7 Life Lessons from the Seven Summiteer

Ask about life from a mountaineer and he will give you every reason, with examples, to treasure it and live it to the fullest against every great hurdle. And when the mountaineer is one who has lived through asthmatic history, you know that no weakness can be big enough in front of a passion that reinstates one’s purpose for existence. Meet Satyarup Siddhanta, world’s youngest mountaineer to climb the Seven Summits and the first Indian to climb the Seven Volcanic Summits.

If Satyarup’s story from being an asthmatic child to a fearless mountaineer is inspiring, his journeys to the pinnacles have been replete with life lessons and precious realizations that show what great blessing life is! Here are seven life lessons from the Seven Summiteer that every common man, especially the entrepreneurs, must take a leaf from for scripting stories of victory and leading a life that makes man die without regretting the unfulfilled dreams.

Make a start; do not worry about the obstacles in the journey

“Had I known what it takes to climb the Mount Everest, I might have never gone for it.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

Fretting about the possible hurdles will not let you make a start. Be so much in love with your dream that the thought of the challenges on the way will not matter. Being positive isn’t just a hackneyed quote of motivation. It is a skill for tasting success.

Do not be afraid of Fear

“Take fear as a foe and it will overpower you. Take it as a friend and it will help you.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

Fear isn’t as dreaded a villain as projected. Fear of a fall can help you prepare harder not to fall. It could be a brilliant harness against overconfidence and slackened homework. Use it to your advantage to prepare better for the challenges ahead. The journey graph of an entrepreneur will depend a lot on whether one uses fear as a stumbling block or as fuel.

In every bad phase hides a good reason

“Try to find the good in all the bad happenings.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

To make a lemonade when life throws lemons demands bearing in mind the sweeter possibilities of sourness. If things do not go as per the plan, know that the Universe must have a better plan. When Satyarup practiced crossing the crevasse on a ladder in broad daylight, he didn’t imagine that he would also have to cross a crevasse in the darkness of a night. But when he finally did, he realized that the darkness was a blessing in disguise for it kept him from gauging the depth of the crevasse, the fear on his leader’s face, and the enormous distance from the summit. The darkness helped him focus more on his steps to cross the crevasse than getting distracted by the depth, the distance, or his teammates’ fears.

Failure gives an opportunity to win

“Every time I get knocked down, I take it as an opportunity to come back stronger.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

To err and to fail is human. Entrepreneurs will fail too. But getting bogged down with failure doesn’t make winners. Embrace failure when you meet it on the way, but with a promise that you will come back stronger the next time in order to defeat it. Make your failure the metrics to gauge where you are lacking and start working on filling up the gaps.

As Satyarup says, “The fact that I am still alive even after meeting so many setbacks means I am stronger than earlier.”

Learn to value your resources

“Mountaineering has taught me to lead a minimalistic life.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

While most of us crib and cry about the resource constraint due to the lockdown, imagine the mountaineers going without proper food and shower in adverse weather conditions! Satyarup relates about a situation where he was even ready to fight a wild rodent over a piece of leftover picked up from the trash.

You never know when your life or your business takes a U-turn and you are left with just the bits and pieces of resources. Better value your resources while the sun shines on you and learn to spend meticulously.

Your biggest weakness may become your greatest savior

“My asthmatic trouble that I have cursed all my life had saved me that day.” – Satyarup Siddhanta

Never get disheartened by your weakness. You never know when and how the weakness turns into strength and saves you from a catastrophe. During the final leg of his expedition to the Mount Everest, Satyarup had to trek without his oxygen mask for half an hour due to a blockage in the oxygen pipe. He was surprised at the ease with which he managed the suffocation without growing nervous or anxious about it. While mulling over the episode during a regular day, Satyarup realized that it was his childhood experience of handling breathing troubles due to asthma that had helped him manage with scarce oxygen on the mountain.

Hold your nerves and you will discover beauty in danger

“The near-death experiences that I have encountered were near-life experiences in reality.” Satyarup Siddhanta

Our reaction to a stimulus determines the quality of our experience. Hold your nerves in a situation of danger and you will discover beauty around it. This will create brighter reminiscence of a threatening event and dismiss the piling up of negative memories that can adversely affect one’s mental health.

Satyarup met with a near-death experience when he fell into a deep crevasse, dangling from a rope for not less than half an hour until he was rescued. Although initially taken aback by the fall, he soon regained his composure and looked around. To his joy and surprise, the mountaineer discovered the untrodden beauty of the snaking long stretch of the white crevasse, reflecting the clear blue of the sky. He felt lucky to be the chosen one for experiencing the hidden brilliance of Nature which not many get to experience. That which could have been 30-minutes of dread and exhausting fight for life, turned into moments of overwhelming ecstasy. Satyarup’s preoccupation with the surreal splendor of that crevasse freed him from the fearful thought of falling dead into that seemingly bottomless abyss. Today, when he recounts that experience, there are glitters in his eyes and not trepidation as one might expect.

