18 months & 3 simple, not-so-simple steps to $1 billion…

18 months & 3 simple, not-so-simple steps to $1 billion…

Today, Instagram sold to Facebook for $1 billion. A week ago, when TIME asked Instagram founder, Kevin Systrom, if he would sell the company, he said “It’s not really on the top of our minds right now.”

Kevin is 27 years old and started Instagram 18 months ago with Mike Krieger, in October 2010. The company has grown with just 4 staff, and today has just 9 in the team. With the $1 billion deal that was announced today, was Kevin just plain lucky, or was there some simple steps that he (and others who have had the same luck) have in common?

Here’s three steps he followed. They may not guarantee you exactly the same success – but they will increase your own good fortune:

1. THING BIG FROM DAY ONE – THEN LEARN FROM OTHERS:

It was while Kevin was studying at Stanford 7 years ago that he had the idea of a photo-sharing site, from his passion for photography. That was before iPhones, and before Facebook. Step one is to cultivate your idea by learning from others. He met Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 and talked about his idea. Mark then offered him a job at Facebook, which had just launched (in hindsight, a cheaper option that the $1 billion he’s just paid to work with Kevin). Kevin turned him down but they stayed in touch. He went to intern at Odeo with Evan Williams, who sold Blogger and Jack Dorsey, who launched Twitter. This is where Kevin got to understand the power of social sharing. Kevin later said “Comparing Instagram to photography is like comparing Twitter to Microsoft Word”.

He then went on to work at Google. All in all, it was a full six years after having the idea of a photo sharing site that he worked with others leading the field: Getting paid for his own education before he launched his own start-up. As Kevin says, “I was given the opportunity to be in the middle of a ton of innovation, and meet some of the smartest people doing the coolest stuff in the world. When I finally did it [myself], it just felt so right.”

Who could you (and should you) be working with today to lay your own foundation?

2. KEEP 100% FOCUSED ON WHAT PROBLEM YOU’RE SOLVING – AND FAIL FIRST:

When Kevin launched Instagram in October 2010, he explained in his first blog what problems Instagram intended to solve. He listed the top three problems users were having:

“My mobile photos look lame.”
“It’s a pain to share to all my friends.”
“Photos take forever to upload.”

How would he know these were the problems? Just by talking to people? No, by getting it wrong the first time. In early 2010 he launched his first attempt “Burbn” as a location-based photo app, using Foursquare. It was a one-man-band, but after a year of hard work it had failed to catch on. It was, however, a failure that allowed him to learn from his users what would work, and to attract interest from like-minded people, including his future co-founder of Instagram, Mike Krieger.

By focusing on these three problems, Instagram launched in October 2010. Kevin relates the first moments of launch: “It was 12:15am, October 6th and we had been working on the app non-stop, day and night for 8 weeks. With a bit of hesitation, I clicked the button that launched “Instagram” live to the Apple app store. We figured we’d have at least 6 hours before anyone discovered the app so we could grab some shut-eye. No problem, we figured. Within a few minutes, they started pouring in… The night of sleep we were hoping for turned into a few meager hours before we rushed into the office to add capacity to the service. Now, only a couple months later, we’re happy to announce that our community consists of more than a million registered users.”

What problem are you solving, and what are you learning by failing, that is setting you up for your own overnight success?

3. CUT OUT ALL THE NOISE:

Kevin explains the difference between Instagram and Burbn: “We actually got an entire version of Burbn done as an iPhone app, but it felt cluttered, and overrun with features. It was really difficult to decide to start from scratch, but we went out on a limb, and basically cut everything in the Burbn app except for its photo, comment, and like capabilities. What remained was Instagram.”

Kevin cut out all the noise. He then launched Instagram just on the Apple App Store (It just came to Android last week) and focused on sharing on Twitter and Facebook (Three platforms that didn’t even exist when he first had the idea). That’s it: Photo, comment, like. No other platforms. No other noise.

Simpler means sharper means easier to cut through the noise. Instagram went from one million users by Dec 2010 to 30 million users today. In 2011, Apple named Instagram the “App of the Year”. Why would Facebook buy it now for $1 billion? Because Mark already knows it will add more value than that to Facebook when it has its upcoming $100 billion IPO.

If you are already thinking big, connecting smart and focused at the problems you are solving – How could you solve them in the fewest number of steps?

