” of data that are connected to others using cryptography, creating a string (or chain) of information stored on a variety of computers.

What puts blockchain over traditional methods of business logging is its transparent and immutable nature. It can’t be tampered with or changed, and every block can be accessed and viewed. Protection of the block creates a clear and complete line of accountability, which is useful for more than just creating money.

• It replaces relational databases.

Because services like SQL Server and Oracle cover similar territory as blockchain, some people assume it’s meant to replace more traditional relational databases. However, blockchain platforms are still mostly nascent and aren’t intended to replace more entrenched solutions. Blockchain exists as more of a complementary option.

• It gets rid of the middleman.

While it’s true that blockchain has enabled Bitcoin to eliminate intermediaries from its transactions, that’s not the case in other applications. As long as transactions remain in an internal ecosystem, they don’t require outside validation. When it comes to interacting with the world at large, however, intermediaries can still help with data input and identity verification.

• It’s just a public peer-to-peer system.

The big selling point of many blockchain implementations is the public nature of each transaction. This transparency has led many businesses to believe that blockchain can only exist in a public setting — or that creating a permission-reliant application isn’t possible. While that’s currently the most common version, blockchains do not have to be open to every participant. They can be limited to only those who need to know certain information.

Like any new technology, the success or failure of blockchain’s adoption rests in its applications.

Executives need to look past the marketing jargon and flashy promises that make blockchain look like a messy tech fad.

They must instead figure out their own core goals — and then decide whether blockchain can help them reach those goals faster.

Blockchain’s Place in Today’s Business Environment

For businesses, one benefit of Silicon Valley’s risk-taking nature is that it allows others to learn from its successes and failures. Here are a few ways that blockchain already has proven its worth:

1. Coordinating Document Control and Third-Party Sharing

Despite its reputation as a publicly distributed solution, blockchain is a perfect way to securely share information without risking it getting into the wrong hands. In industries such as healthcare, where security is paramount, this could be a game-changer. It gives the right people easy access to comprehensive data with significantly reduced security risks.

2. Partnering With AI to Improve Oversight and Insights

In traditional workspaces, databases often turn into data silos — centralized sources that are hard to share across departments or between companies. Blockchain, however, should be shared with those who need it as a perfect universal repository for businesses or entire industries.

This sharing is critical not only to better communication but also to better data insights. As more information is gathered and shared, machine learning gleans patterns from these findings. Furthermore, what might not be apparent to one expert could be evident to someone who has different skills or knowledge — enabling outside-the-box thinking that is not possible with data silos in place.

3. Improving Sourcing With Customer Data

Because blockchain is so easy to distribute securely, collaborators can readily collect, read, and analyze information from all over the globe. When it comes to identifying which vendor produces the highest-quality product, data from customers can give accurate insight into which direction to take.

4. Predicting Equipment Maintenance Patterns

Platforms such as TMW Systems offer solutions that use blockchain to alert companies when something goes wrong. They also collect data about each occurrence. Allowing companies to understand when and why pieces of equipment fail can save capital and time in the long term.

Blockchain is no longer a technology best left to the inhabitants of Silicon Valley.

There are specific use cases that any business can put into place, and blockchain is no longer a technology best left to Silicon Valley. For executives, it’s no longer enough to wonder whether you should consider blockchain — you should already be figuring out how to best put it to use.

Image Credit: jorge-fernandez-salas-f5OO7rL6OD8-unsplash

https://samplecic.ch/learning-from-silicon-valley-about-blockchain-adoption-3.html

It can be challenging to realize that you are in the midst of a moment of personal growth when it comes to business. As the day-to-day of your professional life moves more quickly, you are likely to evolve in your career.  Sometimes you change in your leadership role without even realizing a transformation has occurred. But, you’ll want a leadership guide for every business growth stage.

Through every stage of growth, your business transitions to new knowledge, systems, and management.

As this transition occurs, you and your role within the company changes too. I have found that revenue and headcount together are useful markers for uncovering where you are as a business. These precursors are there to warn you about the leadership role required. Typically, more revenue leads to the need for more employees. And, more employees leads to greater business complexity.

As tangible growth occurs, you will need to adjust your leadership style.

