As we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone who can is working from home. That’s why there’s a stream of articles with useful remote work advice being shared online. But, what do we do about remote selling ? That is, selling to remote buyers, particularly if your business model relies on in-person sales. A valid question; because apart from the shift in our mode of work, and our concerns about our loved ones, we also deal with buying and selling exclusively from a distance due to the (necessary) measures of social distancing and quarantines. Governments are shutting down stores and people stay in. Customers are increasingly heading online.  So, what can you do to better support your customers? The right tech can help. We’ve compiled a list of tools that can help you: Attract and sell to prospects online Connect with and support customers Keep revenue flowing amidst crisis Some of these tools offer discounts or free options during these times. RUN DEMOS AND SELL ONLINE With the pandemic at large, customers will probably avoid coming to your store to get a feel of your products. But, you can showcase products via an online demo or prospect meeting to help them decide before they buy. 1) Calendly A free appointment scheduling software to help you quickly book online meetings according to the availability of your employees and customers. Calendly has decided to offer free integrations with video conferencing tools till June 30th. 2) Mixmax A meeting scheduling app that also provides email tracking capabilities, built for Gmail. You can use email templates, set reminders, and see which times are better for scheduling customer meetings. 3) LeadSquared A sales CRM and lead conversion platform used by industries such as banks, real estate, education, telemarketing, and more. OFFER SEAMLESS SUPPORT From video calling to live chat , your customers should be able to receive personalized and ‘human’ interactions with your brand online. 4) Acquire A robust customer service software that helps you offer superior customer experience. The platform offers capabilities of live chat, video and audio calling, co-browsing, AI chatbot, knowledge base and more – everything you need to support and engage customers online. 5) Doodle A scheduling tool that helps you book meetings with multiple people (e.g. if you want more than one salespeople to be involved in a sale.) 6) GoToMeeting A desktop sharing and video conferencing platform developed by LogMeIn. It’s also useful for hosting virtual events to invite customers who’re at home. This tool has implemented free options for the coronavirus outbreak. 7) Hangouts A free and popular G suite app used around the world. With Hangouts Chat, you can launch video calls with customers and take advantage of the screen share option to provide better support. Google provides free access to advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities until July 1st. 8) Zoom A handy video conferencing tool that lets you call with audio and video for free, and host online conferencing rooms (useful for customer training sessions, too.) Zoom has put together a list of resources that could be useful in coronavirus times. 9) Slack An instant messaging platform to help your employees who’re working from home collaborate and exchange knowledge quickly. Slack has both free and paid versions, and currently holds consultations on how to make remote work...work. IMPROVE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE Online traffic has surged ever since the coronavirus crisis started. Make sure you are providing customers what they’re looking for on your e-commerce page and marketing site. 10) Shopify A popular e-commerce platform that helps you set up and run your online store. A good choice if you haven’t invested much in an e-shop before the coronavirus. 11) Sellbrite  A selling platform specializing in multi-channel exposure of your products (e.g. on Amazon, eBay, Etsy). It can help you in times when you’ll need to increase online revenue to make up for losses in physical sales. 12) WordStream Software that enhances tour online advertising efforts. With WordStream, you can develop and launch campaigns across platforms (e.g. Google Ads, Bing) and convert more visitors into leads. 13) Google Analytics A part of Google’s services, this platform offers in-depth reporting on web traffic and user behaviour so you can know which digital marketing campaigns work and which don’t. CONNECT PROACTIVELY WITH CUSTOMERS 14) HubSpot Full inbound marketing, sales, and customer service platform . Among its other functions, HubSpot can help you set up landing pages related to the virus (e.g. discounts you offer, webinars), send coordinated email campaigns, or post on social media. HubSpot offers free tools as part of its regular pricing plans. The company has also implemented a number of changes to support customers during these times like adding free tools, modifying usage limits, etc. 15) MailChimp A marketing platform that enables you to set up landing pages, email campaigns, and social media ads. Use it to contact your customers with discounts or encouraging messages, and track engagement. MailChimp offers free standard accounts to eligible local governments, schools, healthcare providers, and nonprofits until June 30. 16) Hootsuite Social media management and content curation platform to help you schedule, manage and report on content you share on social media. You can post and monitor posts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more. STAY SAFE Business matters, but health matters more. During this difficult time, we hope you stay safe and virus-free. And think of the positive side: if you choose the right tools now, you’ll have a powerful suite of allies once the pandemic is over, and you’ll be closer than ever to your customers.

