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l"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh fz ga gb gc"></div></div><article><div class="l"><div class="l"><span class="l"></span><section><div><div class="fs gi gj gk gl gm"></div><div class="gn go gp gq gr"><div class="ab cb"><div class="ci bh fz ga gb gc"><div><h1 id="6815" class="pw-post-title gs gt gu bf gv gw gx gy gz ha hb hc hd he hf hg hh hi hj hk hl hm hn ho hp hq hr hs ht hu bk" data-testid="storyTitle">Starting up at 22 — Reflections</h1><div><div class="speechify-ignore ab cp"><div class="speechify-ignore bh l"><div class="hv hw hx hy hz ab"><div><div class="ab ia"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><a rel="noopener follow" href="/@Rahul_J_Mathur?source=post_page---byline--32fffa28ad92---------------------------------------"><div class="l ib ic by id ie"><div class="l fj"><img alt="Rahul Mathur" class="l fd by dd de cx" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fill:88:88/1*O6lXF1ONmXLA7_V8Xhf3Uw.jpeg" width="44" height="44" loading="lazy" data-testid="authorPhoto"/><div 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aria-label="Listen" data-testid="audioPlayButton" class="af fk ah ai aj ak al lp an ao ap ex lq lr lf ls lt lu lv lw s lx ly lz ma mb mc md u me mf mg"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M3 12a9 9 0 1 1 18 0 9 9 0 0 1-18 0m9-10C6.477 2 2 6.477 2 12s4.477 10 10 10 10-4.477 10-10S17.523 2 12 2m3.376 10.416-4.599 3.066a.5.5 0 0 1-.777-.416V8.934a.5.5 0 0 1 .777-.416l4.599 3.066a.5.5 0 0 1 0 .832" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="j i d"><p class="bf b bg z du">Listen</p></div></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false" aria-describedby="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-labelledby="postFooterSocialMenu"><div><div class="bm" aria-hidden="false"><button aria-controls="postFooterSocialMenu" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Share Post" data-testid="headerSocialShareButton" class="af fk ah ai aj ak al lp an ao ap ex lq lr lf ls lt lu lv lw s lx ly lz ma mb mc md u me mf mg"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd" d="M15.218 4.931a.4.4 0 0 1-.118.132l.012.006a.45.45 0 0 1-.292.074.5.5 0 0 1-.3-.13l-2.02-2.02v7.07c0 .28-.23.5-.5.5s-.5-.22-.5-.5v-7.04l-2 2a.45.45 0 0 1-.57.04h-.02a.4.4 0 0 1-.16-.3.4.4 0 0 1 .1-.32l2.8-2.8a.5.5 0 0 1 .7 0l2.8 2.79a.42.42 0 0 1 .068.498m-.106.138.008.004v-.01zM16 7.063h1.5a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v10a2 2 0 0 1-2 2h-11c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2v-10a2 2 0 0 1 2-2H8a.5.5 0 0 1 .35.15.5.5 0 0 1 .15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.15.35.5.5 0 0 1-.35.15H6.4c-.5 0-.9.4-.9.9v10.2a.9.9 0 0 0 .9.9h11.2c.5 0 .9-.4.9-.9v-10.2c0-.5-.4-.9-.9-.9H16a.5.5 0 0 1 0-1" clip-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="j i d"><p class="bf b bg z du">Share</p></div></button></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p id="d75b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">Lessons from raising 2 rounds of Venture Capital, putting together a team of ~11 & using Product led growth to scale to ~5,700+ customers in 5 months.</p><h1 id="48a0" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk"><strong class="al">Chapter 0: Introduction</strong>👋</h1><p id="547f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">I have been sharing our learnings from building BimaPe on LinkedIn for the past ~ 45 days</strong>. <a class="af oi" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juyalishant/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Ishant</a> has been very kind to compile these posts into an easy to read blog post.</p><p id="a4f5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">When I co-founded BimaPe ~ 6 months ago, I was unable to find relatable sources for company building at the early stage — this prompted me to initially share my thoughts on Twitter and subsequently on LinkedIn.</p><p id="b722" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">The purpose of writing this blog is to open source our learnings at BimaPe so that other 1st time Founders and teams can benefit, adapt & improve upon our learnings.</strong></p><p id="90c1" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Throughout this piece, you will see me reference members of the BimaPe team; a quick introduction to each of them:</em></p><ul class=""><li id="3507" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Engineering — Kunal, Eashan, Nishant, Krish and Pranav</li><li id="56bb" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Product— Vishrut (Product Owner), Abraz (Product Designer), Vedika (Product Marketing Manager)</li><li id="b709" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Other — Abhinav Ghosh (UX Researcher), Dr Sathish (Research Manager)</li></ul><figure class="ov ow ox oy oz pa os ot paragraph-image"><div role="button" tabindex="0" class="pb pc fj pd bh pe"><div class="os ot ou"><picture><source srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/format:webp/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 1400w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px" type="image/webp"/><source data-testid="og" srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1400/0*yqNIpUjSjIb1kJmj 1400w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px"/><img alt="" class="bh lo pf c" width="700" height="524" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/></picture></div></div><figcaption class="pg ff ph os ot pi pj bf b bg z du">Being a Founder feels like this — on the world’s edge; a team behind you and the vast blue ocean ahead of you</figcaption></figure><p id="c86b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">You can treat each chapter as a self contained reflection or lesson —</strong></p><p id="ab7a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="41b2" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 1: The Founder Journey<a class="af oi" href="https://emojipedia.org/mountain/#:~:text=Emoji%20Meaning,to%20Emoji%201.0%20in%202015." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">⛰️</a></h1><p id="569f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Everyone wishes to be a Founder in their 20s — but few actually discuss what it is like.