👇 Get connected with Sera & her business
💡Some ‘A-ha’ moments from the podcast
More often than not, business ideas find their ways into your life. Listen to the cues and what people applaud you for.
“[when someone asked me to be a mentor for Techstars], it led me to realise that I enjoy helping hardware startup founders. They thought that my advice was very practical, and on-the-ground. That converted to startups coming to me after the program for continued mentoring”
Your age or lack of tenure does not mean that you are not fit to becoming an expert in a field. A fresh approach could be your edge!
“I am very risk averse, so for me it was 10 years out [to becoming a startup advisor]. A lot of information was fed to me by older consultants that you’ll be able to do this in 20-30 years, but the market and the people I was talking to said otherwise”
Your job as a founder/solution provider is not just to solve problems, but also help customers identify and understand their problems better.
“Most consultants wait for clients to come to them with the problem and scope, but that is part of your job - to identify the problem and get buy in for it. Often times, I feel like my clients need me, but they don’t know what they need me for.”
Create a purpose that is beyond your business, and showcase some of the value you can provide at no cost to potential customers. It’s a great customer acquisition strategy, and one that shows your mission!
“Brand recognition has been very important…volunteering free advice in chuncks and getting people talking about hardware [through my podcast] has been so valuable about my company. My mission is way beyond my company”
Write down your ideas. Moments of creativity are rare, but eye opening especially when it comes to the direction of your business.
“On a flight, I wrote down what I want Pratik to achieve e.g. more VCs to invest in hardware start ups…When you have a gush of creativity, write it down! Those peaks don’t happen so often.”
💬 Sera’s advice to women who want to build businesses on their own terms
“Take a decent amount of time formulating your purpose. Surround yourself with people who champion your why and continuously remind you of it…because there will be people and situations that bring you down. If you are doing it by yourself and you don’t have a partner in it, it’s really important to have those cushions to fall back on”
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