Start-up Accelerator

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE Delhi-NCR) in association with Foundation of Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi has put together a unique program, ‘Start-up Accelerator’, spread over 48 hours, 6 days and across 2 weekends. The program aims to equip entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and insights to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey and build & scale for success. The program will deliver tangible insights, specific subjects of daily interest to entrneurs, something they cannot obtain elsewhere, and provide detailed information and practical tips from practitioners – experienced entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors and domain experts.

Program Objective: To equip entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and insights to accelerate their entrepreneurial journey and build & scale for success. The program will aim to deliver tangible insights, specific subjects of daily interest to entrepreneurs, something they cannot obtain elsewhere, and provide detailed information and practical tips from practitioners – experienced entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors and domain experts.

The program will be covering critical aspects in areas such as business models, fund raising, sales management, marketing, and finance etc. The sessions will cover the basics and deliver practical and tangible insights for entrepreneurs.

Participant Profile: The program is designed for entrepreneurs who have started their journey and are in operations from 0-5 years.

Session 1: Identifying Addressable Market and Target Customers

Objective: Help participants in identify their addressable market opportunity and broad target customer profiling.

Guideline for Faculty:

The session should give the participants the necessary tools to identify their addressable market & target customers. This session can start from identifying a product/service market fit to using both quantitative and qualitative frameworks to estimate the addressable market size and customer segments. The notion of disruption may be introduced, and what constitutes disruption (versus not). The way disruptions play out is very different from how incremental innovations play out – entrepreneurs should be able to identify the two, and build their plans accordingly.

We recommend using your own entrepreneurial case study to elaborate the above concept with a special emphasis on what you believe works or does not work. The participants should get a better understanding as to what to expect or not to expect from market research & target customer profiling.

Session 2: Deciphering Target Customer Buying Behaviour

Objective: Help participants to map out the buying behaviour of their target customers and mapping that with their product/service fit. 

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding the buying behaviour of the target customer (Cultural, social, psychological and personal, Rational vs. emotional).The session could cover key points around where do they listen (sources of information) to where do they buy from (channels). As well as the stages in the buying processes from problem recognition to evaluation of alternatives, rational of purchasing decisions to post purchase evaluation.

We recommend using your own entrepreneurial case study and key anecdotes/examples to illustrate how you understand the buying behaviour of your target customer segment & how that influenced to shape your overall strategy.

Session 3: Leveraging customer insights for better product/service fit and sharpening customer segments

Objective: Help participants leverage customer insights from market research and buying behaviour insights to potentially look at re-shaping or tweaking their product/service for an effective market fit. 

Guideline for Faculty:

Elaborate on the necessary tools/frameworks to leverage customer insights & market research by using data analytics, qualitative research framework, & lean experiments. A distinction between horizontal and vertical businesses may be made, with appropriate ways of addressing the two. Also, how to use customer segmentation as a wedge, and potentially expand from there.

We recommend using elaborate real life case studies to showcase the tools or frameworks which could be from your own entrepreneurial experience or even outside.

Session 4: Key elements of a business model – Macro view on successful and different business models for both B2B and B2C 

Objective: Help participants understand the nuances and critical elements in crafting successful business models with a specific focus on the revenue and profit model.

Guideline for Faculty:

Using both a macro and micro lens, including strategies to analyse similar businesses, competitors & overall industry. Understanding target customer alternatives & their wallet share and innovating on potential new revenue & profit models.

Recommendation to talk about 2-3 universally understood business models and do a walkthrough on the key elements. Suggestion is to use different business models pan industries to give the right flavour.

Session 5: Identifying gaps and refining business models

Objective :Help participants understand the gaps in their business models and equip them with the tools and framework to refine their business models. 

Guideline for Faculty:

Framework to conduct a SWOT on the existing business models, with clear understanding of the gaps in the same. Frameworks and tools like the business model canvas (lean startup strategy) can be used to help participants work and refine their business models. Participants should be able to appreciate that if they refine the business model it could be a way to beat competition.

Recommendation to talk about 2-3 universally understood business models and how by looking at the macro (industry trends) and micro (cost structure, alternatives, SWOT) the company re-invented its business model. 

Session 6: Disrupting your business model

Objective: Help participants to appreciate the approaches and methodologies to disrupt their own business models. 

Guideline for Faculty:

Re-look at the existing business model and methodologies to look at innovation in the business process, pricing, revenue models, target customers and product/market fit. Focus on creating & sustaining a culture of continuous innovation from a business strategic perspective.

We recommend using perhaps case examples potentially from your own entrepreneurial experience or outside to illustrate the above concept.

Session 7: Building a comprehensive Go-to-market strategy and acquisition strategy

Objective: Help participants plug the gaps & then build a comprehensive go to market & customer acquisition strategy.

Guideline for Faculty:

Participants need to understand how to build a comprehensive go to market strategy starting from positioning to the customers, identifying the channels & building for sales.Linear versus network effect businesses, and marketing strategies for both. As well as understanding of the competitive influence on marketing strategy. Participants should also be able to understand how marketing and customer acquisition strategy evolves over time – intimacy versus scale.

We recommend using perhaps case examples on how companies changes their strategy (A Before & After effect –which lead to increased sales & conversions)

Session 8: Branding and communications – Creating the differential

Objective: Help participants create high impact branding and communication strategy which clearly stands out via competition. 