If you planning to present your venture to an investor, below are the 49 most recurring mistakes. The article is divided into two categories, "mistakes in the pitch deck," and "mistakes during the pitch." MISTAKES IN THE PITCH DECK UNREALISTIC GROWTH PROJECTIONS  Founders and investors know that financial projections of early-stage companies do not make sense. There are too many variables, unknowns and future events that make the projection inaccurate 99% of the time. That said, a projection helps an investor understand how you think about your business and what are the assumptions that need to hold true for the proposed venture to grow. If you project a revenue growth that is completely out of sync with other startups in the industry, it brings out your lack of understanding of the space. UNREASONABLE TAM It is important to understand the difference between the Market Size and the Total Addressable Market. Investors are reasonably aware of whether a market is large enough or not. If you present a TAM that is unreasonable for the industry, it can boomerang and showcase your lack of experience. TOP-DOWN APPROACH TO MARKET SIZING Assume that, as per Nielsen, ‘delivering breakfast to the office’ has a market size of $100 MM. While Nielsen could be correct in their calculation, you cannot use this as the only measure of market size. Bottoms up is a better approach to paint the picture of sizable opportunity. “If there are 1 million office-goers in the city and you can attract 5% of them, you will profit $1,000 a month and if you deliver breakfast 20 days a month, that is $20,000.” This bottom-up approach to market sizing is what makes the cut and shows the true potential of your market. A LOT OF LOGOS WITH NO REVENUE Having Fortune 500 companies listed as customers, makes investors assume that the company is generating meaningful revenue. But if the financials are not representative of the claims, it can mean either the company’s definition of ‘customer’ is very loose and includes non-paying ‘customers,’ or the company can’t charge enough for the product. Both options are equally bad. FAKE PRECISION FOR EARLY STAGE COMPANIES As an early-stage company, please admit if you don’t have enough data to measure metrics like CAC, LTV, % Churn. Don’t try to convince investors with amazing metrics, for example, 20X CAC to LTV ratio. WRITING THE EXPECTED VALUATION It’s OK to quote your expected valuation in a meeting. It’s not OK to write the same in your deck. It is naïve and takes away your leverage in the negotiation. That is, don't write something akin to "raising $4mn at $16mn pre." CALCULATING INVESTORS’ EXPECTED RETURNS It’s almost impossible for you & investors to calculate the ROI the investor can expect so early in the life of a startup. Quoting a small number would turn off the investors and a huge number will make them ask more questions about your assumptions. This is definitely not where you should be spending your time. Your job as an entrepreneur is to build a huge company. That is what you should be obsessively focussed on — and that's what you should present. NO COMPETITION Saying that you have no competition generally means either you have not done your homework or you are going after a tiny market that doesn’t matter. Odds are you have not done a good assessment of the competition in your industry. Think strategically and broaden your horizon. ‘ HARD-CODED ’ FINANCIALS IN YOUR PRESENTATION Hard coding numbers in your presentation is a rookie mistake. Linking your sheets with formulae and assumptions allows investors to play with various financial inputs to see how your business model will survive in changing conditions. Don't do this. TEAM SLIDE IS SIMPLY A BRIEF BIO This is one of the key slides of your presentation. Investors are bidding for your team and their biggest worry is if you would be able to execute. Make sure you talk about chemistry, domain experience, past achievements. Mention the complementary skills of your cofounders and if you have worked together before. Do not create a sub-standard presentation of your headshots and degrees only. The team slide is one of the most important slides. UNINTERESTING OR UNREALISTIC PROJECTIONS Projecting $5 MM revenue in 5 years will not excite any investor. Also, projecting $500 MM in 3 years will get you laughed out of the room if you are at zero revenue today. Avoid assumptions that you won’t be able to justify, like 500% growth in revenue with only a 30% increase in operating & marketing costs. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF CAC AND LTV OF YOUR CUSTOMER Be ready for questions on your user acquisition costs like what channels will you use to acquire a customer, what costs will you incur, what will be their likely lifetime value. Which areas show most promise with marketing, what is your typical sales cycle duration. Lack of answers to these questions means that you have not thought through your business plan. NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAIL For your legal protection, put a copyright notice at the bottom and add the phrase “Private & Confidential.” Include page numbers on each slide so that the investors can easily reference a specific page. Make sure your presentation is a visual treat, not text-heavy and does not contain typos or inconsistencies. NOT BEING ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE KEY ASSUMPTIONS IN YOUR PROJECTIONS It feels you don’t have a real handle on your business if you can’t explain your financial assumptions and projections. If you go unprepared, you will not get a second meeting with the investors. NOT ARTICULATING WHY YOUR PRODUCT OR TECHNOLOGY IS DIFFERENT FROM A COMPETITOR You will have to explain why your product is different and 10X better than your competitor. You can assume that investors know about the competitive landscape. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with a sloppy response. Also, if your product is 1.5X, 2X, or 3X better, most times that is not good enough. 10X better or 10X less costly is a great goal to hit. NOT BEING ABLE TO TELL HOW YOU WILL USE INVESTMENT CAPITAL AND HOW LONG IT WILL LAST Investors want to know how you will use the raised funds and your burn rate (so that they know when you will need the next round of financing). It will also confirm that you know your costs for hiring, marketing, support & admin etc, given their experience with other startups. NOT CAPITALIZING YOUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Investors put a heavy premium on intellectual property. Be ready for questions on what IP does your company have and how was it developed, whether any previous employer of your cofounders can have a claim on your IP. LACK OF DIRECTION AND LONG TERM STRATEGY You need to have a clear strategy of where your company will be in 5 years and how you are going to get there. Unrealistic expectations, naïve assumptions will not help you in closing this round. NOT UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STAND ALONE DECK AND A PRESENTATION The stand-alone deck tends to be text-heavy because you are not there to explain it. It explains certain graphs and other assumptions & ideas. Your presentation deck should be visually appealing, with a maximum 5 words per slide if possible. This will help you make a great presentation as you will not be reading out from your slides (which is the fastest way to put a room to sleep). Use your stand-alone deck only when you can’t be there. MISTAKES DURING THE PITCH APOLOGIZING BEFORE THE START Do not start with ‘I’m sorry, this is not what I normally do’. When you open like that, it shows you lack confidence. You have virtually conceded that you won’t be able to sell to the investors before you start. It means your team did not plan a good strategy for how to raise money and no one in your team can close a sale as you are the best of the worst on your team. STATED A PROBLEM THAT ISN’T A PROBLEM. Frame your problem statement such that it is clear what is the problem. When you say- "The problem is the same-day delivery market, and we plan to combat the Amazons of the world," it does not mean anything. Do not assume that investors know what you mean. READING FROM THE SCREEN Aside from the juvenile nature of this tactic, if you don’t know your business well enough to do a 60-second pitch, nobody would be interested. If you aren’t confident enough in your knowledge about your company or your industry to look the audience in the eye, they’ll never trust you. Even if you stumble a bit, it is better than reading your pitch. They stopped listening as soon as you took your notes out. SMELLING OF DESPERATION Do not sound desperate when you pitch. If you come off as this investment is the only way for your business to survive, it seems needy and is unattractive to many investors, and can set you up to be taken advantage of. You'll end up giving away way more equity than you should. It is better to sound confident and make the investors believe that your startup is a gravy boat that they do not want to miss. TAKING CRITICISM PERSONALLY Most investors are direct and are going to ask you the tough questions. That's a good thing; it means they're thinking about your idea. Don't take feedback or tough questions as personal attacks. They have nothing against you. WORRYING ABOUT THE DEMO/PRESENTATION THAT JUST WON’T SEEM TO WORK If anything can go wrong, it will. Be ready for