Abhishek Kumar Gupta is the founder and Community head of the Facebook community Startup Delhi. It was started in September last year as a platform to help like minded people connect with each and help each through sharing of resources and knowledge. The community reaches 37,000+ people and has successfully become a place where people look for jobs , mentors, share job vacancies and relevant reading resources. Abhishek also organizes offline events all over the country to help entrepreneurs and startup enthusiasts connect with other and engage in meaningful conversations around important topics.
A healthy ecosystem is very important for startup community thrive, Abhishek shares his learning and insight to help you become a better entrepreneur –
What should a student prioritize post college – getting a job or starting one’s own venture?
I think that solely depends on the students and their goals or dreams. An entrepreneurial and innovation driven brain is different from the rest. So, whether a student should prioritize post college – getting a job or starting one’s own venture cannot be answered with proper justification. I know many young entrepreneurs who followed their dreams since the start and are now touching the sky.
What is the one thing people should know before deep-diving into the world of startups?
Often because of its freedom to work freely and flexibility, people thing everything is easy in startup world. But what they don’t know it is the opposite. You have to work your brains constantly to succeed rapidly in a short amount of time. Sometimes you have to work 24/7 under pressure to get investors, sponsors for your startup. You burn midnight oil everyday only to create a better tomorrow. Challenges are in abundance- create an efficient team, funds, marketing etc. It’s a hill climbing task in which you may or may not succeed.
How can colleges help in promoting entrepreneurship, do you think there is something wrong with what is done by colleges to promote entrepreneurship currently?
Today, many colleges and universities are coming forward with entrepreneurship related study programmes like Delhi University, JNU & IITs. Their initiative is appreciated. It will certainly help cultivate the young brains into a more channelized approach towards entrepreneurship. But only introducing entrepreneurship related study programmes isn’t enough. They must make the environment more innovation friendly, should urge students to involve in the practical approach. Always a lot can be done. Recently, Startup Delhi was associated with Entrepreneurship Cell of Ramjas College where we organised a Startup Internship Fair on 15th of November. Turn out there was tremendous!
Is there a formula for getting the right co-founder?
Co-founder is like your right hand. Besides skills, what else one should look for in a co-founder. I can’t say if there’s a formula for getting the right co-founder but he must possess the skills that you lack in. To have the whole package with you. Besides the skills, Co-founder should be someone who you can trust. Startup Delhi in past has organised a Co-founder Matchmaking event where we helped people find the right cofounder for their new ventures. And soon we are coming up with the second installment of the same on 17th of December.
What should one look for in a mentor?
A Mentor should possess the skills that you do not have. Who can not only guide you on the right path but motivate you as when the time requires.
Should one approach the market with just an idea first and look for feedback or build a MVP first and then approach the market (as often people fail to see the value of a product without actually using it)?
Obviously MVP first and then approach the market as then you walk by with the living proof of your product.
How and where can one find genuinely valuable feedback for his/her ideas?
Startup Delhi is a platform that brings together like-minded people under a roof who would be willing to help each other by answering questions and sharing resources. One of the best things about this community is that it has everyone – from startup enthusiasts to famous founders of startups, budding entrepreneurs to experienced ones; and it welcomes everyone with open arms who seek to receive valuable feedback or give their innovative ideas a proper direction.
So many people are engaged in the “startup ecosystem building” game, a majority of these people are doing it just for their personal benefits and PR. How do you differentiate yourself from such people/organizations?
Whatever we do is with the mere purpose of helping the community. We keep getting offers to earn via Startup Delhi but we adhere by some rules so that no one will get affected from our community because of our selfish actions. Money or PR aren’t big of a thing for us. Bringing people together and helping is more important.
How can a platform like yours help college entrepreneurs?
Youngsters who have entrepreneurial and innovative brains, who come out of colleges with the hopes of becoming an entrepreneur; don’t know how to register a company, how to develop an app, how to reach to the target audience, how to build the right team, etc. Startup Delhi is for them to gain from minds alike. They can share, exchange and discuss ideas; find internships; queries or any news. As i have stated earlier, this community has everyone – from startup enthusiasts to famous founders of startups, budding entrepreneurs to experienced ones; and it welcomes everyone with open arms who seek to receive valuable feedback or give their innovative ideas a proper direction.
Startup Delhi is a thriving community of entrepreneurs , you can join the community here.
While on Entrepreneurship you could also read, our guru column by Dr. Harsh Mishra, Founder of iSEED to gain an in-depth insight into the world of Entrepreneurship. While a core part of Entrepreneurship is digital marketing, Prateek shah shares as how one can digitally expand their business strength, Rajesh Aggarwal who is the founder of Rebirth Academy shared with what after college as to what are the key aspects to Sales job. Speaking of Jobs, you can read here from our Guru, Lokesh Mehra, as to how to land that dream job in a Billion Tech form.