A BILLION DOLLAR STORY

It obviously takes more than three simple, not-so-simple steps to get the pieces lined up and timed right for the kind of 18 month run that Kevin has had. But these three show up again and again in today’s stories of hyper-growth, and the ones I will continue to share here on Facebook and at my Fast Forward events.

As an end to this chapter of the Instagram story, here’s how Kevin relates the beginning of his photo-sharing idea. It is at the heart of his journey, as your story should be at the heart of yours:

“When I studied abroad my teacher set what I do now in motion by saying, “Give me that camera of yours.” He took my camera away and gave me a little, plastic camera. I was studying in Florence at the time and he told me that I wasn’t allowed to use my camera for the rest of the class. I had to use this plastic camera with a terrible lens. He said I was too focused on sharpness and “I feel like you’re more artsy than that.””

“He said, “I want you to use this Holga,” this plastic camera with a plastic lens that had this cult following in the ’80s and ’90. I was blown away by what it could do to photos. My photography teacher was totally right. I was too focused on being meticulous with these really beautiful, complex architectural shots. It helps to see the world through a different lens and that’s what we wanted to do with Instagram. We wanted to give everyone the same feeling of discovering the world around you through a different lens.”

It’s ironic that as Instagram hits a $1 billion value, mimicking the feel of these disposable cameras, the biggest producer of them, Kodak, has filed for bankruptcy.

Each wave that crashes is followed by another. The only question is who is already positioning themselves to surf it. Are you up for the ride?

 

SAURABH AGARWALA

Tips on adapting to a new job..

“Change is the only constant”, we hear this famous quote often in our philosophy or literature classes and in science, we hear “Change is the law of nature.” However, as a matter of fact there is no constant comfort zone where we can be relaxed. Sometimes, we may be asked to relocate our job place where will find everything new; new manager, new team and an absolutely new atmosphere. It may be a bit hard to cope with the new environment. Did you find it difficult to deal with your new job or new project? We often say, “damn it, I am fighting with new job.”  Everything may change in such a way, where we see ‘no grip’ at all.

Remember; every great leader has gone through unique experiences. Obviously, you got a chance to explore unique experiences from this new change in your career. Do not fight to survive in the new circumstances, you may be exhausted; instead, embrace the change. In one of his most powerful quotes, Charles Darwin reminds us, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

Here are a few shortcuts that can help you to embrace the change:

Accept it:
You may find the new change uncomfortable but change is good to grow up and widen your strengths. You would never want to be termed the one who resist ‘changes’ and people label you an “old school.” One of the top obstacles to the successful change is resistance at all level. The fear of unknown things will not help you explore the present opportunities. Change is not an event but a process. Accepting the current, transitional and future changes, you can easily create your comfort zone in individual and organizational levels.

Change the Perception of Taking Risks:
The very idea of risk – ‘it happens when we take some actions’ – will lead you to an uncomfortable condition. Innovations are all set in such conditions where the actions have been taken. Changes always pull your legs into those experimental situations. Being nervous will tile your way to potential failures. You should change your perception of taking risks to fasten your career growth. In fact, you put yourself in a higher risk when you don’t take actions to adapt the change. The real risk is the situation where you do nothing to be more effective.

Keep Your Skills Up-To-Date:
Every field demands certain skills to do certain tasks. Keeping up with industry updates will help you to build yourself an expert power. The new job will insist you to be skilled in some areas. By developing expertise, you will be able to make healthier decisions and you will spot the emerging threats and chances in the early hours. When the changes occur in the industry, take it as a best opportunity to prove that ‘You are one of the Best’ employee. Learn the new skills to become the expert and contribute to shape your organization, and respect and trust will come in search of you.

Focus on What Works Well:
Adapting the change will help you to understand what will work well and which area should be improved. To improve, instead of putting up so much of efforts in vain, you should pay attention to what works well and you have to maintain your focus on the specified skills and specified tasks. Understand the new change and emphasize on the positive ones. Just focus on the good experiences which the new change offers you. Why should you focus on what works well? – You perceive more of it when you pay more attention and you understand more about it. It will help you to make more of it to happen.

Do Something for Someone Else:
You have to cultivate some real and offline relationship with your colleagues. You may be new to this job; it doesn’t mean to sit in front of your computer all the time. You have to get along with people around you. The best way to get along with people is to lend a helping hand to them when they need it. If you are not mingling with others, you won’t be able to adapt the new changes. Moreover, it will help you to make friends with some of the great people around you from who you can learn a lot. Make use of the high energy relationships as it will encourage you to come up with positive feelings and better results.