</em></p><p id="be6f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">For me — I haven’t had a ‘mental off’ day in ~4 months. Even on Sundays, during catch-ups with friends and family meals — I find my mind wandering to work.</p><p id="09be" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">The journey is rewarding but in a weird way.</p><p id="2ed5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">When I’m not working on Product with Vishrut & Abraz, I am tied up on our codebase with our Engineering team — Eashan, Nishant, Kunal, Krish and Pranav. And, then legal & admin work!</p><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="9762" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv"><em class="gu">You do make sacrifices along the journey so it is important that you are in business for the right reasons and with the right team.</em></strong></p></blockquote><p id="ff3c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">For me — a health insurance payout made sure that my single mother could pay our bills — without this, she wouldn’t have been able to pay for my college tuition.</p><h2 id="d941" class="pn ng gu bf nh po pp dy nl pq pr ea np ms ps pt pu mw pv pw px na py pz qa qb bk">Lessons I have learned</h2><p id="f834" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk">🌟Mission matters — that is what you sell on Day 1 to your customers, team and investors.</p><p id="4d29" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">😄Building a company is rewarding — both for the Founder(s) and for early team members.</p><p id="81de" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Reflecting upon our first four months —</strong></p><p id="0a52" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">For Founders: </strong>You will have moments of ‘joy’ and ‘terror’</p><ul class=""><li id="f0a6" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">But, your capacity to carry the team through ~90% of the ‘remaining time’ (i.e., building the Product, unlocking distribution & growing the team) — will drive success in your role.</li></ul><p id="c3bd" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">For the team:</strong> Be proud of your progress but don’t be emotional</p><ul class=""><li id="3b4c" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You will need to be comfortable saying ‘no’ — prioritize ruthlessly</li><li id="9e48" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You will need to throw code & Product out of the window based on your expanding insights & customer feedback.</li></ul><figure class="ov ow ox oy oz pa os ot paragraph-image"><div class="os ot qc"><picture><source srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/1*xnYDWkRUxEkNxIwWMQtb8Q.png 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/1*xnYDWkRUxEkNxIwWMQtb8Q.png 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/1*xnYDWkRUxEkNxIwWMQtb8Q.png 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width="584" height="412" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/></picture></div><figcaption class="pg ff ph os ot pi pj bf b bg z du">Gartner’s Hype Cycle applied to the Startup Founder</figcaption></figure><p id="adcf" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Building a company is:</strong></p><p id="8b33" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1%: delight</strong> — $$, press or major launch</p><p id="7754" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">9%: terror </strong>— investor saying ‘no, competition ‘copying’ you or negative customer feedback</p><p id="470d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">90%: grind </strong>— testing the same feature x20 times on customer calls, repeating pitch to key candidates & investors.</p><p id="7de0" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="bc4b" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 2: Mistakes😅</h1><p id="9cbd" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">As a 1st time Founder, I have made several errors that have cost BimaPe dearly. I don’t want you to make the same ones — so here’s a short list:</em></p><p id="0c81" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. Leaving no time for reflection post releases </strong>💭</p><ul class=""><li id="5002" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You should apply the ‘Lean’ framework of ‘Build, Measure and Learn’ across the board</li><li id="f872" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The results of reflection have been astounding for us; >75% decrease in handover errors</li></ul><p id="7899" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. Getting frustrated when progress is slow</strong>😠</p><ul class=""><li id="62e2" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Don’t blame others; begin by identifying the root cause (use the ‘5 Whys’ technique)</li><li id="c00a" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Quite often, I have underestimated the scope of work</li><li id="9368" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">A bias for action is good but we’ve learned the hard way that you should balance velocity with quality.</li></ul><p id="e636" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Exercising control instead of giving context </strong>💫</p><ul class=""><li id="2444" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Building software is a creative discipline; Engineering & Product needs to understand ‘why’ before ‘what’</li><li id="b232" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Every PRD at BimaPe now begins with a ‘context’ paragraph with supporting visuals.</li></ul><p id="67d3" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Reed Hastings (Netflix) summarizes this well:</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="caf8" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">“Loosely coupled yet tightly aligned” (start with ‘why’)</li><li id="b09b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">“Whisper your wins and shout your losses” (humility)</li><li id="8559" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">“Sunshine projects” (discuss lessons despite the outcome)</li></ul><p id="c0c9" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="2516" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 3: Mistakes, wait, again?