The key idea of the video is that social commerce is a growing market in India, and startups can succeed by focusing on solving problems for smaller cities and building strong relationships with users.

• 🚀
  00:00

  Misho helps anyone start and grow their social store on any social platform, enabling those who previously didn't have a business to start one in India's growing digital market.

  • Misho is a startup in India that helps anyone start and grow their social store on any social platform.
  • We provide an ecosystem for close to half a million monthly active social store owners to sell across all categories on platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, enabling those who previously didn't have a business to start one.
  • In India, a platform has enabled entrepreneurs to start their own shops on WhatsApp without the need for investment in working capital or starting up an offline shop, removing barriers of entry for those who previously lacked access to capital.
  • A service is helping people sell unbranded products through trust relationships and social channels, providing tools for success in the digital world.
  • The introduction of Reliance's Jio network in India has allowed for a record number of people to come online, particularly in smaller cities and lower income areas, leading to increased usage of apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Google.
  • Starting a business selling unbranded products at the right time and place, when people are comfortable with online transactions and easy returns, has led to success.
• 👩‍💼
  06:44

  Women in smaller Indian cities can start their own businesses with the help of a community-based app that provides training, mentorship, and a platform to sell unbranded products.

  • Trust deficit is a major issue in India due to lack of faith in corporate companies, government, and the legal system.
  • New merchants struggle to build trust with consumers, so social stores leverage the trust of people in the community to sell unbranded products.
  • The service helps women in tier 2 and tier 3 areas, who aspire to start a business, to sell goods online without needing any investment.
  • The platform provides training and mentorship programs for users, particularly those with no financial incomes in smaller cities, who are looking to start their own business.
  • Micheaux is a community-based app where users help each other out by sharing tips and advice on how to get started and succeed in their business ventures.
  • Many of the service's female users, particularly housewives, seek to start a business to gain professional identity and respect from their community.
• 💰
  11:56

  📈 A service empowering diverse individuals to earn secondary income through cross-border access to unique products, while balancing growth and quality to ensure sustainable progress.

  • The impact of the service is empowering individuals with diverse backgrounds and stories, providing them with secondary income and a sense of identity and respect, while the growth is driven by timing, enabling ecommerce and entrepreneurship.
  • The company started off by enabling existing individuals to use WhatsApp stores, but later changed their product to create resellers and increase income per reseller by expanding their categories and setting up a supply chain from China.
  • The service enables cross-border access to a wider variety of unique products, employing a diverse range of individuals including students, retirees, and unemployed men.
  • To balance growth and quality, it's important to focus on both scaling and improving product quality, as optimizing for one without the other can lead to unsustainable debt and a poor customer experience.
  • Maintaining a certain level of quality is crucial for progress and advancement.
• 💡
  16:50

  Facebook may expand its services to improve commerce and create new merchants, similar to WeChat, while the founders of a startup stumbled upon their idea while working on projects together.

  • Facebook may expand its services due to the amount of time people spend on the platform, similar to how WeChat operates in China with various use cases.
  • Partnering with the platform can improve commerce and create new merchants, making the product more sticky and encouraging repeat customers.
  • The speaker and their co-founder did not initially plan to start a startup during their college years, but worked on projects together and only later did the idea become popularized.
  • Two friends randomly decided to start a startup without any plan or idea, focusing on problems and ideas along the way.
• 👗
  20:39

  A fashion service failed due to selection issues, but a mobile tool for small shops on WhatsApp and Facebook grew initially, inspiring housewives in Gujarat to run their own boutiques on WhatsApp and a supply marketplace doubled every month without an app or website.

  • Fashion Here was a hyperlocal fashion service similar to Swiggy, but failed due to the importance of selection in fashion fulfillment.
  • The speaker built a marketplace by taking small shops online and creating a group for existing customers to order products through photographs.
  • The speaker and his team developed a mobile tool for small shops to do commerce on WhatsApp and Facebook, which grew well initially but faced challenges with low user engagement and no revenue.
  • Many housewives in Gujarat are using WhatsApp to run their own boutiques by curating and selling products to customers, which has inspired the realization that anyone in India could start a shop this way.
  • The company created a tool on WhatsApp called Misha Supply to connect with women and build a supply marketplace, which doubled every month without an app or website, but retention was lower than expected.
  • The speaker faced difficulty in letting go of their initial idea and pivoting the company, but ultimately made the decision with their co-founder and convinced the team to come on board with the new direction.
• 📈
  28:00

  Focus on one thing to make money and gain consensus within the team; 🤝 Building relationships with top users and gathering feedback is crucial for maintaining a user-focused culture and avoiding mistakes in product development; 🎉 Celebrate with users after a funding round to increase engagement.

  • After six months of working on multiple projects, the team realized that they needed to focus on one thing in order to make money and gain consensus within the team.
  • Belief is key in business growth and as CEOs distance themselves from users, it's important to stay in touch with them to ensure success.
  • Build a product that solves your own problem or solves a problem for someone who can't solve their own problem, and stay close to the audience you are building for.
  • Building relationships with top users and regularly gathering feedback is crucial for maintaining a user-focused culture and avoiding mistakes in product development.
  • The company conducts monthly video town halls for their social platform users to discuss achievements, plans, and areas for improvement, resulting in positive feedback and increased user engagement.
  • The company invites their Bangalore users to celebrate and have fun with them after a funding round.
• 🚀
  33:18

  The speaker shares their experience as a startup founder, emphasizing the importance of staying close to users, building a strong peer network, and believing in your own idea.

  • Stay close to your first 100 users to get constant feedback and avoid making mistakes.
  • The speaker's role evolved from figuring out the business model and doing everything on the demand and growth side to hiring people who believe in the company's culture and values, ensuring the direction is right, and motivating the team.
  • The speaker spends a lot of time with the product team to understand what people want and leverages their network of investors and board members to learn from other founders and solve problems.
  • The best way to learn as a startup founder is to speak with other founders and build a strong peer network to discuss what is working and what is not.
  • The speaker learned the lesson of not relying solely on VCs for guidance and instead focusing on their own goals and metrics.
  • Believe in your idea and product, don't rely on others to believe in it for you.
• 🚀
  39:03

  Indian startups should focus on solving problems for tier 2, 3, and 4 users, and foreign founders can succeed in India by staying close to users and understanding their cultural context.

  • Starting the company with a partner was the best decision and the opinion of building a product for someone else has changed.
  • The Indian startup ecosystem has evolved positively in the last three years with reliance on UPI and building products for tier 2 and 3 audiences, requiring a shift away from Western-inspired products.
  • Indian startups should focus on solving problems for tier 2, 3, and 4 users, and foreign founders can succeed in India by staying close to users and understanding their cultural context.
  • To build a successful startup, it is important to challenge traditional notions and stay close to users, even if it means incorporating call centers and vernacular social networks like Sheer Chat for smaller towns and cities in India.
  • IIT Delhi is the best IT college due to its location and the success of its alumni, and the book "The Hard Thing About Hard Things" is a must-read for startup founders.
  • In 100 years, Ordinance aims to remain user-focused and build scalable products that impact lives in unimaginable ways, even if the technology and business landscape changes.