Fewer touchpoints with the expanding employee base alone can drive this need for change. Looking back on how I have evolved as an executive, I’ve come to delineate my transitions to four distinct stages. Each stage has informed and evolved my personal leadership growth as well as the skills and approaches required of those around me.

• Stage 1: This first phase is associated with roughly $0 and $10 million in revenue and typically less than 50 employees. Usually, everyone in the organization knows a lot of the organization’s day-to-day and interactions are very cross-functional; sometimes, a single individual is wearing multiple hats of responsibility.
• Stage 2: The second phase is demarcated somewhere between $10-25 million, and you are likely approaching the 100-employee mark. In this phase, cross-functional responsibilities and “athletes” begin to be replaced with individuals with specific domains of expertise.
• Stage 3: The third phase is far removed from the first phase. ARR is now moving from $25M to over $100M, and your headcount has at least doubled to the north of the 200 million mark.
• Stage 4: In the fourth phase, revenue is moving to the north of $500 million, and headcount is likely expanding rapidly on both an organic and inorganic (M&A) basis. Phase IV begins to mark the transition into a platform business as opposed to a limited product company.

(For the sake of this discussion we will only focus on these first four phases.)

As an entrepreneur looking to become a business leader, you will need to know and anticipate how and when your role within the company will need to evolve. Watch and be aware of what is necessary as your organization matures through these phases.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

The first phase is often a bit messy because it is the period when the entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and rapid pivots are often critical. A better moniker for this is the “figure it out” phase. To be clear, in this crucial phase long-term planning is not always optimal. This period is often focused merely on survival. The points may also be incremental points of substantiation to the company’s value proposition.

These incremental gains are critical to surviving your way to another investment cycle.

Watch as you move through each investment cycle contained in another quarter, another month, another week, and even another day. The company and all who work in it need to have a survival mentality. All of you must be trying to get the business off the ground with the goal of keeping it in the air. At this phase, your thoughts are not centered on leadership; it is a phase of pure entrepreneurship – pretty or sustainable are less important than good enough and validated.

This phase is often defined by the will of a single individual or a limited number of individuals putting the organization first no matter what.

Sometimes the founder is carrying all the weight on their backs and doing whatever is necessary to get to the $10 million thresholds of sustainable profitability and product validation. As your organization approaches $10 million in ARR, you start to understand better whether or not your concept has a market and is sustainable.

What is the primary value we provide to our customers? Think of the Pony Express.

Why do clients and customers buy from us repeatedly? What distractions or legacy thinking overhangs exist and is our value proposition in the best “package” or could that “package” change or evolve? I like to utilize the tale of two cities to illustrate this latter point best. I use the cities of St. Joseph, MO, and Kansas City, MO. I grew up in Missouri, and for me, the story of the evolution of St. Joseph and Kansas City typifies the potential pitfalls when you fall in love with your “package” vs. your “value.”

St. Joseph, MO was home to the Pony Express; this city was the hub for moving information and resources from the East to West. What the people of St. Joseph and the Pony Express were good at was moving information and goods. The moving of this information and goods was their value proposition.

The business of the Pony Express’ first business iteration was delivering this value (information and goods).

They came up with using a series of cowboys, on horses, creating a relay for the movement of this information and goods (not pretty, but practical enough).

However, a time came when the town of St. Joseph needed to move from its own Phase I and transition into Phase II. As the necessary “package” (the Pony Express business) was about to change. The entrepreneurial business plan was about to be replaced with a repeatable business model — because — it was scalable.

As the steam engine gained popularity and railroads became the next tool (package) for facilitating the value proposition.

The new tool (steam engine) was implemented for the moving of the goods and information. The city of St. Joseph passed on the opportunity to leverage this new technology. The city of St. Joseph erroneously believed their system worked the best (i.e., leveraging horses), and they had fallen in love with their system. The city was sure that what they had been doing in the past was the best, so they didn’t even consider a new idea, a new tool, or a new strategy.

Enter the railroad industry — a new tool.

When the railroad came looking (with their new tool) they looked elsewhere, ultimately discovering a no-name cow town further south to serve as their railway hub between the East and the West — and that town is now Kansas City.

