Starting a Company

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blkrb0t

blkrb0t

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Me and few of my friends want to start a clothing company. All of us being engineers, we don't have much idea about how businesses operate. Any experienced guys out here who can point out the bare essentials that are required to start a company?

I've already searched online for information and how-to guides, but talking to others surely helps.

Specifically, I am looking for legal and business-handling advice. Even links to some well-written guides would do.

Thanks :)
 
Get in touch with some NIFT guys ..

The first bare essential would be a business plan :)
 
Just my opinion, if you are asking in a online forum and online media with respect to starting a business either you are not serious or you are not going to succeed.

Please rope some experts who are experienced in marketing, vendor & inventory management in for your venture. A CA or CFA in team will go very well in terms of money management.
 
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The business plan is ready, and we have a fairly good idea of what our target is. Like all startups, of course we are confused at the same time. We're already roping in a marketing guy; have quite a bit understanding of inventory management ourselves.

@m-jeri raised a good point about money management. Will probably look into it. Hiring a full-fledged staff will be hard as we are starting small. Maybe we can add them later on.

We are looking forward to consult with a lawyer to register the company. Still understanding the nuances of getting started.

Was just looking forward to general startup advice from other experienced members here.

Also, I'm not going to lie. I'm more of a technical guy rather than a business minded person. So, jitters all around :D
 
First, are you employed somewhere? If yes, then read up on your company contract. More often that not it will specifically forbid you to moonlight. In some cases, companies can claim your idea as theirs. Chances of it happening are remote but its better to be safe than sorry.

Secondly, for many people business is about buy low,sell high. Make money on margins. Fact is, its not true. There are many intricacies which some are obvious like - inventory management, margin calculation, setup costs, labour costs etc. Then there are some real number crunchers - How much time will it take to reach breakeven? Will the profit be worth the wait time spent going to BE? How will you manage expenses during BE period? What can be the source of extra cash influx if there is a need? What happens if a natural calamity, fire etc, strike the shop? The list could go on.
Once you have the list ready, then go to the next step.

Thirdly, are you thinking of forming a Private Limited ? Then you need to check up a bit on company laws, RoC etc.
 
You need to register your business with RoC for starters. You have an option of registering your company as a Partnership firm or LLP (or Pvt Ltd which should be avoided). LLP is the best for startups to the best of my knowledge. Subsequently you have to apply for a lot of other things like PAN Card, Sales Tax Number, etc. etc.

Your best bet would be to hire services of VakilSearch (http://vakilsearch.com/start-up-package/) who are known to be startup budget friendly and pretty good at their work. They will help you with the details on everything you would need to run your business.
 
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Noob q: How do we make a business plan btw?

Asking cause, for loans or even help from vc's that is the main requirement I suppose. If your BP isn't good enough no one would want to help you if they feel they're putting money in an endless pit.
 
Yourstory and Nextbigwhat has Good articles on what to do and what not to when starting a business.. Would be Really helpful for startups.
 
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Pat said:
You need to register your business with RoC for starters. You have an option of registering your company as a Partnership firm or LLP (or Pvt Ltd which should be avoided). LLP is the best for startups to the best of my knowledge. Subsequently you have to apply for a lot of other things like PAN Card, Sales Tax Number, etc. etc.

Your best bet would be to hire services of VakilSearch (http://vakilsearch.com/start-up-package/) who are known to be startup budget friendly and pretty good at their work. They will help you with the details on everything you would need to run your business.
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If i was to start a company by myself, would LLP be applicable to me?
 
If its just 1 person, then its sole proprietorship. More than 1, its LLP or Pvt Ltd.
 
If you want you can PM me, i'l guide you. Been working in a CA firm for 5 yrs now.

To begin with, you need either a CA or a Company secretary for the Company, not a lawyer's field of work. But some do it anyway.
The cost comes atleast till around 15-20k depending on the capital. And then atleast 10k per year for all the formalities.

Secondly, you dont just need a business plan, you need a "sturdy" business plan. Business plans are complex there's a lot to take care of.

Ps- Guide = help. I mostly work in Taxation and auditing.
 
^ Why looking to steal some ideas ? :P jking :)

I don't really have the grand plan of starting a company per se. Rather building some thing in the cryptocurrency space (bitcoin). Been working on the business plan, initial design documents for the software build etc. Initial market and competitor returns do make things look rosy (a valuation of over 10-15 lakhs in a year which I doubt but then "umeed for duniya kayam hain" :) )
Had a tough time finding Python and Java developers to do it - you would think with India as IT hub that could have been least of my problems. About 60-70% of the devs I talked to could quote me java examples off the book, presented with a problem they were completely blank. They were like rattu totas, just "guide" them how to do it which really got my goat.
 
abhi1984 said:
^ Why looking to steal some ideas ? :p jking :)

I don't really have the grand plan of starting a company per se. Rather building some thing in the cryptocurrency space (bitcoin). Been working on the business plan, initial design documents for the software build etc. Initial market and competitor returns do make things look rosy (a valuation of over 10-15 lakhs in a year which I doubt but then "umeed for duniya kayam hain" :) )
Had a tough time finding Python and Java developers to do it - you would think with India as IT hub that could have been least of my problems. About 60-70% of the devs I talked to could quote me java examples off the book, presented with a problem they were completely blank. They were like rattu totas, just "guide" them how to do it which really got my goat.
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Yeah, most the times stolen ideas work pretty well (Microsoft, Facebook etc etc) :p There 2-3 Indian cryptocurrencies already. Desicoin, india coin etc etc. Even once I also tried to do same thing. avicoins :p however due to other commitments I couldn't.

regarding finding devs, its always difficult. India is a Service IT Hub. Not in coding. Anyways, post in Hasjobs.co, you may find some cool python devs. Or better head to https://bitcointalk.org and post a request in its marketplace.

