Finance

The Start-Up Plan As I interact with more and more entrepreneurs in my role as a seed funder I see a variety of ways people are trying to communicate their ideas to raise money at this stage. Let me try and spell out an efficient way to present your concept/idea to an angel/seed investor and I am calling it the “start-up plan” as opposed to the popular “business plan”. My reason is very simple when you want to start an enterprise the key is to focus on the start (first 6 months in detail and the next 6 months...

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Executive Summary During the last decade, among major economies, India has achieved consistently impressive growth, second only to China. In the first half of fiscal 2010–11, the Indian economy grew at a healthy rate of 8.9%, and the majority of global growth going forward is expected to be driven by developing countries, specifically India and China. India is home to a vibrant services economy and a hotbed of outsourcing. Its economy has become increasingly interlinked with global markets as trade has flourished. The USD-INR exchange rate is an important indicator of investor sentiment and can significantly impact not only...

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This is the start of your enterprise. You need to develop a story around your project, you need to show your utter commitment to it, and you need to find people who believe in you and what you are proposing. Ask your family and friends for support, and pay attention to their reactions. Ninety percent of the people you talk to will evade your inquiries, but ten percent will give you some feedback. Someone will step up to the plate and put some money on the table. The money may be $1,000, $10,000 or $100,000; any way, it is...

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If you are a second time entrepreneur or a serial entrepreneur (having founded and exited start-ups, I would say, more than twice) you would very well know that it is not advisable to approach VCs (Venture Capitalists) very early in a start-up’s life cycle. It is not prudent to approach them to kick-start your start-up. As an aspiring entrepreneur you should understand that out of the complete process of entrepreneurship, execution is the most difficult step to implement. Executing your business idea to an up and running company is complex. But it is a very important step to reach...

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  What is Crowd Funding? Crowd funding or crowd financing is a term which signifies collective effort of a community of financers or fund providers who network and look for providing finance for a common purpose, via a transparent and trustworthy platform. The purpose of funding could vary from raising it for a disaster relief, marketing and promoting a work of art or , providing initial seed and/or growth capital to many potential start-ups. Crowd funding is not a new concept per se. It has been used many...

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Writing a business plan is full of speed breakers. Now and again, you will find yourself stumbling over a roadblock, a question you can’t seem to answer. While research can help you find a good deal of information about the industry and the competition, you will need to indulge in some serious mental exercise to be able to make sense of numbers. If you feel bogged down by all the data available out there, or the lack of it, start afresh and get those numbers right in your business plan! Follow these simple steps to prepare your financial plan:...

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The first 100 days of a startup are known as a valley of death, that is the time when a company has the maximum risk of survival – and one of the biggest causes for the death of a startup is lack of cost planning. Cost control and management are the most important aspect of entrepreneurship. While we looked at revenue aspect in our last article, I will like to explain the basic concepts of costs in a start-up. First let me define what are the costs involved in a startup, then we will share few tips to manage...

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Investing and trading in the FOREX markets can potentially be one of the most rewarding types of investments available today. With the available margins that brokers offer, trading in FOREX means that the potential profits are enormous compared to the initial capital investment. Not to be confused with money exchange when people travel abroad, Forex trading is similar to trading the stock markets or commodities, except it is international currencies which are traded and held in accounts similar to Demat accounts. “Forex” is the abbreviated form of Foreign Exchange; it is also known as the “Spot FX” market. In...

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Finance is the holy grail for startup entrepreneurs. If you find it and manage it well, it can do wonders for your venture, but if you make few mistakes managing finance, it can break your back. It’s important to understand the basics of finance as an entrepreneur, without trying to become an expert like CA. My effort at Nurture Talent Academy has always been to inspire and guide budding entrepreneurs to think about finance as comfortably as they think about software or marketing. One shortcoming I have seen is realizing the revenue potential of their ventures. There are various...

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Government of India: An Angel Investor? Yes, it is true! Government of India (GoI) has now become an angel investor to help those startups & entrepreneurs which fall under the category Small and Micro enterprises. The mechanism which is used by GoI is “Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Small & Micro Enterprises” or CGTSME for short, which allows bank to grant loan up to the sum of Rs 1 cr. to small and micro enterprises without any collateral or security. What is CGTSME? CGTSME is a credit facility extended by GoI through banks, also called Member lending Institutions or...

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