Today's Entrepreneur: Ashish Mehta, co-founder of OnlineSales

Mitos Suson · February 28, 2023 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/562b

A startup's success is heavily influenced by its team and culture

Today's entrepreneur is Ashish Mehta, co-founder of OnlineSales.ai.

Mehta is an expert in product strategy for online digital advertising arena. He is currently venturing into entrepreneurship to build a scalable, innovative and comprehensive enterprise level digital marketing Suite for large advertisers and agencies.

Companies I've founded or co-founded:

Sokrati, OnlineSales.ai

Companies I work or worked for:

Amazon.com, Capital One

If you're an entrepreneur or corporate innovator, why?

I'm bursting with ideas!

My favorite startups:

Freshworks, Hubspot, Intercom, Zoho, Airbnb, OpenAi, Atlassian, Snowflake

Why did you start your company or why do you want to innovate inside your company?
I relish the excitement of creating products that address real-world challenges. The early stages of a company, from inception to launch, particularly thrill me. The satisfaction of finding solutions to real-life problems through innovative products and experiences drives me and gives me a sense of purpose.

What's most frustrating and rewarding about entrepreneurship/innovation?
Navigating regulatory frameworks and bureaucratic processes can be a frustrating aspect of starting a business, especially for those operating across borders. The lack of accessible startup exchanges that provide partial liquidity as companies grow can add to these challenges.

However, witnessing the adoption of the products and solutions you've developed is an incredibly rewarding and satisfying experience for a founder. It is a source of pride and a testament to the impact you are making in the world.

What's the No. 1 mistake entrepreneurs/innovators make?

Lacking a direct connection to your clients can be a challenge. A Client Advisory Board (CAB) is a valuable tool that can help prevent wasted resources in product development and team investments. While clients may not provide the solution, they can certainly highlight the problems they face and their priorities, which can be useful information for a founder.

What are the top three lessons you've learned as an entrepreneur?
Team and Culture - A startup's success is heavily influenced by its team and culture. It's crucial to establish the desired culture and remain consistent in upholding it. The team's commitment and belief in the mission is what drives the company's growth as it scales.

Unit Economics - For-profit startups must have a firm grasp on their unit economics. While rapid expansion through excessive spending and freebies may seem attractive, it is not sustainable in the long term.

Net Revenue Retention - Some of the most successful startups I've seen have achieved remarkable positive revenue retention, with nearly 50% of their growth coming from existing customers. This metric is the most critical factor affecting a company's product experience, positioning, pricing, and customer engagement strategy.