PS: I am also a python dev, PM me if you are interested working with me. lets make tons of money, what say? :p
 
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@avi I've applied for the DIN; will be getting it within a few days. Once I get that, I will apply to register the company by this Thursday. Taking the help of a CA nearby my home to do all this.

And regarding finding devs, even I had the same problem while searching for website developers for our site. There are just too many freelancers and agencies who will flock to you once you put up the request, but only a handful of them were skilled enough to understand what we wanted.

Most talented devs are working on their own startups or ideas. So, it is quite possible to reach them and offer work. Some of them take it up if they are in need of money or experience, or they just like what you're doing.

@abhi1984 I suggest you to find a co-founder instead of hiring someone. @avi has shown interest, have a talk with him :D
 
avi said:
Yeah, most the times stolen ideas work pretty well (Microsoft, Facebook etc etc) :p There 2-3 Indian cryptocurrencies already. Desicoin, india coin etc etc. Even once I also tried to do same thing. avicoins :p however due to other commitments I couldn't.

regarding finding devs, its always difficult. India is a Service IT Hub. Not in coding. Anyways, post in Hasjobs.co, you may find some cool python devs. Or better head to https://bitcointalk.org and post a request in its marketplace.

PS: I am also a python dev, PM me if you are interested working with me. lets make tons of money, what say? :p
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Well thats a bad precedence and then the postscript doesn't work ;) specially when you mention FB, it really turned out to be bad for the Winklevoss twins. :)

Not really interested in coins - they are just penny stock style offerings. Next to nothing in value and unnecessary power wastage.

btctalk is not a good place to these requests. I have personally known people who got blackmailed - initial offer was to do some work for a normal price, with each passing week demand increased - asking more money to release the work.
Hasjobs looks good for a another idea I have. Just need to first get this crypto thing off the ground.

@blkrb0t - the idea was to find a co-founder. Though issue is I faced was people working with minimum supervision and all money being paid out of the profits if the idea works. Not many people take well when both those conditions are put together.
Most are not familiar with the crypto-currency space so I understand people's concern on how things will eventually be delivered. But as a non-programmer, I too have a limitation of being able to get what people are saying and what actually the issue is. So needed a self starter.
Secondly with crypto currency being a relatively new field. So many devs I found weren't really receptive. If I had mentioned a clothesline store, maybe they would accept the idea itself :)

So in the end, got a friend to do it. Even he wont be paid for his efforts but he is okay with it :P
 
blkrb0t said:
@avi I've applied for the DIN; will be getting it within a few days. Once I get that, I will apply to register the company by this Thursday. Taking the help of a CA nearby my home to do all this.

And regarding finding devs, even I had the same problem while searching for website developers for our site. There are just too many freelancers and agencies who will flock to you once you put up the request, but only a handful of them were skilled enough to understand what we wanted.

Most talented devs are working on their own startups or ideas. So, it is quite possible to reach them and offer work. Some of them take it up if they are in need of money or experience, or they just like what you're doing.

@abhi1984 I suggest you to find a co-founder instead of hiring someone. @avi has shown interest, have a talk with him :D
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You guys were searching for a web dev or web designer? there are plenty people in India who are into web designing, however difficult to find good web devs. Whats your code base? (don't tell me its PHP :hungover:)

btw keep posting updates here and also all the procedures you went through. it will help others also. And also I hope your CA isn't charging you exorbitant amount from you.
abhi1984 said:
@blkrb0t - the idea was to find a co-founder. Though issue is I faced was people working with minimum supervision and all money being paid out of the profits if the idea works. Not many people take well when both those conditions are put together.
Most are not familiar with the crypto-currency space so I understand people's concern on how things will eventually be delivered. But as a non-programmer, I too have a limitation of being able to get what people are saying and what actually the issue is. So needed a self starter.
Secondly with crypto currency being a relatively new field. So many devs I found weren't really receptive. If I had mentioned a clothesline store, maybe they would accept the idea itself :)
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I have to agree with you here with my past experience of entrepreneurship. It's very very difficult to find co-founder someone who understands everything, the technology involved, the idea and every other strategy. IMO, finding a bride is lot easier. However you still need to get someone. It changes the whole game altogether. You will be able to do much more work and things will improve.

however in your case its difficult. cryptocurrency is still a new concept for many Indian devs.

and people don't PM me for your bitcoin ventures, I was just kidding :P
 
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