By: Satarupa Mishra

Young woman from a small town in Assam turns culinary skills into a cloud kitchen venture during lockdown

14MayMay 14, 2020 By startupassam

Many of us have utilized the lockdown to revive lost hobbies and hone skills. But, only a few must have thought of leveraging the situation to turn skills into business ventures.

Tusharika Gogoi, a resident of Demow in the Sivasagar district of Assam, was hit by an idea when her friends complimented the culinary pictures she published on Whatsapp stories.

“Why not commercialize it?”

Especially in the current context, when outside foods are either scarce or looked at with apprehension, the idea of delivering restaurant-style, hygienic homemade food holds a lot of promise. Tusharika obtained the necessary permission and started her cloud kitchen called Home Restaurant on 3 May 2020 with help from her mother and younger sister.

In fact, her sister, Arshi Gogoi, who aspires to study Hotel Management, had been contemplating about starting a similar venture along with their mother, Popy Gogoi for a long time. The lockdown offered the trio with the luxury of time to give shape to the thought and execute it.

It’s been just 10 days since its launch, and her cloud kitchen has already made some good business, serving 15 orders a day on average. From varieties of momos, chowmein, and fried rice to dahi vada and panipuri – the enterprising women are catering to a range of orders and getting them home delivered. They strictly follow the hygiene guidelines and lockdown rules and do not take any order after 5.30 pm.

Tusharika is also adding new twists to these recipes. However, she promptly adds that the Home Restaurant would have failed to see daylight without her mother and sister. While her mother’s magic touch gives her recipes the extra edge, Arshi has largely taken the responsibility of getting the orders home delivered.

A student of Psychology in the Dibrugarh University, Tusharika started discovering her unexplored culinary skills during the lockdown. Her decision to open a home-based restaurant was purely experimental, inspired from her sister’s dream of having a restaurant of their own.

“I have no trained background in either cooking or business. I just thought of giving it a try. But I never expected it to click so well,” she says.

The story of these ladies is an ideal example of how one doesn’t need a specialized degree in business to think of a promising idea and execute it. In fact, their cloud kitchen idea has inspired a few women from her locality to start working in similar lines as well.

Asked if she would like to carry on with the business once she goes back to college after the University reopens, Tusharika says she would make sure that their cloud kitchen doesn’t get stalled at any cost.

By: Satarupa Mishra

Startup Webinar Series conducted by IIMCIP to brainstorm business solutions to the COVID challenges

11May By startupassam

COVID-19 has wreaked a nightmare in the startup world. It has been a one-off situation for startups where supply chain has been disrupted while the demand has remained comparatively unaffected barring a few sectors. While experts have been vouching for business pivoting to sail through the crisis, there are a number of unique challenges that the startups have been looking up for redressal. Towards addressing the challenges and reassuring the startups of every possible support in these unprecedented times, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park organised a 5-episode Webinar series for the incubated startups from IIMCIP, Prime Startup Hub Meghalaya, and Assam Startup.

Each session was dedicated to an exclusive startup sector, viz., Healthcare, Education & Skill Development, Food & Agriculture, Manufacturing & Logistics, and E-Commerce, Livelihood, Tourism.

For every session, a panel of experts were roped in from the respective domains. The esteemed panels included seasoned professionals like Ajay Muttreja (Strategy Advisor & Mentor for MSMEs and Startups), Rohit Chopra (Vice President, Mitsubishi Corp India), Dr. Sachin Gupta (Member, ICMR -Centre for Innovation & Bio Design, PGIMER Chandigarh), Sanjay Prasad ((CEO- IQ City Foundation, Ex CEO-Medica Superspeciality Hospital), Suman Mukhopadhyay (Director, Banglanatak.com), Dr. Satyahari Dey (Professor IIT Kharagpur, MD of STEP IIT Kharagpur), Sumit Dutta (Chief Advisor to Offbeat Ventures & Senior Consultant and Advisor to Kerala Startup Mission), Dr. Sriparna Baruah (Head, Centre for Industrial Extension, Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship), Vinay Sharma (Business Head, Digital, S. Chand & Co), Gowrishankar Chella (Executive Director & Chief Risk Officer of Take Solutions), Kaustav Majumdar (Head – Startups, Incubation, Acceleration, SPJIMR), Subhankar Sarker (Consultant, Strategy and Execution), and Girish Naik (Chief Regional Officer, Kolkata, Mitsubishi Corp India), among others.

The sessions were facilitated by the CEO of IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, Dr. Subhrangshu Sanyal.

The main objective of the webinar series was to navigate the challenges faced by the startups in a spirit of problem-solving. The series intended to create a platform for all the startups to meet, brainstorm, and formulate solutions that wouldn’t just help float through the COVID crisis, but also thrive in the long run. And throughout, IIMCIP has been committed to act as the enabler to help the startups with useful insights to help come up with solutions.

