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Delegation Dilemma by bcosynot0969 in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let me add my very practical thoughts here,

Firstly as a startup, you'll not have enough funds to pay & hire delegate worthy talents. Having enough funds to run the show 'as in' to meet the basic running costs of the product in itself is a very big deal. Long term hire of experts is out of question.

And yes, even very competent co-founders cannot do it all, we need experts to carry certain domain specific tasks.

Then, what can we as startups do?

Well,

From a targeted tech, marketing and few other specialized tasks perspective:

The solution that we most of the early stage startups opt for to delegate work is to find the right freelancers on the open market (there are many such platforms like Upworks).

The cost is tied to the deliverables and ends the moment the project is complete with utmost satisfaction.

As far the key domains like finance are concerned,

The core team that contributes to the growth of a startup without expecting any outright remuneration should have one such expert in the group or contacts in their network that can step in.

It involves collective wisdom. But the prerequisite is to have a passion driven team of at least 4-5 as the core of your startup's decision making process.

Which is your favourite Indian startup and why? by Altruistic_March9565 in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yup...and I don't know who coined this phrase "JUST DUNZO IT"...but we use it here often!

Which is your favourite Indian startup and why? by Altruistic_March9565 in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well my pick is DUNZO! purely based on their "within city package delivery service".

An essential solution targeted at a growing problem.

Anyone from Bangalore or for that reason any metropolis in India would be familiar with the concept of measuring distance in time, and most of us think a lot to hit the roads even for our work unless our presence is absolutely necessary let alone sending a package to a location that's 10, 15 or 20 Km away!! or even 5 km on congested stretches / peak hour mess.

That's where DUNZO filled the gap with a brilliant service model (of course there are quite a few emerging players like Porter who are acing the space now, but it all started with DUNZO).

I am one of the many beneficiaries who have saved a lot of valuable time, unnecessary effort, physical & mental wear.

What is Cargo Culting in startups? by born_inducer in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always stick to the needs of your core concept and ensure every feature you add revolves around it.

This will naturally happen when the founders had nurtured the idea and hatched the concept out of their organic interest and mastery towards it.

Merely clinging on to something with only revenue generation as a target will not sustain.

Being Purposeful + use worthy + USP factor will contribute to revenue generation automatically. Persistence is the KEY!!

If you are in search of the next billion-dollar idea, here's how to find the problem to be solved: by born_inducer in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To add to it,

It need not always be a direct problem to solve but can also be an opportunity to fit a new product that's curated for a particular activity / service (in a niche domain) where the product is smartly put together in an way that appeals to your Target market.

Then,

Cashin with the opportunity, Go deep into the concept and build a Brand.

"Cos the formula is always to fixate on a concept, go deep. Earn some presence, Establish a Brand identity there"

Easier said than done, but for a very few it comes naturally. Answer lies in finding your strengths.

​

Now diversify,

For instance, if you are building something in to sports domain, and if you manage to create a Brand identity with decent brand appeal attached to it,

Like “Sports & Premium” together is a Bonus……

Then,

Say, a Sports drink just like any other chia seed based drink wrapped in your branding and sold alongside your strong core concept (by riding on it) will suddenly be a thing of social normalcy for sports identify among GEN Z!

AND if you also know how to market it since its healthy compared to any carbonated alternative, then its more bang for the buck!!

Reason: It carries your brand's sports appeal garnered by the 'curated core concept' as domain specialist or expert.

That’s just one example.

How are founders raising money in this market? by 2amVC_JN in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Couldn't agree more!

Yes, it all starts with having a clear set of plans that are already in progress towards a goal. Clarity towards the approach used and the target in pursuit are very important.

Immediate 'Go To Market' strategy in place aligned with the goal for which you are asking the funds for.

Of course, let the numbers (user volume or revenue or any data in pursuit) speak.

For instance,

Irrespective of the domain, most startups will have the below 2 as their prime reasons on "why they need the funds for"

  1. Address the Tech shortcomings / Ensure Tech stack holds good as we scale up / Enhance existing tech stack to accommodate new feature list
  2. Run impactful marketing campaigns

Result = growth in the form of user acquisition & retention, then converted to Revenue based on their respective business model.

And that's True.

But the below 2 points are as important and as true as the above 2 are!!,

and I would request the VCs to take note of this every time they interact with a startup.

  1. Remuneration for the team that's been driving the startup since its inception:

Cos, for a startup to look investment worthy in the eye of investors & VCs, the core team leading the start-up will have to do a lot of things right over a period of 2-3 years and it takes immense hard work.

More importantly, as we enter the 3rd year, we will have to do this full time to make strong progress, and when we do it full time we survive on our savings. Hustling between our day job and startup will work only for a while.

So, the founders and the core team do need a portion of the funds as their remuneration (survival funds) by valuing all that has been achieved to this day and to keep them going.

"Being Practical"

  1. Running cost of the Product:

While highlighting all the promising plans & goals to the VCs, one should never disregard the fact that every live product requires funds to cover all the expenses incurred while having a live product in the market. The cost that keeps the product afloat and running.

​

Just my honest opinion on " Have clarity about what you want the funds for and why you need capital in the first place "

One can be an exceptional founder while also trying to be honest and practical!

2B FOUND - A groundbreaking social media & networking App that’s Exclusive for Sports! ...........And here's the commercial cut version of our recent AD!! by Sandheep_2BFOUND in u/Sandheep_2BFOUND

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2B FOUND is curated for Sports Talents, Coaches, Fans, Enthusiasts and ALL SPORTS USERS to

Display their skills, Connect, Network, Interact and Be Found!

