AI
AI is an assistant, helping humans automate mundane repetitive tasks. But when it helps uncover ancient scripts, that alternatively takes many human years, AI is then a sophisticated assistant. Uncovering ancient texts is not a mundane repetitive task. This is the power of AI for all of us to understand and incorporate in making our lives better not just in doing mundane repetitive things but also solve more complicated things.
Ancient Language Decoded by an AI, What It Revealed Is Terrifying
Technology is evolving faster than ever, creating a hype when it is introduced and slowly it fades and something else takes over. To be in business for the long run one needs to APMC’s a genuine problem, and if technology can serve as a solution in some way, then it must be used in compliment to the whole solution, than making technology the whole solution due to the hype around it. AI is the buzz word now, and Indian startup’s are using it to develop impactful solutions for real problems in public health, mental health and agriculture.
Impact beyond the hype: How Indian innovators are shaping India’s AI agenda
The case of Builder.ai filing for bankruptcy after having faked financial documents to secure fuming from reputed VC’s, Wealth Funds and MNC’s, calls for practising quality diligence in investing even when startup’s may not have a long history of operation.
Dailyhunt Parent, AI Startup Faked Business
India’s AI Mission update. Build on existing stack, or build our own stack.
On Sarvam’s New Model & Home-Grown AI Startups
Vibe Coding
Learning a programming language to code an app or a website may not be necessary anymore. With AI one can just prompt normal messages to the AI, and AI will generate the code for the same. Not good vibes for actual programmers, but for non-programmers this is Vibe Coding.
Vibe Coding for non programmers
Building a brand got easier with AI, it can assist you in most areas, but cannot replace you. You still need to feed it with the right information to get it started.
AI as a creative partner in building a brand
Innovation
Non Polluting Plastic
A private lab in Wako city has developed a plastic material that can dissolve in sea water within an hour and on soil within 200 hours, without leaving behind any fragments that could potentially enter the food chain.
Scientists in Japan develop plastic that dissolves in seawater within hours
Meditation, Mindset and Motivation
Mindset
Out of the box thinking on the inbox, a bit of entrepreneurial mindset of packing a lot more life’s subjects in to inboxes just like emails for one to check through.
Daily Stoic Meditations
Stoicism is philosophical learnings from the ancient Greek and Roman times, that teach us the four main virtues of Courage, Justice, Temperance and Wisdom. Ryan Holiday’s book The Daily Stoic offers a stoic lesson to ponder on for every day of the year. The video shares some interesting lessons for the month of June.
Start Now
No matter what your circumstances are currently, if you have an idea, it’s the best time to start now, there is no perfect time coming up later for you to start then, start now and make the time perfect as you move on with the idea.
Do not let this thing go waste
As entrepreneurs we are faced with challenges everyday, and it can get worst if don’t attend to them on their face value. Being judgemental, making assumptions and speculations etc…. adds to the challenge and makes it worst. Address the challenge as it presents itself, there is no need to add more to it.
Stop Turning Challenges into Catastrophes
Attention to the Negative
The amount of attention an entrepreneurs gathers when things are not in his favour, something going wrong with his business, is way more, than when things are right. It’s human nature, to find it entertaining in talking on and on over something negative, but when it comes to talking about something positive, it’s always a short message. Negativity gathers more attention, and that’s fair, as it humans get more affected by anything negative, than by something positive.
“You are watched, mostly when decisions are tough!”
Even if your work is the dream you are living, there will be days that may make you feel otherwise, leading to distraction, frustration and unfulfilling. Finding fulfilment in work is an ideology created by the western culture. Most ancient civilisations and even some of the traditional and indigenous tribes currently make their work fulfilling and not expect it the other way round. Working hard with discipline and dedication, learning new tasks, getting creative are some of the things to feel fulfilling with work.
