Kolkata Ventures MD and Nepal Prime Minister’s startup advisor Avelo Roy shares valuable insights with Channeliam and discusses the future of Indian startups, women entrepreneurship and funding.
The future of Indian startups
If everything in life gets automated, people will be unhappy and sad. A person who looks happy on Instagram may not be happy in real life. Human beings need to develop a good relationship in this physical world and see technology as an enabler. The automated cars and driver-less cars lead to less interaction between people, he added. Humans need to feel connected with people in order to be happy. Social media is helpful in this regard. These days, people are more interested in knowing more about people they are familiar with rather than watching movies on the Internet, says Avelo Roy.
Journey as an entrepreneur
Nothing comes easy. I don’t know, but I want to know, entrepreneurs should think in that line. They should be humble. If they do not know anything, try to understand it from people who are in the know about it. Mentors and professors will be there to help. Entrepreneurs must learn from the successes and failures of entrepreneurs, he added.
Role of women in entrepreneurship
It is a major problem that there are a very less number of women who are willing to become an entrepreneur. Women by nature are shy. Society and religion try to confine them. Many women think it is not right to come forward, but that is a misconception. Men and women have their own strengths. Understand your strengths and opportunities will open up.
The right time to seek funding
Startups are told to start with zero money, grow with customers’ money and scale with investors’ money. Once the startups have validated their model and are ready to enter the market, that’s the time for scale-up. If you want to get a product or service in the market, you have to invest in marketing and sales. That’s when you need venture capitalists and other investors.
‘The Gita’ methodology in enterprise
Avelo Roy explains the nuances of entrepreneurship to Indian Youth by combining lean startup methodology and the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ principles. Entrepreneurs can have good and bad times. Entrepreneurs should know the fact that after distress comes happiness. So the entrepreneurs should never give up, says Roy.
Kerala startups should be more visible
Startups in Kerala have lower visibility compared to startups in other regions. But that’s not a problem. Today with a laptop and internet connection, anyone can connect anywhere and become visible on social media platforms. You need to do something incredible to get people to start talking about you. You have to make products that are good for customers. Entrepreneurs should never say “No”. You can be successful only if you convert that ‘No’ to ‘Maybe’ and finally ‘Yes’.
Digital media is the future
Digital media is the next future. People, in the near future, will not watch more TV channels. Information is going to reach people through YouTube and Instagram.