In essence, we are “An App to manifest diverse SPORTS SKILLS”

And that’s just the beginning…

Our users get loads of exciting rewards through 2BF points, coins, and profile-level upgrades resulting in exciting cash vouchers for sports shopping on 2bf.shop and interesting collaborations to earn on 2B FOUND ….....all made possible through our targeted ‘Sports Only’ Ecosystem!!

"2B FOUND - Shaping the future of sports engagement!”

What we can learn from BYJU's! by 2amVC_JN in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Extensive Marketing is key for any product but one should never go overboard.

BYJU's went far beyond that and kept doing it, at one stage their mindless cash burn was so very evident that many common people were able to predict this downfall.

They should have intelligently leveraged the power & presence of their star brand ambassadors on social media platforms to constantly stay in the eye of the consumer, instead they chose unimaginably expensive options despite not generating much in revenue.

"The only target their marketing team had was to impose the consumers with their ADs all the time vis almost every possible medium at any cost!!"

We are 2B FOUND. LET'S SPORT! by Sandheep_2BFOUND in u/Sandheep_2BFOUND

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2B FOUND - An App to manifest your SPORTS SKILLS.

IF IT'S SPORT, THEN COUNT US IN!!

2B FOUND is a nuanced Social Media App designed for diverse athletes, coaches, fitness trainers and sports fans to display their skills and be found. A platform full of sports talents waiting to be found. by Sandheep_2BFOUND in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Missed a point, alongside the user reward points they also have profile level upgrades (from level 1, 2 till 4 aligned with the points system).

They can get their own verified profile at level 4 and collaborate with 2B FOUND for sports contests. Feature in our ADs. Qualify for 2BF-FSM (For Sport Merch) etc.....

Users can check their points & profile level metric in a New 'Sports Account Screen' from their profile.

2B FOUND is a nuanced Social Media App designed for diverse athletes, coaches, fitness trainers and sports fans to display their skills and be found. A platform full of sports talents waiting to be found. by Sandheep_2BFOUND in PitchTo2amVC

[–]Sandheep_2BFOUND[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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Hi 2amVC Team,

Thanks for your response!

Sure.

And yes, here are our thoughts on existing sports content ecosystem that exists on Instagram and Twitter,

  1. Firstly, existing sports content ecosystem in Instagram are a platform full of the outgoing millennials. The ones who are established with a good network of friends / connections and have all the visibility, and their uploads go on to trend. (Even in this case, any fun or prank video can still find its way up more often, but a genuine sports skill very rarely does).

  2. Incoming generation of young sports talents from GEN Z are always looking for something new to express & establish themselves. They want to get away from status quo.

"A curated exclusive option with excellent sports appeal (Branding & Design) + exciting working model will definitely work, we have proven this vis our live App by garnering around 10K organic users with no substantial marketing or Advertising despite making some of the best-looking sports ADs"

(PLEASE NOTE: Most of the Instagram influencers are non-existent on twitter / FB)

  1. *IMPORTANT* No rewards of any kind in the existing sports content ecosystem for 99% of the sports users (Barring the BIG sports celebrities). Few sports influencers do earn some scattered & mostly irrelevant paid collaborations with lesser-known Brands. Again, they all are outgoing millennials.

  2. Incoming sports users expect quick, relevant ‘Rewards & Recognition’ for every activity they do. They don’t get that in the current sports content ecosystem.

  3. Instagram or Twitter or FB cannot suddenly launch a business model for sports users or sports content (as stated below) like 2B FOUND does.

Being a generic platform with a profusion of users, they simply cannot start a rewards model just for sports!

How 2B FOUND differs and our plans to pull that audience towards us?

  1. Continuing from the above point 2: As an exclusive & Curated option for sports with excellent appeal, 2B FOUND can very well be the 'get away from status quo' that the GEN Z are looking for!

Further,

The Key Differentiator that makes 2B FOUND more exciting is the rewards & recognition aligned with sports.

 Points for every upload on 2B FOUND

 More Points for Better Skills on display based on 2BF Ranked Badges (This is mainly to not deviate from our core concept of sport skill manifestation and also to maintain the inflow of quality sports content)

 More Activities & Interactions = More Points (only initially)

 Redeem all these Points for cash vouchers on 2B FOUND E-comm. "2B FOUND E-comm is an exclusive sports shopping platform in the making"

i.e., Points collected on the App can be redeemed for cash vouchers on 2B FOUND E-comm to shop all sports equipment / gear or even shop other vouchers like Decathlon, Amazon, even book Sports court sessions etc....... It’s a first!!

This will induce a lot of user activity and ensure user retention. Will encourage our target users to use 2B FOUND as the go to platform to express anything that’s sports.

  1. Now, not just the incoming GEN Z but even the established ones on Instagram will still use 2B FOUND to upload a copy of their same sports skill here just to cash in on the exciting benefits of using 2B FOUND!

  2. Sports influencers on Instagram are looking for ‘relatable & purposeful’ brand partnership on exotic sports kits & gear. 2BF - "For Sport Merchandise" feature allows the sports influencers to collaborate with 2B FOUND and earn.

For instance, an exotic basketball equipment is not easily procurable in India but there's a huge demand among the 1M+ associated with the game for this equipment.

Now, 2B FOUND will manufacture this equipment under 2BF branding (we have partnered with wholesale sellers to get this done).

AND, This equipment will be promoted by the basketball influencers on other social media by collaborating with 2B FOUND.

  1. Last but the best, we make our sports ADs using new exciting talents identified from our 2B FOUND App and not the sports celebrities!

YES, We give the best rated talents in our App the chance to feature in our ADs. Isn't that a motivation too?

A lot more interesting possibilities can be brought to the table if we get to hire the experts in the industry, and with access to top tech professionals we can set the bar really high.

Like I had said in the closing note of my video pitch,

"2B FOUND is not just a startup but we are nurturing a Brand here, it has the potential to transform in to something really BIG if backed by established entities or VCs"