‘Figure It Out’: A comprehensive guide to entrepreneurial success from entry to exit

Is there any book that provides strategies for right from budding entrepreneurs to those, who want to make a profitable exit? Here goes a latest book titled ‘Figure It Out,’ which expounds 50 topics pertaining to all the major aspects influencing the startup world. The five authors penned a gamut of strategies loaded with their rich experience suggesting entrepreneurs on how to get in, grow, sustain and out of business.

Sree Rama Kishore C, Prashanth Vignesh A, Arun Kumar M, Vijay Kumar I and Bhrath Kumar B came together to author a new Gita of business strategies for the new enterprising era. The 207-page book is published by Hyderabad-based IdeaGang LLP. Each topic is spanned over four pages. Now, let’s delve into topics…

When To Exit

Exiting business at the right time is equally as important as getting into entrepreneur mode. It’s forecast that ¾ of the S & P-500 list will be replenished by 2027. Further, since 2000, about 52 per cent of Fortune-500 companies were either bankrupt, shut shop or acquired by other companies.

This validates how important to exit at right time for any investor or promoter. So, fortune always favours exitpreneur if executed proper strategy.

The book clearly gives a checklist for the clean exit. Based on expectations against possibilities, one has to make a decision without bothering about valuations and prospects.

Watermelon Theory

The authors caution that what appears from the outside may not be the same inside. This is where watermelon theory comes into the picture. When we take a look at a watermelon, the green rind gives an impression that all is well as it shows green pastures of business i.e. balance sheets, KPIs, KRAs, etc.

White exocarp blocks the vision as compliance Black seeds are like growth rate, market position and share value. Black seeds are something that once gave results, but need to be eliminated now. Finally, red mesocarp red meat is readily available opportunity to be grabbed in such a way that adopting new business models, new products, new markets, new strategies, revamping brands, etc.

Content Is King

In the ongoing digital age, content occupies an important role in building awareness among consumers, enhancing sales, image and what’s not? Hence, content is no longer king, but a kingdom.

So, it’s not the information we deliver, but the experience of knowing it that counts, advise the authors in the book.

Too long didn’t red. Too little didn’t register. Then, what’s right? Size and structure are not the decisive parameters any longer. The composition of the content is vital.

Acquiring Audience Attention

Content needs to be interactive in the wake of shortened audience attention. It’s not information we deliver, but the experience of knowing it that counts. After researching the required topic, reflect that analysis in content. Since audience have their own expectations and demands with the content they consume. So, ensure relevant matter as content needs to speak to the reader at an individual level.

VC Vs Customer

These days startups promoters chase venture capitalists (VCs) for funding. That’s right. Getting funds to float a startup is as important as commercialization of a business idea or product/ service. But the authors here suggest against designing startups around VCs. The ‘Figure It Out’ book advises entrepreneurs not to underestimate bootstrapping. ‘Investment can take the company a little further. But customers can take it a long way.’

Investment is not a mandate for a successful startup and not all startups will get funding. There Are some Unicorns that tapped funding sources after tasting success. So many times, being unfunded can be a blessing in disguise.

Zebra Stripes

Foraying into new market space like hunting Zebras as customer segments are often unclear. How lion-sized companies need to chase customers in the new market, much like a Zebra.

The basic principles are: Zoom in, Evaluate, Be clear, Reach out and Adoptive. Build customer persona using analytics, social media and market study It helps choose the right message and medium to make an appeal. Companies should know their weaknesses and then strengths. Success can turn into sudden failure particularly in new markets. Zebras are white animals with black stripes or other way round? As lions hunt Zebras when they drink water. So reach out to customers through proper channels, suggests the book.

The book talks about emerging trends in business models and functioning styles at corporate boards. Let’s take a look at the latest transformation in the retail sector. A new hybrid mode of shopping is hitting the market for those who miss physical experience. New concept buys online pickup in-store (BOPIS), customers can get their goods offline. For instance, online2offline (O2O) is being offered by companies like Apollo, Ikea, AllBird Footware, etc.

Competition To Cooperation

Instead of competing in the same market, the strategy dwells into developing cooperation i.e. Coopetition. Generally, it has two faces. Coopetition generally takes place among companies competing in a similar market, but with unique advantages or distinctive offerings It allows identifying the influential variables among players to decide whether to compete or cooperate. Freedom to choose the degree of co-operation.

Coopetition is simultaneously strategic in being heterogeneous and homogeneous. This strategy enables startups or companies to explore an alternative that alter the game of business.

5G Revolution

New telecom revolution took consumers from buffering to data buoyancy as it unleashes convergence across the spectrum of life as it delivers data under a millisecond latency as against 4G’s 70 milliseconds. 5G builds on existing equipment. So, it doesn’t need heavy infrastructure investment. 5G may contribute $500 billion and churn 3million jobs. In near future, we see 5G speed in devices to the cloud and seamless super-fast in cloud functionality. The best examples include companies that are exploring 5G. For instance, German startup Volocopter developed the world’s first manned fully electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Tech Mahindra built an end-to-end cloud-native platform, a tier-1 carrier. It enables hyper-personalisation and hyper-automation.

Strategy Matters A Lot

Some startups or small companies tend to ignore any business strategy citing reasons of being too small or attitude. Major reasons are: we’re already successful so we don’t need a strategy. No strategy is our strategy. Technology is our strategy. We’re ok, we don’t need a strategy. The authors suggest such companies/ startups to have suitable business strategy to win over risks, which pose challenges to any company big or small or successful or incurring loss.

Companies with No Head

We know driver less cars. Can we imagine companies functioning without drivers i.e. CEO. Generally, strategy and direction set by the board of directors, while the CEO would execute the task within a timeline. It’s expected that in-house directors would take active part of the CEO role, while other tasks will be done by top executives. It’s something like a function shared by top executives in case the CEO goes on leave. For instance, Swedish software consultancy Crisp kept on changing CEOs every year and has decided to run the operations without a CEO. The book advises startups on how different types of functions can be explored.

Job of Coding

Software engineers generate 93 billion lines of code every year on average. It’s estimated that 2.8 trillion lines of code were written in the last 20 years. Looking ahead, the coding task will be done by AI mostly and with less human involvement. New language, yet to hit the market, Julia will be ideal for data scientists. Further, a new technology ‘Transcompiler’ developed by meta will convert code from one programming to another. So, coding as a profession now being shifted from qualification to quality pivoting as coders will emerge as solution architects. The low code or no code phenomenon will transform the way startups or companies work in the future. In a nutshell, the theme of the book is that ‘don’t settle for the status quo’.