😅</h1><p id="9e7a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Here is the short list of more mistakes I have made as a Founder — I sometimes wonder how is BimaPe still alive —</em></p><p id="eec3" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. Not firing fast enough</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="546b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">After repeatedly observing that a new hire was unable to execute on their mandate, I kept insisting — “they need more time”</li><li id="f383" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Finally, seeing others (Vishrut & Abraz) covering up for them caused me to pull the trigger</li></ul><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="fb72" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="gu">Lesson here: You can let someone go with their dignity but you can let them go early (with their dignity) and save everyone from pain.</em></p></blockquote><p id="afee" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. Spending too much time executing in the weeds</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="c8ad" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You can say ‘micro-managing’ aspects of our Product development</li><li id="f318" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">As our team expanded, I found it hard to let go — I’ve now realized that I’ve hired people better than me for a reason — to build and to be creative</li></ul><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="1115" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="gu">Lesson here: If you trust your team, let them build — you can focus on charting a course (for me — via writing PRDs & TRDs)</em></p></blockquote><p id="fbf5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Not prioritizing</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="003b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Keeping investors & lawyers on hold whilst resolving Product related issues first probably doesn’t work well.</li><li id="b28d" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I’ve started ‘time-boxing’ tasks (pick up “Indistractable” by Nir Eyal)</li></ul><p id="a43c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="b3e9" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 4: Mission Matters🌟</h1><p id="5a03" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk">The most important thing a Founder can do is remind their team — “<em class="oj">Why should we exist?</em>” and, “<em class="oj">Why are we in business?</em>”</p><p id="2973" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">At BimaPe, this is an exercise we go over at the start of every month; Simon Sinek best explains this as — <strong class="mj gv">Start with ‘Why’</strong></p><p id="745c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">This can be applied by both PMs and Founders — all you need to be is a “business owner (by way of equity, ideally)</p><p id="cc9c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">Below is what I go over with our team:</p><p id="c580" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">❓<strong class="mj gv">Why should BimaPe exist?</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="7322" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">There is information asymmetry in insurance; you don’t have access to the same information as your agent or insurance provider.</li><li id="5609" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We want to give you tools to<br/>(a) Make an informed purchase (via Wallet by BimaPe)<br/>(b) Understand what is sold (via Awareness by BimaPe)</li></ul><p id="b579" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">❓<strong class="mj gv">Why are we in business?</strong></p><p id="270e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">It is personal</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="ca07" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">My mom (single parent) benefited greatly from health insurance (the claim of ~₹35 Lakhs in 2011 would have crippled us)</li><li id="7329" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">A similar story for Abraz (in our founding team) & others</li></ul><p id="b502" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Deciding to ‘Start with Why’ led us to launch ‘Know Your Card’ — a killer feature that helped us acquire 3,000+ members</strong></p><ul class=""><li id="17d9" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Back story: I helped the family of our deceased attendant claim on his RuPay card.</li><li id="e184" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The guy at the bank said — it’s the 1st time anyone has claimed on the scheme</li></ul><p id="de41" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="df81" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 5: Write It Down<a class="af oi" href="https://emojipedia.org/writing-hand/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">✍️</a></h1><p id="80df" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">If you’re looking to found your own startup or join one, writing is a highly underrated yet powerful approach to get started.</em></p><p id="90f2" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">If I hadn’t started writing about InsurTech on LinkedIn ~2 years ago, I would have not founded BimaPe; writing gave me:</p><p id="4aa8" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Access to capital </strong>💸</p><ul class=""><li id="7787" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Our first investors subscribed to my blog on InsurTech (perhaps, also muted me on Twitter!)</li><li id="ae9a" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk"><em class="oj">Your writing provides a lens into your thinking & frameworks</em>; especially if you’re writing about a niche segment (e.g., Insurance)</li></ul><p id="b126" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Access to talent</strong>💪</p><ul class=""><li id="ad33" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Our founding team Kunal, Eashan and Abraz — would have not come together if we hadn’t interacted online.