The transition from Phase I to Phase II in business may very well facilitate some key pivots. You have to be laser-focused on your value proposition and to provide and to invest in a few core, repeatable strengths within your business.

Find Your Strengths and Double Down

In the second phase of your business, the focus will shift from survival to how you can hone the bullseye of your business’s core. You’ll focus on key strengths and the repeatability of your business’s solutions.

As an executive, you’ve evolved from being a startup entrepreneur to leading and initiating the creation of a system. Why something happens becomes more important than the fact that something happens.

You will need to begin to think and act for the long-term. Scalable thinking begins to replace survival thinking.

While you may have had an array of product offerings as you tried to find a market in the entrepreneurial phase by throwing a lot of spaghetti against the wall. By now, you will have discovered one or two individuals who are the main drivers of your business and value proposition.

As a leader in the growth stage, you will have taken the time to define the core areas of focus, and you begin to transition from a “get it done” mentality. You find your group of generalists and move to repeatable, systematic behaviors, approaches, and domain experts.

The entire business must become more systematic so that you can tweak and hone your processes for scalability.

In this business stage, you aren’t just using individual efforts to simply overcome or drive the outcomes for survival. The worry of day-to-day existence and the urge to simply intervene and “make it happen” must now be replaced with systemic learnings.

The stage of letting go of a few things can be a tough transition for many founders/entrepreneurs. For example, you’ll have to resist the urge to jump in and take over the sales meeting and allowing a new sales rep to fumble their way through.

Here is where your leadership has to move forward. You can’t stay in the “fumbles” approach.

You have to move to informing your team with a systemic approach to training, coaching, and onboarding key individuals. This can be accomplished even better with technology. I often refer to this stage with my colleagues as allowing ourselves to blow off digits (creating incremental learning lessons) vs. severing limbs (losing the sale, in this example).

It is a dangerous journey finding this balance and can be very difficult for managers. This stage is critical to making it through Phase II successfully.

While you’re identifying the vital aspects of the business and improving the system — something else — potentially dangerous happens if you don’t pay attention. You’ve added a large number of new employees, and the day-to-day decision-making moves further away from the leadership team.

The “central nervous system” of the organization has migrated. The effectiveness of the systems and processes that are created throughout Phase II — will now become exposed in Phase III.

Crossing the Founder’s Chasm: Entrepreneurship vs. Leadership

Phase II has been about leading the team to establish systems. You have removed the emotional tendencies to allow learning moments. Your system improvement observations have taken place. If you were effective in Phase II, you would have felt yourself begin to slide back, empowering the domain experts and allowing the business disciplines to take over.

Phase III is about the transition from the front of the line leadership to what I like to call dog-sled leadership.

In Phase III, the team and disciplines (processes, systems, cultural tendencies) must now guide the business. Your role is to support the identified needs of the team. Phase III is a natural transition to simply guiding the team vs. pulling the team. Leadership vs. Entrepreneurship is now in full effect.

In Phase III,  you know what the company can do well. You have faced what the market actually wants. The question now becomes at what velocity can you execute.

As the leader of the business, you need to develop new abilities.

You are no longer an entrepreneur focused on what the market is telling you. You need to step away from your emotions and pride of ownership and move into systems that empower others to be excellent in their roles.

You need systems and processes for almost everything your organization now effectuates.

• evaluating market/user feedback
• training
• onboarding the team
• aligning the team’s objectives
• assessing performance
• consistent sales, servicing models and escalations
• Standardization of the back-office. By now, mistakes can’t repeatedly be happening, as you shouldn’t be making the same mistakes twice.

Through the prior two phases, you have been the lead dog on the team. But as you cross the founder’s chasm to real leadership, you are now sitting in the musher’s chair.

As a musher, your job isn’t pulling in a single direction – you need to be focused on aligning the entire team, feeding and nurturing the team and letting the crew pull the sled. You are now merely setting the direction of the company, and the team is doing the pulling.

You must now focus on making sure they are happy, healthy, and pulling in the same direction. At this point, you and the leadership team have moved out of specialty roles where you know all aspects of the processes and operations to hire and round out teams of highly-specialized experts.