How to Find Fulfilment In Your Work
Dean Graziosi shares valuable lessons to live by to succeed, to overcome challenges. Having a hunger for becoming wealthy, treating money like oxygen so as to have enough of it to enable you to focus on other important things and not worry about money and on achieving goals.
The Money Expert – Dean Graziosi on How to become Recession Proof Amidst Chaos and Uncertainty
Basic values as a human, become a strong foundation for success in business. The idea of being you as you are, the same person at home and at work, that integrity, gets recognised by all, including success.
I Wish Every Entrepreneur Had A Dad Like Mine
Krista Mashore went from being a top 1% realtor to a business coach and author. Win before you arrive – make and market your video to your target to be introduced with your expertise. Develop and maintain a mindset as that helps most than skill sets.
The Power of Video and Developing a Mindset to succeed
Nick Stephenson helps people make online courses. Focus on something specific and niche and differentiation is important whilst developing an online course
Building an Online Course Empire with Nick Stephenson
Micro Retirement
Micro Retirement to refresh and restart with your professional goals, than to work towards a full retirement at the end of 40, 50 or 60 years career.
A Buzzy Retirement Strategy Amongst the Young
Success has to be wholistic, meaning feeling successful externally as well as internally. Achieving those goals and targets without feeling good internally is success that will lot last long, as at some point the inner morale will play out and result in poor performances going forward. To have sustainable success, one must work on the external as well internal parameters.
My Success Felt Hollow — Until I Made This Pivotal Leadership Shift
Solving Men’s Mental Health Issues
Men are less likely to open up about Mental Health issues arising due to their work. It can be dangerous if left unchecked. Addressing the problem differently will help in solving the problem.
Addressing Men’s Mental Health conditions
Failure in business is a lesson to learn and move forward, and not stop. And to move forward you must feed yourself with the right fuel, in terms of what message you send out to yourself, if you send out a positive message, then you move forward.
Words matter, Repeat Good Decisions, Avoid the Bad ones
Productivity
Being busy does not equal to productivity. Question every task, if it’s not essential, not contributing towards your goals, eliminate those and focus only on the essential and contributing tasks.
Entrepreneurs often face a number of challenges on a daily basis, enough to distract, depress and demotivate one from the tasks in hand and the goals ahead, creating a negative thought pattern or anxiety in the mind. The negative thought process leads to ruminating on things, events, people and thoughts related to the cause of our anxiety. This may bring some temporary relief, a more permanent solution is to get involved with activities that are in your control such as meditation, breathing exercise, walking and writing.
What doomscrolling does to your brain, and how to stop it
A beautiful designed product is bound to fail if it does not deliver functionally as per the customers expectation. Functionally perfect first, Form later
Metrics and Analytics
Entrepreneurs are equipped with tools to generate metrics over various areas of their business. But not all of those metrics are important, Chris Guillebeau shares insightful tips on metrics that matter the most to businesses such as profits, , time investment and customer retention. Identifying the right metrics brings in clarity to make the right decisions to change course accordingly for business growth. What gets measured gets managed, and which of those measurements are vital for better managing the business growth.
We live in a world of information overload. Business systems also throw out enormous data or metrics, making it even more important to guard against the wrong metric, just like the way we would block or simply not entertain certain information. What metrics need to be analysed and what needs to be ignored is crucial.
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Obsess Over Metrics
Efficiency of a solution is in finding for other areas where a similar problem exists, so as to apply the solution
Perfection is a work in progress
Every choice has a story to tell.
The Plan A is for how it works….. and so there must always be a Plan B if it does not work as planned.
Startup Spotlight
AGNIT is developing a Gallium Nitride semiconductor that can tolerate high power density and high voltages an alternative to silicon-based semiconductors.
GaNgs of deeptech: Why this startup’s GaN bet may be key to India’s semiconductor boom
From corporate to startup experience to launching their startup Earthful, sisters Veda and Sai Sudha offer plant based nutritional 100% natural supplements.
Earthful offers nutritional plant based 100% natural supplements.