</li><li id="699c" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We have sourced ~5 incredible hires from LinkedIn & Twitter (where I write frequently)</li></ul><p id="2990" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Access to mentorship</strong>🤯</p><ul class=""><li id="8a9e" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">In the last 5 months, I have spoken frequently with Kunal, Aviral & other well-established investors & operators (globally, not just in India)</li><li id="435e" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk"><em class="oj">Their ‘independent observer’ perspective on your business (GTM, Product & Culture) is invaluable since you are stuck in the weeds</em></li></ul><p id="ca97" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Structured thinking</strong>⚙️</p><ul class=""><li id="3aad" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk"><em class="oj">Writing consolidates your thoughts; identify opportunities!</em></li><li id="8bd8" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I write a weekly memo to our team on our progress with Wallet by BimaPe and a monthly memo to our investors</li></ul><p id="f4b4" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="4179" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 5: Hiring🤝</h1><p id="f055" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Some learnings from remote hiring, on-boarding and product development:</em></p><p id="51cf" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Write down a recruitment ethos </strong>📜</p><ul class=""><li id="8535" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">This document gives the interviewers in your team a document to reflect upon before making a decision.</li><li id="0de7" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe, it is the PHD criterion i.e.<br/>(i) Passion for your craft; (ii) Hunger to learn & (iii) Desire to improve</li></ul><p id="d66a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Test for culture & communication</strong>✍️</p><ul class=""><li id="433f" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Brainstorm a list of ~10 (non-work related) questions that your team would like to ask the candidate</li><li id="211b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Written responses provide insight into clarity of thinking & communication skills (key for a remote team)</li><li id="d473" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe, we have a ‘Future @ BimaPe’ form (designed by Abraz— he can share it if needed)</li></ul><p id="976c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Running the video interview </strong>🎥</p><ul class=""><li id="11f3" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Ideally ~4 members of your team should be present (video on!)</li><li id="0577" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Two ask questions, two listen</li><li id="4779" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe, each interviewer sends (in writing) their observations to me (avoids group thinking) & I share the anonymized version with everyone!</li></ul><p id="a45a" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="f0da" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 6: Hiring (II) 🤝</h1><p id="ccb2" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Posting about hiring is easy. Managing a recruitment funnel at an early stage startup is hard work!</em></p><p id="8779" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">At BimaPe, we get ~50+ applications per week -</p><p id="9c29" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Designate responsible persons for hiring</strong> 🙋♂️</p><ul class=""><li id="3210" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You want to split this by Engineering & Non-Engineering (maybe further into Product, Sales, BD etc)<br/>e.g. at BimaPe — Kunal is the RP for Engineering roles; Vishrut & Abraz are RPs for Non-Engineering</li></ul><p id="4969" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Create an internal process</strong>⚙️</p><ul class=""><li id="f4c5" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We use a tracker in Notion (built by Eashan & Kunal)</li><li id="2b4a" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe, have a 3 step process (filter using our culture-fit assessment called Future @ BimaPe, then a video interview & finally a competence-fit task)</li></ul><p id="f27b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Create a fast-track rejection framework</strong>❌</p><p id="36b9" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">This varies by company, I use the following:</p><ul class=""><li id="48ce" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The candidate hasn’t tried the Product (trackable via your identity management solution)</li><li id="1ce2" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The candidate doesn’t ask questions about what the company end goal is & how their role fits into the ‘big picture’</li></ul><p id="0fea" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="6f8e" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 7: Remote Onboarding 🤗</h1><p id="146b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">After on-boarding 4 remote hires in February, I thought I’d share some parts of our playbook that have worked:</em></p><p id="1230" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Share a on-boarding checklist in advance </strong>✅</p><ul class=""><li id="f546" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We host our checklist in Notion and have ‘responsible persons’ for walking the new hire through each of our key tools (Figma, Notion, GitHub and Slack)</li><li id="ed9b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Sharing the checklist in advance of them joining creates some ‘certainty’ to an otherwise scary first day at a new role (it also lets them get a feel of how we work)</li></ul><p id="6527" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Don’t just show, make them do</strong> 💪</p><ul class=""><li id="ede1" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Encourage the new hire to perform tasks rather than talking through processes</li><li id="a065" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">For e.g. — at BimaPe, we make new Engineers raise PRs within their first week and non-Engineers raise UI or copy changes on Figma within their first day.