arnav @arnav_kumar Twitter profile

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

"You don't find Tiger Global Tiger Global finds you " - Indian startup ecosystem folklore

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

I have an announcement to make...

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

The startup founder urge to craft roles for every smart person you know/admire for their work

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Timeless career growth advice: 1. Be the most audacious person in the room 2. Be the most hard working person in the room The whole bag of shenanigans can't beat this :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

I interview several freshers for junior roles every week.. Whenever I meet an extraordinary candidate, I try to dig deeper into their backstory Almost always, I uncover a superwoman mom and a story of triumph. Second order effects at play here

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

every founder doing 0->1 should know : 1. Canva 2. How to run facebook, instagram & youtube ads Gives you wings 💸💸 Wish I had learnt it sooner

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The Indian K-12 education market is goldmine .. because the payer (Indian parent) is often more motivated than the user (the student) to get A grades

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

How to ask for help from experts (who aren't friends) Small 🧵 1. Always ask for tactical specific help, not strategic 'views' ✅ How did you get your first 1000 Youtube subscribers ❌ Do you think Youtube will work for my startup?

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

This is so absurdly simple that I am worried I am missing something

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Happy birthday to the most indomitable person I know.. and whom i totally don't deserve :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Startups should hire a VP of HR ... before a VP of anything else We're now hiring for one DM/ share profiles pls :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

The greatest joy as a manager is to find someone whose bar for execution is higher than yours so that you can .. emm... stop managing :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Early stage startups should either hire a 'Master of Trade' who can give them a real unfair advantage OR a 'Relentlessly Resourceful Agents' who will go through walls and move mountains to get things done There is no middle ground

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

As a first time 25 yo founder -> Losing sleep over what is not working. Trying to fix it As a third time 33 yo founder -> Figuring what is working, why it is working, how to pour gas on the fire Be on offense, all the time #shoedog #nike

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Working with grown ups is delightful❤️ And easy.. And efficient.. Also, 24 y.o.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

If you don't have product management experience but want to get in.. The easiest path today is to pick up a no-code stack, build an MVP for something that should exist. Next, start spending 200 bucks a day on insta/FB to get users. Keep iterating. You will get the job offer

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Wife working late today. Lullabied my clingy mama's boy to sleep in five mins. No fuss Just nominated myself for a few forbes awards. And the lifetime achievement award. Please vote for me

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

14 days

I rarely feel the emotion of envy But then you meet a 30 something year old who has built a multi billion dollar business set to IPO, has installed the leadership that will take the business IPO And has decided to spend his next several years on his personal growth

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Mom runs a school in Ranchi. Mom's schoolkids are competing in a quiz. They won last year. So must win again So mom is taking a mock quiz at 8 am on a Sunday. She can't wait for grandkids to grow up. My kids will be competitive, all right.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

We always had the enthusiasm. We now have more fuel to build faster, think bolder and solve harder problems. Grateful for many things, but most for this relentless team of rockstars. And gutsy believers who back us

Leap raises $17 million to help Indian students study abroad | TechCrunch

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers and young adults get on flights each year from India to a foreign land to pursue higher education. Upon landing, they

techcrunch.com

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Met a candidate today Enjoys building, iterating and moving fast Wants to shake things up Wants to do audacious things and challenge herself Wants market salary and equity upside Didn't mention a superbike on joining Grilled me for 30 mins on what winning looks like

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist" - Pablo Picasso

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@arnav_kumar

3 years

Peak excitement at @LeapFinanceIn @LeapScholar today as we welcome @OwlVC and @Harvard Endowment Fund as partners in our mission. Along with early backers @Sequoia_India & @jungleventures

Owl Ventures and Harvard Management Company back India's study-abroad platform Leap in $55 million...

