Tag Archives: tips

Why Google Docs Makes Sense For Startups

A startup has to select its office software (documents, spreadsheets, etc) early on. We picked ours based a quick and dirty assessment (is there any other kind for a startup?). Here goes:

Microsoft OfficeZoho DocsOpenOffice.orgGoogle Docs
USP1. The best office suite
2. Everybody uses it		1. Online, feature rich office suite
2. Great customer service		1. Free (yes, free)
2. Open-source office product for offline use		1. Collaborate on the web
2. It's by Google
Cost1. Most expensive
2. Rs. 1000/user to Rs. 17000 /user depending on the edition		1. Pay as you go monthly subscription
2. Rs 7200 per year for 5 users and 15 GB space		Free (yes, free)Free up to 50 users (Limits - 7GB/user for email, 1GB/user for docs)
FeatureThe best. No question.Very cool interface and surprisingly feature rich. They release updates frequently so the product is getting better rapidly.Not assessedFunctional
Ease of useAlmost everybody has used MS Office. It is intuitive and there is little or no learning curve for most people.Very intuitive. Still, there will be some learning to do since a browser-based office software is new to many people.Not assessedGoogle Docs itself may require a little learning but what makes it easy to use is that it is part of the Google Apps suite.

In the end, we selected Google Docs because:

  • It’s free.
  • It’s not the best office product but our needs aren’t very sophisticated.
  • Collaboration and version control is easy. The only risk is that it depends on availability of internet which is still not predictable in India. Google’s introduction of offline editing in 2011 should mitigate this risk.
  • It’s part of Google Apps. We had already signed up for it because, for a startup, there is nothing to beat Google Apps when it comes to Email and Calendar. Deciding to use Google Docs keeps things simple for us.

Of course, we will know for sure that it works for us only once we start using it seriously. We will re-visit our decision in a month and report our findings.

Company Setup Is Better Than LLP For Indian Startups

As any startup, one of the first things I did was to try and figure out what kind of a legal entity my company should be. Ruling out proprietorship and a partnership was a no-brainer due to liability issues. It then became a choice between a company (Private Limited) and an LLP (Limited Liability Partnership).

LLP seemed like a great choice. It had the benefit that really mattered – limited liability – and it had none of the baggage (at least from a startup’s perspective) that came with a company – constituting a board, conducting prescribed board meetings along with necessary paperwork and audit. An LLP sounded great because I felt like we would have fewer distractions and we could just focus on building a great product.

The catch – creating an LLP in India is not easy – not at the time of writing this post, at least. Three months passed and I had no clue how much more time the LLP registration process would take. My sense of the situation – The LLP entity was introduced in India only recently (in 2009) and the process for setting it up is relatively new. As a result, the various stakeholders involved in this process – MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) as well as the CAs who typically facilitate this process are still figuring their way around the process. It also appears that while the process is mostly online for both companies and LLPs, in the case of companies, the regional ROCs (Registrar of Companies) help move the process along while in the case of LLPs, ROCs are not engaged and the process is mostly run from a centralized black box.

My DIN approval got done a week after I asked my accountant to switch over to a company registration. I understand the company incorporation will be done in another week. Based on my experience, I would recommend a company for Indian startups:

  1. The process is super fast
  2. The overheads (meeting paperwork, audits) can be easily be outsourced
  3. An LLP cannot be converted to a Private Limited. If you plan on growing big (that’s kinda the point, right?!), you will anyway have to form a Private Limited some day.
  4. You need to be a company if you are looking to be funded.

Startup Interview Tips

I had a very disappointing Saturday. I had four interviews scheduled and only one of the candidates showed up. When I asked the HR firm I was using, they said that it happens a lot because techies get “hundreds of offers”. I get the demand-supply dynamic but not turning up for a scheduled interview is just plain unprofessional. Also, remember the high-handedness of your employer when the job scene was bad? Do to others, as you want them do to you.

In order to streamline the interview process a little bit, I thought I would offer some tips to the folks who are looking at this website before interviewing with us:

  1. Explore the website a little. It’s not just about preparation; it’s also about trying to figure out if this job is right for you. If absolutely nothing interests you, this job may not be for you.
  2. If you schedule an interview, please show up. Not just to avoid ticking me off (very important!) but because small actions like this help your development as a professional.
  3. Be on time. Actually, you have a better chance of being on time if you aim to be early than if you aim to be on time. It’s better to be early and wait for your interview slot, than be late. If you are going to be late, please call ahead and give me a heads up.
  4. Show some interest in the job during the interview. Better still, show me what you are passionate about – technology, entrepreneurship, startups, music, problem solving…. We are not a big XO (X=IT, BP, etc., O=outsourcing) company with campus, gyms, cafeteria, etc to help you get through work you do not enjoy. If your passion and the job are not aligned, the interview would be a great time for both of us to discover it.
  5. Be curious. Ask me what the heck I am doing. If you are not curious, I can only draw unflattering conclusions about you. On the other hand, you will score big if you ask me the right questions.

Whether you interview with us or not, I hope you find these tips handy.