Startup Tips Day 16: Avichal Garg from PrepMe

Day #16 in the CenterNetworks Startup Tips Month come from Avichal Garg from PrepMe.com.

Avichal's Tips:

Tip #1 - Start by building something you'd want to use

If you build a product to solve a problem or need you have, chances are millions of other people want to use your product.

Tip #2 - Know your competition

Know who is out there is working on similar products or ideas, know their strengths and weaknesses, and be able able to explain what you're doing differently (and better!). Google is a great way to do this research.

Tip #3 - Be ready to sacrifice

Building a product and company is a lot of hard work. The hardest part is not coming up with an idea or building the product, it's staying committed enough to do it when you're tired, or when the first major investor says no, or when you have to sacrifice a night out. If you can't give up some of the things that you really care about right now, you will have a hard time sticking with your idea.

Tip #4 - Be flexible

Your initial idea will change so be ready to adapt and let the idea evolve.

Tip #5 - Build a strong team of generalists who can specialize

Find team members who complement each other but who can jump in to do anything. For example, if you are building a team of engineers find great engineers, some of whom think about the front-end, some about the back-end, some about speed, but all of whom can jump in wherever and whenever needed to build a part of the product.

Tip #6 - Write everything down

Whether it's equity arrangements, potential intellectual property and patentable ideas/technologies, or the specifics of your marketing budget, having things written down will force you to clarify your ideas and make sure everyone concerned is on the same page.

Avichal Garg is CTO and Co-Founder of PrepMe.com, an online educational services provider focusing on the test prep industry. Avichal was previously a Product Manager at Google, first in Search Quality where he received an Executive Management Group award for outstanding performance, and then in Ads Quality. He has previous engineering experience at Amazon and Procter and Gamble. Avichal has a B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University and an M.S. in Management Science from Stanford University.