</li><li id="bd03" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">People learn much faster by doing</li></ul><p id="0052" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Explain ‘why’ but ask for feedback </strong>🤔</p><ul class=""><li id="bdfe" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">While walking through our tools & processes, Vishrut & Abraz focus on ‘why’ we do things a certain way</li><li id="acea" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Consciously ask for feedback on the tools & processes (great inputs from our new team members —Pranav, Vedika, Dr Sathish and Abhinav.</li></ul><p id="6c8e" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="1884" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 8: Misconceptions😮</h1><p id="c9c2" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">There are several misconceptions about the startup journey which the BimaPe team and I have come across -</em></p><p id="f61c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. ‘Start with why’ </strong>💡</p><ul class=""><li id="800f" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The emphasis is placed on the customer problem — but this isn’t the starting point of a business.</li><li id="6acb" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">You (founding team) need to start with ‘your why’ first and then the ‘customer why’</li><li id="3079" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe — Abraz & I have benefitted greatly from insurance but observed major flaws in the customer journey (which we seek to improve).</li></ul><p id="92bb" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. ‘Listen to the customer’</strong>👂</p><ul class=""><li id="0843" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Better to ‘observe’; there is a disconnect between what they say they do & what they actually do</li><li id="64d1" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At a 0 to 1 startup — exercise your Product instinct; your customer won’t know what they need — you do.</li><li id="e030" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">At BimaPe — Vishrut, Eashan & Abhinav are building Wallet by BimaPe — no one asked for it — turns out 5,200+people love it</li></ul><p id="22b5" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. ‘Traction will get us funded’ </strong>⚡</p><ul class=""><li id="b0f1" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Quality trumps quantity here; VCs ask detailed questions on funnels & CAC</li><li id="1b33" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Paid acquisition (e.g., high school ambassadors) doesn’t cut it</li></ul><p id="c622" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="2179" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 9: Context Switching🔄</h1><p id="61dc" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Context switching is an important skill for a Founder to master — which I haven’t seen anything written about. Some insights into this from BimaPe’s journey:</em></p><p id="9c26" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. What is context switching?</strong>😕</p><ul class=""><li id="6f53" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">As a Founder — you may spend ~45 minutes with an investor pitching your vision; and immediately after that ~45 minutes deciding what color the CTA on your landing page will be.</li><li id="629b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">This is the adjustment between ‘macro’ & ‘micro’ thinking & action</li></ul><p id="b483" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. How can you manage this?</strong>📜</p><ul class=""><li id="9ece" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">My solution: Timebox your day to help context switching</li><li id="5222" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I do ‘macro’ work in the morning such as: (i) Investor calls; (ii) Writing OKRs with Vishrut and (iii) Preparing internal or external memos</li><li id="2a57" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I do ‘micro’ work in the afternoon such as<br/>(i) Engineering QA with Kunal, Eashan, Nishant, Pranav & Krish<br/>(ii) Design and UX research with Abraz & Abhinav</li></ul><p id="f2f3" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Transition smoothly</strong>💪</p><ul class=""><li id="5229" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Moving from macro to micro & vice-versa can be ‘stressful’</li><li id="c169" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I ease the mental transition by going to the gym/for a run in the early afternoon before returning to ‘micro’ work.</li></ul><p id="cdc2" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="1dd6" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 10: Law, shit!🤵</h1><p id="57aa" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Our experience with legal & compliance at BimaPe across USA & India -</em></p><p id="8c87" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. Segregate documents early</strong>🕒</p><ul class=""><li id="8440" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Split by country: USA & India</li><li id="ca44" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Split by purpose: Fundraise, Legal and Employee & NDAs</li><li id="7048" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Don’t use email to store these documents!</li></ul><p id="3dcd" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">I use Google Drive for storage (Vishrut can share our templates with you). I wish I had done this in October & not January!</p><p id="9f62" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. Codify trust & agreements</strong>👊</p><ul class=""><li id="04b9" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">For key hires, make sure you properly signed NDAs, non-competes and disclosures.</li><li id="c4ff" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Especially for cybersecurity professionals & hires from peer firms.</li></ul><p id="995f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">E.g., at BimaPe — Kunal, Vishrut & Eashan who work on core IP have NDAs alongside their employee agreements.</p><p id="a187" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">I trust them — not all investors would!