At the outset of every session, the moderator from IIM Calcutta Innovation Park introduced the startups from the respective sectors, who laid before the experts the peculiar challenges that they have been facing due to the Covid-19 crisis. The experts then took it over, breaking down the challenges to find pertinent solutions.

Some crucial points that came out from the discussions were the importance of smart business pivoting, skills repurposing, collaborations, and out-of-the-box partnerships. Startups expecting to work in isolation is an adventurous idea at the present times. Forging collaborations and complementary partnerships would be decisive towards abating the supply chain disruptions and sealing corporate and government deals. Furthermore, in this times when social distancing has become the tested norm to stay alive, the enormous importance of technology has been reinstated. And startups must make the most of this situation to help corporates and government with technological innovations. This is also a perfect time to talk to the customers, understand their needs and what’s crucial to them. The customers will listen and respond only when the startup understands their needs. Brainstorming to devise customer retention strategy is the need of the hour.

The sessions received overwhelming response from the startups with average attendants of 60 for each webinar. The sessions also provided a productive platform for startups to strike discussions for collaboration among each other.

“For all the startups going through tough times, these sessions blow in a fresh leash of life to hold on to our nerves and move on,” said the co-founder of Dream Decals, an incubatee from Assam Startup.

“The Zoom session was quite useful as I got a chance to know and interact with many Startups pivoting to technology-based solutions. It was kind of refreshing to hear from people working towards a common goal. Though our Startup is not fully healthcare and we are more dependent on logistic services, we have to wait for the lockdown to relax,” said the founder of a Guwahati-based fintech startup, HookoluPay.

Based on the challenges and opportunities identified during the webinar, IIMCIP will be coming up with subsequent domain-specific brainstorming series very soon.

By: Satarupa Mishra

Men’s grooming products get a local address

11May By startupassam

From roadside barbers to beer shampoos, men’s grooming industry is the talk of the town. For decades, men’s grooming was confined to using an aftershave lotion and hair gel, but now there has been a paradigm shift to using face washes and even hair masks, extensively designed for men. Today, twinkle-toed men’s grooming startup’s can give major companies like HUL and P&G a run for their money.

Rohan Dugar, a BBA Graduate from K.C. Das Commerce College, Guwahati used to lend small amounts of money to his friends during his school days and held a perspective that making money isn’t that difficult, given they put the smart foot forward. With Indian men getting more in right mind about skincare and general physical outlook, he decided to plunge into the men’s grooming industry.

A proud owner and the self-made man behind Innovative Entrepreneurs, Rohan launched men’s grooming products line under the brand name, Menganic. As per Rohan, these products are completely organic and affordable, manufactured at Rajkot.

The brand essentially targets middle class families, college students, and office goers in the age bracket of 17-35 years.

The startup sold its first product – a beard oil – in 2017 during the No-Shave November period. Since then, Menganic’s product range has ballooned up to 9 products that include hair clay wax, face wash for all skin types, 3-in-one scrub and face pack, oil-free moisturisers, and varieties of organic soaps. These are priced between Rs. 295 – Rs. 450 excluding the shipping charges.

The USP of the brand lies in its quality as each product is a rich amalgamation of carefully chosen herbal and organic ingredients meant to suit every hair and skin type.

Moreover, unlike the high-end herbal and Ayurveda grooming range available, Menganic products could be easily counted within the affordability bracket for consumers with average purchasing power.

He believes that a lot of introspection and interaction with veterans can give one an upper edge and lay down a doctrine essential to venturing into any kind of business. He also believes that taking meticulous risks could be the key to staying ahead in the game.

Till now, the startup has been quintessentially cashing in on the thriving digital platforms and social media influencers to promote its products. Apart from its own website, the products are put up for sale on various e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Zotezo and is also in talks with Nykaa for the same.

Manscaping is here to stay and men’s grooming industry is yet to play it’s A game in the upward moving curve. Products that appeal to the millennial male consumers are expected to trend upwards and especially those that cater to a simplistic routine. With the penetration of men’s grooming industry, there’s a lot of room for players to grow and expand in the market. And Innovative Entrepreneurs is on the right route in this regard.

By: Samiksha Somani

Covid-19, Force Majeure and Impact on Commercial Contracts

11May By startupassam

The Covid-19 outbreak hasn’t only wreaked havoc on people’s health, but has also muffled businesses and negatively impacted the economy. In India, as much as around the world, the protracting days of lockdown are bringing about major revenue losses and severe disruptions for the economy.

While businesses across sectors are mired from carrying out their performance obligations, companies are trying to find answers to the critical aspects associated with the inability to meet the obligations of a legally commercial contract in the current scenario. Questions on lease agreements and rental renegotiation being on top of the chart.

One way to protect a business against the obligations of a commercial contract is to invoke the Force Majeure clause in the contract.