 

SAURABH AGARWALA

How to answer technical question during interviews???

The difference between getting a job and interviewing for a job can be failing to answer technical interview questions appropriately. With a little bit of time and effort you will be up for the challenge, which means you will be more likely to get offered the job you want.

Understand the job function for which you are interviewing:Know what the job entails and what is required for the position. Be able to answer why you are able to do a better job than someone else. Also be prepared to answer why you applied for the job.

Research the company thoroughly before the interview: Be ready to talk about why you want to work for it. You should know the mission statement and goals of the company.

Know your attributes: When talking about your abilities and experiences, don’t be shy. Have specific examples ready to share with the interviewer.

Admit your weaknesses: Everyone has flaws. Employers want to know that you will work to eliminate your flaws. If you have learned from a bad experience, be prepared to admit that. The only way to fail questions pertaining to weaknesses is to pretend that you do not have any.

Ask questions: Have a list of questions to ask the interviewer. An interview is as much for you to find out information as it is for the interviewer. Include questions from your research. Employers view you as being interested in the job when you seek information from them.

Rehearse possible questions and practice your answers: Ask a friend to devise random technical questions. If you know someone who is employed with the company, find out what technical questions were asked during their interview.

Show your ability to solve problems: Some technical questions have no right answer. The interviewer will ask this so that they can evaluate your ability to solve problems. The key to this type of question is to come up with an answer, any answer. You want to show the interviewer that you are able to think on your feet.

SAURABH AGARWALA

Keep a positive attitude at work

 

Carrying positive attitude at office helps you to enjoy your work more and achieve your goals very easily and faster.  also helps you to work as an employee or to lead others within a business environment.

So, here are three tips to develop a positive attitude at your work place:

 

Cultivate a passion towards your work:
Develop your own passion towards your work .Your passion towards your work is the love you show towards it. However, to ensure your success, your passion must be balanced by another factor called directions. You must be focused on your objective to get positive results. Always remember passion without direction is a waste.

 

Nurture empathetic attitude:
If you see your boss not behaving cordially, just know the fact that he or she is facing some pressure, tension and stressed up. At that situation its your duty to develop an understanding attitude towards the negative behaviour shown by your boss or your leader. Avoid approaching him or her for simple problems and be selective on what needs his or her attention.

 

Have a clear Communication with others:
Communicating clearly with your colleagues will help you to achieve your assigned work more easily because, if you are having any sought of problems in your work and if you discuss it with your co-workers, they may help you to find solutions faster.

SAURABH AGARWALA

E- Mail Address: The Most Ignored Data by a job seeker on a resume.

It is very important to concentrate on every little thing during a job search. As in today’s competitive corporate world, recruiters tend to concentrate on even the tiny things during the procedure of selecting a candidate for a particular position. A smart job hunter should give emphasis on every minute aspect of his job search, as every bit of it evolves his sense of professionalism. As a job hunter, it is always advisable for you to know the art of marketing yourself in front of the recruiters; therefore, do not forget to give importance in creating a professional email address which is considered as one of the most powerful marketing tool.

Remember that your email address can make or break your great offer. However, often it is seen that some people do not give any heed to their e-mail address and as a result, even after possessing great potential or talent for the offer, they generally fail to grab the great opportunities of life. Some email id’s of job seekers like Dinkyyroo@hotmail.com, cutipiee@yahoo.com and baby.girl@rediffmail.com irritates the recruiters. The recruiters think that these are the applicants who are not serious about the job and they generally tend to ignore candidates with such an email address.  Though often neglected, an email address can very well demonstrate a candidate’s inclination for the job. For example a best example to create a professional email address will be “Firstname_Lastname@gmail.com.” or “Lastname.firstname@hotmail.com.” The usage of the first name and the last name is not only useful to create a great impression on employers but is also helpful for the recruiters to dig out your application mails from their overly stuffed email-trash.

Including an email signature is also equally important to demonstrate your sense of professionalism while applying for a job. Never forget to mention your name in the end after thanks or regards.

SAURABH AGARWALA

How to answer the question “Why did you leave your last job?”

What is the reason to leave your last job? This is the most common question an interviewee faces at the interview if it’s not his first job. If you have gone through the same circumstance at any time during your professional life, you would have been successful to answer that question or sometimes you would have lost your opportunity to be successful in answering that particular question.