Show Me Your Friends, and I’ll Show You Your Future

The final stage of leadership is a bit more challenging to break down. The one key factor I’ve discovered that leads to success at this stage is the processes and systems that were key to leadership in the evolution of the business through the prior three stages.

At this point, you need to be critical of who you surround yourself with. Honestly, this is the key to ultimate success as you’ve grown into a substantial organization.

Placing your trust in your leadership team is crucial to ensuring that your business continues to be successful.

• You will need to trust them to understand the importance of having difficult conversations.
• Speaking up when something is going wrong
• Passing on to your team the ability to take a critical eye to the business and the rest of the organization.
• Ensuring the people who are going to take over your previous roles have the skills and confidence to run the company.

If you are traveling at an excessively high speed, even a small wobble can cause the wheels to come off.

To avoid having any part of the business come apart, you need to surround yourself with people you trust to be willing, to tell the truth, and surface the difficult but necessary topics. It requires a high degree of confidence to believe that people will stand up and speak out when something is not optimal.

When you are responsible for running a business at scale, you need to be able to rely on a great leadership team who can avoid potentially harmful mistakes when something needs to be fixed.

As your business grows, the level of your day-to-day involvement will inevitably change. Hopefully, my own experiences serve as a rough guide to help you navigate your role during each step of your company’s journey.

https://samplecic.ch/leadership-guide-for-every-business-growth-stage-3.html

Can business run only on cold emails? Who reads emails these days? I know these questions must be popping up in your head. But let me tell you, cold emails can still help you in generating new leads for your business if done in the right way. Use the six steps to grow your small business with cold emails.

Many businesses still are using cold emails to drive sales. If you are in the notion that emails can only help you close small deals, then you’re mistaken. I have seen examples of companies using cold email to close large enterprise deals too.

These exact steps will help take you as a small business owner and generate great leads for your business. 1. Build a persona.

I have been into marketing for close to two years now, and my most important takeaway in this short span has been the importance of creating the right personas. If you can create the right persona, your half the job is done. But how can you create the right persona? Here are some tips.

The simplest way of creating a person is filtering people depending on certain factors. For example, if I run a marketing agency that serves startups, then I would target the Founders of the startup whose size is less than 50 employees. Get the details and let that help you to send targeted emails.

2. Investing in a tool.

Many people prefer sending cold emails manually, but that’s fine when you want to send 300 emails in a month. But what if you want to send emails at scale, let’s say around 100 per day. You’ll require a tool to help you send emails campaigns of this scale.

Not only will you be able to save on a lot of time, but it also helps you track a lot of metrics such as open rates, click rates & more. One tool that I came across the last few months that’s working well for me is Lemlist. It’s a great tool, especially when you are just starting out.

3. Sending the right emails.

The subject line & the email body is everything. It can make & break things for you. Let’s talk about the subject line first. Your subject line is crucial if you want your emails to be opened & read by your prospects. Try to be very precise with your subjects.

Some of the best subject lines include:

Quick Question
Question for <Company>

Keeping the subject line, a little simple helps a lot. Coming to the content, make sure you have these four elements in the body:

– Personalization (Name, Company Name ).
– Reason for reaching out (keep it short & simple).
– Social Proof.
– CTA (like a meeting link).

Avoid writing long emails as they tend to get fewer responses. Opt for short and sweet.

4. Follow up is the key.

Many people give up in the first followup itself. But following up multiple time is the key, there are times where people get replies even after the fourth or fifth follow up.

Also, make sure to personalize the follow-ups before sending them. Make sure to include a reason for following up each time. Unless you do this, there’s no use of following up, and you’ll end up getting mostly unsubscribes.

5. Quality vs Quantity.

Something that has always worked for me is focusing on quality rather than quantity. I know many would disagree with me, but quality always wins over quantity. So make sure to put your best efforts in each email so that you can end up getting more replies & open rates.

It’s not about the hard work but smart work.

6. Track your success.

Doing everything at the same time doesn’t help. Try to tabulate the success of each campaign before starting another one. By evaluating first, it will help you in executing the next campaign better. If you don’t want to invest in a tool, then you can use Google Sheets to track campaign metrics.

