CoCubes co-founder Harpreet Singh Grover reflects on the severe structural headwinds his startup faced from 2007 to 2016.
Opinion
Every billion-dollar company survives a near-fatal rock-bottom crisis
“I am of certain belief that there is no billion dollar company out there, which has been made without this point, you know, having occurred. And, you know, also there are like thousands of companies out there which have given up at this point.”
Insight
Solving simple problems repeatedly is the only way to generate ARR
“You need to be able to solve a problem, simple problem repeatedly. That is how you get annual recurring revenue. This is the only way to do it.”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
CoCubes laid off 70% of staff after $5M funding round collapsed
“This was the point when, you know, we had a term sheet for raising a five million dollars. And at that moment, it didn't pan through. We were a team of about one, 21, 30 people. We had a fancy office and we had to, you know, let go of, 70, 80 folks. 66%, 70% o…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
CoCubes founders took 2.5 crore INR in personal debt from parents
“But we had debt from, you know, about two and a half crores from people whose money was not supposed to be addressed. This was their life savings. My parents, you know, my parents, the board's parents, you know, was on our board. He was a VC, but you know, he …”
Insight
Founders at rock bottom must seek counsel from experienced mentors
“At that point, I think, you know, the thing that entrepreneur doesn't want to do is talk to somebody about it. Because you are feeling so low that I don't want to talk to somebody about it. But the thing you have to do, and this is true for personal situations…”
Insight
Founders fearing deal collapse will always end up with bad terms
“If you need to be in any deal, you need to be, have the ability to say no. If you are always worried whether the deal will fall apart or not, if I do this, then you will always end up with shitty terms. That is a given, right?”