Force Majeure is a French word meaning ‘Superior Force’. It absolves parties from the obligations of a contract in wake of a natural calamity or disaster, war, civil strike, etc. The intention of a Force Majeure clause is to protect a party from being punished for something that was not under their control.

Under the Indian Law, Force Majeure isn’t an implied concept. It is applicable only in contracts that expressly mention about it. If a contract does not have a Force Majeure clause, it won’t be applicable in that contract. Hence, it’s important to analyse the contract at the outset and see whether it has a Force Majeure clause.

In case of the presence of a Force Majeure clause, one needs to analyse whether the Covid-19 situation can be covered under the Force Majeure definition in the contract.

Some contracts use generic language to define a Force Majeure clause, stating to release a party from the obligations under a situation that is outside the party’s control. Under the given definition, Covid-19 is likely to stand as a reason or situation that is beyond the party’s control. Factors like supply chain disruption, labour shortage, etc. owing to the lockdown may be considered as something outside the party’s control and qualify as Force Majeure.

In some contracts, the Force Majeure events are specifically mentioned, in which case, it may not be possible to incorporate Covid-19 in the Force Majeure definition. Scan the contract and confirm whether it mentions natural disaster, epidemic, or pandemic as Force Majeure events. While WHO has declared Covid-19 as a pandemic, Ministry of Home Affairs has notified it to be a disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Ministry of Finance has issued Office Memorandum stating Covid-19 to be a natural calamity.

However, there’s every possibility that a commercial contract may not include a Force Majeure clause. In that case, one has to find remedy in the Indian Contract Act, 1872 and interpret whether the current scenario qualifies under the ingredients provided therein.

Section 32 and Section 56 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 talks about various scenarios when a contract is void or the performance of the contract is waived off or discharged.

Section 56 of the Act lays down the Doctrine of Frustration, which states that in case of a change in situation after entering the contract that makes it impossible for the party to perform the obligations under the contract, the contract becomes void or frustrated. However, the application of the Doctrine of Frustration in a given situation would vary case to case. Mere incidences of delay, expense, or onerousness aren’t sufficient for a party to claim protection under this provision. The party must prove that the performance of obligations became completely impossible because of the changed situation.

Supreme Court’s decision in 1954 on the Satyabrata Ghose v. Mugneeram Bangur & Co. case is an apt illustration on the Doctrine of Frustration. A builder had started a township and invited offers from the buyers. One of the buyers executed the builder-buyer agreement. Subsequently, because of some government acquisition, a large portion of the land for township was acquired and the builder was unable to complete the township as committed in the contract. The Court held that it was impossible to fulfill the commitment made at the time of entering the contract however since the time is not of essence, it would not be considered as a frustrated contract.

Applying the same principle, if it’s shown that the performance under the contract was possible even during the Covid-19 crisis, it will not be possible to take recourse to the Doctrine of Frustration. The defaulting party may be held liable for breach of contract, notwithstanding that the lockdown is going on or that there are severe financial consequences or losses borne by the party.

In any case, it’s important to send a notice to the other party at the earliest, communicating in clear writing about how performing the obligation has become impossible because of the current situation, requesting them to discharge the obligations or grant time extension to a period after the lockdown or mutually decide to terminate the contract. In case a contract provides for liquidated damage, send a notice to the party immediately so that the defaulting party may have a bona fide stand for duly informing them on time and that the latter was restricted due to the situation which had made the contract infructuous.

By: Rohit Jain

About the Author

Rohit Jain is a Senior Associate at Singhania & Partners LLP, New Delhi

Startup from Assam finds premium homes for tenants without brokerage

24FebFebruary 24, 2020 By startupassam

4 years back when Jigyan Deep Kalita founded bharaghor.com under Stackcell Technologies, he didn’t have a business blueprint in hand. It’s a non-profit website without a revenue model, connecting property owners to the tenants. The plan was to create a database around which a concrete business model could be worked upon. The quirky data gathering idea yielded perks in the form of humongous traffic generation and gaining people’s trust. Today, the website has 1500 enlisted properties, with 900 registered house owners, and boasting a traffic of 10, 000 visitors every month. This phenomenal response to bharghor.com marked the stepping stone for founding NHomes.

Having smartly identified the market need for a comfortable house to stay, Jigyan started working on the model around a brokerage-free principle. The idea was to find well furnished houses to the tenants without charging a fee from them. In the process, he developed a model targeting property owners and offering hassle-free property management services.

NHomes takes properties on lease for 11 months, finds suitable tenants, and takes complete charge of maintenance.

“NHomes is a management company looking after the properties of the house owners,” Jigyan summarizes.

They sign an authorisation agreement with the property owners for subleasing the house and immediately take charge to find apposite tenants. The pre-onboarding process involves thorough background checking of the prospective tenant, police verification and documentation, followed by a formal meeting between the property owner and the tenant. The startup takes care to spruce up the property with basic amenities before the tenants are given final access to the house.