Some metrics you must note are – open rates, responses, link clicks & deals closed.

Conclusion

Hope you had few takeaways from the post. If you’re looking for other ways of the lead generation, then I’ll recommend you to try cold emails. They are still very effective if done correctly.

What are your tips for cold emails? Mention them in the comments below. I’d love to learn them.

https://samplecic.ch/6-steps-to-grow-your-small-business-with-cold-email-3.html

Getting a startup off the ground isn’t easy. Instead of focusing solely on your baby, as in the actual product or service that you’re selling, you’ll also have to deal with administrative headaches. Managing your startup finances is one of these necessary evils. Here’s everything you need to know about finances for your startup.

As a business owner, you’re going to have to get involved with the financial side of things. There are no two ways about it. Here’s what you need to know to steer your company’s finances in the right direction.

Manage Your Finances 

Entrepreneurs will generally do everything except manage their finances properly. Making money is obviously a major concern and often a big driver in starting the business, but actually taking care of the day to day finances tends to take a backseat. And that’s a recipe for disaster. 

Managing your finances should be one of your top priorities. No “We need to focus on our product,” no, “I’m not a money person,” or “We’ll figure out the finer details later.” In short, no excuses. Manage your cash or you’ll go out of business, period. 

Your Accountant is Important

I’ve already emphasized that managing your money is super important. Accountancy deserves its own headline, as it’s the crux around which your financial health will be measured. Without it, your paperwork will be a mess, the IRS will start sending you threatening letters, and you won’t have a clue about how much money you really have.

Of course, a startup doesn’t always have the cash reserves to spend money on a fancy (and generally quite expensive) accountant. In the beginning, you’ll be able to do it in-house. You’ll need to brush up on your skills, however, and a course that covers the accountancy essentials should be plenty for Year one, either for yourself or for one of your designated employees. Once your numbers start getting a bit more complicated, hire a pro. 

Expensive Credit = Big No No 

You’re just starting out, which means you need money. And quickly. Trust me, as a former small business owner, I get it. When banks and credit card companies start sending you leaflets offering you a bunch of money and all you need to do is fill in a form, it’s easy to fall prey to temptation. 

I’m going to spell it out with some big letters (just to put some extra emphasis and also to be slightly annoying): NEVER GO FOR EXPENSIVE CREDIT.  It’ll (almost always) end in tears. If you’re relying on credit to get your business off the ground, you’ll likely run out of money before you can start paying it back. 

Keep Your Expenses Low

Working out of your basement or getting a cool office? Hiring a battalion of employees or working 18-hour days and hiring freelancers? Logo designed by expensive hipsters or something you got off Fiverr? 

These are choices you’ll be faced with, and while I’m not saying you should cut corners at every opportunity, keeping costs low, to begin with, are key to survival. You don’t want to burn through your finances in the first few months, nor do you want to get saddled with long-term contracts you can’t get out of. Spend money when you need to, but don’t be frivolous.

Don’t Merge Personal and Business 

There’s business, and then there’s personal. They always say you should never mix the two, and ‘they’ are right. When you launch your startup, you’ll need a commercial bank account. For any business expenses, use this account only. 

Never, ever, use your personal bank account to cover any expenses. Even if it’s a short bridging loan or a matter of convenience. There are simple reasons for this:

1) You won’t be tempted to make it a regular occurrence and 
2) It makes doing your taxes a lot more straightforward. 

Know Your Tax Deductions 

Tax deductions can seriously lower your expenses. You should know them inside out, or hire an expert who does. You’ll be surprised by the type of things you can include: 

• Utilities. You can deduct electricity, gas, cell phones, internet connection, you name it. And yes, you can even claim this stuff if you work out of a home office. 

• Travel. If you need to go to a conference or on a business trip far from home, make sure you keep all of the receipts.Fully tax deductible. 

• Advertising. Whether you try and get the word out through the Google Ad network, Facebook ads, or traditional snail mail, the costs are fully deductible. 

• Business lunches. The government will pay 50% of your business lunches, as long as the expense can be substantiated (just check the small print first).

