This is how we believe start-ups should be built. This is what we live and breathe. This is VentureSense.

 

STARTUPS = GRIT + IMAGINATION

 

Start-ups should be paranoid about durable competitive advantage more than anything else.

Built a great product? Well….it’s merely the first step in your journey. We live in the super-connected era. Technology approaches, management techniques, business processes, and teams can be replicated by well-funded competitors in no time. IP and customer base can provide protection, but not for long. Brilliant engineers are available to your competition too. Loyalties of the customer base are fickle and can change based on superior customer service and steep discounts. All this poses a huge challenge for you, the product creator. The only way to survive and grow is build layer after layer of competitive advantage and never be complacent.

 

Resilience matters, because the next downturn is just around the corner.

No one, not even famous market wizards, can predict how the capital markets will behave 3 months from now or a year from now. Venture capital market activity has traditionally followed a strong co-relation with public markets. Every bubble has it’s shelf-life, after which it promptly bursts. There may be “local” downturns in specific customer segments of your market too. If you’d like to build a great enterprise, build it for the long term. You may need capital to grow, but make sure you don’t need capital to survive. Profitability and positive cash flows matter. Stay the course and your patience will be rewarded.

 

Entrepreneurs and investors are looking for venture success. But the world is looking for something else: Integrity.

Integrity and fairness are in short supply, especially in red hot markets and bubbles. Founders with integrity are the rocks on which great venture ecosystems get built. Ensure compliance, transparency, and fairness when dealing with all your stakeholders, be it investors, employees, partners, customers, or the government. Short cuts are overrated. Build great ventures the right way and the world cannot ignore you for long. Be a role model for tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.