the worst-case scenario. The demo that you planned, might not work. Keep a video of the demo as a backup. Arrive early and get your laptop hooked to the projector before the meeting starts. If the on-screen presentation fails, use the print copies as backup. If something does not work, move on. Do not kill the effectiveness of your pitch by wasting time. GIVING UNNECESSARILY DETAILED PRESENTATION Most investors you are going to pitch to are experienced and know exactly what they are looking for. You need to give them the right information to convince them that your company is the right company for them to invest in. FAILURE TO LISTEN Investors will ask you a lot of questions related to your business model and technology. They want to make sure that the investment does not turn out to be a failure. Do not take the questions as a question on your competence. Treat this curiosity as a good sign and do consider all possible alternatives. ‘THIS IS THE LAST ROUND’ THREAT. Do not try to scare VCs into investing by saying that it’s the last round of financing. It makes you look like a rookie. We all know startups need money to grow. Stay away from non-reasonable scare tactics. USING STAND-ALONE DECK FOR PRESENTATION Do not stand there and annoy your audience by reading your deck line-by-line. Make sure you capture their interest, lead their imagination and passionately share your ideas. This is your show, be the master of the show. If you only have a stand-alone presentation, then make a second version that is less dense in words for your pitches. CONSERVATIVE NUMBERS You look amateur when you say that your numbers are "conservative." Investors want a realistic forecast and would appreciate it if you could show it in your financial model. NDA No investor will sign an NDA. Investors can’t be exposed later by someone they did not invest in, claiming that their idea was similar to the one they chose to invest in. It would be better if you let them know that you are pre-market and that all the information you present should remain confidential. That said, don't assume the investors will not share your numbers with others. I’LL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT  Now, this is alright if it’s about one or two points, but if there are too many details that you don’t know cold, on the spot, it shows you are not close enough to the business. Before your pitch, conduct a role play with a team member or close friend. Ask your “actor” to be a complete jerk – have her poke as many holes in your delivery as possible. Anytime she has any sort of question, concern, inconsistency, etc, have her voice that to you. Record it. Take notes. Go back and fix it. Do all of this with plenty of time before your actual meeting so you can make tweaks. Chances are that if your friend is asking something, so will the investor. NOT SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST As you keep pitching, you are going to get better with time. Use recurring questions and concerns after each pitch to revise your deck accordingly. When you pitch, you will pitch to 20-30 different investment groups. Start presenting to the less known investor groups first, and present to your target investor groups after you've given 20-25 pitches already. Once you get to the big fishes, you’ll be confident to close the deal. Don't be surprised if you need to pitch 50-200 times to close around. LEAVING WITHOUT THE Q&A No matter how organized a pitch is, it may fail to answer certain questions your audience has. Planning for Q&A time allows your pitch to be clear to someone unfamiliar with your line of work. RUSHING THE PITCH Speaking slowly makes you sound more confident and knowledgeable. If you get nervous, try to calm down and have a glass of water. Do not memorize your pitch but speak from the heart. PICKING THE WRONG ANGLE As a developer, you might be excited about a different angle of your startup like a new back end technology, then what the investors might be interested in. Investors want to learn more about items that will help them to formulate a judgment, such as how the business is going to make money and how the company will scale. Pitch to your audience. COMING IN WITH YOUR TEAM TO A PITCH MEETING, BUT ONLY HAVE THE CEO SPEAK Investors want to know that you have a good team. They want to get to know your team. If only the CEO speaks, how will they gauge if the other members are any good? Also, don't have the team members contradict each other. NOT KNOWING WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO AHEAD OF TIME. Know your audience. Different partners in a VC firm focus on different sectors. It is best for you if you know how well informed they are in your market segment. If they are already aware of your area, you do not have to explain obvious facts. If they are not aware of your sector, be sure to introduce the critical details of the space. When a meeting is confirmed, it’s best to ask who will be attending. The answer will help set expectations. TALKING ABOUT FEATURES OVER BENEFITS Make sure you appeal to the emotional side as well. Talk about how your product is helping customers, rather than your product's features. Talk in terms of the value your customers can extract from your product, not the features that create that value. Make it easy to understand why customers love your company. Speaking of derived value is always a good bet. Sell a good night’s sleep rather than just a bed, sell 1,000 songs on your phone rather than 1GB of extra memory. NOT FOCUSSING ON BUSINESS METRICS Investors are concerned with 5 major questions: the market opportunity, your team’s ability to turn the idea into a profitable business, the go-to-market strategy, your current & projected numbers (CAC, LTV, among others), and what you are asking for. Identify what drives each investor. Do they want to be part of a groundbreaking company? Do they want to make money and exit fast? Target what drives them! Focus on the business opportunity rather than spending too much time on explaining your product. If you focus on the opportunity, you’ll have a better shot at keeping the investors’ interest. NOT GETTING A WARM INTRODUCTION If you really want to hit it outside the park, make sure you get a really warm intro. Sometimes investors take a meeting with a lukewarm intro, with 99% certainty of not investing, just to be courteous to the person who introduced you. The colder the introduction, the lower the chances of your success. NOT ASKING THE PORTFOLIO COMPANIES FOR ADVICE If the previous founders the investor has funded tell you even one thing about what the investor loves or hates, your effort was worth it. This is inside information, mostly available to the inner circle only. So go out and rummage through LinkedIn for connections, stalk them on Facebook & twitter and find their email address. Use LinkedIn premium if all else fails. But do not return empty-handed from this quest. DO NOT BE "UNCOACHABLE" Do not scare away investors by coming across as "uncoachable." Your lack of flexibility, unwillingness to share control or not bringing in new executives at the right time might cost you closing the round. DISCUSSING OWNERSHIP STAKES Do not discuss how much ownership you're willing to offer investors in the initial pitch. These details come up after the investors have finished researching your company. Your primary goal right now is to build a relationship with the investors. If an investor asks about ownership terms early on,  simply say you're ‘flexible.’ Do not quote a hard number, that could kill your pitch right there. NOT QUANTIFYING RESULTS When you use words like "a lot of traction," "big market," 'little funding," it annoys investors. Vague terms have no place in an investor pitch. DESPERATE CLOSING If you close with "please talk to me and I can show you how to get your money back," it looks like an insult to investors. Aside from the obvious desperate nature of this plea, investors are not worried about getting their money back. They are interested in getting a 10X or 100X return on their investment. Getting their money back is not something that excites them. NOT FOLLOWING UP IN A TIMELY MANNER Follow up with your primary contact a few days after the conversation to suggest possible next steps that the investor can follow to learn more about the company and the opportunity. It would be better if you communicate some urgency about your fundraising process. If you get a "no," be thankful, the worst is not hearing back. Receiving a "no" is helpful because you won't be in a state of limbo. If you don't hear back from an investor after three days, consider that an implied n. MAKING INVESTORS WAIT FOR THE DOCUMENTS Serious investors will ask for more documents than simply a pitch deck. This can be anything from incorporation certificate to financial projections to tax filings. Have commonly requested documents like these ready, in a file-sharing site like Google Drive or DropBox. There is no reason to make an investor wait for a couple of weeks while you gather these docs; it is a waste of time and momentum, and can easily be interpreted as sloppy preparation. If you make this mistake, all your previous effort go to waste. PHRASES TO AVOID All we need is 1% of the market. We will get huge viral usage. This product will market itself. Google will want to buy us. Our projection numbers are conservative. A lot of traction, big market.