Aim for Market Rate Pay 

Most entrepreneurs won’t give themselves a salary. They’ll work day in, day out, and take a little bit of money when they desperately need it and the company can afford it. It makes sense; you’re just starting off, why waste cash? 

The problem with this ethos is that it creates an unsustainable business model and an unworkable financial picture. Long term, it just doesn’t work. You should either pay yourself what your role demands or fit it into your short-term financial plans.

Expect a Rainy Day 

You have a fantastic idea. The buzz seems promising. People are buying what you’re selling. It’s all looking good. Until it doesn’t. No matter how good you are at your job or how rosy things look, there’s almost always a bump in the road somewhere.

Budget for a rainy day. Keep a buffer for the times when cash flow isn’t good. Retain quality employees even if you’re going through a rough couple of months. Keep your doors open while you weather the storm. Having a rainy day fund will get you out of the tough spots, so make sure you build a decent one. 

Even If You Know Everything, It’s Still Hard! 

Startups are exciting, liberating, and have the promise to give you professional satisfaction and making you (potentially) millions of dollars. On the flip side, running a business isn’t a cakewalk.

Even if you know everything there is to know about startup finance, it’s not going to be an easy ride. With that in mind, equip yourself to deal with those difficult days. Keep learning about the dollar side of things as often as time allows. And don’t be afraid to call in the experts when you need to. 

https://samplecic.ch/everything-you-need-to-know-about-finances-for-your-startup-3.html

The world has changed. You can crash and burn or you can get the right tools and information now and change your life, your business and the lives of your employees.

In this episode of How to CEO, I welcome Han Jin, the co-founder, and CEO of Lucid.

Han Jin and his partner created Lucid in 2015. Their company produces software and artificial intelligence. I invited Han Jin to talk about the various characteristics and skills that a CEO should have. Being a founder and CEO are two very different things and Han Jin helps us to differentiate both roles. He also shares his experiences and the challenges that he has faced switching back and forth between both of these vary complex roles over the past two and a half years.

Han Jin tells me at Lucid, “we have created software and artificial intelligence to capture 3D on mobile devices, or any device that has cameras.”

Every year we work toward becoming better CEO’s and building a better company and product. My co-founder worked in robotics  and worked on at improving things in the robotics field for a few years. He really wanted to humanize and leverage only the software. This decision was before we met. After we met we decided to “productize” the software and make something that would be sellable to the masses.

I asked Han Jin how much money they have been able to raise for their company.

Han indicated to me that this is not much money — but it sounded rather great to me. 2.6 million he told me — but adds that they have been able to raise that sum up to seven or eight digits. Remarkable in the short three and a half year span that they have been building the company.

What does it take to do the fund raising and what does it take to grow a company?

“This journey has been a lot of personal growth and mental growth.” Han says that it really isn’t about the title of being a CEO. It’s much larger than that.  Just the mindset takes more that the title says it is. Jin says that everyone should try to be the founder of their own company because of what you will learn.

You can grow your own company better that anyone else can do it. You’ll notice what you need to double or triple your company growth and revenue to address all of the requests for your product. Because you are right there at the top of your company you can see what has to be done and you do it. There is no waiting around for permissions or other help to come. You learn to grow yourself and your company at the same time.

Lucid now has over 50 people working in the company worldwide. Fantastc growth, but Jin says that he is not the perfect CEO yet.  He explains to me how much growth there is in growing with your people and learning how to “do” that growth. “Hopefully as I go through all of the stages in building a company I’ll become better and wiser in our company I will be able to learn.”

What personality differences are there to being a 10k company or a 50k company?

Every scale and stage of a business requires a different skill set. You become a better employer and CEO with each year that you practice this job. You get much better at hiring — because you have to get the right people in your company that you can trust. As the founder, co-founder and CEO you have to have more trust in your employees as each year goes by. You can’t always be there to manage them — they have to handle the day to day business for you, wherever they are.

Do you find that your employees then bring in other people that join your company?

Yes, each of the employees that you have hire end up bringing in people that they know and you have to have trust in that process too. You have to start breaking down your business into units of work and sections of work. You have to decide who to put over each section of work. The heiarchy must also grow so that you can keep growing. Again — every stage takes a great amount of trust, time and money.

