“Lessons I Acquired While Working at NASSCOM 10,000 Startups” – Eventosaur Nikhil Jois
When I initially met one of my co-founders in 2006, I would have laughed in your face if you had told me that we would be working on our business side by side in a 40,000 square foot workspace in around ten years.
I felt it would be appropriate to write about my experiences and what it was like to be a member of the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups Program as Eventosaur’s stay at the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups Warehouse comes to an end.
Ambience
You can really feel the passion in the air from a mile away if you’ve ever been inside the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups Warehouse in Bangalore or any other city. To put it mildly, the facility and its people exude an infectious enthusiasm and passion. The lovely open floor plan is enhanced by the vibrant colors, the never-ending supply of coffee, the cozy couches, and the beanbags, all of which encourage maximum productivity.
Individuals and bonds
It may be a solitary endeavor to launch a business, and most entrepreneurs face an uphill struggle that requires them to sour friendships with friends and family in an attempt to persuade them that it’s the correct decision. The typical “How are you doing?” question seldom elicits an honest response from an early-stage founder since they are aware that others can never truly comprehend what they are going through. Entrepreneurs in the start of their businesses are either ecstatic or completely lost. There is hardly ever an intermediate mode. Still, we put on a happy front and tell the public that everything is well and the business is expanding quickly. One underappreciated benefit is being around by people you can be brutally honest with without worrying about being judged.
Mentors and affiliations
Among the many mentors we have been fortunate enough to have access to are Dr. Som Dutta, Ravi Gururaj, Naganand Doreswamy, and Ashok Madarvally, to mention a few. These individuals have experienced success and are eager to impart their best advice. Our mentors provide us with support and direction, which allows us to avoid wasting time or other resources. Mentors also provide as a constant reminder that hope still exists.
initial kit
The NASSCOM 10,000 Startups partnerships team’s startup kit is a veritable gold mine of deals and freebies. Freebies include ERP software, fintech, and cloud credits. Here is a link to the most recent Startup Kit. Certain goods and services on that list would have been too expensive or difficult for us to find on our own.
Email distribution list
The 10,000 Startups program offers a private internal email list that is the ideal channel for requesting assistance. Bonus: You can read my advice on how to ask for assistance here.
Founders converse with one another on a variety of subjects, including financing updates, vendor requirements, and employment needs. I belong to one of the most beneficial email groups.
Speaking of emails, those of you who are interested in themes related to productivity, sales, leadership, marketing, and the like may find my weekly personal email interesting. You can register here if you’re interested.
Employing and interning
For many founders, the previously stated email group has been invaluable when it comes to hiring. In addition, the gracious people at NASSCOM 10,000 companies themselves maintain a useful database of applicants eager to collaborate with companies at all times. All we need to do is communicate our needs, and very immediately, a short list of qualified applicants becomes accessible.
If you’re reading this and wondering how to acquire an internship or position at a startup, you can read my comprehensive tutorial on the subject of hiring here.
Activities/Workshops
There are avenues opened by the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups ecosystem that are unmatched. Thanks to the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups initiative, we get access to a really large number of events.
Here is a brief summary of a few of the most well-known ones. We’ve included our takeaways from these events along with links to more in-depth publications.
Google Design Sprint
SAP Startup Community
TiE Bangalore Funding Masterclass
Workshop on Design Storm by Design4India
In addition, Eventosaur was granted access to three startup pitch competitions: the American Kannada Koota Association’s business pitch competition, conducted in the United States of America, and two Bengaluru ITE Biz editions.
Fortunately, Eventosaur won awards in each of the three competitions. We couldn’t have accomplished any of them without being a part of the NASSCOM 10,000 Startups ecosystem.
Sponsors
We are honored to have some of the top sponsors in the tech sector at NASSCOM 10,000 Startups. The folks at Amazon Web Services help us with our technical inquiries. The Facebook team helps us with our initial ad setup. Questions regarding advertisements and design may always be answered with pleasure by the Google team. The Microsoft team has made so much more available to us, including Azure. And that’s only the start of it.
Governmental link
Most significantly, we have benefited greatly from having access to the Karnataka ITBT team, the startup cell, and the honorable minister for ITBT. In what other way could we envision the minister tweeting a link to a blog post from a startup?
The team from Startup Cell even paid many visits to the NASSCOM 10,000 startups warehouse to gather input from the owners about their plans and guidelines.
Without the NASSCOM 10,000 startups initiative, I don’t believe it would be accurate to state that my business experience would not have been as pleasurable and (relatively) easy. I strongly advise early-stage companies to think about applying to the program. Come on in and join the family.