It’s the age-old question that always sparks debate. The “chicken or egg” paradox was first proposed by philosophers in ancient Greece to describe the problem of determining cause and effect. Now a team of physicists from the University of Queensland and the NÉEL Institute has shown that the chicken and the egg can both come first. Still don’t get it? The answer lies in quantum physics. We’ll let the experts explain. Jacqui Romero said that in quantum physics, cause and effect was not always as straightforward as one event causing another. “The weirdness of quantum mechanics means that events can happen without a set order,” Romero said. “Take the example of your daily trip to work, where you travel partly by bus and partly by train. “Normally, you would take the bus then the train, or the other way round. In our experiment, both of these events can happen first. “This is called ‘indefinite causal order’ and it isn’t something that we can observe in our everyday life.” To observe this effect in the lab, the researchers used a setup called a photonic quantum switch. Fabio Costa said that with this device the order of events — transformations on the shape of light — depends on polarization. “By measuring the polarization of the photons at the output of the quantum switch, we were able to show the order of transformations on the shape of light was not set,” he said. “This is just a first proof of principle, but on a larger scale indefinite causal order can have real practical applications, like making computers more efficient or improving communication.” Still, confused? This study is obviously physics-based, unlike others that have claimed to have scientifically proved that the chicken came first using other methods. In 2014, British scientists used a supercomputer to look in such detail at a chicken eggshell that they were able to determine the vital role of a protein used to kickstart the egg’s formation. That protein is only found in — you guessed it — a chicken. But chickens did not really start as chickens anyway. The very first chicken in existence would have been the result of a genetic mutation taking place in a zygote produced by two almost-chickens. With amniotic eggs showing up roughly 340 million or so years ago, and the first chickens evolving at around 58 thousand years ago at the earliest, others believe the safe bet is the egg came first. Sorry if I didn’t really help solve the dinner table argument!

An entrepreneur is a person who instead of working as an employee, think about an idea and found some small business bearing all the risk and rewards of the firm. An entrepreneur can also be an innovator, a person with a good idea, business rules and one who can carry out the ideas to reality. Every entrepreneur plays a vital role in the growth of the economy of any nation. With current hard work, idea, and imagination of an entrepreneur, tomorrow can be shaped. Industries and business that gloom today and mark an irremovable sign on the economy of any nation were just an idea of an entrepreneur. We can never judge that how a seed was sown today can give fruit and shade to a great number of people. Same is with entrepreneurship; a small idea of today can result in a game-changing innovation tomorrow. Entrepreneurs who fearlessly and judiciously take risk of a startup to execute their plans get rewards like fame, profit and good flow of capital. But, not every entrepreneur gets to taste the sweet fruit of success. Sometimes, the plan does not work as expected and one loses everything plan, idea, investment and social reputation in the market. Failed entrepreneurs are no asset to the market. Entrepreneurs who fearlessly and judiciously take risk of a startup to execute their plans get rewards like fame, profit and good flow of capital So, we can say that there are various factors that affect an entrepreneur’s success and performance, let us discuss some of them - Economic Factors Economic factors play a very vital role in the economic growth of an entrepreneur.  No matter what, for every in imagination to become an invention, you need capital flow.  Every machinery or equipment that you need. It requires investment initially. If one does not get any capital from the government or own means, then the idea of an entrepreneur never get a shape. Social Factors It is not easy to not be part of the rat race of society. Entrepreneurs come up with their different idea that is not always readily accepted by society. There are many other factors related to the society that matters like education, awareness, research, and readiness to accept change and be part of the same. Cultural Factors There are many innovations that are not supported by the cultural front of a nation and that are why they can never be successful. There are many entrepreneurs who have to take another turn to match the cultural ethics along with the profit. Overall Motivation  A sinking man gets hope even with a thin stick floating in water because something is always better than nothing. It is not easy to start up anything. Without self-motivation, one cannot get success in the same. Along with self-motivation all direction motivation like from society and loved ones of an entrepreneur is also very important. Motivation is the only thing that keeps everything going on, smoothly. Availability of Resources There are various resources that are must such as availability of technology, financial assistance, family support, and a space to work on the imagination as desired by the entrepreneur. Family Support No matter how hard you travel on your own, at a point you only need your family to hold your back. If the family is not supportive during the struggle of an entrepreneur then it results in shattered ideals. Moreover, family background also matters. An entrepreneur from a business family will readily support an idea of a startup while a middle-class service family will rethink about it many times.

