How to Engage With Advisors to Grow Your Start-Up

 Covid-19 has changed the game for entrepreneurs. We saw some businesses folding up while some sectors witnessed an unprecedented growth. What does this new environment mean for businesses? How can they navigate through its challenges and opportunities? And what crucial role are advisors playing in decoding the “next normal”?

 We spoke to Monce C Abraham, Director, THEV Consulting and Renu Shah, Founder, Shakti – The Empathy Project (STEP) as they shared their insights from years of advising growth strategies for entrepreneurs and being a crucial part of start-up advisory boards. Here are the key takeaways:

 Focus more on the opportunities than the challenges of the pandemic

While some industries have seen a definitive decline since the outbreak of Covid-19, many have boomed, such as online medicine and retail. It’s a good time to take a pause and re-invent your business model by exploring the ways in which the pandemic has changed the landscape.

 Advisors can help you retain the bird’s-eye view

The uncertainty of the pandemic has made many entrepreneurs question the sustainability of their business models. An experienced advisor can help ask the right questions as one navigates through these times while also going beyond functional issues to throw light on areas that a business might not be looking at, such as a market statistic, changing policies, new technologies etc.

 Reach out to multiple people

Partnering with varied qualified individuals and organizations brings in different value additions to a business. It is advisable to vet several choices as you set up your start-up advisory board. Make sure that the vetting process is thorough to avoid any conflict of interest in terms of other businesses that the individual or organization may already be advising.

 Look out for networks – incubators, accelerators, advisory consultants

We live in a hyper-connected world and India has a very strong start-up network. Find consultants who are working in the space and are connected with varied individuals who bring in different skills and expertise. A consultant who works with start-up advisors can speak with you to find the right fit for your present needs.

 There are multiple ways to engage with advisors

Retainership, commission, success fees, sweat equity, or a combination of these – choose the right model for your advisory needs. These can be further adapted to your business. Advisory consultants can help you identify what kind of engagement would work best for your team and business.

 Start Early

It often helps to find an advisor right at the earliest stages so you can mitigate the risks. Advisors can help you avoid mistakes that they may have already made. And help you create a stronger foundation.

 About the speakers:

Monce C Abraham is the director of THEV Consulting, works with companies who have achieved product market fit across company stages, including early stage firms with less than $ 1 Mn Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) as also established businesses with ARRs of more than $ 200 Mn. THEV has created value for entrepreneurs and business leaders, with backgrounds which include Harvard, UPenn, Columbia, Cambridge, World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders (WEF YGLs), Fortune 500 CEOs, IIMs, IITs, RECs, non-profit founders and top level management.

 Renu Shah is the founder of Shakti - The Empathy Project (STEP) - a unique incubation program that provides strategic support to exceptional women entrepreneurs in their early stages. The program aims at creating an enabling ecosystem for women entrepreneurs creating social impact. In her long and dedicated career in the development sector, Renu has worked extensively towards the education of underprivileged children. She founded Koseli, Project Pehal and also led Ashoka's Changemaker Schools Program for South Asia.

The Outstanding Speakers’ Bureau has a strong network of advisors who offer valuable insights to start-ups, in area such as capital raising & funding, talent management, business management, creating partnerships, technical know-how, digital transformation, go-to-market, public policy, operations & scaling up etc. Talk to our team to find the right advisor for your business.

 And follow TOSB Conversations for more such insights. TOSB Conversations is a series of curated dialogues with leading global experts on the ideas that are shaping our world. 

10 Business Speakers to Navigate the “Next Normal”

Covid-19 has restructured our economies, changed consumer behaviour and market dynamics, creating new imperatives for entrepreneurs. What will it take to navigate this crisis? How do businesses need to change for the “next normal”? What should leaders do differently in heralding this new era?

While business speakers have always been sought-after for their incisive perspectives on strategy, leadership, scaling-up, diversifying and various facets of running a business, their importance has become even more evident in a rapidly changing business environment. Here are 10 of our most popular business speakers for 2021. 

Ravi Venkatesan: Technology And Business Visionary; Former Chairman, Microsoft India; Social Entrepreneur
One of India’s most respected CEOs and Chairman of the Bank of Baroda, Ravi Venkatesan is also an impact investor, social entrepreneur, mentor and author. He is a passionate advocate of India’s potential and persuasively talks about business, disruptive innovation, transformational leadership, globalisation, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. As an industry leader, Ravi has always been a strong proponent of the philosophy of ‘doing well by doing good.’ With his successful initiatives like Project Shiksha at Microsoft India and the all-women engineering college at Cummins India, Ravi has walked the talk on creating shared value.