</em></p><p id="d1ee" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Share access to your legal doc’s storage</strong>🤝</p><ul class=""><li id="72ca" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Assign access to a ‘responsible person’ in your team (aside from Co-Founders) and to lawyers</li><li id="4857" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">This also ensures you have a single source of truth for all documents — no emails for status updates or missing files!</li></ul><p id="87d7" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="a7ac" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 11: Raising Funds💸</h1><p id="09df" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Raising VC money is cool. But nobody discusses the burden of rigor & reporting that comes with this money.</em></p><p id="e33f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">At BimaPe, we’ve raised 2 rounds — some pointers from our experience:</p><p id="9d55" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. You have to be very disciplined</strong>🛡️</p><ul class=""><li id="05a8" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Your VCs are ‘silent partners’ in your business</li><li id="3993" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We prepare a detailed monthly memo on growth metrics, product progress & key events</li><li id="0b3a" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">The exercise takes ~1 working day from Vishrut & I (writing), Kunal (key metrics) and Abraz (design & layout)</li><li id="aad2" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I’ll then run 1–1 calls for follow-up questions (especially with our lead investor)</li></ul><p id="6056" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. You will be under pressure</strong>😓</p><ul class=""><li id="f778" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Your VCs will require you to set goalposts; and will hold you accountable — a few misses are okay</li><li id="7a2d" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">In January; some of our engineers — Nishant, Krish, Eashan & Pranav — were under pressure to ship very fast (long hours!</li><li id="b755" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Vedika and I have ‘growth’ targets that push the envelope</li></ul><p id="ff3b" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. The ‘best VC for you’ is the one who uses your Product</strong>🤝</p><ul class=""><li id="66a0" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">A VC who uses your products gets where you are today & can therefore appreciate the technical challenge & the North Star.</li></ul><p id="78bd" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="2448" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 12: Chaos💥</h1><p id="2a97" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Early stage startups are chaotic! Very little is written about this phase of a company’s life</em>. I thought I’d share how BimaPe has gone from complete chaos to organized chaos in ~5 months:</p><p id="da07" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. Everyone does everything initially </strong>🤯</p><ul class=""><li id="f0d8" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Our founding engineers did customer support, UX research and insurance product research</li><li id="7133" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Vishrut and I did Product Marketing as well (in addition to everything above)</li></ul><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="8faa" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="gu">It was chaotic — we got the work done but we made sure to document how we did things!</em></p></blockquote><p id="818c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. Build a creative process for your company </strong>📝</p><ul class=""><li id="c9a9" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">If you’ve documented (1) & reflected during All Hands, you will be able to map out bottlenecks & improve</li><li id="c1b5" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Abraz created a design system & our Engineering team created a ‘handover cycle’ process</li></ul><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="0cec" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="gu">Codifying (& automating) ‘repeated’ tasks increases productivity and helps new hires get up to speed (e.g. Krish & Pranav in Engineering)</em></p></blockquote><p id="7207" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Start finding specialists (fire yourself!)</strong>👊</p><ul class=""><li id="b096" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">With (1) and (2) in place, you can articulate — what needs to be done & who might be best suited to do it</li><li id="90fc" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We now have specialists in our team!</li></ul><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="95bd" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">Your role as the Founder is to navigate the company from ‘chaos’ to ‘organized’ chaos</strong></p></blockquote><p id="3a39" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="68e3" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 13: Luck🙏</h1><p id="5462" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk">Very few Founders talk about the role of ‘luck’ in company building.</p><p id="875f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">Some pointers about how luck has brought BimaPe to where we are today:</p><p id="83e9" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. ‘Earliest hires’</strong>🐦</p><ul class=""><li id="d54a" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">In August, I tweeted that I was starting up (after completing ~50 customer discovery calls)</li><li id="06a6" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Many people pinged me — Kunal & Abraz were amongst them.</li><li id="f4e2" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Kunal is a full stack SWE, Abraz is a designer cum frontend engineer — I did Product & UX research; good start!</li></ul><p id="ff5c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. ‘Too much going on — please help!’