interview with an entrepreneur-helpost
TRANSCRIPT
Jagan Institute of Management Studies (JIMS) | www.JimsIndia.org
JIMS, Rohini, Sector 5 student, PGDM Batch 2014-16 Shriyak Negi interviewed Mr. Amol Goel founder of Helpost, Information
Provider on
his “success story” during his Internship.
Interview with an Entrepreneur
Shriyak NegiPGDM 2014-16
#HELP HAS ARRIVED
Entrepreneur-Mr. Amol Goel Founder Helpost
Amol Goel, the founder of Helpost is a young, impassioned and creative entrepreneur. He pursued his Masters in Marketing, Advertising and Communications, from the world renowned Nottingham Business School. Helpost was founded by him with the idea of creating the world’s biggest Help community. With presence in seven different cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, and Chandigarh, Helpost today boasts of a social media outreach of 100,000 people. Apart from work, he loves to travel and spend time with his friends and family. An art enthusiast, he appreciates emerging artists and exhibitions. Food & wine habitué, he certainly loves to play. So here’s getting to know him more in an interview where he talks about his venture, his motivation and all that it takes to build a successful entrepreneur out of oneself.
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No one starts with the thought that I have to become an entrepreneur. People start with the thought that I want to establish this particular activity. It is in the journey when we look post the activity what we have become. That is the terminology that we say that we have become an entrepreneur .One year down the line when I look back retrospectively, yes I have become entrepreneur. “The real inspiration comes from inside.”Q-What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
Q-When was it that you felt you want to become an entrepreneur?
What inspired me to become an entrepreneur is the same thing that inspires every human being when he starts to do something. I want something, I believe in something and I need it really bad. Nothing is going to stop me. Neither the low downs, the failures, small or big. The real inspiration comes from inside. No one else can inspire you in true sense. “Help is not just about community service or about social work. It is about using your energy to fulfil something.”
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Q-How did the idea of Helpost come to you?
Whenever I needed help it was easy for me to reach out to people because whenever people needed help I was there for them. It comes from the feeling of knowing you are not alone, you can reach out to people and they will help you, because you’ve been there for them. For instance, once when I was in Venice, the person I was travelling with had left his passport in a phone-booth. It was only when he reached the next country he realised his passport was missing. When I went to check for his passport at the phone booth I found a written message left by the person who found it along with his number and email address. As I was also leaving, I clicked a picture of it and sent it to my friend. So the person in Venice got in contact with my friend who was next leaving for Germany, so by the time he reached his hotel in Germany his passport was already there. So why can’t I find more people like this who are ready to help. There are millions of us, it’s just that we don’t know each other. So the idea was to create a place where we can help each other. Help is not just about community service or about social work. It is about using your energy to fulfil something. So the idea was to create help transactions. Find people who can be productive to each other. “I want everyone’s energy to be out there. It’s like wanting every person to roam around with a placard in their hand which lists out all his talents.”
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Q-So you want to build up a connection of people who want to help with those who want to get help?
I want everyone’s energy to be out there. It’s like wanting every person to roam around with a placard in their hand which lists out all his talents. Our small towns are brimming with talent. These people can be at so many bigger places. They can’t just connect with the right people. With the help of technology I want the world know the potential in each of us. So that each of us get the opportunity to get what we deserve. “I want to kill the white collar attitude.”
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Q-What edge does Helpost have over companies of the same trade or is it going to be the first company to provide people with such service?
So there are lot of companies out there who are trying to connect people. Our idea is not to connect people, but to use the current culture through the help of technology and connect relevant people wherever possible. I want to kill the white collar attitude. I may not wear corporate suits all the time, I would any day prefer denim shirts or denim jeans but when it comes to work, there is no doubt about my sincerity. I can work just as good or even better than the others. So the idea is to connect useful people irrespective of what colour shirt they wear, or what cities they come from or what language they speak or how fluent they are in English.
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Q-With the internet full of so many options, how can Helpost get people to access information over it?
Helpost in terms of business is not as such a unique idea. It is an extra module that Helpost has. The idea was that if people can’t help each other, the job has to be done still, so let the business reach out to them, let the people reach out to businesses. As a whole project everything goes hand in hand. So in future our algorithms would be like if you make any post for help you can choose to get help from people as well as businesses. Suppose you choose people, than people residing in your area who have that skill will get a mail and if you choose business than all the business in your area who have that expertise will get a mail that Shriyak wants help in this. Can you help? So basically we are not a standalone product. We are a multi-product business which provides people with a network to choose from.“When you make your first girlfriend, you realise that never have expectations. So is the thing with start-ups. Never have expectations.”
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Q As an owner of a start-up what are your future expectations from your company?
See, when you make your first girlfriend, you realise that never have expectations. So is the thing with start-ups. Never have expectations. Yes, I am a human, I do have expectations. One of the expectation I have is that my team should be as hardworking and as committed as I am, which with God’s grace is happening. Second expectation is to keep growing the way we are growing, and third is to not lose our enthusiasm because of our small failures. And finally, I don’t want anything in the world to stop only because the right person couldn’t be connected with job. Helpost the word comes from the Finish word that is ‘helposte’ that is to do things easily. If I can’t make people’s life easy so the whole purpose of Helpost fails. So till the time everyone can’t reach out to Helpost, and Helpost can’t reach out to everyone, we won’t stop working. This is one the biggest expectation I have from myself and from my company.“It is not about Helpost.com, it’s about the idea Helposte.”
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Q-There are so many big player in the IT sector already. How do you thing Helpost can set its foot in the market.
Ours is not an IT-company. We are start-up that is tech-based. We are not competing with anyone. Helpost is an idea. For this idea we are using the basis of tech as it is mostly easily available to most of us. But that doesn’t mean we are not available on ground. Whatever it takes, we will do it. It is not about helpost.com, it’s about the idea helposte. So I don’t see ourselves as an IT company. We are a company which uses tech for its project.“The biggest success for an entrepreneur is to keep going and let not failures reach his head.”
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Q-What are the success and failure factors for an entrepreneur?
I’ll give you an anecdote. You see when a Gujrati is getting married, his parents don’t talk in terms of how much their son earns. Instead they talk about how many business enterprises their son has set up. So I think the biggest success for an entrepreneur is to keep going and let not failures reach his head. The biggest asset to an entrepreneur is to stay attached to his work, but when required detach from it.
Q-Do you think it’s important to attend a business school to become a successful entrepreneur?
I don’t think it’s important, but it definitely adds to your expertise. I think people who go to business school should go there after a bit of experience because then you know how to apply what you are learning. What is being taught in the class doesn’t just remain theory then. You know where it matters.“Start-ups are growing at a speedy rate, so everyone wants a piece of the pie.”
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Q-As an investor why should invest in a start-up?
In India, at present, to invest in a start has become more of CSR. (Corporate social responsibility). I believe there are two good reasons to invest in a start-up right now. First is the kind of PR value you get. Second is that start-ups are growing at a speedy rate, so everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Q-So my last question to you- If not an entrepreneur what would you be?
A traveller. I have travelled a lot. I have done a lot of sponsored travelling. It is something which I’d like to even now also. I haven’t taken a single day off for past two years. So it’s something I’d always want to go back to.
Jagan Institute of Management Studies
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