-R.Sukumar

An idea is all you'll need to make it in the wired economy, right? Wrong. Mere ideas do not a dot.com make. True, there are VCs and angels waiting to turn your dreams into gold, but selling an idea is not exactly a cakewalk. And most VC's prefer to invest in a dot.com that's up and running. So, what do you do? Where do you get started? Whom do you hire? The ability, or the lack of it, to tackle these issues make or break a good idea. bt dot.com presents every e-biz entrepreneurs guide to getting started.

Register your domain name; and incorporate your company. If you have an idea, don't wait for capital. Register the domain name you think will suit your business best. And since dot.coms too need to operate in the real world, sign up with the Registrar of Companies for a certificate of incorporation.

Draw up a business plan, and identify revenue-streams. Assume that yours is a going concern. Define income and profit sources. Arbitrage may be a lucrative new business model, but don't go looking for a buyer: treat it as a happy occurrence if and when it happens.

Break that deposit or borrow from friends and relatives, but get started. Do not look for an angel when you start out. Raise some capital, and start working on your idea. Work alone if necessary: serve as a one-man marketing, content, and technology team. Stick it out for 6 months, and investors will find you.

Think big, but spend small. A functional office will do. You do not need fancy stationery or a secretary. And try and outsource everything that can be outsourced. Remember, every penny you save will mean you can hold out for a higher valuation for just that little bit longer.

Hire the best, but pay them stock. 50:30:20 is the magic formula. Fifty per cent is your stake in the business; 30, the VC's; and 20, your employees'. Do not even try to match salaries when you hire people. Offer them stock, and a reasonable salary.

e-maintenance
They may be plebians, but you need bean-counters during the growth phase

The first days aren't the hardest days for dot.coms. The heady rush of the initial phase of getting the company off the ground, making the first IPO, and building eyeball-share will keep the team motivated. But as the venture moves into the growth phase, and the number of its employees increases, things change: the organisation's structure changes; and the ad-hoc systems of a start-up gives way to the efficient but bureaucratic ones of a company that looks and works very much like a traditional company.

Employees used to the hustle of a hot start-up may find this change disquieting. How can dot.com CEOs deal with this situation? They can begin by realising that the skills required to see an organisation through the inception stage, and those required to see it through the growth phase are different: in the inception phase, the company requires individuals with a high level of creativity; in the maintenance phase it requires employees who have the ability to focus on details, and ensure that the organisation maintains a high level of operational effectiveness. Thus, they should budget for the fact that a sizable part of the team that helped create the organisation will leave once it is up and running. And focus on the ones who stay behind. For, when maintenance is the issue, it's all left-brain.

Issue Contents  Write to us   Subscriptions   Syndication 

INDIA TODAY |  INDIA TODAY PLUS | COMPUTERS TODAY
TEENS TODAY | NEWS TODAY | MUSIC TODAY | ART TODAY

© Living Media India Ltd