</strong>👋</p><ul class=""><li id="88a4" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I sent a message to Eashan (SWE) & Vishrut (Product) a few weeks apart from each other</li><li id="7912" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Perhaps they were sold on the vision; Eashan dropped a management consulting role & Vishrut left his VC role.</li><li id="5e85" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Same with Pranav who joined in < 24 hours after 2 phone-calls.</li></ul><p id="fd32" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. ‘Can I bother you (for some money)?’</strong>🔎</p><ul class=""><li id="ecd5" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Meeting our lead investor (a fund) was an accident; I pinged their associate regarding a long overdue meeting (to test BimaPe’s product hypothesis)</li><li id="63e5" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">We closed the Pre-Seed in ~11 days</li></ul><p id="ddb1" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Luck plays a key role in company building.</em></p><p id="fd54" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="2956" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Chapter 14: Decisions ✋</h1><p id="46b7" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk"><em class="oj">Building BimaPe has been a journey of making hard decisions & facing uncomfortable moments — especially as a 1st time Founder. Some of them are:</em></p><p id="335d" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">1. Good hiring makes you redundant</strong>🤷</p><ul class=""><li id="5ccf" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">For the first 3 months; I took part in everything — UX research, product decisions, UI changes & copy.</li><li id="f669" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Example, Abhinav (UX researcher) has shown me — its better I keep quiet during customer calls & let him lead; I sometimes feel I’m not required!</li><li id="1deb" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Same with Vedika (our PMM)</li></ul><p id="c279" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">2. Delegation isn’t easy </strong>🤝</p><ul class=""><li id="2414" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">I’ve always been an independent contributor, becoming a manager has been a difficult transition.</li><li id="3624" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Andy Grove’s ‘Task Relevant Maturity’ framework helped us smooth the delegation process.</li><li id="10c3" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Today, Vishrut & Abraz do a better job running QA sessions for our Product; Kunal & Eashan do so for Engineering.</li></ul><p id="f544" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">3. Sometimes you are the roadblock in execution</strong>✋</p><ul class=""><li id="244b" class="mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Less participation from me on design elements has improved our Product in the last ~1 month.</li><li id="ad1c" class="mh mi gu mj b mk on mm mn mo oo mq mr ms op mu mv mw oq my mz na or nc nd ne ok ol om bk">Moving from “musician” to “orchestrator” (writing PRDs, syncing with the team on strategy) is a huge transition.</li></ul><p id="28f7" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="b3f7" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">Closing Thoughts</h1><p id="7a71" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk">Before founding BimaPe, I assumed every startup had their “stuff sorted” i.e. gliding elegantly over the water like a duck.</p><figure class="ov ow ox oy oz pa os ot paragraph-image"><div class="os ot qd"><picture><source srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:924/format:webp/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 924w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 462px" type="image/webp"/><source data-testid="og" srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:924/0*0dqqlffv9im3AEj- 924w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 462px"/><img alt="" class="bh lo pf c" width="462" height="335" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/></picture></div><figcaption class="pg ff ph os ot pi pj bf b bg z du">The Duck Effect in Startups</figcaption></figure><p id="c766" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">Turns out — it is chaos (paddling below the water’s surface to stay afloat)</p><p id="4dcc" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">The Founder’s job — turn chaos to organized chaos, he humble in victories and gracious in defeats.</p><p id="9ced" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">I would like to thank Nishant for taking the time to compile my LinkedIn posts — our team, investors and BimaPe members for their support in this journey.</strong></p><blockquote class="pk pl pm"><p id="2585" class="mh mi oj mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">(We) feel good about what we’ve done and even more excited about what we want to do — <strong class="mj gv">quoting Jeff Bezos</strong></p></blockquote><p id="7490" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk"><strong class="mj gv">If you have any questions — I am easily accessible on </strong><a class="af oi" href="https://twitter.com/Rahul_J_Mathur" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong class="mj gv">Twitter </strong></a><strong class="mj gv">on </strong><a class="af oi" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahul-jaideep-mathur/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong class="mj gv">LinkedIn</strong></a></p><p id="e0b7" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —</p><h1 id="5448" class="nf ng gu bf nh ni nj nk nl nm nn no np nq nr ns nt nu nv nw nx ny nz oa ob oc bk">About BimaPe</h1><p id="3473" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk od mm mn mo oe mq mr ms of mu mv mw og my mz na oh nc nd ne gn bk">💳Start by discovering your hidden insurance benefits <a class="af oi" href="https://bimape.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"><strong class="mj gv">here</strong></a> (no card number required); <strong class="mj gv">join 10,800+ BimaPe members today!</strong></p><p id="62ef" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">👛Our <a class="af oi" href="https://wallet.bimape.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">product </a>— <strong class="mj gv">Wallet by BimaPe</strong> — allows working professionals in India to seamlessly manage their family’s insurance.