Leap, a two-year-old startup with headquarters in San Francisco and Bangalore that is helping students in India find the right college abroad, prepare for

techcrunch.com

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Waiting for an Indian VC fund to launch the equivalent of the Thiel fellowship. The best ideas come from a tinkering mindset. The propensity to tinker reduces dramatically with work experience/age.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

observation -> facebook is so dead that people now forget to delete cuddly photos of their ex(es) despite getting married Zuck bhai's ability to see the future and acquire instagram/whatsapp was 💯

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The downside of hiring a bad PM is very high because PMs are expected to make important make-or-break decisions. And while a lot of people are looking for PM roles, very few have the decision-making experience Hence PM hiring is more subjective than, say, engineering hiring

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

better than a 1000 word blog on edtech opportunity in India

Nilesh Trivedi

@nileshtrivedi

4 years

What a fascinating picture! (Source: unknown)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

This is getting real.. We are hiring.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Tier 1/ Tier 2 college/ background is not the point The point is how ambitious/ audacious your bar for winning/ greatness/ excellence is .... and how often/fast do you reset it .. This is the X factor You either have it or don't And it can only be self-taught :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

7 months

Felt exhausted Took an evening nap Woke up with cold sweat from a dream where I forgot to study inorganic chemistry for my JEE mains How are your 30's coming along?

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

I can't speak for everyone but being in office heightens sense of urgency and doubles the pace. It also gives more context to everyone hustling hard All 3 super critical for startups No new waves please 🛐📿🙏 Let this be

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

8 months

It is 2009 Someone asks Paul Graham about the best 5 founders of the last 30 years Paul Graham has Sam Altman on the list In 2009! Show me a better example of talent scouting and nurturing. Paul Graham's eye for entrepreneurial talent, drive and ambition might just be the

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

An uncle called asking who else can lead the country... so just clarifying that I tweet about company building, not politics.. 😂

arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The downside of hiring a bad PM is very high because PMs are expected to make important make-or-break decisions. And while a lot of people are looking for PM roles, very few have the decision-making experience Hence PM hiring is more subjective than, say, engineering hiring

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Every Indian startups' 1 year strategy in 8 words: 👇👇 "Whatever I need to get funded by Tiger"

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

EVERY Indian business needs to reimagine its customer service for a whatsapp-only-world sms/ email/ call is a very very poor cousin here

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

No one cares about your failures, except you. Accepting this is incredibly liberating.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Interesting question/ thought : If a startup wanted to position itself as the anti-Byjus, what would that one -line positioning be? Example: Shopify is the anti-amazon, hence "arming the rebels" Airbnb was the anti-hotels, hence "be a traveller, not a tourist" thoughts?

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Celebrating others' success wholeheartedly accelerates one's own growth

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Today is as good a day as any to acknowledge that I married up 🙏 cc @kumarharsha2212 #InternationalWomensDay

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

The best entrepreneurs are great at spotting talent early. Ab jaise Narayan Murthy ko hi dekh lo #RishiSunakPM

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Myth -> One can become a great Product Manager / Program Manager without being a great General Manager Reality -> Great Product Managers/ Program Managers layer specific skills on top of great General Management skills Small 🧵

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Having good judgement despite fuzzy, imperfect, incomplete data points is the highest order operating skill

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Web 1, web2 or web3 being the most hard working person in the room never goes out of fashion

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

It is hilarious that in 2013 the prevalent view in edtech was "You can't monetise content because so much of it is freely available" Our ability to build a smart-sounding, retrospective theories is so evolved :) And the prize of shattering them, so massive #byjus #unacademy

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Consumer internet, SaaS and Web3.0 😂

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

God, Give me the courage, gumption and boundless imagination of a 19 year old founder intent on changing the world This is one of the best reasons to have a founder network that stays young. It resets the courage barometer very often :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

🇮🇳 Our real demographic advantage is that young people learn 10X faster. Quality, not numbers alone It is hard to bet against India While hiring, I get to talk with 20-somethings and teenagers, who blow my mind. And show me the mirror And kindle the hustle 🤯⚡️🚀

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Gaining knowledge: In my 20s : hoarding knowledge using evernote, tagging, bookmarks, pocket "you have 1657 unread articles" FML In my 30s : Getting better at finding the right resource to solve my problem. learning with context learning faster using twitter FTW

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Fantastic quarter. What a feeling After putting endless hours, figuring new sources, using 3 consultants and a fancy ATS We are still 6 months behind our hiring plan !! Exactly where we were one quarter back 😂 hiring is fun, but verrryyyy hard need to do better help!!