Why do people become self-employed? Some people do it to bring to life their visions and ideas. Others do it for the potentially higher income. Still, others do it because they know they are meant to be an entrepreneur. You have your own reason for starting a business. But whatever that reason may be, entrepreneurship can give you these 10 benefits: 1. The freedom to pursue your own vision. You can have your own view of the world, and entrepreneurship is the only venue where you pursue that view and see the fruition of your vision. Self-employment allows you to do your own thing, and pursue those areas that you feel passionate about. 2. The control and flexibility you have over your own time. As your own boss, you work when you want to work; and stop if you want to stop. You can tailor your work according to your lifestyle and accommodate various tasks. You can work in however way you please — in your pyjamas, with the TV loudly blaring — without getting a memo from the personnel department. Self-employment means freedom from rules. 3. The opportunity to learn and gain knowledge. The entrepreneur often wears many hats — the strategic planner, the marketer, the customer service rep, and the sales rep, even the bookkeeper. There are a million things you probably didn’t know before you started the business that you are now forced to learn — and gaining all these knowledge enriches you as a person. 4. The highs and lows of self-employment. Entrepreneurs face tremendous challenges and experience incredible joys when these challenges are overcome. If you crave excitement, become an entrepreneur. One moment, the local newspaper is featuring you; and the next, you are losing your biggest customer. There’s never a dull moment in self-employment. 5. The sense of pride and fulfilment in accomplishing things. As an entrepreneur, you make things happen. You create a vision, lay out the plans to bring the plan to fruition and pursue the steps needed to make the business a success. Doing all these things can give you an incredible feeling of pride and joy – seeing your website used by people, finding your products in the department store, getting compliments from customers on how your business has helped them, and being written about by the media. In many respects, your business is your baby, and nurturing it and seeing it grow can give any parents a sense of fulfilment. 6. The confidence you gain in knowing that you can do it. Entrepreneurship is tough. There will be moments where you will question yourself, or your decisions into going into the business. Sometimes, you’d even think that you couldn’t do it when the obstacles seem insurmountable. But once you succeed and overcome the challenges, you gain renewed confidence and respect for yourself that you can do it. 7. Potential earnings exceed a salaried employee. As an employee, no matter how hard you work, the financial remuneration you receive is limited to your salary and an occasional bonus. As a self-employed person, you can earn so much more if you hit the right business idea and execute the business well. The potential financial windfall is so much higher as an entrepreneur rather than a corporate person. 8. Business owner reaps the full rewards. You are the business; anything the business gains is yours. If you are an employee in the corporate world, your bosses may even claim your success as theirs! If you are working for others, you are only a cog in the whole machine. 9. Each new day is a challenge. You never get bored as an entrepreneur: every day brings a new challenge, new tasks and new discoveries. You set your pace and you can go fast if you choose or slow down if you feel like it. 10. The chance to share your learning. At the end of the day, you can have the chance to teach and share with others the things you’ve learned as an entrepreneur. Sharing what you learned can be your way of giving back to the community – it can take the form of mentoring other would-be entrepreneurs, writing a book so others may see how you did it, or even talking about your experiences. There is so much pleasure in giving, and entrepreneurship gives you a life full of rich experiences.

In the late 1800s, schools were designed and intended to teach obedience. During the rise of our industrial age, big corporations needed workers for their factories. The purpose of the academic system was to create obedient and compliant workers who never asked questions. There were already plenty of scholars at the time. Thus, the creation of the standardized test. Our academic system itself became a factory to standardize all of the rising students to ensure they fit the desired mould. If the student failed the tests, they would be held back another year to try again. Despite the fact that our world has dramatically changed since the late 1800s, our school systems are structured in the same way. Despite the fact that many of us can connect to the internet, there are 10,000 teachers giving the same lecture on any given day across the country. The internet has changed the world. If you want to learn something, you don’t need to get an encyclopedia anymore. You can go to Wikipedia, or Youtube, or a million other places online. There are tons of programs that teach people how to learn things effectively at optimal speeds. The world is moving to an entrepreneurial and innovation-driven economy. It is projected that by 2020, over one billion people will be working from their homes. In the future of work, fewer people will work for one company as generalists and instead will work for multiple companies as specialists. The world doesn’t need obedient and compliant factory workers anymore. The world needs artists, creatives, hackers, and innovators. We’re done with apathetically living out our lives in school and at our 9-to-5 jobs. We’re sick of it. We’re done with it. And the best part — the new economy wants it as well. So with this backdrop, we can now examine why C students are generally better off than their A and B counterparts. 1. They question the validity of the academic system C students are not sold on the academic system. They’re not sold on the factory approach. They see a great deal of good that comes from it, but they don’t worship the system. They see its many flaws. Furthermore, they know that learning can occur in different ways than the system presents and that learning can happen entirely outside of the system. Thus, academia is only one approach to learning for C students. These students aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. Even if it’s uncomfortable to stand out, it’s less uncomfortable than moving forward in clearly the wrong direction. 2. They are not submissive followers C students think for themselves. They don’t walk between the lines without first questioning why those lines exist. Rather than having someone else tell them how to live their lives, C students come up with their own agendas. They zig when everyone else zags. 3. They are not trying to please and impress their superiors C students don’t spend enormous amounts of energy trying to impress their superiors. They respect and love their teachers, but they don’t worship them and obey their every request. They don’t see their teachers the guardians of their success. They don’t depend on references or resumés anymore. They realize that in today’s world, their work speaks for itself — it’s online for everyone to see. 4. They have bigger things to worry about Ironically, if you’re obsessed with your grades, you’re not thinking enough about your future. People who get C’s are more strategic about how they spend their time. While their classmates are putting tons of energy into an arbitrary indicator, C students are actually pursuing their dreams. They aren’t waiting until after school to start living. 5. They have their own definition of success A and B students seek security externally in the form of “good grades.” However, C students know that security can only really be experienced internally. They know who they are. No external standard of success will ever compare to their own self-awareness and acceptance — they’ve defined success for themselves. They don’t care what the masses are competing for, C students chart their own paths. 6. They know how to leverage other people’s abilities While A and B students try to do it all themselves, C students build an army around them of talented people who compensate for their weaknesses. Like Henry Ford, they aren’t afraid to admit they don’t know it all. On one occasion, Ford was being harassed for not being intelligent. In response to an offensive line of questioning, he pointed his finger at the questioning lawyer and replied: “Let me remind you that I have a row of electric push-buttons on my desk, and by pushing the right button, I can summon to my aid men who can answer any question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me, why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions, when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?” 7. They prefer self-directed learning C students love learning. They just prefer to dictate the direction of their own learning — they don’t want someone else to tell them how to think. They prefer to explore and discover for themselves, to study what they are naturally drawn to. They don’t try to force things, but instead lean into their passions. 8. They’re not perfectionists “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.”  — Reid Hoffman. Done is better than perfect. C students understand and live by this. They focus on results and getting stuff done. They know that perfectionism leads to procrastination. They prefer to jump right in and learn through their mistakes, through what the market tells them. This is why so many successful entrepreneurs struggled in school. They understand that failure is a beautiful teacher, even though many of them got kicked out of school for failing. 9. They don’t waste energy thoughtlessly In The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss teaches what he calls, “minimum effective dose” (MED) — the smallest dose that will produce the desired outcome. Anything beyond that is wasteful. To boil water, the MED is 212°F (100°C) at standard air pressure. Boiled is boiled — higher temperatures will not make it more boiled. If you need 15 minutes in the sun to trigger a melanin response, 15 minutes is your MED for tanning. More than 15 minutes is redundant and will just result in burning and a forced break from the beach. C students understand this. Their goal is learning. Anything beyond that is wasteful. The energy cost to go from an A- to an A is generally far greater than the actually learning outcome. Thus, it is often wasted energy. C students don’t put more energy into things than they need to. They are efficient, effective, and focused. 10. They are dreamers While the A and B students are listening carefully to understand what will be on the test, the C students are looking out the window at the clouds and beautiful landscapes. They’ve already gathered the MED of the lecture. Consequently, they’ve freed up several hours each day to dream of a better world. They are thinking about the big things they will do in life. They are working out important problems in their minds. Do you think they’re jotting notes from the lecture? Wrong. They are detailing their ideas and plans. When they go home, they’ll do the MED of homework and spend the majority of their time with friends or working towards their dreams.