In case of any repair issue during mid-stay, the startup bears complete responsibility of tending to the issues through their registered vendors at various localities of Guwahati.

“As a house owner, you are relieved of all the responsibilities. On the first day of every month, you have the rent amount in hand. And the rest is taken care of by us,” explains Jigyan.

“It’s a win-win deal for both the parties. The tenant gets a well-maintained service apartment without paying any additional amount as brokerage. The house owner gets the rent on time without worrying about maintenance or the hassles of finding a suitable tenant,” Jigyan further adds.

Understandably, the startup has set a benchmark for property selection. They have an uncompromising standard test to ensure best properties for tenants. That’s one reason why they exclusively target premium apartments with base rent starting at Rs. 15, 000.

NHomes offers both unfurnished and furnished houses. The furnished variety comes with a customized deal wherein the tenant can choose from a list of furnishing items for a cost fixed against each.
The startup does not accommodate short-term stays. They have fixed a minimum lock-in period of 6 months, failing which the tenants must pay a penalty amount.

Since the launch in 2018, NHomes has onboarded 45 properties in Guwahati. The number is increasing by 5 every day.

Despite an encouraging response, the startup has had its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges has been tenant verification and sieving the fair parties from the frauds. Jigyan calls the instance of a decent-looking tenant party, who, on deeper investigation, was found out to be a serial conman.

However, the most critical challenge was to see through the initial days with crunch capital until becoming a profitable venture. Jigyan had raised a seed fund of Rs. 10 lakh from a local angel investor, a major portion of which was expended in setting up the office and paying salaries. The urgency to become profitable was a task.

“Our initial focus was on surviving for the first 5 years, come what may. I had spent 4 years planning for my startup. There was no way I would have let it go waste,” the founder says.

An IT engineer by profession, Jigyan believes in the effectiveness of setting short-term goals and taking one step at a time. That’s one major factor that keeps him from scaling up at the moment. His present focus is on leveraging and consolidating technology in order to set the process right. Jigyan is, currently, working on developing a prototype app that would help streamline the process.

In a world of multifarious business mantras, Jigyan swears by the time-tested rule – Customer satisfaction grows the business. “To begin with, it’s better to focus on a small customer base and spoil them with the best of services, making them come back every time and even bring new clients. And for this to happen, I have to set up an infallible, user-friendly technology platform to ensure smoother interactions and quick services for our clients.”

Jigyan’s goal for the next 2 years is to get 250 properties in Guwahati on board and then scale up. He is also contemplating on building a B2B model, targeting corporate, banks, and insurance companies.
A no-brokerage model that blows fresh air into the regular property management business, NHomes shows excellent potential to mark its presence across the country. But, as Jigyan says, ‘the priority is to strengthen the base with dependable technology; scalability won’t be a problem.’

A fundraising at this stage is crucial to developing the technology platform. The startup will soon be sanctioned the monetary remunerations it had applied for under the My Assam Startup ID (MASI) by the Government of Assam. Jigyan is also in discussion with the investors, which is expected to convert into the necessitated investment very soon.

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By: Satarupa Mishra

Honing a Problem-Solving Mindset

30Jan By startupassam

A photograph recently made rounds on social media of a few kids carving out a carrom board in mud and playing to the heart’s content. Cut to the usual scene in households, the child aggressively holds out against the parents who refuse to buy them a board game. This isn’t confined to the kids alone. How often do we see people around us whining over a problem? When was the last time we thought of working out a solution to a problem than cribbing about it?

Problem-solving attitude isn’t a mere leaf out of a Psychology textbook. It’s a life skill that accelerates success chances for individuals and enhances the overall quality of life in a society. It’s a problem-solving mindset that leads to world-changing innovations. For avid readers, imagine the world if Johannes Gutenberg did not work on the constraints of woodblock printing and invented printing press, enabling mass production of books!

The usual tendency, especially in this part of the world, is to feel victim to the problems without realizing our intrinsic contribution to it. The fact that one raises a cry over a problem than doing something to resolve it further adds to the woes. Smartness is to train the mindset for finding a solution than getting overwhelmed by it.

The perks of a problem-solving mindset reflects not just in personal life, but in the growth of a nation as well. A small country like Israel with population lesser than the capital city of our country is an apt example of this. Despite sitting on the hotbed of international disputes, the quaint country decided to divert its attention to identifying and resolving problems of global intensity so much so that it has emerged as the startup capital of the world, breeding over 6000 startups that impact employment and revenue around the world.

The instance also corroborates the intrinsic relationship between startups and problem-solving attitude. Startups are disruptive players owing to their unique trait of thinking out-of-the-box solutions to widely bothering problems. And this out-of-the-box thinking is the result of creative bent of mind, logical thinking and passion for solving problems. Perhaps, in a state like Assam that has just begun considering the formidability of entrepreneurship beyond the traditional reverence for a government job or a career in medical, teaching and engineering, the foundation of a strong startup culture lies in developing a knack for problem solving than raising hue and cry about it.

