Above N Beyond

18/04/2022

In the excitement of building a new business, ideas will be in abundant supply. The team will feel like everything is possible and necessary for success. As founders, laser-focus and quick decision-making are key. Define the key metrics. Metrics that matter and metrics that will tell you the real picture for the goals you have set. Enable the team with quick decisions on what to do and what not to do.

06/04/2022

For founders, we believe setting up processes is key to building a sustainable business and scaling. And not just picking stuff that worked in the last big organization where you may have worked but setting up tools and workflows that truly enable your teams and the work you do. And when it is true to your work, the processes will also give you valuable early warning signs when something is not ok. Pay attention to the process consistently.

10/03/2022

"A strong relationship is an output that has a clear set of inputs, it’s much more than a personal connection."

Founders will find that alignment is needed across multiple facets, starting from core values to how you want to operate to also the metrics you will measure to indicate success or failure.

Spending time thinking about each of these facets and clearly articulating it to each other can be crucial to a successful co-founder relationship.

02/03/2022

If you thought starting up was the hard job done, wait until you start looking for Co-founders.

Y Combinator is famously known for only funding companies that have at least two founders with an equal stake. Most other funding houses and venture capital firms follow the same principle as well.

But, how do you find a co-founder willing to share in the highs and lows of the Journey? That’s what we discuss on social media all through March. Stay tuned!

10/02/2022

A tribute to founders everywhere!

https://www.abovenbeyond.in/2022/02/10/above-n-beyond-newsletter-feb-2022/

31/01/2022

Typically, when we think of , we refer to people building a product or using tech to solve a problem. Today’s post is a tribute to the many startup founders who run and operate businesses.

Often, service businesses aren’t funded easily, and that means that most early scale is achieved by the venture entirely. While services do have steadier growth than products do, they also face multiple challenges of stagnation, having their replicated, and even a lack of understanding around the precise nature of the service being offered.

And yet, some very adamant folks keep pushing through, often at great personal cost.

What would it take for us to recognise the value of the service ecosystem within startups?



Photo by Yasamine June on Unsplash

27/01/2022

An often underrated and yet important aspect of the is hiring the first few people. At this stage, we cannot risk for skills alone, because these people eventually establish the of the company.

The pandemic and its aftermath have shown us that people follow other people, and this is where the founding team has a huge role to play- we need people on our side who can share in the same dream.

Often, the first few hires are made through for this very reason because a certain amount of is imperative. Today, there are also networking events crafted around finding people to build something with. Between believing in something and finding others to share it with often comes a long period of isolation, and this is where all founders must prioritise their health and .

Apart from showing us what we’re truly capable of, the journey also teaches us about limitations and boundaries, and how to separate ourselves from the identity we’ve created. While starting up is personal, we find founders who continue to maintain and nurture an identity outside of their work often the most.

And who knows? The networks that exist outside of our work identity may be the best place to find more people who believe in what we’re up to!



Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

24/01/2022

Infosys founder Narayana Murthy once famously said “It took me 25 years to become an overnight success.”

A founder’s true journey often begins well before a company is established. It starts with an idea that eventually takes on a life of its own. In today’s post, we talk about what we can learn on the from those that came before us.

India’s startup ecosystem is booming, but it is in no way nascent. Several business models have been built and have been scaled on the basis of outsourcing projects and jobs to India. What we’re seeing now is an evolution of the ‘ to *****on’ story.

In doing so, we might learn a lesson or two from those who came before us. Certain truths, such as the fact that and are very different things, and that people don’t buy products and services but to their problems, hold good in this context.

What are some other lessons we could learn from India’s wave of the early 2000s?



Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

19/01/2022

The series is a tribute to the recognition of the and the many founders who toil relentlessly, often in the face of great odds, to give us the stories that drive growth and progress.

At Above N Beyond, our work with high-growth has brought about stability to dynamic systems and enriched our own learning and growth in the process. For the first post in the series, we discuss a core skill that every either has or hones, and that is the ability to sell an idea.

Particularly for early-stage startups, every conversation is a sales conversation. Investor meetings, hiring talent, selling their solution, even convincing friends and family- these are conversations that happen with a ton of conviction in the dream that only they can visualise.

Through our work, we’ve also understood that even when a company grows to a certain size, the leader can never stop wearing the sales hat. This, however, does not mean that they shouldn’t delegate the role into able hands.

Instead, our recommendation is to continue to supervise and support the sales function from a strategic point of view, while always remembering what it was like to sell it to the first investor, the first hire, the first-ever customer.



Photo by Shannon Rowies on Unsplash

13/01/2022

The title of Founder can be a heavy one to wear on most days. Expectations are high, from inside and from the world around you. The struggle for finances is all too real and the drive to succeed tests your limits.

If you are a founder/ entrepreneur, what challenges top your list?

Popular notions about them are often wrong.

26/11/2021

How to structure your business operations for the year ahead

2020 witnessed a massive downfall across all fabrics of life. The smoke that its fire has left behind has caused struggling business , failing of established systems, need for and , rapidly evolving , people rethinking how they want to work and quitting their jobs, remote and hybrid working models, frequent lockdowns - the list goes on.

We can largely expect the coming year to take these challenges forward and possibly intensify them. In such chaotic times, business owners need to consider all the moving pieces and plan for the year ahead. This time is especially critical for small business owners who lack the time and the resources to make costly mistakes.

So, to structure business operations for the year ahead, businesses must focus on and -
- Who we are
- How we operate
- How we grow

● Target 'who' we are by diving deep into redefining the organisation’s and checking if it’s a culture to be proud of in the post-pandemic world. Is it empathetic, inclusive, transparent, and flexible? Business owners need to re-consider the purpose(s) the organisation stands for and understand how their business creates value plus how they can keep achieving that value.

● Future-ready organisations must focus on making the process quicker, better, and more high-quality to redefine how we operate. Also, start valuing talent better than ever before and work on making hierarchy take a back seat.

● Tackle how we grow by making decisions, measuring rather than guess-working, adopting and encouraging a , and building and leveraging a collaborative (partnerships) ecosystem.

To plan the coming year, business owners need to understand that the ever-evolving business ecosystem is not for them to control, and they must instead focus on the 10% of things they can control.

17/11/2021

What can we do when we’re six?

For a startup, 6 years is a long time but for an established entity, 6 goes by in a flash. This year, when we turned 6, we realised that it is a mix of both.

In the company of wonderful people- colleagues, partners, friends, time has gone by in a flash. And yet, the experience we’ve gained has been timeless as well.

Thank you, for being part of this journey in ways big and small, and for believing in us to go Above N Beyond.

Hamsa Kannan Ekta Poddar S***a Kasiviswanathan Karishma Sushilkumar