Launching with a debt funding of only Rs2.5 Lakhs to Rs. 6 crore revenue in FY2024, Vishal Saini and Geeta Chetri founded SalonTym an AI enabled home based beauty treatment service.
SalonTym leveraging AI for at Home Beauty Treatments
Angie Nwandu turned her hobby of posting celebrity news on Instagram in to a media empire, with followers more than that of the New York Times. Inspiring story of hardships from childhood, to uncertain careers, to using her writing skills to create a media company.
Turning celebrity gossip in to a media empire – The Shade Room by Angie Nwandu
Jennifer Tsay and Jennifer Yeh cofounded Shoott a platform that lets customers book photo shoots and pay only for the photos they like. From $80K in 2018 to $10M in 2024 and presence in 60 cities in the United States, Shoott has clicked it right.
Shoott a photography platform that lets customers pay only for the photos they like.
An AI powered platform for the hospitality workers that helps them to find gigs that they are most qualified for.
Salty & Straw a Gourmet Ice cream Co founded by Tyler Malek specialises in adding new flavours every month
Inside Scoop: An Ice Cream Maker Serves Up His Secrets
Startup Funding
Venture debt funding for startup’s will help founders keep equity in hand during early stages of their startup.
HSBC Plans Venture Debt Fund for Indian Startups
Startup Strategy
India is the third largest startup hub in the world currently. To become number one it will need to innovate and launch startup’s in deep tech areas of AI, ML, Blockchain and Quantum computing. In area of clean tech, India has been importing most of it’s requirements and needs to start sourcing and producing those requirements locally. Smart and patient investing in deep tech and clean tech ideas will be the way forward, and also more local investors. Most of the funding comes from foreign investors, that needs to change by encouraging Indians not only HNI’s but also SME’s or family businesses to invest in startups.
What’s Bubbling in Startupland
Big scope in the Green Fund sector in India. Green Fund basically means investing in green, social and sustainable initiatives (GSS). While data tracked since 2021 through to 2024 shows a large percentage increase, is still a small step and more ground is to be covered to reach the targeted figure and time line, hence offering opportunities for entrepreneurs to align their green ideas with the funds objectives.
‘India to Need $1.3 Trillion Green Fund by 2030’
Entrepreneurs will make better decisions, be more creative and innovative if they adopt a multiple choice thinking towards decision making, rather than the standard binary thinking of choosing between Option A or Option B. Multiple choice thinking expands the scope to have more choices for making the decision.
Multiple Choice Thinking to make better decisions
Build it if you have to, buy it if you can. To scale faster entrepreneurs must look into acquiring other startups or small businesses, this let’s them to add on complimentary products or services along with their existing offering, also saves time and money on development, testing and marketing costs.
How to Use Micro-Acquisitions to Scale Faster and Smarter
Popo Ventures secret sauce in succeeding with their brands Pizza Bakery, Paris Panini and Smash guys – no VC money, scaling only after testing and personal involvement in daily operations.
The Secret Sauce to Pizza Bakery and Paris Panini Success
The scope for Indian handicrafts to be consumed in the western markets is huge, provided the gaps on design, production, marketing and distribution are fixed. Currently some Indian made items that are purely ethnic are not represented in those markets in that sense and are labelled for the consumers to fit their narrative. To term it in other words “theft” will be offensive, and truth is always bitter. Indian merchants and artisans clearly have the validation to upgrade their game to play in the global playgrounds.
Chic Can Be Local, It Must Go Global, Too
Family business can be a boon or a bane. Running one across generations creates a legacy. But to keep it running over generations involves incorporating changes as per the times. But the basic principles of setting clear boundaries around roles and responsibilities, keeping work and family time separate are relevant at all times. Becky Edgren started off in her family business which was sold later, but that didn’t stop her from starting another for her family, this time also with the same principles.