This question is even more difficult to answer when you are fired or laid off from your earlier company. You may not be able to give the factual answer at the time of the interview with the fear that the response may be negative and you may lose your opportunity of getting that job or even you may be embarrassed. There may be many reasons for you to get fired; it can be because of your poor performance, breaking the policies of that company etc. So, how will you answer such a type of question when you are actually fired from your old company?

Here are few suggestions to answer that question more effectively to get positive results:

Never talk negative about your old company:

Avoid answering negatively about your old company for the reason they had fired you. This may put the new employer in dilemma whether to take you to their company or not, because they may feel that you may not be the right person to rely upon. They may think that you are not the right person to work with. They may also reject you for the reason that you cannot be trusted for 100 percent dedication to the work.

Avoid using the word you were “fired”: 

If at all you were actually fired by a company, don’t use the word you were “fired” while giving an interview for a new company as you may lose a good opportunity. You can find an alternative for the word “fired”, you can say you were just “let go” which sounds more productive.

Give productive answers:

Try to give more productive answers when you are asked about your last job and answer the interviewer on how productive you can be to their company. You can say that you were looking for a better opportunity than the earlier job, which makes them understand that you are more enthusiastic about the new job.

Make them feel that you are the right person:

While answering the questions about your earlier profession, make the new recruiters feel that you were not provided sufficient opportunity to show your talent in the old company. This makes them feel that you can be more productive to their company by sufficiently utilizing your talent.  They may also give you good platform to explore yourself.

Make them know you were finding a better place to work:

Make the interviewer feel that you were looking for a better position other than the old job and that is their company. Show them hoe efficient you are, present some of your older projects before them and make them understand you can be more capable in their organization.

Saurabh Agarwala

How to get through your “Probation Period”

Everyone wish to settle down in a company which has got a good fame and reputation. So, if ever you get an opportunity of getting a job in that company, you must work hard and perform well and try getting most out of it during your probationary period. In this period, you are observed on your working abilities. If you get through it successfully, you can get a permanent placement in the company.

Here are the essential steps that can help you to get through your probationary period:

Get Accustomed to the New Situation:

Whenever you are in the position of working under an entirely new situation, don’t make the mistake of running away from it. Instead, try to get used to that situation, as it is a basic common sense of not getting scared to adjust with it. If you are asked to do some extra work other than what you usually do, try to
wants you to be perfect in your job, but there will be circumstances where they will be observing on your working abilities.

Follow what your mentor say:

It is the first most important skill which you must develop when you are a fresher in a company. If you want to have a successful career in your new company, try to follow your mentor’s advices. Make an attempt to gather more information from them about the company as they may be more informed about the activities of the company and the way it runs. If you are into any problem at work, utilize the help for completing your work successfully. Get to know, how beneficial you are to the company as it makes you work with more interest.

Present yourself with full enthusiasm:

When you are hired by a company, make good use of it as they will obviously expect you to be more enthusiastic at your workplace. They may be observing you on how effective you are. Show them how effectively you can serve the organization. During your probationary period, assure them you are the right one to for that position. Make your presence everywhere in the company by involving in all the activities where you are needed and perform well. Think it is the only time where you can shine by performing well in all the given work.

Be punctual at work:

If you are a new employee, you must be very punctual about the time. It starts from the morning when you enter the office. If you are on time, it shows your punctuality towards your work. If you reach late, it shows you are lethargy towards our work. You may make a bad impression of yourself in front of everyone and end up giving reasons for being late. So, to avoid such problems try to leave your home as early as possible, so that you can reach office on time. You must also be punctual in completing your work in the given deadline by avoiding the habit of delaying or postponing the assigned work. It shows your dedication towards the work.

Setup a strategy:

This is one of the main aspects that everyone must develop in them.If you have to be successful in the work assigned to you, you must have the ability to strategize your assigned work in a perfect way. Before establishing any strategy, firstly study your goal. If you are assigned to do different works at a time, do not get frustrated and get tensed, instead spend sometime on each work, plan what way you can start and complete the work successfully. Different works need different types of planning. It depends on how capable you are to handle it well. If you think you lack enough knowledge on that, start researching and try getting more information on that particular work. This way may help you to complete your work on time and also successfully.

Saurabh Agarwala

Jerry Yang,co-founder of Yahoo resigns !!