</p><p id="bc0c" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">We are leveraging the India Stack (Account Aggregator, National Health Stack and UPI 2.0) to revolutionize the way Indians interact with insurance.</p><p id="f8b8" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">BimaPe is backed by Y Combinator and other premier investment firms. We are a team of ~15 professionals across Engineering, Product, Design and Insurance.</p><p id="2b1f" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd ne gn bk">You can subscribe to our Insurance Snapshots on WhatsApp <a class="af oi" href="https://bit.ly/bimape" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>; join 2,300+ subscribers who become ‘<a class="af oi" href="https://awareness.bimape.com/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Aware with BimaPe</a>’!</p><figure class="ov ow ox oy oz pa os ot paragraph-image"><div class="os ot qe"><picture><source srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1200/format:webp/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 1200w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 600px" type="image/webp"/><source data-testid="og" srcSet="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:640/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 640w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:720/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 720w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:750/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 750w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:786/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 786w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:828/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 828w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1100/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 1100w, https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1200/0*qRszHinNURljaBtB 1200w" sizes="(min-resolution: 4dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 4) and (max-width: 700px) 50vw, (min-resolution: 3dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 67vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3) and (max-width: 700px) 65vw, (min-resolution: 2.5dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2.5) and (max-width: 700px) 80vw, (min-resolution: 2dppx) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2) and (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 600px"/><img alt="" class="bh lo pf c" width="600" height="200" loading="lazy" role="presentation"/></picture></div></figure><p id="3d22" class="pw-post-body-paragraph mh mi gu mj b mk ml mm mn mo mp mq mr ms mt mu mv mw mx my mz na nb nc nd 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Leaving no time for reflection post releases 💭","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"STRONG","start":0,"end":48,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_38":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_38","name":"5002","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"You should apply the ‘Lean’ framework of ‘Build, Measure and Learn’ across the board","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_39":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_39","name":"f872","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"The results of reflection have been astounding for us; \u003E75% decrease in handover errors","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_40":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_40","name":"7899","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"2. Getting frustrated when progress is slow😠","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"STRONG","start":0,"end":43,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_41":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_41","name":"62e2","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Don’t blame others; begin by identifying the root cause (use the ‘5 Whys’ technique)","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_42":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_42","name":"c00a","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"Quite often, I have underestimated the scope of work","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_43":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_43","name":"9368","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"A bias for action is good but we’ve learned the hard way that you should balance velocity with quality.","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_44":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_44","name":"e636","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"3. 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How can you manage this?📜","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[{"__typename":"Markup","type":"STRONG","start":0,"end":27,"href":null,"anchorType":null,"userId":null,"linkMetadata":null}],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_158":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_158","name":"9ece","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"My solution: Timebox your day to help context switching","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_159":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_159","name":"5222","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"I do ‘macro’ work in the morning such as: (i) Investor calls; (ii) Writing OKRs with Vishrut and (iii) Preparing internal or external memos","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_160":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_160","name":"2a57","type":"ULI","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"I do ‘micro’ work in the afternoon such as\n(i) Engineering QA with Kunal, Eashan, Nishant, Pranav & Krish\n(ii) Design and UX research with Abraz & Abhinav","hasDropCap":null,"dropCapImage":null,"markups":[],"codeBlockMetadata":null,"iframe":null,"mixtapeMetadata":null},"Paragraph:4bd62456617d_161":{"__typename":"Paragraph","id":"4bd62456617d_161","name":"f2f3","type":"P","href":null,"layout":null,"metadata":null,"text":"3. 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