Me: I want to build a platform where entrepreneurs can directly connect with domain experts and find possible solutions to their pressing problems
Seasoned entrepreneur: But tell me something, have you started up before?
Me: No
Seasoned Entrepreneur: [smirks] You don't even know the problems that startups face, and you plan to solve them? Interesting!
We moved to Chennai a week back and this was the first feedback we received. It was a social event we were attending and met people from different walks of life and heard their take on what we are building.
An important takeaway was that it is very important to talk to as many people as we can, but that doesn't mean we need to convince every 'successful' entrepreneur. It is pivotal to understand the emotions behind each dialogue with others because they help you dig deeper and find out possible answers to 'Why did this person say this…'
Surely, we are naïve to a certain extent and not aware of many problems that startups face in their journey. But in the past eight months, we have faced our share of hurdles and interestingly we have realized that some of these problems are quite common amongst startups, but specific to each business model. We have had access to some of the best domain specialists for our problems in Pracly and if they are willing to exchange their wisdom and experience with other fellow entrepreneurs, I think we can help a few people startup - better, faster. We might not find chefs to prepare all the cuisines from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, initially, but we are okay with serving the best sambar and then spreading out.