In an astonishing move, Jerry Yang, who co-founded Yahoo with partner David Filo in 1995, has resigned from all the positions he held in the organisation. The announcement of his departure came almost two weeks after Scott Thomson was appointed the CEO of Yahoo.

Yang, who served as the CEO of the company from mid-2007 till early 2009, had rejected a $47 billion takeover bid from Microsoft during his tenure. He was later succeeded by Carol Bartz, whose exit from the company last September made huge uproars due to her controversial firing over the phone.

For some time now, the market has been abuzz with the news that Yahoo is planning to sell off all or part of the company. However, Yang, who owns around 3.6 per cent of the company’s shares, was believed to be in opposition of the break up by some of the shareholders.

He wrote in a letter to Yahoo’s Board Chairman, Roy Bostock that, “My time at Yahoo, from its founding to the present, has encompassed some of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of my life. However, the time has come for me to pursue other interests outside of Yahoo.”

The Challenges of Hiring for Startups

Startups should be able to find the pain points of MNCs. The MNCs are generally criticized for being oceans, where the individuality of a person is lost. Though MNCs offer attractive packages and numerous employee benefits, they rarely pay heed to the interests of their employees. This is where a startup has an advantage.

Startups offer individuals to explore various horizons and discover their capabilities. They offer a feeling of ownership which makes up for the long hours that the employees have to put in during the initial years of a startup. A startup offers not just a highly challenging work environment, but also bustles with the passion of the employees and friendliness.

For an entrepreneur, having a smaller team means that he can connect with each individual at a personal level and get to know them well. He should take the team out for lunches, treat them as friends rather than employees and talk about everything under the sun.  As an entrepreneur, it will help you to spot the hidden talent in a person and exploit it to the fullest for the growth of the company as well as the individual. Even though you are not able to give them higher salary packages, you can provide them with a culture and focus on several other points which would cover up for the gap in the salary offerings.

If you are hiring people for a startup, make sure that you don’t assign them designations head front, rather assign them duties and restructure the organization if necessary. Startups should fear away from experimenting, and should most importantly treat your employees like people.

This was the focus of the HR 4 Startups, which focused on the challenges of people management in startups, and what different the startups can do to counter the challenges.

It is upto the candidates, whether they want a highly rewarding workplace, where every initiative made by them is appreciated, or go in for an MNC, which would offer them a very big salary package but treat them as machines to finish the projects before the deadline.

Saurabh Agarwala

Unique Questions You Can Expect in an Interview

The reason why the recruiters are into asking unique questions is to see the capability of the candidate on how well he or she can handle their work successfully and effectively and also to see how well they can handle a crisis situation.

Here are some of the unique interview questions which the recruiters ask during the recruitment process:

1. Which is your favorite food?

This question is asked by the recruiters just know your self confidence and to know how well you understand yourself.

2. Can you mention the name of the last book you read?

It can be asked to know whether you have the habit of reading books because many recruiters likes to hire candidates who read books as they would have gained more knowledge from that.

3. What are your interests apart from your profession?

Knowing a person’s interest can be helpful for the company because they can utilize it in a better way whenever need.

4. If you are given 2 chocolates and you have five people to share it with, how will you divide it equally?

This question can be asked to know the creativity in you.

5. If you are the author of a book and you are supposed to give it a unique title, what would you give?

A good answer for this question tricky question can be helpful for the company because in a company they assign projects to every employee to handle and you must be creative enough to succeed in that project and get credits for the company.

6. What is your opinion on Anna Hazare’s Movement on Non-Corruption? 

Such a question is to measure the candidate’s knowledge about the ongoing issues in the nation. And it can also be asked to know about the candidate’s opinion on Anti-corruption, which can be helpful for the company.

7. How will you solve a crisis in your own assigned work?

This is a question to understand the crisis management knowledge in you. This can be helpful for them in the future.

8. Assume you are given a deadline to complete your project, how well you can manage your schedule?

This is to know how effectively you can manage your time and also to know whether you will be concentrated on achieving your goals successfully.

9. Think you have won 1 Crore in a lucky draw, how will you make use of it in a best way?

To know about how creative you are, when it comes to planning. This is very essential because for any successful work, planning is very important to take it in a proper way.

10. What work did you complete at home before reaching here?

The candidate must be very quick in answering this question because the recruiters might have asked to know how quick you are in thinking.

Saurabh Agarwala
CEO