What is the hardest thing you have had to teach your employees?

I have had to teach my employees about making mistakes. I have had to tell them not to worry about making errors. I have to actually encourage the employees to make mistakes and not worry about those issues. They have to get better at their jobs and better at coming up with new ways to build their section of the business. The only way to get better at your job is to go through the mistakes. If you’re a “little off ” or not doing well as a CEO or a team member — that not too bad. But I have to train the team to be okay about errors and to get over it and move on. I train the team to handle the errors — because they will make mistakes.

You have been in business three and a half years. If you could go back and say something to yourself three and a half years ago, what would that advice look like?

In what ever job you decide to do in your business it’s best to learn that a founder and CEO are totally different jobs. They require different strengths and you will have different weaknesses. You have to ask yourself if you even want to be a CEO because this job is certainly not for everyone. It’s a difficult journey. I asked my dad about this topic. He told me that if you are going to be a CEO, you have to be good at three things:

• Fundraising.
• Recruiting.
• Seeing — having the vision and seeing the future of the company.

At one point I really struggled with funding raising. I went through 300 rejections in a row from the investors. I questioned myself and told myself if I wanted to be a CEO I needed to stop whining and stand up and be the best fundraiser there was.

Where do you see you growth coming from in the future?

I want to see a bigger picture and see ahead to a bigger market and to new markets that come along. Getting in to new markets and growth will be required if we are to keep growing. I take the example of Uber. They changed the entire taxi system. The founder just wanted to make his product and go home and he couldn’t. The app came and he had to keep going.

What questions do you ask yourself as a founder?

• Are you willing to grow and willing to learn?
• What will happen if you stop growing?
• What type of business are you trying to build?  A lifestyle business, or a Google?
• What is your mindset?

Where do you go when you don’t have the answers you are searching for in your business?

Many people say to get an executive coach. I decided to seek out and find different adviors; these are paid advisors. The information that my advisors give is for the financial gains. But I have realized that many of the people that help me build Lucid, also care about the relationship. Many relationships in our company have become important with our coaches, mentors and adviors.

How do you find this sort of people?

Finding the right type of person goes back to any type of hiring or any type of finding. You will look for these people, but they will also begin to come to you for this work. You will look for the best of the best and these greats will usually be people who have gone through this startup up journey. They know what you are going through and what you need and they can help you. You need someone who has had a startup first of all. I look and keep an eye out for these people. We have been lucky to find individuals who care for our company, and also care about me and my co-founder personally.

Join  me here for other How to CEO podcasts.

https://samplecic.ch/how-to-ceo-podcast-interview-han-jin-ceo-of-lucid-3.html

Before we take a plunge into the Startup culture of India, let us first try understanding what exactly a startup is, and how does it function? Then we will tell the evolution of startups in India and the story until now.

What is a Startup?

Investopedia defines a startup as “a young company that is just beginning to develop.” A startups seeds are sown and sprouted either because the founder(s) have come up with a unique solution with a product (like a software or a physical product) or service. Usually, a product or service is to erase a complicated problem.

Many times the startups product or service is to provide a more efficient way around recreating and distributing a product or service that is already a business.

Success has its age-old formula inscribed in golden letters on every wall that reads:

“In order to become the one percent, you must execute the right idea, in the right direction, at the right time.”

When these three elements work in tandem, the output increases, the customer base expands, and the company automatically starts to grow exponentially.

Why do certain start-ups succeed when others fail?

Looking deeply into what does and doesn’t work for a startup, you will find that there is a lot more to a startup’s success than mere good luck and excellent conditions and coincidences.

Having good luck, having favorable conditions, and experiencing great coincidences are only a small part of the business. You will need to:

• Have an idea that is exciting, effective, and feasible.
• Hard-working management that knows how to bring the best in their employees.
• Ability to anticipate future trends and adapt quickly to the rapidly changing business environment.
• Presence of experienced Mentors who can effortlessly guide the team through tough times is always beneficial.
• Building a workplace that values purpose before profits

Failures, on the other hand, occur majorly due to the following reasons:

• Quitting too early in the process; lack of persistence
• Running out of money.
• Conceiving a wrong notion about the market: incorrect pricing, too slow on pick up, late in execution, etc.
• Afraid of taking risks, experimenting, and diving all forces in.
• Fearful of changes; inability to adapt.

