{"id":9434,"date":"2022-04-06T12:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.matsio.com\/matsio\/saasboomi\/?post_type=newsletter&p=9434"},"modified":"2024-03-26T10:08:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T10:08:39","slug":"the-art-of-making-happy-discoveries","status":"publish","type":"newsletter","link":"https:\/\/dev.matsio.com\/matsio\/saasboomi\/newsletter\/the-art-of-making-happy-discoveries\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of making happy discoveries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

“If we operate with our blinders on, focused only on what’s going on inside of our four walls, we run the risk of missing out on opportunities that can arise where you least expect them.”<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n~ Rana el Kaliouby, the founder and CEO of Affectiva<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

15 years ago, Kunal, a student at The Wharton School, walked into one of his management lectures. He found a grey-haired, happy gentleman talking to his professor in front of the class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“The class starts. And completely blows me away. This gentleman is gregarious, animated, excited, running between the rows of the amphitheatre style seating. He is not using notes – talking fast about how innovation in the world works. What entrepreneurship means and what it takes. I left the class completely and absolutely inspired. I had decided. I wanted to be an entrepreneur.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A few years later, Kunal had taken up a job at Microsoft in Seattle, while figuring out his entrepreneurship plans on the side. As he remembered that the said gentleman was an ex-Microsoft executive from the 80s and lived in the same city, he decided to send him a cold email introducing himself.

To his surprise, the 22-year-old got a response in 30 mins, with an invitation to meet for lunch at a Malay restaurant nearby. They continued meeting each other at the same restaurant once every quarter. With no agenda on the line, all they did was keep having “fun, inspiring conversations”.

Note that this man was 25 years older than him, and Kunal had nothing of value to offer him, apart from conversations.

Soon, his H1B visa got rejected and Kunal had to leave the US right away. During their last Malay lunch, Kunal spoke about his plan to start a coupon book business with a friend from high school.
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“He smiled and just said, ‘Let me know if I can help in any way in your journey.'”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Two months go by, and Kunal realised that his new startup needed to pay a hefty advance to the printing press, to publish the first batch of coupon books. With him having invested his entire savings already and with a non-existent angel investor scene in India (this was in 2017), Kunal had a sudden idea to reach out to his “friend” from the US. He got on a call with the gentleman and asked for ideas to raise funds for the printers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“I finished & don’t think a second passed that I heard back from the other end of the line. ‘I want to support you. I will invest.’ A long pause at my end. Not only because I was surprised. But also I couldn’t talk while I had an ear-to-ear smile on my face and tears in my eyes.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Within a few weeks, the startup received the funds it needed to kickstart its journey. The gentleman is Kenneth Glass, one of the very first investors of Kunal Shah’s now well-renowned Indian company, Snapdeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Serendipity, or “Opportunities for meaningful collisions”, as Zappos founder Tony Hseih likes to call it, are truly underrated yet powerful means to grow as an entrepreneur.

And the best part is how simple it is to engineer serendipity.

All it takes, is the willingness to stray slightly from your well-laid plans every now and then, the openness to new people, experiences, and conversations, and the smartness to spot and make meaningful connections in those conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I think you can create your own luck. The key is to meet as many people as you can and really get to know them. If you’re in an environment where you’re always running into people, the chances of one of those collisions being meaningful is maybe 1 in 1,000. But if you do it 100 times more, your odds go up.”
~ Tony Hseih, Founder and CEO, Zappos<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

This March, we at SaaSBoomi set out to create a platform for such opportunities of meaningful collisions for SaaS founders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SaaSBoomi Social, the first of its kind, agenda-free meetup series has proven to be a phenomenal success – five cities, 650+ attendees, 2000+ connections, and a whole host of extremely pleased SaaS founders.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We believe that we have stumbled upon an impactful event format, and more importantly, have realised the incredible value of organic, genuine, and open conversations and connections – not just for the benefit of SaaS but for life in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this edition of MRR is dedicated to this wonderful discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dive in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadhana<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On behalf of Team SaaSBoomi<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For years, building a growth engine has been an Achilles heel for SaaS leaders in India<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s turn a weak link into our forte. With lessons and insights from successful GTM leaders at SaaSBOOMi Growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s a sneak peek on what you can expect.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Latest on the SaaS Stories<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n