Warren Buffett is the most successful investor in the world. Not only has he posted record high returns, but Buffet has also managed this over a time period of over 60 years. It’s a testament to Buffett’s ability to think long term. But Buffett doesn’t just spend his time thinking about securities either. He spends a great deal of time thinking about how we can live better. We see this in an anecdote from one of Buffett’s employees. The story goes that Buffett one day approaches his pilot, Mike Flint, after realising that Flint had worked for him for the past 10 years. He wants to discuss Flint’s career goals and how he can help him achieve them. “The fact that you’re still working for me”, Buffett jokes, “tells me I’m not doing my job.” To map out his goals, Flint was asked by his employer to conduct a simple exercise. It would change the way he viewed his priorities forever. The 5/25 Rule The first step in this exercise was to list down 25 things that Flint wanted to accomplish in the foreseeable future. Nothing was off the table. Secondly, Flint was to rank these items in order of importance and circle the top five. Prioritising his goals was more undoubtedly challenging than listing them, but Flint managed it. Just when it appears as though the most challenging part of the exercise was over, Buffett asks Flint a seemingly simple question: “what are you going to do with the remaining 20 items?” “Well the top five are my primary focus but the other twenty come in at a close second”, Flint explained. He goes on, “They are still important so I’ll work on those intermittently as I see fit as I’m getting through my top five. They are not as urgent but I still plan to give them dedicated effort.” At this point, Buffett’s expression changes a little. He responds sternly: “No. You’ve got it wrong. Everything you didn’t circle just became your Avoid-At-All-Cost list. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top 5.” Avoid at all cost? Flint certainly wasn’t expecting that. The Importance of Selective Focus There’s more competition for our attention than ever. Choices have never been more abundant than any other in history and it’s unlikely we’ll be constrained anytime soon. In fact, our options are likely only going to expand as we advance further into our careers. It’s the primary reason why most of us will never reach the level of competency needed to reap the rewards of being a superstar. Each time we pursue a new course of action, we incur an opportunity cost. It takes our time and attention away from the things that are most important to us. Your odds of success improve when you direct your focus into a singular pursuit . You have to double down on a few things and rack up the hours trying to get really good at that. It’s what Cal Newport calls the craftsman mindset in So Good They Can’t Ignore You. Craftsmen often start off as apprentices to a master and spend years learning the basics. They then become journeymen, where they add their own style and tastes to create work with little nuances. That’s when they finally attain mastery. They don’t get distracted by the latest fad or jump from one interest to another. Spending time on a singular focus helps them get the important things done. Buffett spoke about the 5/25 rule in relation to career goals, but I think it extends far beyond that. We can attain the same results if we apply it to our health, relationships, and personal goals. Will You Really Get Around To It? The corollary seems to be that we’re forced to lead boring lives without options, but that’s not true. The 5/25 rule’s only requirement is that you finish the top five items before moving on to item #6 and beyond. Think about all the things you have wanted to do. You might want to master another language. Play a musical instrument. Start your own business. Practise a new martial art. Travel around the world. But for most of us, we never really make any progress. It’s a sign that these items on the list aren’t really important to us. Most of us pick these items because they provide some form of benefit. And while they are nice, they don’t sufficiently motivate us to follow through. For example, it’s cool to be able to speak 10 different languages, but spending your weekends learning the rules of grammar is not very exciting. Because it’s not too high on the list of our priorities – work and family are more important than being a polyglot – we do this only in our spare time. That effectively means a single goal can take years, if not months, to ever accomplish. The result is that we have a list of items that will almost never get completed. This list only weighs on our mind, and fills us with stress, guilt and overwhelm. It’s a result of the “any benefit” mindset. Pareto’s principle — better known as the 80/20 rule — tells us that the majority of outcomes are driven by a small number of things that we do. Chances are that anything that falls outside your top five will have little impact on your life. Rather than add on, take the time to eliminate. The 5/25 rule is yet another example of how simplicity makes life better and easier. Do More Of What Matters Time and attention are two of the most finite resources in the world. There will be more good opportunities than we really have time for. We shouldn’t be quick to pounce on every one of them, because not all will be right for us. It doesn’t matter how good an opportunity is if all it does is advance goal #25 for us. If we force ourselves to eliminate our options, we quickly find that only a few things truly matter to us. We would be best served if we ignore distractions and do more of what really matters.

