From Developer to Serial Entrepreneur: Hevo Data CEO Manish Jethani (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: What did you do next?

Manish Jethani: It was a very comfortable role, but that comfort was making me uncomfortable. I was used to solving problems. I wanted to go back and do a startup again. Being well-positioned in a well-funded startup didn’t bring any additional challenge of sorts. I wanted to go back and do a startup again.

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From Hard Core Techie to Successful Entrepreneur: Francis Dinha, CEO of OpenVPN (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: What was the current problem that you could solve in 2005?

Francis Dinha: One of my friends started a company in Dallas. They were trying to solve the problem of circumventing the firewall. They raised about $35 million. He said, “How are we going to solve this problem?” I got this technology that’s like tunneling. I said, “I can structure a deal with you, but I don’t want to come and work as a consultant. We’re going to build this, but we’re going to provide a service as part of a subscription.” That was my first customer.

Best of Bootstrapping: Don’t Go to VCs as Beggars – Go as Kings!

If you haven’t already, please study our Bootstrapping Course and Investor Introductions page. 

Negotiation is a straightforward game. You can only negotiate if you have options.

A long time ago, when I was a young entrepreneur making my way in Silicon Valley, I found myself at the mercy of people who knew I had no option.

I did not have a Green Card.

My negotiating leverage was limited, almost non-existent.

And people took advantage of me.

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Video FAQs

Roundtable Recap: April 14 – Strategy Session with Two Validated Startups

During this week’s roundtable, we worked with two entrepreneurs, both of whom have validated their businesses with customers.

EdKonnect

Up second we had Arun Siva from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, pitch EdKonnect, an online tutoring service that is already in revenue.

You can listen to the recording of this roundtable here:

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From Developer to Serial Entrepreneur: Hevo Data CEO Manish Jethani (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: Why do you think the VC was calling you? What did he know about what you were doing?

Manish Jethani: Some local newspaper caught the Facebook post in the group. They saw that we got 1,700 signups in four hours. She wrote a story around that. That got us a bit of media coverage and some kind of popularity. That’s how the fund discovered us.

Sramana Mitra: When you got this call, were you already in operation?

From Hard Core Techie to Successful Entrepreneur: Francis Dinha, CEO of OpenVPN (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What did you do in your first venture?

Francis Dinha: I gave Ericsson three months’ notice. I was going to build something related to switching while doing everything in software. That was my first venture where I made my first million dollars.

Sramana Mitra: Who was the customer?

From Developer to Serial Entrepreneur: Hevo Data CEO Manish Jethani (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: You talked to me about doing a startup in the beauty space. What do you know about the beauty space? You don’t have a particular domain expertise. When you go into a field where you don’t have real domain knowledge, it doesn’t create for the kind of passion that drives a startup to go big. There are exceptions of course. A good formula is you want to go after something that you have a passion for.

Manish Jethani: More than the domain expertise, one thing that has the shortest lifespan is the borrowed conviction. You cannot build something on a borrowed conviction.

571st Roundtable for Entrepreneurs Starting NOW: Live Tweeting by @1Mby1M

Today’s 571st FREE online 1Mby1M Roundtable For Entrepreneurs is starting NOW, on Thursday, April 14, at 8 a.m. PDT/11 a.m. EDT/5 p.m. CEST/8:30 p.m. India IST. CLICK HERE to join. PASSWORD: startup  All are welcome!