Ask an Expert Archives - Startups Anonymous

How do I attract the very first customers to our online edtech business?

Hiten Shah — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:25:17 +0000

Context: online platform in an emerging country teaching people how to code (no experience required). Online classes in pre-recorded videos + online mentoring. Teaching in the country’s mother language – 90% of people do not speak English and so will not subscribe to Treehouse, Lynda etc.

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How Do You Use Pareto’s Principle To Gain The Most Efficient Channels For Traffic?

Hiten Shah — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:21:41 +0000

Hi, Hiten

I’m a multi-disciplinary designer & first-time entrepeneur. Recently, I’ve been following almost every method I can think of to garner traffic. I’ve learned from masters that the most efficient way is to gain traction via other people’s platforms i;e blogs, exchanges, swaps, industry expert interviews, online communities, Facebook & Twitter to name a few. The question I have is that when the outlets don’t work & when you reach out to no avail & peopol don’t want your help you have to think in terms of outbound & reaching out to people individually to gain traction. If you can’t gain capitol fast enough & you can’t meet industry leaders vis a vis then what other options are there for gaining traction? Let me know what you think. Looking forward to hearing from you. Cheers!!!

P.s here’s a post that I was recently looking at which details at least 43 ways to get traffic: http://sixteenventures.com/traffic-hacking

Sincerely,

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What will convince you to be a mentor or advisor?

Hiten Shah — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:20:38 +0000

What do I need to do with my startup, and how can I get your attention?

I’ve made something that is what some call Vines you can touch, or the next big thing.

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How to differentiate our website/mobile development service?

Hiten Shah — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 05:12:17 +0000

Hi Hiten, We are a small firm in Bangalore and we provide Website Development, Mobile App development and Technical Writing services. We don’t have a lot of fame and reputation in the market right now and so we do not attract high value projects. We want to be able to differentiate ourselves and position ourselves such that we are in demand and are able to add tremendous value to our customers. How can I find out what customers really want and modify our service to make it more desirable.

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I’m founding a company with other 2 more people, I am the “CTO”. I don’t want to deal with investors, or board meetings. Am I a good candidate for creating a company?

Hiten Shah — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 05:10:16 +0000

I figure I’d ask someone with more experience. I’m forming a company with 2 other guys, one is a bit technical but not a developer, but I can talk to him about technical stuff and he gets it. He will be manage relationships with clients and seek further partnerships. The other guy will be the CEO, he’s previously sold a company related to what we’re doing and we think he’s the best at what we can’t do, be the CEO of a sales-driven company.

My fear is, I don’t want to deal with most of the business stuff of starting a company. I simply want to make the product and scale it, build amazing technology and create an amazing work environment for future developers joining the company. I don’t want to work with investors, or have to be in tons of meetings related the business. Is it alright to think about this? Should I trust the other guys to run with the business, which is what they are good at, while my passion remains on the technology?

Sorry about the long question and thank you very much.

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You help people a lot but always seem to be stubborn and unwilling to open up at times. I feel like you are holding back from the real you when meeting with you.

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:22:55 +0000

The post You help people a lot but always seem to be stubborn and unwilling to open up at times. I feel like you are holding back from the real you when meeting with you. appeared first on Startups Anonymous.

Do you have any tips on ensuring you, your founders and employees maintain a good work/life balance?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:21:19 +0000

How do you balance getting a million things done for a startup, with ..

Sleeping well
Ensuring your S.O. gets Q.T.
Exercising
Reading for pleasure
Maintaining an active social life

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How do I find the energy to pursue my ideas in the evening while working full time?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:19:18 +0000

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You have a new SaaS to launch, quickly which are the first 10 activities that you plan for the first 2 months?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 21:17:53 +0000

Short and concrete!

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What really motivates you?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 15:59:31 +0000

What’s the primary impulse for an ambition founder? Pride? Love of freedom? Of money? The desire to build your own little Utopia? To retire young? To help people?

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What are the coolest growth hacks you’ve encountered?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 15:57:55 +0000

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What advice would you give to a startup that’s starting to focus on growth?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 15:55:44 +0000

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What is the easiest money you’ve ever made?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:57:14 +0000

And was it sustainable?

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What are the most common mistakes that you’ve seen during your advising and investing?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:55:49 +0000

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Is there anything you can do to avoid technology patent trolls?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:54:37 +0000

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What would you do different if you went back 5 years ago?

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:53:46 +0000

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Is Silicon Valley not sort of like the BCS (college football)? Only the big cities get VC consideration, and all other small businesses / startups are seen as sub-par.

Hiten Shah — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 03:52:37 +0000

The post Is Silicon Valley not sort of like the BCS (college football)? Only the big cities get VC consideration, and all other small businesses / startups are seen as sub-par. appeared first on Startups Anonymous.

What are your thoughts on startups using Blackhat techniques for SEO?

Hiten Shah — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:58:29 +0000

We see the news quite often and once in a while that startups actually use black hat techniques to get them ranked high on Google. There are even cases where big companies such as T-Mobile, Expedia, and RapGenius using these techniques. What are your opinions on this?

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How many Angel investments do you plan to make in 2014?

Hiten Shah — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:57:49 +0000

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Why do investors love Delaware companies?

Hiten Shah — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:56:47 +0000

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