Two weeks ago, Sajith Pai planted a thought in my mind about how founders figure out an idea, space or problem to work on. And these can be categorised into THREE routes.
Each of these made me think about the first conversations about Decoding Draupadi. And the thought behind many of our current initiatives. Here are my two cents:
(P.S. The routes are by Sajith, followed by my notes on each)
ROUTE 1: Explore to pick a space / problem via brainstorming, and researching to hit on a few ideas or an idea for which someone wants to build a product.
ROUTE 2: Have a hypothesis around a space / problem, without any prior experience of the space. Someone feels there has to be a better way (or cheaper way), typically as a consumer, or sometimes as an observer, and sets out to validate.
ROUTE 3: Have a hypothesis around a space / problem, emerging from a deep personal knowledge of the space, and set out to build a product.
I’ve experienced a bit of both (2) and (3). When we were discussing Decoding Draupadi’s business model, we had multiple hypotheses.
Some of them were around making affordable, accessible period products beyond sanitary napkins), and we had seen some proof of concept with upcoming brands like Sirona | Good Glamm Group, Plush and Pee Safe, etc.
Another hypothesis we wanted to validate (more unsolved / untouched than the one above) was the need for a database of clean and sanitised washrooms for women to access and update when they’re outdoors.
This thought came from a closed-room conversation I’d constantly have with a friend (Pooja Sahatiya). There was comfort in asking “Is the washroom clean or should I wait it out?” and we wanted to scale that.
Now, we know Woloo – Find a Loo.
Finally, route (3) my deep knowledge about sexual wellness and of course, its state in India. This, we continue to explore.
Out of all these routes, here’s what we DISCOVERED AND CHOSE 💎
1️⃣ We had spent too much time thinking, in isolation. Our secondary research wasn’t cutting it for us. So, we started with what we knew – CONTENT.
2️⃣ After we started out, we discovered that women and workplaces need more people like us. There’s a lot to solve there. When it comes to solving for equity at workplaces, we’re not at ground zero. We’ve done some bit of work. But, it’s like we never followed up on it. For instance, we’ve had maternity leaves for years now, but no escalation matrices.
3️⃣ These discoveries led to two of our main initiatives at DD – a vetted network of women leaders willing to contribute at leadership-level panels and conferences (https://lnkd.in/gAXVAqtK). And, bringing together women in the creative field and mission-driven startups through a job board.
That was us. Tell me what you think?
P.S. I have a lot more to say about where we landed up (as of May 2023) but I shall save that for another day.
#founderjourney #business #womeninbusiness