Gurcharan Das: Author, Consultant, Former VP And MD, P&G Worldwide
An inspiring leader and one of the most-read management authors, Gurcharan Das shares his experience and wisdom about managing people and an organisation. Not only do his talks give an insight into organisational setups, they also help develop a perspective on leadership. In 1995, after a career spanning 30 years, he took early retirement and has since authored two international bestsellers. ‘India Unbound’, is a narrative of India from Independence to the global information age and has been published in 17 languages in addition to being filmed by the BBC. ‘

Prakash Iyer: Former MD, Kimberly-Clark Lever; Author, Speaker and Coach
Prakash Iyer is a best-selling author, motivational speaker and leadership coach. After spending nearly three decades working with teams selling everything from soaps and colas, to yellow pages and diapers, Prakash chose to step out of the corporate world in 2014 to pursue his passion for writing, speaking, and helping other people unleash the leader within. He speaks and writes extensively on motivation, leadership, story-telling, teamwork and winning. And is the author of two best-selling books: The Habit of Winning and The Secret of Leadership.

Naina Lal Kidwai: Chairman, Advent Private Equity India Advisory Board | Past President, FICCI
Naina Lal Kidwai is a well-known leader who has successfully broken the glass ceiling, with many firsts to her credit – from being the first Indian woman MBA from Harvard Business School to the first woman to head a private sector / foreign bank in India and the first woman to be elected as President of India’s leading national industry association, FICCI, in 86 years. She brings her experience and wisdom in the corporate world to her sessions and speaks about organizational culture, values, discovering one’s true potential and leadership.  

Radhika Gupta: Managing Director And CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management
Radhika Gupta is an investment professional with a range of diverse experiences across asset management – globally and in India, which includes start-up and global giants, public & private sector, and institutional & retail clients. Radhika is a global citizen having grown up across four continents, a keen storyteller, Bridge player, and Twitter microblogger. Her YouTube video, “The Girl with a Broken Neck” which narrates her life journey has garnered more than 100K views in a short span of time.

Sanjay Kapoor: Business Leader, Entrepreneur and Keynote Speaker
With close to three decades of experience, Sanjay is one of the most illustrious business leaders and entrepreneurs in India. He has spent 17 years in the telecommunications industry and has helped shape the growth and diversity of India’s largest integrated telecom service providers across multiple lines of businesses. Sanjay is also one of the leading business speakers in India, whose understanding of the telecom sector and the Indian market is highly sought-after. Having held senior leadership and board member positions at several corporates and industry bodies like CII, COAI, and NASSCOM, his talks on management and leadership are highly regarded.

Ram Charan: Business Consultant | Speaker | Writer
A world-renowned business consultant, author and speaker, Ram Charan has spent the last three and a half decades of his life working with top companies, CEOs and boards. He brings the depth of his knowledge and an inside view on the functioning of economies and leading companies to the speaking platforms when he delivers talks on leadership, talent, innovation, and more. Known for recognising the core business problems in the ever-changing business environment, the list of companies he has worked with include industrial giants such as GE, Tata, Aditya Birla Group, GMR, Bank of America and many others. He has also served on the boards of companies such as Fischer and Porter, Austin Industries, Emaar and Hindalco.

Raghav Bahl: Founder, Quint | Founder & Former Md, Network 18
Raghav Bahl is a serial entrepreneur and investor, with several successful exits to his credit. Besides founding and scaling Network 18, India's leading media group, Raghav has also seeded moneycontrol.com, bookmyshow.com, firstpost.com, yatra.com, among others. Raghav started television news capsules while still reading Economics at St. Stephen’s. After an MBA at FMS Delhi, Raghav’s career followed an obvious trajectory, beginning as a Management Consultant at AF Ferguson followed by a stint at Amex. But news seemed a natural home for him, and he went on to set up Network 18, among India’s top media houses. Raghav has also managed long and successful partnerships with some of the world’s leading media brands: CNBC, Viacom, BBC, Star TV, A&E, Time Warner, Forbes.

Pramod Bhasin: Founder, Genpact; Chairman, The Skills Academy; Industry Champion & Thought Leader

Pramod is one of the first business leaders in the country to bring about a transformation in the knowledge industry. Thanks to him, General Electric (GE) is today a business case study. In his talks, Pramod shares his vast experience as a leader, handling adverse situations in the dynamic business environment of India, and how to manage a diverse workforce. An industry champion, an entrepreneur and a thought leader—Pramod is one of the pioneers who steered India’s rise as a knowledge economy. 

Neelam Dhawan: Former MD, Hewlett Packard India
With over thirty-five years of experience in the IT industry, managing complex technologies in highly matrixed organisations, Neelam is an icon and mentor for the tech world. Her sessions help businesses understand and thrive with the “new reality” of technology; and talk about how technology is changing the face of sectors such as healthcare. Over the span of her career, Neelam has held various positions across HCL, IBM, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard. For eleven years, she led the country businesses of Microsoft and later Hewlett Packard in India. She brings together her learning and wisdom from the helm of these companies to talk about the role of the CEO in managing and growing businesses. She also helps organisations define and drive their diversity agenda.

These are some of the leading business speakers in India. Engage with us to identify the right insights that your business needs. Our consultants will connect you with business speakers that bring the external perspectives you require.