Aam Aadmi Party’s success in the recent Delhi elections is nothing less than magical and as a geeky analogy, quite similar to a consumer startup hitting 1 million unique users mark in just few months of launch. Arvind is no less than an entrepreneur and AAP is no more than an early stage startup. Arvind Kejriwal’s fairytale story has so many parallels with what a typical entrepreneur in India goes through while running their startup e.g. shoestring budget, number of naysayers and other countless obstacles. AAP’s rise is so phenomenal that it naturally draws attention and calls for: what has AAP done right to get to where they are today? I looked at the top five factors that I believe make or break a startup and see how AAP has fared against them.
1. It’s about you, you and only you!
Just over two years ago Arvind sat on a fast with Anna in Ramlila Maidan with a vision to transform the country and its political establishment. In last two years he has faced challenges from left, right and center – supporters left him, parties accused him, extremists threw black ink and chappals at him – but he stood tall and kept moving with the same intensity for the cause he was fighting for. A startup is a similar emotional journey made of dreams, passion, hunger and hard work and all these qualities are driven from the attitude of the team behind the startup. It is you, your motivation, your interest, your enthusiasm, and your perseverance that make the difference in success or failure of your startup.
2. Find a crisis that you can solve
Arvind found a genuine pain point (or in fact a crisis) that most people of the country are currently facing and are desperately looking for a change. He has been absolutely clear in his version of the problem statement – from day one it has been about corruption, poor governance and lack of transparency in the system. Similarly a startup has to crystallize the problem they are trying to solve. Do you clearly understand the customer pain points? Are those pain points felt by a reasonably large audience or in Arvind’s words “aam aadmi”?
3. Your solution is not my problem
Understanding the problem is only half the battle won, many social activists other than Arvind tried to solve this problem but nobody has been able to do it the way AAP has done so far. AAP’s proposition has been clear, consistent and attacks the problem heads on. Arvind has stripped down the solution to bare minimum and made sure the core elements (such as integrity, transparency and engagement) are spot on. For a startup also it’s extremely important to have a clear understanding of core features that are really awesome in addressing the pain points. If you get this right no matter how big your competitors (or parties) are you will be able to differentiate and win over your customers.
4. Good product will sell itself…well, not really!
Many political parties before AAP have shared same sentiments on numerous issues but have never been able to nurture their ideas into a mass movement. This was not because they didn’t understand the problems or had the wrong solution but because they were not able to reach out to right people with a clear message. AAP articulated its thoughts very effectively to a common man and used all possible marketing channels. Their use of modern media and internet has been truly innovative in the political arena. In order to succeed as a startup you have to think about distribution channels from day one and not as a after thought – you should be able to articulate your proposition to the right audience in the simplest possible way.
5. Lean is not mean
AAP’s success would not have been possible if they were not diligent with the use of resources they had available. In AAP’s case their strategic focus was clear from day one, with the limited resources and shoestring budget they didn’t want to spread themselves too thin and thus only focused on Delhi elections for the time being. This ensured their efforts were concentrated. Startups often make a mistake of going after everything and expanding too soon without conquering or adequately saturating one region. Lean principle also suggests that you should think big but start small!
Arvind has led the movement very well and I hope AAP grows bigger and better as time progresses satisfying many voters and followers. I think it’s a great example and inspiration for all entrepreneurs who are thinking of or running a startup currently. It’s a clear testament of how good ideas can become really successful if executed in the right manner!