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

5 years

Back-to-building update :) Equally excited and nervous to start my second entrepreneurial inning with @dvbydt @mayank_porwal18 @Sequoia_India @kunalb11

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

I have a joke on Indian railways but it is coming on another platform

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 months

The most poetic thing about yesterday was not the win or the wait. Neither the catch, not Bumrah' skill. Not the fact that the team's shoulders never sagged. The most poetic things was - two most accomplished players - titans of the game - Rohit and Virat - talking about

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

5 months

99% of career advice can be distilled down to: 1. Pick your lane (deep interest + capability + valuable for the world) 2.Put in the work 3. Become the top 1% in your lane Win

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Popular execution myth: "We'll do experiments and we'll figure what works" Reality: Experiments are expensive Experiments are meant to VALIDATE/ REJECT a hypothesis Using experiments to discover a hypothesis is like trying to boil the ocean Hypothesis first Always

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Wonder if there will be an app that limits podcast length to 9 mins 59seconds, like twitter did with characters Most podcasts need are needlessly long and need condesinh, just like most business books should just be condensed to articles

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

One day you are thinking that you are thinking big and doing the audacious The next you meet a founder/ operator who resets your bar Today is that kind of day -> panic inducing, belittling but ultimately, inspiring ❤️

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

If you are joining a young startup, the best thing you can do for yourself, is to make the startup a huge success. Everything you want - growth, recognition, learning - will happen as a consequence of the startup's success

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Happy 72nd birthday to kgp and all kgpians. The only tribe I have found, and super fortunate to be in this one :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Candidate emails me that I'm late for the interview Embarassed Me: So tardy of me.. I lost track of my time. What can I do to make it up to you. I am extremely sorry Cool candidate : No stress. Happens. Just follow me on twitter and we will forget abt this :) ❤️🙏🤗

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Every time a woman in a leadership role moves on from Leap, I start sweating extra hard Replacing them is hard enough Plus the wife's favorite conversation starter is - "So how many women do you have in leadership roles in your very meritocratic, fast-growing company" 😰

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The easiest way to delay revenue generation is trying to build the perfect product musings with @kumarharsha2212

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Unlike large corporates, startups have short memories. Here, you are as good as your metrics today This cuts both ways! You get many shots at being a rockstar But you have to earn that title everyday

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

To all budding founders looking for a co-founder, let me share an obvious secret - Your cofounder is already in your network - in your phonebook or linkedin connects ( first degree) There are exceptions to this but just take the easy way out 🙏 You've enough hard things to do

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Career advice queries (Role X? at company Y?) flowing in as fresh grads start their first jobs in the coming weeks IMHO... Either join a Blue Blooded firm that evokes admiration across the globe OR join a fast growing startup The middle is (mostly)barren ground

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The best startup operators (across functions): * Take their work super seriously * Don't take themselves too seriously This balance is a killer combo

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

5 people I know personally, including your's truly had the hunch that teaching code/logic to kids is a good idea All had concerns on market size/ unproven market So very often it just comes down to COURAGE

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Linkedin without a great Recruitment workflow/ Applicant tracking system.. is like Swiggy without food delivery. Completely absurd

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

The best operators are just so focused on winning.. They have no time to be offended or slighted This is a good heuristic for hiring/ culture in general

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Twitter >> Instagram Because ideas and thoughts build upon each other in a way that photos can't

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Product Management (like genius) is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration Inspiration -> Learn Best Practices Perspiration -> User Interviews, Building Consensus, Constant Iteration, Answering 'why' a 100 times We like PMs who hustle We are adding one PM to @LeapFinanceIn

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

There is a simple trick to 10X one's creativity/ problem solving / resourcefulness in the face of ambiguity Eliminate your plan B and go all in This is the startup operators' adaptation of "Necessity is the mother of invention"

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Going by my twitter timeline, Bangalore might have a Shreyas Doshi temple before next Christmas 🙏 #product #highagency #timetobuild

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Every young person I interview is doing crypto trading on weekends. From APMs in startups to 4th year students in lesser known Indian colleges All buying fancy coins because 'bitcoin returns are mediocre' :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

If you are not from a tier 1 school.. but want the aura of a top school grad, get 10K fans on any platform => twitter/linkedin/dribble/ gumroad/udemy/github/medium Show the spike ohh, btw we are hiring across design, product, engineering, operations, marketing

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Real confidence is hard fought, not a birthright. Confidence comes from wrestling with hard problems; and winning.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Fresh graduates often try to prove they are super smart.. sometimes at the cost of being reliable/ dependable You can't be the smartest person in every room Instead, be the most dependable person in every room 👆 Good 12 month goal post graduating

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

In a world where first impressions and brands matter.. being modest is a huge handicap... and India is modesty capital of the world ! Heaps of talent Heaps of modesty Maybe because we don't write essays to get into top colleges we don't learn how to become good storytellers

