BENGALURU: Most people don’t start their startup ventures because they feel they don’t have the capital to do so. But here’s the good news. What if I told you that you don’t need capital for your startup, unless you are building a rocket to Mars...? Don’t believe me? Today, we are going to discuss ways in which you can startup without having anything in your bank account. But before we begin, let’s get one thing clear. Are you a student or a working professional? If you are currently studying, then great, you don’t have any conflict of interest and you can just start right away from your hostel dorm.
But if you are a working professional, be careful that you are picking up a startup option that is not in conflict of interest with your current role at the company Check your employment contract. If it is, you might want to switch to another company where you are in a better position to start. In both cases, don’t quit or drop out of your college/ job as yet. Start part-time, and then slowly convert it to full-time if you don’t have funds.
Okay, now that we have agreed that you can do part-time, let’s get down to how. Start by service orders. If you are a coder and can build an app, try by offering services to build apps for other companies. If you can draw, try offering your drawing work, and so on. A service contract will immediately give you cash flow that you can then use for your startup. The key to succeeding in this model is taking a contract and hiring an associate who can manage that service relation very well, without you requiring to break a sweat. For getting service orders, social media groups and pages and websites that allow you to register as a freelancer will get you traction.
Crowd-fund: In case you are finding it difficult to get service orders, try crowdfunding. A lot of crowdfunding portals today help you raise money from your friends, relatives and unknown folks. It is a simple process where you set up a page and share it with prospective donors. They can pay funds online and you get it at the end of the fundraising. This should help you raise at least about a lakh (if you do it right). When we raised funds for our comic books startup, we raised a similar amount. But the key is that you should know whom to ask and how to ask. Mails, phone-calls, meetings are going to be very important to you. People have raised even crores via crowdfunding. Rajeev Tamhankar is IITR Alumnus, ex-Flipkart, Xiaomi and currently founder of TBS Planet
Comics, a comic books startup.