Her Franchise Is Worth Millions in a Male-Dominated Industry
Businesses that wish to survive over generations must embrace change. Those that don’t, don’t last as well.
Any business that needs to be regarded as historic, first needs to be big on changing with time.
Fitness bands and smart watches are no more the choice of wearables customers are looking for. While these devices garnered significant interest when they were launched, user interest has faded over time due to lack of innovation in the devices and the key feature of tracking fitness which after a point became meaningless. Now users want a meaningful and real world functionality from the wearable, one that solves a specific problem, makes the wearers health better in some way.
Wearables 2.0 – a more solution oriented offering
Waitlists
A “Waitlist” for new products or services is a good strategy for startup’s: to gather momentum pre-launch, create exclusivity and sustainable production runs, build a community.
Passion Traps
Passion is very important in business, without it one may easily lose the interest in business and let it fail. However too much of passion can also lead to a passion trap, where in one fails to see the profitability side of the business and finds the business failing. Passion and Profit are to be balanced well to ensure the business functions sustainably.
Finding the right balance between passion and profit in business
Holiday Gift Guides
A lot of entrepreneurs like to get features in holiday gift guides to sell the products or services. Research says that some businesses make as much as 70% of their annual revenue during the holiday season sales. Chris Guillebeau offers insightful guidance on getting featured in a holiday gift guide.
How do I Get Featured in Holiday Gift Guides
Succession Planning in Family Businesses
Businesses in India are family owned, and a large number of these businesses don’t have a strategy set for succession or lack succession planing mindset. This eventually leads in to conflicts and legal battles between family members, that affect the business and the larger family as well. Wealth management and family offices offer expert advice and derives to help family businesses to draft succession planning and family constitutions to ensure continued business operations into generations and also a formal structure backed by family values over the years.
During the initial stages of a startup it is natural for a founder to be all in, taking up many roles, wearing many hats, but as the startup scales, it can be detrimental to growth if the founder continues operating in the same way. Its best that the founder learns to delegate tasks, trust employees, and train them to lead in case of his or her absence.
Founders Syndrome can come in the way of a business’s growth.
Side-Hustle Success Stories
Ali Grace’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. From crafting each piece meticulously in her dorm room and personally corresponding with customers, she transitioned into a full-fledged business powerhouse. By expanding into a warehouse and building a team, Ali scaled her operations to meet increasing demand. Her designs caught the eye of major retailers, leading to partnerships with renowned outlets like Revolve and FWRD. This strategic growth not only reinforced her brand’s credibility but also positioned her at the intersection of creativity and commercial success, culminating in impressive revenue milestones.
Getting the pitch right, Sustaining growth in the front end with equivalent support at the back end, Listening to feedback, Adapting to the market conditions, Taking action rather than waiting for the perfect moment.
Artful Agenda – a digital planner service founded by Katy Allen went from a side hustle on Facebook to a full time business, growing from $1k per month in 2017 to $275k per month in 2024.
From a Facebook Side Hustle to a Full Time Business making millions now
Jess and Becca Stern founded and launched Mustard Made in 2018 as a side hustle at a trade show in Australia, to now a full time business for both. Thinking in 10x terms before making any investment ensures the investment decision is made in the scalability of the business.
From a side hustle at a trade show to an 8 figure business – Mustard Made
Labubu
The over night success stories that happen over a decade of hustle and grind. Labubu first appeared in picture books by artist Kasing Lung in 2015, then got into license deal with PopMart, which introduced it in the stores worldwide in 2019, but only found sales picking up from 2023 onwards when it introduced the toy figurings with key rings.
Now a Hot Pick, Labubu’s Fame was Years in the Making
Sources
YouTube
Economic Times
Foundr Issue 135
Peak Productivity Newsletter
Entrepreneur
Seth Godin Blog
Fast Company
Daily Stoic
Your Story
Reuters
Side Hustle School Podcast
Entrepreneurs on Fire Podcast
School of Greatness Podcast