Predicting the future requires hubris, and it should therefore be met with more than a terabyte of skepticism. In past years, I’ve made some calls that have proved prescient like predicting way back in 2011 that social media would determine the U.S. presidential election . Meanwhile, some took decades longer than I had foreseen such as my 1992 prediction that this new thing called the Internet would lead Hollywood studios to merge with telecommunications companies . “Over the years, I’ve learned that the best way to predict the future is to hang out with the people creating it.” Here are my top four tech trends for 2018: 1. IoT becomes BIoT The biggest mistake most prognosticators make is underestimating the potential for fast growth in our hyper-connected world. Automobiles took time to catch on because would-be drivers had to wait for roads and gas stations to be built. But today’s disruptive innovations rely on existing infrastructure for mobile devices that puts most companies just a few clicks from billions of consumers. One of those is the Internet of things (IoT), which involves adding smart sensors to connected devices so that users can do things like ask Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant to turn off the lights or order a pizza. But blockchain, one of the underlying technologies for the hot cryptocurrency bitcoin, can make IoT devices even more useful. It creates a digital record across hundreds or thousands of computers, vastly reducing the risk of hacking. Combining IoT with blockchain —or BIoT—ushers in a whole host of new services and businesses. For example, BIoT can be used to track shipments of pharmaceuticals and to create smart cities in which connected heating systems better controls energy use and connected traffic lights better manage rush hour. In 2018, companies will begin to use Application Programming Interfaces, or software used to connect different databases and computer services. Combined with the blockchain Internet of things, it will be as easy to get data from sensors in a warehouse as accessing websites on our mobile phones. When manufacturers, retailers, regulators, and transportation companies have real-time data from sensors imbedded on products, trucks and ships, everyone in the distribution chain can benefit from insights that they were previously unable to get. With BIoT, companies and consumers can also be assured that their most valuable data on the blockchain cannot be hacked. 2. The fintech renaissance While bitcoin and blockchain were grabbing the headlines in 2017, social and mobile payments have fundamentally changed the financial markets. In China, mobile payment volumes now exceed $5 trillion annually. All aspects of the payments chain are open to disruption as blockchain speeds clearing house functions while smart contracts handle settlements. In 2018, look for biometrics such as facial recognition, voice ID, and fingerprints to help make shopping far quicker —by eliminating the need to swipe a credit card at checkout, for instance. Instead, you will be able to verify your identity for a merchant scanning your eyes with your smartphone, in what’s known as a retinal payment. A bold clairvoyant could even predict that some major retailers will hop on the cryptocurrency bandwagon and issue their own secure currency next year. Fintech will likely also become greener in 2018. With cryptocurrencies reaching over $300 billion in total value , there is now a financial incentive for investments into quantum computing, which involves using the behaviour of energy at a subatomic level to process computing functions at a billion times faster than today’s microprocessors. By some estimates, mining today’s cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, requires more electricity annually than the amount of energy used in 159 countries . With cryptocurrency’s carbon footprint rapidly growing, quantum computing has the potential to greatly reduce the estimated 28TWhs of electricity consumed by all of the current computers processing bitcoin. Analysts now anticipate that banks will derive over $1 billion annually from blockchain-based cryptocurrencies within the next two years as traditional financial institutions start treating cryptocurrencies and other digital assets similar to traditional fiat currencies with more efficient payment systems, loan processing, and credit instruments. Going green by using less energy to create bitcoins, will translate into earning more green. 3. Augmented reality goes mainstream Before smartphones existed 10 years ago, most people would consider spending five hours daily staring at your phone as crazy. In 2018, the bent-neck trend will start to reverse itself. The mobile game Pokémon Go has unleashed a billion-dollar demand for augmented reality entertainment, and major brands are taking notice. Thanks to the introduction of affordable augmented reality glasses, our phones will remain in our pockets and Heads Up Displays (HUD) will improve how we work, shop, and play. HUDs, best known today as the instrument gauges that fighter pilots monitor on their visors or windshields, will become a standard in consumer eyeglasses. Imagine walking down the street in a foreign country, for example, and having all of the store signs instantly translated into English thanks to your trendy sunglasses. AR will customize in-store experiences with mannequins that match your body type and display enough virtual inventory to rival any online site. Merchants will create AR experiences with their packaging so that demonstration videos can appear when you look at the product on the shelf or celebrity spokespeople can magically stand in the aisle to pitch the product. Virtual pop-up stores can be built to appear anywhere that crowds are gathered (in a stadium, a busy street corner, or even inside a subway). These non-brick and mortar retail locations will bring new opportunities for merchants to create engaging shopping experiences anywhere with accessible bandwidth. Li-Fi, a new light-based wireless connection with data speeds 100 times that of Wi-Fi, will bring high-definition virtual objects into stores. With Li-Fi and AR, consumers can see limitless virtual inventory in-store, at scale. With just a wave of your hand, a car salesperson can change the model, colour, and customized features of the car “sitting” on the dealership’s showroom floor. Combining real and virtual objects can enhance experiences for all out-of-home activities. Sports stadiums will be brought into the 21st century with personalized HUDs of players on the field. Imagine watching a live football game in the stadium and seeing personalized stats floating above the fantasy sports players you follow. When watching sports from home, AR has the potential to bring the excitement of life-size boxing matches into your living room. The real promise of AR is to bring people the information they need without having to ask for it. For many, 2018 will be the start of living an augmented life. 4. 2018 is the year of the bots We all have got used to speaking with bots whenever we call to make airline reservations or to confirm our bank account balances. The use of natural language bots will expand from use as automated customer service agents to become routine for daily living. Home bots will do more than just respond to requests, to being able to provide timely information such as, “It’s time to take your medicine.” You may even feel like Don Quixote as mobile bots become dedicated Sancho Panza servants—always at the ready and by your side. Imagine a bot whispering in your ear “don’t make that purchase or you will be over your credit limit” or “your parking meter expires in two minutes.” Bots will help with the children, act as financial investment advisors, and be an omnipresent value-add from the brands you trust. With phones staying in our pockets, businesses will likely spend more on creating chatbots in 2018 than on apps in an effort to better serve their customers. There’s always room for the future to unfold unpredictably As timely as I believe these four predictions to be, the pace of disruption can be slowed by a host of issues, including cybersecurity, government regulation, and, most importantly, consumers’ ability to adapt and accept change. In this era of endless innovation, the only prediction you can be 100% assured of is that future will look very different from today.

