Summary of @ThinkSchool Ganesh's Journey From 0 to 4 Million!
Summary of Financial Strategies, Market Analyses, and Business Trends from @ThinkSchool Ganesh's Journey From 0 to 4 Million!
Key Financial and Business Insights:
- Building a Business with Passion and Patience:
- Ganesh Prasad’s journey highlights the importance of deep passion and obsession in building a company.
- Growth should be steady and built on a solid foundation rather than rapid scaling which often leads to failure.
- The philosophy of balancing greatness and growth is emphasized — not compromising quality for scale.
- Focus on Great Work Over Quick Revenue:
- Ganesh and his team prioritize creating high-quality, well-researched content over quick monetization.
- They have sacrificed short-term revenue (20-30%) by delaying or not posting videos until they meet their standards.
- This approach builds long-term trust and a loyal subscriber base.
- Building Moats and Competitive Advantages:
- The “moat” of Think School is a combination of:
- Deep, on-ground research (e.g., interviewing delivery personnel for case studies).
- Trust and relationship with the audience.
- High-quality, detailed business case studies that can rival MBA-level material.
- Strong subscriber base and distribution.
- This moat protects Think School from competitors who might try to replicate content superficially.
- The “moat” of Think School is a combination of:
- Delegation and Systematization for Scalability:
- Initially, Ganesh was deeply involved in every step (research, scripting, editing).
- Over time, he delegated topic scouting and preliminary research to his team.
- They codified processes to evaluate topics rigorously (e.g., a 10-criteria checklist to decide if a topic fits Think School’s brand).
- Delegation improved consistency and quality across projects, making growth scalable.
- Work-Life Balance and Efficiency:
- The founders reject the traditional notion of work-life balance as unrealistic in entrepreneurship.
- Greatness requires obsession and intense bursts of work but should not come at the cost of loved ones.
- Efficiency is key — pushing to complete work in fewer days leads to better productivity.
- Building systems to automate or delegate non-core tasks allows focus on high-impact work.
- Bootstrapped vs. VC-Funded Company Philosophies:
- Bootstrapped companies often grow steadily with a focus on profitability and sustainable foundations.
- VC-funded startups may prioritize rapid growth but risk instability and short-lived success.
- Ganesh advocates for steady, sustainable growth with obsession on quality rather than chasing fast scale.
- Investment in Software and Infrastructure:
- Example of Jaroda Software was cited to show that some things (like great software) cannot be rushed or bought with money alone.
- Building a strong product foundation takes time and obsession, not just capital.
- Market Analysis Example – Zepto:
Step-by-Step Methodology to Content Creation and Business Growth (as shared by Ganesh):
- Topic Scouting:
- Team reads 20-30 newspapers and sources daily.
- Generates a list of 10-20 potential topics.
- Concept Evaluation:
- Each topic is vetted against a 10-criteria checklist to determine if it fits Think School’s brand and has a strong underlying concept.
- Trending topics are not chosen unless they have depth and relevance.
- Research and Case Study Development:
- Deep research including on-ground interviews (e.g., delivery boys, industry insiders).
- Reading and synthesizing large reports (e.g., 300-400 pages for some videos).
- Content Production:
- Scripting, editing, and refining content to ensure it is engaging and high quality.
- Willingness to delay publishing if content does not meet standards.
- Delegation and Automation:
- Delegating topic scouting and initial research.
- Founder focuses on key decisions and final approvals.
Business Philosophy and Lessons:
- Honesty and Directness:
- Ganesh is known for being extremely honest and direct, which can be intimidating but builds trust.
- This culture of honesty is critical for quality and growth.
- Sacrifice and Obsession:
- Entrepreneurship requires sacrifices in personal life and social events.
- Obsession with work and quality is necessary for building something great.
- Building Great Companies Takes Time:
- Patience and focus on foundations are more important than chasing fast growth.
- Great companies often have humble, steady founders who focus on process.
- Value of Relationships and Trust:
- Building trust with the audience and clients is a key moat.
- Relationships with team
Category
Business and Finance