With academic intervention, knowledge sharing and leadership training, the goal wouldn’t be a real bear to achieve. The startup initiative by the Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam, in association with IIM Calcutta Innovation Park as the Knowledge Partner, is a right step towards the direction. The Avant Garde incubation centre in Guwahati, Assam Startup – The Nest, has been in operations since 20 January 2019, rigorously grooming the fledgling startups to blossom into uninhibited problem solvers and leaders. The first batch of 52 startups are drawing closer to the end of 6-month incubation period. And apart from raising funds, the top performing startups from the batch are expected to metamorphose into leaders who can lead by example as relentless problem solvers and torchbearers of positive thinking.

Greater problem-solving skills instill a confidence to pull out of the most impossible of situations through creative and logical thinking and effective decision making.

While we sing paeans to the problem solvers, it also brings us to the necessity of being one as well. Whether planning to startup or trying to deal with life’s hiccups, the most important way to start is to look at problems as an opportunity to self-challenge and grow in the process. Enumerating below 5 key steps to hone a problem-solving mindset.

Take Responsibility

“This isn’t my problem. Why should I bother about it?”

Running away from a problem is when you add to a problem. It’s hard, but learn to admit to a problem and take responsibility for it. Tell yourself that it’s your problem and only you are responsible for resolving it. Once you learn to do that, congratulations, you have laid the foundation of leadership.

Stay Curious

Once you take responsibility, you feel obliged to probe into the problem. Here enters the role of curiosity.

Here’s an issue affecting you. You want to find out a way to resolving the issue. But before taking a step for resolution, you must know the problem inside out. You have to go deeper into the problem and reflect on its root causes and ends. Curiosity might kill the cat. But it’s surely a blessing for humans.

Identify the Goal

When faced with a problem, a common reflex is to run immediately for a solution. However, the ideal way of dealing with a problem is to first decide on the desired outcome. Understand the deep nature of the problem to determine the ideal situation you’d wish to achieve. Once clear about the ideal goal, you are in a better state to understand and execute the problem solving process.

Stop Blaming; Be Objective

When I say take a probe, I mean an objective examination of something that’s been bothering personally. The worst option is to start blaming a third party for it. While it’s a boon to feel personally about a problem, getting emotionally swayed to aggressively blame others for it is a major turnoff. Remember, by blaming you end up draining yourself emotionally. Perhaps, you can devise a solution to stop the ones responsible for a problem. For instance, how often do you blame the citizens and the local administration for reckless vehicle parking habits in the city? Does it help? Or does it stop the ones doing it? A bunch of guys from Assam decided to find a solution to it instead. They quit their corporate jobs and founded a startup, Parking Rhino that strives to convert unorganized parking into organized parking lot through IoT automation products.

Listen; Reflect; Resolve

The biggest and one of the most common mistakes committed is to reflect on a solution and seal its efficacy without taking opinions from a third party. While a problem might be bothering you personally, empathising and listening to other’s plight from the same problem can offer better insights and more dimensions to finding a solution. And once you have ideated or designed a rough sketch of the solution, it’s crucial to get it validated by those looking for a similar solution to the problem. In short, listening to the people in your surrounding is as important as self-reflecting for a solution. The efficacy of your problem-solving mindset will be determined by the number of lives your solution is able to impact. And for that one must be open to criticisms, self-questioning and reworking on the solution to find the best way out.

To put it all in a nutshell, the grassroot trick to developing a problem-solving mindset is to believe in oneself of being capacitated to be a problem-solver, to be absorbent of the surrounding, to be able to analyse free from pre-conceived biases and to feel integrally responsible for solving the problem. And these qualities are as true for any regular individual as it is for a startup entrepreneur.

By: Pranjal Konwar

COO, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park

New Year Resolves for Better Productivity

31Dec By startupassam

Every time Earth finishes a lap of 940 million kilometres, people greet each other to celebrate it. They create a long list of resolutions to enjoy the next lap peacefully.

Some resolve to stay fit, some want to grow in wisdom and intellect, while others wish to find peace.

And then there are people with deep-rooted passion for devising solutions to bugging problems and bring about positive transformation in the process. The world acknowledges these people as entrepreneurs. They are always thinking and thriving on a proactive approach. They love accepting challenges, solve real problems, wish to grow at lightning speed and build things from scratch.

“If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins,” said Benjamin Franklin.

While unbridled passion must be the driving force, the passion would yield wonders if harnessed by dedicated resolve to organize the work and plan reasonable strategies for greater productivity in a more relaxed and enjoyable work environment. Here are a few points you can take cues from.

Smarter Marketing, not Larger

Smart business sense is to look after the pennies. With unknown economic territories ahead of us, this has now become more important than ever. One area of business where thousands could be wasted when hundreds could take you further is marketing. Social media is the most cost-effective way to drive brand awareness.

