Social Scientists- Your Startup Connections

Startup of the Week#4

1. What was the inspiration behind “The Social Scientists”?

I had many problems one after another and it delayed starting up. I realized the problems were not only mine but many face them, I learnt it in a hard way. All the start-ups were founded to solve a previous problem occurred. No one should face similar kind of problems, I started to advise them. I realized only advising won’t help them much and I alone can’t help many. To make others’ journey easy and smooth going, Social Scientists was born with the culmination and concoction of many Ideas, thoughts. I had an idea of what should be done and how it should be done. I added few more better and useful features to the main idea of helping them. I made it a collaborative network of start-ups.

The main features are :

1. Startups don't have a huge teams nor can hire professionals to work:   

Hence, this is a platform to startups to collaborate with each other and work together with exchange of their services. "I give you something, you give me something and we shall grow".       

2. We believe entrepreneurs learn more when they work side by side: Many founders say that working with peers is the best part. You can collaborate with other start ups to build a product or to create a new one.

3. #soscientists is a movement which supports new ventures, provides resources for entrepreneurs. We are a Slack group to have a real-time interaction. A community for collaborative growth and to enhance togetherness to bring change in this eco-system.

2. Did you have any prior experience at marketing/sales/startup/business?

Yes. I have founded a couple start-ups and a NGO before starting Social Scientists. I had also worked  with other startups and communities where I helped them.

3. What challenges did you and your team face while setting up your business   ?

The difficult thing was searching for a co-worker and yes, I found after few months but nonetheless he just left after working for a couple of weeks, there were two tech guys who left one after another. Later on Ahaan Pandit came to MY rescue to guide ME further and he is Our mentor now. But we did not find anyone for designing for few months. Amrith Shanbag is helping ME with technical aspects. Now, the things are getting better, risks are always there and the journey seems to be getting more excited. Getting entrepreneurs, startups and mentors to enter the community while we started was the big prob. 

4. What is your greatest achievement with “The Social Scientist” till date?

The Journey is a memorable but lots of surprises daily good, bad or in between! I love the opportunities that an empty canvas gives me, the thrill to write my own story The greatest achievement yet to be unlocked!  Now, the things are getting better, risks are always there and the journey seems to be getting more excited.

5. If given a chance what would you have done differently with “Social Scientists” from the start?

The Journey is a memorable but lots of surprises daily good, bad or in between! The only reason to be in startup is when you feel making this world a better place than it is today. Solve real customer’s real problems, which no one else is solving. So, there is nothing as such I would have done in a different way. If I can go back in time, I want to start it much early!

6. What plans do you have for “The Social Scientist” in the future?

To be the most trusted and biggest, supportive incubator + talent hub!

7. What advice would you give to upcoming Entrepreneurs?

The advice I would offer to an inspiring entrepreneur today would be:

1) Dare to dream – believe in your vision, don’t listen to the naysayers and build something where there was nothing;

2) Do your work – once inspired do your research, be sure you understand the market and the competitors, be sure you understand the capital costs to succeed and be sure you have the team necessary to prevail;

3) If you let up, you lose – the life of an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart and your perseverance will be tested again and again. The work is long and hard and the sacrifices are significant. In fact, the life of an entrepreneur is one of setbacks, challenges and failures. It’s a life of missed anniversaries and birthdays, it’s a life of falling down and picking yourself back up but ultimately, for those that have the vision, the hard work and a little bit of luck, it’s the ultimate high of looking at a successful company and saying “I built that”.