7 Easy Steps which will help you to Ace the Startup Game!

5 min readJan 18, 2022

I have with me, Arjun Vaidya. He is a successful entrepreneur who is carrying forward the legacy of Ayurvedic Medicine of his great grandfather, who happens to be more than 100 years old. His company, Dr. Vaidya, brings Ayurveda to new-age customers through the e-commerce ecosystem. He has made a brand out of the traditional medicinal system that he inherited from his family. For this, he has been listed in the Forbes 30 under 30.

In this session of Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, he talks to me about how he built a brand out of his family tradition.

Here are a few of the takeaways from my discussion with Arjun:

1. Chart Out a Crisp Plan

First things first, whatever idea you have been chasing, be sure about it while charting out a plan. Then, do not deviate from your plan.
If you are sure of your plan, you will definitely be executing it well. Do not re-think. Have faith in yourself because that is where the journey begins!
What is your company going to sell? How are you going to do that? What are your investment plans? These are some of the questions that should be answered when you are planning for a startup. Once this part gets covered, the path is already carved for you.

2. Be Creative While Introducing Yourself

When introducing your business to people, do not beat around the bush. We don’t want the customers to be confused and lost when they think of your product. So be precise, short, and yet innovative.
Find creative ways to introduce yourself. Ways that will keep people engaged and wanting to know more about you. That will benefit you always.
Wondering how to do that? Well, how about getting straight to who you are and what you do! The idea is not to advertise but to introduce your business to people. Get the hang of it, and you are good to go.

3. Take Little Steps Towards Success

Success doesn’t come overnight. You take little steps towards it. Make tiny goals and celebrate big when you achieve them. This idea keeps you and the people working with you motivated.
Working on small goals is never exhausting, and even if you do not succeed at first, the losses incurred will not impact your overall growth. Instead, it will help you replan and fix the minor errors you faced the first time.
Working on small goals also lets you be flexible and adaptable to changes if there are any. So dream big but keep the goals small, simple, and achievable.

4. Be Hungry for More

Small goals are perfect to start but do not stop once you achieve them. Never stop setting new goals and never stop working towards them.
Every accomplishment should motivate you to be more zealous for a new goal, a new idea that will take you and your company slowly but surely on the road to success. Never be content with what you have because the world is competitive, and every time you do something good, someone else will do it better. So, to stay in the game and eventually win it, never stop dreaming and always be hungry for more.

5. Master your Niche

The idea of being Jack of all trades might work for someone or some organisation. But if your business has a niche, I will suggest you stick to that and master it in a way that you or your company is incomparable and unmatchable in that niche.
Being an expert in one particular niche is good for both you and your customers. Because you know what you are selling, and your consumers know who to come to when looking for that particular product/service.
Being restricted to your niche will allow you to stay focused and grow exponentially with it.

6. The Execution should be as Neat as the Planning

While working on an idea, the execution must be as good as the planning. Because now you know everything. You know your product; you know how you will introduce it to your customers, know your target customers, and know what niche to stick to. But unless all of this knowledge goes into practice, you will not be able to gauge how well your product or service is going to sell.
Sometimes even when the planning is perfect, execution gets a little haywire. Do not worry and try to execute it as per the plan and stick to it because uncertainty is never good for the business. Be sure of yourself and stick to the plan.

7. Teamwork is the Root

From the inception of an idea to making it a reality, your team plays a vital role in every step. It is teamwork at all levels that gets the work done. If you have a team you can rely on, nothing can stop your venture from becoming successful.
I am repeatedly calling it a team and employees because when you start and people join, they put their faith in you and your work. Maybe the whole idea is your brainchild, but it is these people and their belief that gets the work on its feet and gets going.
Anyone who is a good team player will know that every single member of the team is equally important, and each one is helping in their own way to take the company ahead.
You are lucky if you have people around you who will boost you up morally and financially because they believe in you.

These pointers are not something that will take up a lot of effort. But the changes you see are going to be monumental. And the most obvious thing that I want all the budding entrepreneurs to remember is to believe in themselves and never stop dreaming!
I had a great time with my guest, and I hope that you will enjoy it too.

Listen to the podcast here.