Invest in consultants and training sessions to help you cover the basics. It’s important to learn about the efficiency of micro-targeting. Focus the spending purely into targeting where your audience digests content and news. Don’t look to reach large numbers, look to reach relevant numbers.

Inspiration comes from Workplace

It might sound simple; it might sound unimportant. But neither is true. Your work environment has a huge impact on your energy, motivation and inspiration – three characteristics you’ll need in abundance to launch a startup. Walk into any office in the country and you’ll see loads of unnecessary papers, overcrowded desks and a general mess. Take action and declutter your office by trying to take your work online. With the rise of cloud-based services such as Google Docs, sharing working documents has never been easier. What’s more, the cloud has been utilised across industries and some services even allow you to take your accounting spreadsheets and numbers purely within the cloud.

Focus On the Employees

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group said, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”

His words have proven right time and again. Companies with amazing employment policies are known to have better productivity and growth rate. People need appreciation for their work. Keeping employees motivated and appreciating them for their efforts is important. It makes them want to do better.

Be open to sharing authority

While the birth of an idea may happen in individual minds, the growth of the idea depends on the co-operation of a collection of minds that believe in that idea. So, rather than being a one-person army, involve others in the discussion and work together.

Make Business Planning a Weekly Event

Planning is vital for a healthy, growing business. Business planning lets you take stock of what worked and what didn’t and helps set new directions or adjust old goals. Reserve time each week to review, adjust, and look forward—or even better, make business planning a part of each day. Not only will this help avoid costly mistakes, but you’ll feel more focused and relaxed as well.

Give Back to the Community

There are all kinds of worthy organizations that make a difference to the community. Those who give are most prone to receive. Resolve to find a cause that matters to you and give what you can. Make this the year to serve the community. Be a mentor, volunteer, or make donations to the groups trying to make the place you live better.

By: Ayaan Hazarika

Startup from Assam blows new life into indigenous weavers

09NovNovember 9, 2019 By startupassam

Despite the onslaught of machine-made textiles, India’s timeless legacy of handlooms has stood strong against the test of time. According to the 2011-12 report by the Ministry of Textiles, over 43 lakh people in the country are engaged in weaving and allied industries. Handlooms worth US$ 355.91 million were exported in 2017-18. While retail giants like Fabindia have been ruling the roost, linking rural weavers to the urban consumers, relatively newbies like GoCoop and the Khadi Cult are creating noteworthy ripples as well. Following a similar model, a startup from Assam is trying to put on show the jaw-dropping variety of the Assamese handloom before the global purchasers.

Bolkol was launched in 2018 with dual motives of uplifting the economic condition of the indigenous weavers as well as promoting local handlooms among global consumers. When Purabi Medhi, a small-town artisan from Barama in Assam, was struggling to find a lucrative platform to promote and sell her hand-painted sarees and mekhela chador, she approached Krishnarjun Das, the co-founder of Bolkol, seeking help. The startup didn’t just offer her an online platform to market her products, it had also provided the initial hand-holding in terms of internet literacy, online marketing and selling, and product photoshoot, etc. Since her first stint with Bolkol in 2018 till now, Purabi has sold her handmade apparel worth over a lakh.

“Apart from claiming a higher share from selling, big retail platforms do not offer any personalized support like customized marketing guidelines, product photoshoot assistance, etc. We, on the other hand, believe in building a personal bond with the rural weavers to not just get buyers for their products, but also help them grow self-reliant in terms of mastering the marketing mantras,” elucidates Krishnarjun.

The startup’s hand-holding efforts have also won it a collaboration with the Handloom Textiles and Sericulture Department, Government of Assam, under which, the startup will impart product promotion training to the weavers.

For all the marketing assistance provided to the weavers and artisans, the startup keeps a 10% commission from every product sold. Since 8 months of its operation, Bolkol has managed to rope in 3 clusters in Assam and 12 individual weavers.

The startup has, lately, completed an order for 30 Assamese gamusa by a party from Pune, who had approached them after watching the honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi sporting a gamusa recently. “It was an emotional moment for us. The party had searched for the gamusa online, but the prices were exorbitant. That’s when they approached us. After delivering the products, they had sent us photographs wearing the gamusa. Indeed, it was one of those ‘chest swelling with pride’ moments! That’s exactly why we started this venture – to tell the world about a rich aspect of our culture, i.e., weaving,” says Pranjal Kalita, the second co-founder.

Understanding the need for value addition to the model, Bolkol has also come up with its line of apparel, with slogan T-Shirts leading in popularity. Encouraged by the demand, the startup is gearing up to launch a production unit at the upcoming Handloom Park at Barama in the Baksa district of Assam. “We are planning to share the fabric samples with reputed fashion houses across the country. Drawing bulk orders will be a big boon for the weavers,” explains Krishnarjun.

