I presently Run Jumkey.com - currently Positioned as India's largest Jewelry Destination.
Its been a Roller-coaster ride so far.
Have kept our Operational cost very low.
Worth mentioning, we are still a small team of 3, very complementing,
managing the whole eCom, mobile apps(iOS and Android) and
without any external funding - Completely bootstrapped Venture.
Let me share my experiences so far -
1. Think Really-Really-Big from Day 1.
2. Reaching Profitability is easy in eCommerce, if the cost of operations are kept low. Know where expenses are going most.
3. Learn to Say NO to Crap Investors.
Don't raise money from wrong Partners.
Raise money only if you really want to. Needs, wants are different. Sooner or later you'll suffer otherwise.
Jumkey was approached by Top Investors, and we've told NO.
4. User on-boarding experience is very Important.
5. Build Partnerships.
Build a network of Partners who shall build the Brand and do sales for you,
Delegate sales & marketing efforts to specialists. Delegate tasks. Don't be a Jack of all.
6. In the early days, what matters is - Growth Hacking and Building Trust, Confidence.
Growth Hacking makes more sense than Spending Millions on advertisements.
We Invested heavily(time) on Growth Hacking.
Results = have 50K+ Combined followers from Social networks.
Biggest transition happened to me was - turning into as a growth Hacker, being frugal on expenses, Saving a lot of money.
7. If you're in confusion, Consult early.
8. Finally, Validation based model is the key to Run any Business.