Now that we know what sets a successful startup apart from an unsuccessful one let’s take a peek into India’s work ecosystem.

How did India utilize its resources to become a startup generating machine?

India is a young country with 65 percent of its population falling under the age bracket of 25 to 35 years. The rise of startups in India didn’t happen overnight but slowly, over a gradual period. It was in the year 2008, after a global recession hit the world, that the first startup revolution began to take shape.

The Great Recession caused businesses to reallocate their resources and lay off employees in large numbers. In India, it mostly affected the IT professionals, who grew extremely fearful for their jobs. This little fear, along with an insatiable aspiration to prove one’s mettle, shook the young nation. It didn’t take the countrymen long to break the shackles of mediocrity and rise above the challenge.

The Startup Ecosystem as it is TODAY.

Successful Startups almost always follow the same ideology:

“Chase the vision, not the money, and the money will end up following you.” – Tony Hsieh

In India, Startups are known for their flexible work culture, late-night parties, and an impartial and transparent work environment. According to Inc42, “India boasts more than 6,000 startups, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confident that 44 percent of these startups are based in Tier II and Tier III cities. And their numbers are only rising.” At the moment, India is the second-largest startup ecosystem in the world.

According to a survey report by Innoven Capital, the major factors that make India one of the world’s most startup-friendly nations are:

• Cost of doing business is pretty low.
• Customers and vendors live nearby.
• With 7 million graduates passing out every year, the size of the domestic market is pretty encouraging.
• India has the 2nd largest internet user-base in the world.
• Earlier, the best talent was limited to big corporations only.
• The element and potential of entrepreneurship are seeping into Indian culture.
• More individuals and professionals have started to dissociate themselves from the more prominent brands.

As Sanjay Nath, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Ventures, tells YourStory:

“Indian entrepreneurs never lacked imagination. But, in the last 10 years, the best talent has been limited to corporations. Now, that gap is being bridged. This reverse flow of talent is the most inspiring thing about the B2B startup sector right now.” 

List of 5 Indian startups that have done exceptionally well for their size and age.

Take a look at these picks — as described in their websites. As a startup, you can always learn and imitate a successful business to build your own success. I have chosen these sites for their excellence.

1. Milkbasket– delivers milk, bread, eggs, butter, juices, and other daily need items every morning, right at your doorstep, free of charge.

2. Epigamia– is a Greek Yogurt brand that has taken the yogurt shelves in India by storm.

3. StoryXpress– a Techstars-backed company, is an end-to-end video marketing platform that enables brands and retailers to convert their e-commerce product catalogs into videos at a fraction of the time and cost as compared to traditional video production houses.

4. Forest Essentials– is an authentic, traditional skincare brand with its foundations in the ancient science of Ayurveda. A pioneer in the Luxury Ayurveda segment, today it has become the quintessential Indian beauty brand that combines the ancient beauty rituals of Ayurveda with a stylish, modern aesthetic for a more relevant emphasis on efficacy, sensorial experience, and pleasure of usage

5. Paytm– is India’s largest leading payment gateway that offers comprehensive payment services for customer and merchants. We offer mobile payment solutions to over 7 million merchants and allow consumers to make seamless mobile payments from Cards, Bank Accounts, and Digital Credit, among others.

The Indian youth and community aren’t afraid of casting aside their 9 to 5 jobs.

These entrepreneurs are all set to break the glass ceiling and attain powerful leadership roles in their businesses, cities, and globally. As more Indian startups and entrepreneur become professionals, they look for increasing ways to succeed. New entrepreneurs and companies are encouraging their employees to express themselves freely. The new freedom to speak up and share ideas is allowing the Indian culture to get all manner of ideas for their success. Success builds on success. After all, even more than having an idea is the culture of the freedom to voice your ideas. The generation of new ideas in the workplace will decide whether or not that startup is going to succeed.

https://samplecic.ch/the-evolution-of-startups-in-india-the-story-up-until-now-3.html