Founders, Krishnarjun and Pranjal, however, do not wish to confine the startup to handloom alone. They have opened the gates for handmade jewellery makers and miscellaneous indigenous product artisans as well. The latest inclusion has been the biodegradable bamboo straws made by village artisans. Interested buyers may go to their website and place an order.

One might conclude that what Kashmir Box is to Kashmir, Bolkol might emerge as the same for Assam. But, the founders refuse to restrict themselves to Assam alone. Their upscaling goal is to take the model to the other North-Eastern states, gradually encompassing handloom weaves from across India.

By: Satarupa Mishra

Startup from Assam recreates Farmville-like experience in real life

10OctOctober 10, 2019 By startupassam

Everyone with a Facebook account must have come across Farmville, a farm replicating social network game. The player farms a land, raises livestock and gradually builds an estate. A startup from Assam is recreating something similar. The only difference is that this isn’t a digital game, but a real-life experience.

Abhinab Shyam, an IIM Indore alumnus, decided to bid adieu to an ambitious corporate job in order to join his father for a farming initiative in Assam. But his idea was to take the farming experience to the urban dwellers. Agro Origin took shape around this idea with a slight twist: Bringing urban dwellers to the farmlands.

Fusing the concepts of micro-farming and kitchen garden, Agro Origin offers fragments of farmland to the urban residents to grow their own crops, free from hazardous chemicals. Customers can rent a piece of farmland on payment of a subscription fee. Once a micro-farm is subscribed, customers get to select their own crops. The startup offers a wide variety of seasonal crops such as leafy greens, tomato, French beans, carrot, cauliflower and broccoli, among others. Following the plantation phase, the farmers are entrusted to manage the crops and keep the customers in loop about the crop status.

Abhinab launched a Proof Of Concept at Bortari in the outskirt of Guwahati on 22 September’19. The land has had been under cultivation – banana plantation to be precise – for the last 12 years, managed by Abhinab’s father. This has been one of the main reasons for choosing the plot for POC. As Abhinab says, “We are accustomed to the area. Apart from the scenic surrounding, familiarity of the place is something, which, we thought, would score for us at the POC stage.”

30 families have been roped in as clients for the POC, utilizing 1.5 bigha out of the 15 bigha farmland. Each family is rented a 600 sq. ft. of land on payment of a monthly subscription fee of Rs. 1,999 that includes costs of seeds, manure, soil preparation, farm management, crop harvest and home delivery. Though managed by farmers, micro-farm owners are free to lay their hands in the farm proceedings, spend hours in the field and experience the farmer’s life. After all, it’s an inexplicable joy to grow one’s own food!

“Whenever you visit your micro-farm, we will make sure that you forget all your problems and enjoy farming,” Abhinab assures.

During the launch of the POC at Bortari.

The founder has plans to install a live kitchen and a mini library in the coming days. The idea is to offer a unique, unwinding experience to the customers amid a tranquil, agrarian setup with the assurance of growing healthy food of one’s choice. The pivotal motto of Agro Origin is to ensure a transparent ecosystem where the customers can trace the source of their food. “Usually, we do not know where our food comes from. So, despite the tags of being ‘organic’, there remains specks of doubts regarding the claims while making expensive purchases of organic fruits and vegetables. At Agro Orgin, we are trying to assure complete traceability of the farm produce that form the mainstays of one’s food habits,” Abhinab explains.

The startup currently targets dwellers in Guwahati, addressing the urban pain points of chemical-infested vegetables and fruits and the tumultuous lifestyle distanced from the serene essence of countryside.

Despite being at the POC stage, Agro Origin has inspired an impact as a good number of people who had moved to other cities in search of jobs are making a homecoming in order to get involved in the project. Considering that farming hasn’t been a lucrative activity, with the predominance of middlemen and a volatile market adding to the woes, a good chunk of the population from the rural areas have been consistently outfluxing to the bigger cities in search of rewarding opportunities. Abhinab’s initiative, with a 60:40 revenue sharing model, comes as a gleam of hope for these migrating people to come back to the homeland and pursue an activity they are akin to – farming. The startup is expected to make use of its network of 300 farmers for project engagement. As Abhinab says, ‘Agro Orgin strives to build a transparent community of producers and consumers and help connect to the roots.’

Interestingly, renting out micro-farms wasn’t something Abhinab had initially thought of. Early on, the startup founder had contemplated working out a model for rooftop farming targeted towards urban dwellers. But, later on, with inputs from the mentors at Assam Startup, he tweaked the idea for the current model.

A first-of-its-kind idea in Northeast India, replication of the model in other parts of the region can help usher in a metamorphosis in terms of the easy availability of healthy food among urban dwellers as well as improving the condition of the agriculture-dependent population in the semi-urban and rural areas. The pleasure of living a Farmville experience apart.

By: Satarupa Mishra