New Age Business Mantra: Start, Scale, Sustain! Long-term sustainability is one of the best indicators of the health of the company, in the sense that it helps the public and the investors see the scope of the company's growth on a projected timeline

By Piyush Jain

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With the wave of entrepreneurship sweeping over the world, becoming an entrepreneur has definitely become the "in' thing. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility- starting a business venture is still relatively less complex when compared to sustaining it. With the speed at which the world is changing today, keeping up with the dynamics of society can be a complex task. But the very same complexity is what makes it exciting for the constantly changing playing field means more opportunities to excel and expand your initial idea. As an entrepreneur, one is not expected to just conceive an idea and get it started, but the pressure is always on to sustain, grow and innovate.

In today's world, it is safe to say that the sustainability of any business venture can be regarded as the true mark of an entrepreneurial journey. In this age of fierce competition and rapid technological growth, young and fresh talent- reinventing themselves periodically is the only way to survive. Long-term sustainability is one of the best indicators of the health of the company, in the sense that it helps the public and the investors see the scope of the company's growth on a projected timeline. Let's talk about what entrepreneurs need to keep in mind in order to build a viable business.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

In today's world, the market is fueled by the desire to fulfil the rapidly changing needs of the customer. When you present a quality product or service that meets a customer's needs, it makes sure that you always stay relevant in the market by the sheer virtue of offering something that's always needed. The right product/ service offered at the right time will evolve to serve a sizeable audience which in turn will ensure the scalability of the business model.

Hire People in Sync With Your Work Culture

There isn't a secret recipe for a sustainable and successful entrepreneurial venture. But if there is one thing that would most certainly stack the odds in your favour is hiring "culture-fit' employees, who are in sync with the values and vision of your organization. Something that would serve your organization, in the long run, is developing a solid in-house hiring strategy which is curated to meet your organization's needs. Additionally, investing in an extensive training program for every stage of an employee life cycle will help them align with the changing expectations.

Innovation is Integral

The only mantra to stay relevant in this competitive market- learn, execute, unlearn. It is important to understand the intricacies of your product so that you can constantly drive innovation. One should aim to beat their own product and grow themselves- it is better to beat your own product and augment it before someone else does. Doing so is paramount in today's day and age, where customer requirement changes in the blink of an eye.

There are several ways to deepen one's understanding of longevity in business. It is a life-long process considering the fact that this multifaceted approach will keep evolving due to the changing social, legal, economic, cultural and political settings. Due to which, it is imperative to acknowledge and actively prepare oneself for the ever-changing nature of doing business in order to always be ahead when it comes to catching up with your vision.

Starting a business is just the first step while sustenance will always remain the ultimate goal.

Piyush Jain

Co-founder & CEO, Impact Guru

Piyush Jain is the Co-Founder and CEO of ImpactGuru.com, predominantly a healthcare financing crowdfunding platform. The company was incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab in USA in 2014.

The best evidence of Impact Guru’s digital solution’s potential to scale and real execution capability was affirmed when it raised a $2mm Series A equity investment round in early 2018, which was the largest for any crowdfunding platform in Asia, excluding China. This investment round was led by Apollo Hospitals, Asia and India’s largest healthcare group and various venture capital funds from India, Southeast Asia, and Middle East.

ImpactGuru has an incredible partnership with the world's largest global non-profit crowdfunding platform, GlobalGiving.org based out of Washington DC. This partnership has opened giving avenues by offering US and UK tax benefits to international donors donating on ImpactGuru.com towards Indian nonprofits.

Piyush has been involved in the fields of investment banking, management consulting, startups and other emerging markets. He also possesses multi-industry, tri-sector and tech venture experience. Piyush possesses enriched perspectives having worked in the private sector (BCG, J.P. Morgan, Ernst & Young), public sector (Government of India) and non-profit sector (Instiglio) as well as with a Silicon Valley startup So-Fi, world's #1 fintech startup with regards to funding.

Piyush has an undergraduate degree from Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania, where he was a Joseph Wharton Scholar and a graduate degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. At Harvard, he assisted Professor Thornburg in teaching a class on Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations. He has co-authored a paper at Harvard Business School on innovative ways to finance entrepreneurial and social ventures and did his graduate capstone exercise at Harvard on crowdfunding and CSR.

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