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From left Prateek, Namit Nangia, Phanindra Sama, Nithya Dayal speaking at the Xtreme Startups event

What is the next best thing to coffee? It is having it with a few CEOs around you and people ready to network and work with each other! The Xtreme Startups event held on Sunday morning was exactly that and better. Unlike a few other events which focused on the product of the startup, this event focused on the making of the startup business. A very good opportunity to learn, question yours and others beliefs and interact with the community on a personal level.

The event started a little late (you know how punctual people are) but continued much beyond its stipulated time. Unofficially it continued till I left the venue after an hour and saw people still interacting in the parking lot! The event was impressively compeered by Indus Khaitan, a witty and smart looking guy who talks and thinks even better. The main speakers were Prateek & Nithya Dayal, Founders www.muziboo.com, Namit Nangia, Co-founder www.lifemojo.com and Phanindra Sama, Founder & CEO www.redbus.in. We had Mr. A Suryanarayanan, COO, NSRCEL, IIMB who spoke to us on the various programs and initiatives of the centre.

Prateek & Nithya were the first to speak. They broke the conception that one needs to have a zillion excel sheets or do a thorough market research of your business. If one believes in the idea completely and is ready to work towards it (can be read as “quit job”!), all else is secondary.  Another interesting point was for startups to think that not all processes in the business needs to be scalable from day one. The processes can be developed as and when the need arises which is especially true for a bootstrapped venture.

The lifeMojo team was next. lifeMojo is a classic example of a business that will fail in its present state if it succeeds! Confused? Dont be, it aims to help people reduce weight (& if that happens, which won’t, then who needs lifeMojo!?). Jokes apart, the team is on a fantastic journey selling health advice on both b2b and b2c platforms. Problems discussed were with the right approach to customers especially the big ones who may have many rounds of meetings and discussions with you but may actually not give you any business. The learning was that progress would happen faster if you tied up / partnered / interacted with a knowledgeable person in the industry rather than one with a big name.

After a short break Phani from Redbus.in stole the limelight. A down to earth person with tremendous focus on good ethics. He shared his experiences on growing the business, getting funded and most importantly trusting and following your mentors. With about 170 employees and about 98% of the organized ticket booking market, operations in 15 states; questions from the audience were shot at all angles. He spoke on his interactions with VCs, attending events like TiE and stated that business is a serious affair.

Finally all the speakers were put on together where they were questioned by the audience in general and Indus in particular. This helped in getting the viewpoints of different people for the same question / problem.  After a lively discussion with differences of opinion on some points and mutual agreements for a few others, the program came to a close just when hunger was getting the better of us.

Note: Attendence in Xtreme Startups is by invite only not because it is elite, but the need to know who’s comming and not to dilute the presence of majority of entrepreneurs. To be updated / invited to the next event which is planned to happen monthly in multiple locations, please send a mail to info AT startupnews dot in or indus AT morpheusventure dot com along with your location and a brief introduction about you and your startup.