Technology witnessed rapid growth in 2017. From cloud-based computing to machine learning, throughout the year technologies with significant potential evolved, paving the path to the upcoming year. Power players in the field including Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple showed the tremendous potential to bring consumer behaviour based technologies to the households. Using Big Data, these companies have evolved to enhance user experience. Some of the significant trends of 2017 including artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, augmented reality are moving from the niche space to more prominent usage in the industry. As these trends become the stepping stones for 2018, the technological evolution has led to 5 major trends for 2018, as predicted by Gartner. “ With the increased adoption of bots, the growth of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) helps companies with process efficiencies and cost reduction. Incedo’s expertise in RPA in-cludes the proper implementation of RPAs to replace processes that are predictable, have low hu-man discretion, and expensive. ” 1. Intelligent apps and analytics Having created an impact in 2017, it suffices to say that the penetration of AI in applications and services has become inevitable. Forming a layer of systems and people, AI has been instrumental in creating intelligent apps to serve humans better. From virtual assistants to task performers, smart apps have the potential to transform the consumption of services. 2. Artificial intelligence The growing interest in AI has led to significant investments in the field by businesses. A study by Gartner reveals that 59% of organizations are continuously gathering information to build AI strategies. As the insights into AI learning deepen, the usage is rapidly moving from understanding user voice to performing human tasks that will soon increase machine-human interaction. 3. Digital twins Integrating AI, machine learning and analytics with data, digital twins refers to the replica of physical assets in the digital world. Continuously updated from multiple sources, digital twins use sensor data to update. With the rise of IoT, digital twins have now evolved from being a concept into reality. Gartner predicts that half of the industrial companies will use digital twins by 2021 thus resulting in 10% improvement in the effectiveness of the organization. 4. Conversational platforms The conversation between machines and humans has evolved beyond the realms of performing basic tasks of calling a person from the contact list. The evolution of conversational platforms has increased the burden on the system to interpret even more complicated interactions such as making a movie reservation. With the increased adoption of bots, the growth of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) helps companies with process efficiencies and cost reduction. 5. Blockchain The growth of Blockchain holds the promise to revolutionize industries by enabling smooth interactions among commercial parties outside the system. With an improved architecture, blockchain can help existing infrastructures remove business friction by transforming into independent individual applications or participants.

LinkedIn is hands down the most effective business networking tool on the web. It can find you your first job, help power your career transition, or monetize your hard-earned network beyond your imagination. A survey from  Jobvite  found that 94 percent of job recruiters tap into LinkedIn to find qualified candidates. For me other options don’t even exist. Here’s why: It is hard to lie on LinkedIn given all your friends, colleagues and ex-bosses are watching The recommendations are from real people and I can see their profiles to know how much weight to give to a recommendation. The number of people in your network tells me about your networking ability and the quality of your connections tell me a bit about who you hang out with. Common connections always grab more attention to your profile. What you volunteer for and what honours you received tell me what you are passionate about. This facet of your personality is super important for any serious recruiter. Given there are 400 million users on LinkedIn competing for attention, it is crucial to have an edge on your profile content and understand a bit about how LinkedIn search works. Here are 5 quick tips that will guarantee increased visibility from the targeted people that you want your profile to be viewed by: 1) Linkedin Search Optimization Carefully choose a couple of key phrases that describe your core competency. Think from your job recruiter’s perspective. Is s/he likely to search these key words/phrases on LinkedIn? An example could be “Technical Product Manager”. To get your profile indexed, make sure your summary has more than 40 words and that it contains your key phrases a couple of times. Also, use the key phrase in your headline, job title and skills. This is the way to get indexed by Linkedin search engine for those key phrases/words. 2) Profile Picture Invest a little time on getting a friend to do a “photoshoot” for you. A good enough smart phone will suffice. Understand this –  your picture needs to grab attention as a tiny thumbnail in the search result for “Technical Product Manager”. So a few considerations are important: Get a close up. If I can see your eyes , you have my attention. Practice your smile, find the best smile and then smile for the shoot. Find your best angle for the shot. The background should not distract from your face. So either have a flat/solid background or blur the background.  Use  Picasa  to crop, add light/shadow, enhance color or change to b/w. Proper hairdo and a tad bit of makeup can do wonders for the shoot. Dress up . LinkedIn is a network for professionals. 3) Share, Like, Comment and Congratulate This is how you show up on the news feed. The more you show up the more memorable you become to your network. Its basic marketing. Your brain needs 8 impressions to remember a brand (commercials, product placements, radio ads, etc.). Same applies to your personal brand. The more your network sees you the more familiar a face you become. Good kind of familiarity breeds a level of trust, but the bad kind can breed contempt. Be very selective what content you share . It should be something useful to your network so that that it makes you look good. Always share positive content. Avoid anything negative. You can be generous with your likes , but be careful not to like controversial or negative things. Choose your words carefully when commenting . Everyone is watching. So keep it positive, short and add a bit of your personality to your words. Congratulating on people’s Linkedin updates is very important. It gives you an excuse to not lose touch with your network. But please make sure to customize your message giving it a flavor of your relationship with the person. 4) View other people’s profiles LinkedIn power users are always monitoring how popular their profile is, which directly correlates to who is viewing their profile. It is an ego boost. So what happens when you fuel their ego by viewing their profile? You get special spot on the temporary memory space. 5) Give Recommendations Before asking for recommendation, why not recommend first? This way you earn gratitude points and chances of reciprocation are higher. It is also great for your personal brand in the eyes of your network. For example when I wrote a recommendation for my lawyer, I received a message from a contact saying, “…I just saw you recommended a lawyer. You must be doing really well”. You see? Spending a few hours on face-lifting your LinkedIn profile can be extremely rewarding, whether you are looking for your next job or investment for your startup. Just be visible, Be in touch Share positive content Be yourself, but be your best self You will attract the attention you are seeking from the right people who can transform your career. All the best!