Bittu Kumar is the co-founder of Enterslice, parent company of Netforce & Hivego, published author of seven books on Social Media, Marketing & Information Technology, and an investor at Profitmissile.
In this Startup Savant interview, Bittu shares his entrepreneurial journey and how his hard work paid off by just doing one thing – following passion. Find out more about Bittu’s entrepreneurial insights and vision for the future below.
Before you leave this page and implement Bittu’s advice into your own business, be sure to follow him on Twitter. This guy has a fantastic feed if you’re looking for daily inspiration!
What motivated you to start Enterslice? How did the idea come about?
Technology can change lives and solve mass appeal problems. I started Enterslice to bring innovation in traditional businesses. Disrupt Industries the way Uber did and brought transparency in traditional business processes.
Hard work paid off. We are now in two countries, have subsidiaries in Technology & Lifestyle, Zero to Hundred Plus employees and Red Herring Top 100 Finalist This Year (Award due this September).
Startups are changing the way people were doing businesses, kicking mammoths and sharks out in record time, it intrigued me to start something. I followed my passion and that’s how Enterslice was born.
What was your mission at the beginning of starting your business?
We had a clear vision. We wanted value, not valuation. We aim to create one job each day. That’s 365 hires per year! It has not changed in past two years. 🙂
What do you attribute your success to? Is there a trait you have or a person who helped you along the way?
My winning trait is hustle, of course. Being a hustler open doors for you. They Say, “If opportunity doesn’t knock your door, build that door.” I work with this mindset.
The credit of my success also goes to my parents, business partners, employees & customers. They always acted as evangelists, did more than what ordinary people do and with an army of experts and hustlers, and customer acting as your evangelist you will always succeed.
When times get tough, what would you say motivates you to keep going? To not hit the snooze button and to keep fighting for your goals.
Human is the product of four billion years of evolution; history has shown how great leaders, scientists, and innovators never give up. A few years ago, I was also desperate for the things I have today and managed to get those things only after fighting for goals. Overnight success takes years and now, spending years in entrepreneurship, I understand that you should always learn from failures but never give up.
Employees are one of the most important players to succeed in business. What do you look for in an employee?
- An employee should be shameless, hustler and never seek for permission if he believes steps he is taking will lead the organization in forward direction.
- No casual attitude towards work and I’m sure if you work, results will be there.
- I also look how honest he/she has been with his previous company and what plans he have to take us to next level.
- Energy during Interview and Crystal Clear Focus also matters. (You don’t want super lethargic team in a growing company!)
What is unique about your business? Is there a competitive advantage that you have over the rest?
We leverage Technology better than others. That saves us time; we are 40% more efficient than our competitors, and that helps to pass on the cost advantage to customers and word of mouth create great opportunities for us.
Have you ever gotten a disappointed client or customer? If so, how did you handle the situation?
Many times. That’s a natural cycle in every business. No matter whether you are a startup or a Fortune 500 Company, there will always be clients who complain. And that indicates people are using your product and want improvements, and it’s up to you to take the feedback.
But taking Customer feedback improves the product and also builds rapport.
A dedicated team resolves all issues, and we make sure customer remains satisfied all the time. In a worst case, we refunded 100% with an apology letter and a box of chocolate.
Is there a type of marketing that has worked amazingly for Enterslice? If so, how did you stumble upon it?
It’s Golden Era of Digital Marketing. Digital Marketing worked great for Enterslice. We use analytics heavily, and we were quick to find that Social Media and Content Marketing is bringing us leads, and that’s how we started focusing on the the digital strategy.
Is there any resource or resources that helped you on your journey to becoming a business owner?
- Google – I learned everything from it.
- F6S – Was excellent in initial days. Our first Prototype was build for less than $100
- Udemy – Want to know something? Give two weeks and you will become an expert.
- You Just need the will power 😉
What are the three best pieces of advice that you would give to anyone starting a business in california? What do they need to know from the very beginning?
No one is going to fund your idea, until and unless you are Peter Theil or Elon Musk.
- If you have no startup experience, you should know that traction is critical for both your company success and getting investors on board. Build a working prototype, do market validation, make some money and then only approach investors.
- Follow Eric Ries’s Lean Startup Principles. Don’t over complicate it. You cannot expect the perfect thing in the first attempt. Perfection takes time.
- The network is everything. Attend networking events, do everything to get noticed and build lasting relationships. Build rapport, exchange cards and follow up (80% of conversion happens in follow ups!).
All the best in your journey. If you are struggling to get ahead in the race I have a small advice for you; I have never met any successful person with a very easy past.