A startup I advise helps companies expand globally—incorporating abroad and managing legal & compliance requirements across multiple countries. Their product is solid, especially for parent companies juggling entities worldwide. But to be very honest—cross-border compliance isn’t exactly exciting for most techies and problem-solvers in the startup world. It’s a world of massive
I once advised a startup serving SMBs like salons and parlours. Their original pitch was straightforward: đź’ˇ “We offer marketing services as a product for $200/month, making it affordable for small businesses that can’t pay $500–$1000/month to agencies. We have high margins and strong growth due to our low-cost structure (product first
Why do some stories get remembered and some don’t? These are the broad patterns that I see in memorable stories that leaders can learn from – a) Evoking strong emotions – Stories that evoke excitement, compassion (or even outrage) are more likely to be remembered than ones that don’t. This is why
Time management gets all the attention, but energy management might be the secret sauce — in leadership roles where constant context-switching is a curse. Over time, I’ve learned to manage my energy alongside my time. Here are a few practical approaches that have worked for me: 1. Knowing Your Energy Boosters and
Creating visibility for yourself in an organisation goes hand in hand with building credibility (through impact, delivery etc). Many mid-level professionals wrongly believe that they can continue growing in their careers by positioning themselves as “sages” (high on credibility but low on visibility). The truth is that only very few roles allow
Many leaders hesitate to let go of poorly performing team members even after giving them enough time to improve. Few postpone the decision indefinitely and live with the problem despite being fully aware that this affects their own performance and the team as a whole. Why do they do this? To avoid
One of the biggest psychological impacts of getting laid off is the feeling of “I am not good enough”. While performance is definitely a consideration for layoff decisions, it is overrated in the eyes of the affected people. I am listing down the other parameters that go into the decision-making process. Leaders
One of the stressful things about a manager’s life is having to remember the details of every team member’s work. Managers are required to answer questions from their boss, senior management, stakeholders, investors, etc. for which they need to remember details of team members’ day-to-day work and progress. Knowing complete details of
Background: Pradeep joins HelloAB, a series C startup as VP of Products. He was brimming with excitement to solve some of the important problems facing the startup. In a couple of weeks, he understood that customer focus was broken. He created a plan to bring back the focus and showcased the same
Short answer: You can lead 3-5 Product managers/leaders before maxing yourself out Using a 2-step process, here is how to calculate the exact number of PMs that you can realistically manage. Step 1. Calculate the time expectations from your different responsibilities: There are multiple expectations from a leader’s time. Below is the