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Met a 22 yo founder Singular motivation is ' to shake things up in recruiting' Swept aside all mention of TAM, Strategy, Tech Valuation Just likes to Build Just likes to shake things up Just likes to obsess over his craft Simple | Uncomplicated | Inspiring #goals

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

unpacking ed-tech acquisition in 560 chars -> 1. ed-tech businesses are not repeat businesses 2. most user churn after 6-12 months 3. network effects are weak 4. attract a lot of me-too's 5. CAC goes up over time The biggest(only?)moat an education biz has is BRAND 1/2

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

1 year

Placement committee, 15 years apart #kgp ❤️

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

If there is only one thing I could learn from the silicon valley ecosystem.. I would choose 'how to craft/control your narrative' Control the narrative, control the world

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

YouTube music's recommendation engine is 💯. Just works! If it comes down to algorithms, don't bet against Google

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Manage your emotion well and play the long game. The rest will follow

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Hiring well is the ONLY way to scale culture *Constant reminder to myself while spending 20 hours a week hiring

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Income Share Agreements are cool.. But the most advanced ISAs have been offered by TCS/Wipro/Infosys since decades now They PAY YOU to get trained. And you get an assured job after training. And they make a ton of money doing it Beat that :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

If I could read the work/essays of only one person in the world, I would choose @paulg I am also very curious to know if Paul had to choose that one person, who would that be! Who would it be for you? Tweeting this to get lucky with the recommendation(s)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

11 months

The new boss is reviewing business plans ..

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

If you read a startup story which made you go - "this is genius" "they knew exactly what to do from the outset" "building these companies are so easy" "they got lucky" file the story under 'FICTION' Success is the outcome of 1000 lead bullets Grit >>> genius

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

Dressing Up >> Daily metrics Just for the day 😛

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

7 months

Interview today Junior/mid level candidate Me -"so when and why did you decide to quit your very chilled out WFH job" Candidate - "When my government jobber dad called me from office on a Tuesday afternoon and asked me if I could take his car for servicing. I realised it was

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

2 years

If you a cynic, avoid working with startups Startups are about playing offense Cynics are tuned to playing defense Bad marriage

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

In the best startups teams, people (subtly) strive to win each others' respect by moving metrics/ getting sh*t done This is a good North Star for culture/hiring btw, we are hiring for script writers and video editors :)

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Best guerrilla marketing campaign in many years Scrappy startup, built by first rate executors, getting the most bang for buck, riding off a big splash by a giant Underdog sentiment David vs Goliath Doing a lot with little Relentlessly Resourceful So much to love here ❤️

magicpin

@mymagicpin

3 years

You've got millions of reward points, but where are you going to spend them? Don't be distracted by celebrities! Download magicpin, India's #1 savings app, to save big on food, fashion, groceries, electronics and much more. #AsliSavings #magicpin

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

My nightmares have gone from.. "Sitting in JEE finals exam room and discovering inorganic chemistry for the first time" 😨📰 to "Not being present/ alert in a meeting because I missed my morning routine" 🏃🧘‍♂️ This is huge progress only 15 years late 😂 #congratulatingmyself

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

hunger >> skills >> credentials timeless hiring tip

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

Bumped into kgpians. Life is getting normal ❤️❤️

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

Mom test for pitch decks ... 👇 If you send your deck to an analyst at a VC fund ... Can they then pitch it as a no-brainer investment... to the partner in the fund... in < 120 seconds ........ if not, the deck/ pitch needs rework 99.9% pitches fail this test

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

4 years

a.k.a. A manager's job is to deconstruct the grand vision into actionable metrics/actions. Vision -> space travel for all Actionable -> build a reusable rocket Vision -> Sell everything to everyone in the world Actionable -> launch a e-commerce site selling books in US

Kunal Shah

@kunalb11

4 years

Think in abstract. Instruct in exact.

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

only 3 things matter in a pitch-deck 1. What is the inevitable future you are building and why is it important? 2. Why is YOUR approach to building the future, 10X better than other alternatives? 3. How far along are you in building the future and why will YOU win

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arnav

@arnav_kumar

3 years

The most interesting trend in ed-tech today is democratisation of brands small 🧵 Education has always been a BRAND business The strongest brand in the world are ed-tech brands (Harvard, IIT, MIT, IIM .. you get the drift) 1/n

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