A truly first class first class at SLP Hyderabad

If the first class is anything to go by, the maiden SLP program of Hyderabad promises to be a journey full of learning, fun and, of course, entrepreneurship. Once all of us pledged our allegiance to the SLP charter by signing the joint commitment, each of us took turns to take the rest on their respective entrepreneurial journeys. BITS Pilani was definitely conspicuous as the alma mater of many of the fellows. Curiously many of the fellows said that they were not academic toppers while in college and in fact, many of them rarely attended the classes. That says a lot about how much you can learn outside the classrooms.

The uniqueness in each story was refreshing. The Entrepreneurial Journeys exercise was a great one, not only for the class to know each other better but also for many of us to take a look at what makes us. The fellows are good mix of full-time entrepreneurs, part-time entrepreneurs and yet-to-be or just-to-be entrepreneurs.

In the next leg of the class, Vishal Vasishth of Song Investment Advisors talked to the fellows about the 5 Ps that make a successful organization and definitely a successful startup. He explained the 5 Ps - Product, Passion, People, Purpose, Profit -  with examples from his own experience including the companies he has worked with and invested in. There was a lot to learn and discuss with him.

Naeem Khan of The Lead took over from Vishal and drove home the point of branding (and the lack thereof) in startups. He advised fellows to think about the branding for their startups early and not wait for a later stage when they would have more time and money in their hands. In fact, he stressed that branding need not necessarily be a costly affair. It is more about giving mind share to it among other issues like financials and strategy.

The last part of the class was a practical take on The Lean Startup Movement. The 5 cohorts of formed from the fellows were given the case of Foody's - a startup founded by one of the Hyderabad fellows, Mili Srivastava. Mili briefed the class on her company's objectives and problems. She offered the cohorts a set of hypotheses which she wanted to validate (or invalidate). The cohorts brainstormed and generated data from quick in-person and phone surveys. The ideas and discussions that came up helped not only Mili but also the entire group by opening of new perspectives.

On that high note, the first class of the Hyderabad chapter ended. Stayed tuned for the next update.

Written by Aishwarya Mishra