Strategy in the Indian Startup Trenches

Series · 19 partsStart with Part 1 →

Most founders I see are drowning in advice that doesn’t fit the Indian startup landscape. You’re not in Silicon Valley; you’re in a market that demands precision and grit. You need a strategy that works here, not a recycled playbook. I’ve watched founders struggle and succeed, and I know what it takes to find that first paying customer and build something real. This series distills those hard-earned lessons into practical guidance. Start where you need to, but remember: strategy isn’t a buzzword; it’s your lifeline.

Building Foundations

1. Crafting Your Strategy: An Indian Founder’s Guide: Most Indian founders are trapped in the illusion of strategy.
2. Why This Isn’t Just Another Strategy Book: Most founders think strategy is a fancy presentation deck.
3. Starting with Diagnosis, Not Action: Most founders think action is the answer.
4. Using This Guide: A Practical Manual: You don’t need another blueprint.
5. Contents Overview: Your Strategy Map: Most Indian startup founders are fumbling through their strategy, mistaking a collection of buzzwords for a coherent plan.

Understanding Strategy

6. Strategy Isn’t Just a Buzzword: Strategy isn’t just another buzzword that sounds impressive in board meetings.
7. The Core of a Good Strategy: Most Indian founders obsess over scaling fast, but they fail to realize that their strategy is built on sand.
8. Spotting Bad Strategy: The Four Faces: Most Indian startup founders confuse expansion with strategy.
9. Diagnosis: The Heart of Strategy: You’re in the trenches, building your dream startup, fighting fires daily.

Implementing Strategy

10. Guiding Policy: Setting Boundaries: Most Indian startups are wandering in the desert without a map.
11. Coherent Action: Aligning Efforts: Most Indian startups are guilty of one cardinal sin: incoherent action.
12. Harnessing Power: Leverage and Focus: Most Indian startups fail, not because they lack innovation, but because they scatter their efforts.
13. Designing Strategy: More Than a Checklist: Most founders think strategy is a checklist.

Evolving Strategy

14. Understanding Dynamics, Inertia, and Entropy: You’re building a startup in India, but are you really prepared for the storm of dynamics, inertia, and entropy that will hit you?
15. Strategy in the Indian Arena: Most founders believe they can capture India’s 1.
16. One-Page Strategy: Keeping It Simple: If your strategy can’t fit on a single page, it’s not a strategy; it’s a wishlist.
17. Maintaining Focus: The North Star Approach: Most Indian startup founders believe that multitasking is a virtue.
18. A Letter to the Weary Founder: You’re tired.
19. Workshop Prompts and Your Next Steps: You’re probably leading your startup through a haze of advice, jargon, and strategy frameworks.