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding key branding and communication tools that can create a buzz without breaking the bank. Practical tips based on what has worked or not worked in crafting and executing a clear communication and branding strategy.

We recommend using perhaps case examples potentially from your own entrepreneurial experience or outside to illustrate the above concept.

Session 9: B2C and B2B – Sales strategy and execution

Objective: Help participants to build both B2B & B2C sales strategy and execution.

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding the difference in approaches for B2B & B2C sales. For B2B sales how enterprise sees your offering, how to structure the sales team, and how to map, penetrate & grow accounts. On B2C, understanding the different channels for B2C sales especially the link with marketing/branding & positioning and driving volume sales. 

We recommend using perhaps case examples potentially from your own entrepreneurial experience or outside to illustrate the above concept.

Session 10: Intellectual Property Types and Legal Guidelines

Objective: Help participants understand the different IP types & the legal scope.

Guideline for Faculty:

Focus on types of IP and the application in entrepreneurial set ups not just product companies. Legal perspective on the current IP Laws in India and its enforcement and applicability including scope of protection. A high level walkthrough on filing patents/IP protection would also be useful.

Recommendation to use relevant cases (early stage businesses) and not large corporate’s.

Session 11: Building an IP portfolio and monetization

Objective: Help participants understand the business logic of building an IP portfolio and its monetization.

Guideline for Faculty:

Process or steps to identify potential for IP, also building comprehensive IP strategy consummating with business goals. Building from there to commercialization and monetization for IP portfolio and the risks of infringement on other IPs .Practical cases especially with respect to early stage startup would be useful.

Session 12: Understanding finance and key elements

Objective: Help participants understand the key ratios/numbers they should be tracking!

Guideline for Faculty:

Taking a balance sheet, P & L statement & Cash Flow statement and enlightening the participants on the key ratios they should focus on a monthly, quarterly & annual basis. Also key pointers such as running by cash flows rather than P & L are important insights. Key questions that entrepreneurs should be asking their CA’s and being in top of key compliances.

Recommendation to use actual sample cash flow statement, P & L Statement & Balance Sheet Statement.

Session 13: Finding Recruiting and Onboarding great Talent

Objective: Help participants on strategies to attracting, retaining and building a great team

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding key strategies that have worked on attracting & retaining the right kind of startup talent, who are not just functional, but start up fit (culturally). Also strategies on building a great organizational culture and sustaining the momentum. Managing processes and team as the business evolves. Recommendation to use case studies or pointers on what worked for you in your entrepreneurial set up. For example key employer branding strategies.

Session 14: Building a great team & organizational culture

Objective: Help participants on strategies to attracting, retaining & building a great team and nurturing the right culture.

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding key strategies that have worked on attracting & retaining the right kind of startup talent, who are not just functional, but start up fit (culturally). Also strategies, on building a great organizational culture and sustaining the momentum. Managing processes and team as the business evolves.

Recommendation to use case studies or pointers on what worked for you in your entrepreneurial set up. For example key employer branding strategies, or examples/insights on nurturing an effective culture for high performance. 

Session 15: Managing Core Team Dynamics

Objective: Help participants on strategies to managing core team dynamics & mitigate possible conflicts.

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding the nuances of roles & accountability of co-founders, investors, advisors & employees. Practical insights for conflict resolution, building a powerful board etc.

Recommendation to share frameworks/tools on how to look distributing shareholding equity, creating ESOP pools for senior management hires etc.

Session 16: Art of Fund Raising

Objective :Help participants on strategies to raise external venture financing.

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding the fund raising process including how to determine amount of financing required, timing, key implications of equity investors. The session should also aim to cover practical strategies and tips on the approach to fund raising who to approach, the kind of preparation required, before pitching to an investor.

Recommendation to show key pitch templates, sample investor pitches to illustrate key points of differential between a good and a bad pitch.

Session 17: Structuring investments

Objective: Participants should understand what they need to look out for while negotiating with investors – Key terms/Clauses.

Guideline for Faculty:

Understanding key terms of a term sheet, SHA & broad level drivers of arriving at valuation. Suggestion to use an actual term sheet and walk the participants via clause by clause, as well as illustrate broad drivers for valuation typically used by investors. Recommendation to show standard term sheet template & investment documents.

 

Session 18: Iterative Startups – Risk/value framework for the start-ups

Objective: Participants understand the risk/value framework and are able to apply the broad guidelines & universal principles to their business.

Guideline for Faculty:

Introduce the notion of value building as series of risk mitigations. Discuss typical risks when a startup begins, prioritization, and how successive risks can be mitigated to create value. What kind of issues are paramount at each stage. Take a case study of a business to illustrate. Link these to market maturity curve. Discuss with the group what they feel the key risks in their own business are, and encourage other participants to add.

Session 19: Usability & User Experience

Objective: Participants should understand the nuances of usability and design for their product offerings.

Guideline for Faculty:

Using Analytics & tools such as A/B testing to bring changes in user design and enhance overall usability for conversions and engagement. Introduce different notions of design, such as functional, usability, visual etc, and how each can be navigated. Tools/mechanisms and metrics to assess each of those. Emphasis on both incremental and step improvements, and processes to drive the two. Thinking of experience as not just a function of interface, but all touch points, and other factors such as content. How does design link back to user personas/segments. Contrasting examples to illustrate how two different designs can serve the same need. Recommendation to show actual user design before & after to illustrate the differential and elaborate on the concept via screen shots and actual designs.