Bhuvana Rajaram – Dutch Uncles

10 Success Lessons from Mark Zuckerberg

Bhuvana Rajaram — Sun, 23 May 2021 06:05:05 +0000

Born as Mark Elliot Zuckerberg in May 1984 in New York, Zuckerberg runs one of the most thriving global conglomerates and most valued companies in the world that is synonymous with success, vision, ideation, entrepreneurship, social media, and networking that has a market cap of 324.90 $ (April 30th).

If he has the same 24 hours a day that we all have and the same adult human brain that weighs around 3 pounds, what makes him so outstanding and so outperforming?

These are the questions many of us will well ask ourselves when we see him splashed across magazines, Television channels and discussed threadbare in B-Schools and in several entrepreneurship meets.

Surprisingly, this American computer programmer who dropped out of Harvard University after his sophomore year in 2004 spends only 50 to 60 hours a week at his office. However, the flip side is that he dedicates his full day to dwell and obsess over Facebook which is the mission of his life.

This 37-year-old tech CEO confesses to starting his day at 8:00 am by doom scrolling through Facebook, Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp to catch up with the rest of the world. So, if you were contemplating on a digital detox and telling yourself to meditate first thing in the morning – think again. Because Mark Zuckerberg does exactly this as soon as he wakes up.

This is where it all began…

In February 2004, when Zuckerberg was 19 years old, he launched the facebook.com (renamed Facebook in 2005), which was predominantly a directory in which fellow Harvard students entered their personal information and photos into a template that he had designed. And in no time, much of the student body had signed up. Zuckerberg’s roommates, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes helped him add features and make the site available to other campuses across the country.
Facebook experienced swift success as registered users could create profiles, upload photos and other media, and basically keep in touch with friends. It had a key differentiator which was the feature of building a database of real people and including friends of friends which was a major hit.

In 2005, Facebook received its first venture capital funding of $12.7 million and then one thing led to another and as they say the rest is history. And today Zuckerberg’s net worth is at: $119.4 billion. Over the years Facebook has been mired in controversies and criticisms that even questioned if Mark Zuckerberg was really meant to be a CEO, but with each hurdle the company and the leadership has emerged stronger and rides successful till today.

Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg’s growth story will always be the holy grail for entrepreneurs keen on making it big. So, given below is a roundup of select key themes from Zuckerberg’s personal and professional lives that we can emulate. It is a motley list of management tips, life lessons and conscious behavioural changes for individual development and professional advancement.

Create a clear and compelling vision

Mark Zuckerberg has one of the grandest visions that any entrepreneur could possibly have – Of Connecting the World. With a world population of 7.9 billion people, and with Facebook presently having 2.80 billion monthly active users is striding forward on achieving its mission which is why it can attract and retain some of the best talent. Talent that wants to be a part of this vision. With a clear-cut vision comes the ability to lead the team forward in the right direction. Every entrepreneur must have a complete vision of what he or she wants to accomplish, and this is fundamental to entrepreneurial success.

‘‘

Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected.

- Mark Zuckerberg

Give wings to goals with passion

Get completely immersed in your vision and allow it to consume and engulf you. It is not uncommon for Mark Zuckerberg to stay up late to programme while at Harvard nor for his company to conduct all night hackathons. Some of these nightly sojourns have given birth to the Facebook features that we casually use such as Chat and Friend Suggestions. While it is not about night and day, what is important is the fact that when you passionately obsess over your vision some of the best breakthroughs happen. Entrepreneurial success comes only when you give yourself completely to the vision and obsess over how you can achieve that vision that is burning within you.

“Ideas don’t come out fully formed. They only become clear as you work on them. You just have to get started”. Mark Zuckerberg.

Keep the customer in mind always

When businesses build and create products and services with the customer at the forefront, it is always a win. It is very easy to fall prey to your product and eventually stay in love with it and completely lose sight of what the customer wants. This is one of the most common failures of entrepreneurship when the founders end up spending time on convincing the customer that they need the same. Instead, if entrepreneurs pause and understand the customer mind and get under their skin to know what makes them tick and then marry it to the entrepreneurial vision, the outcome is easily saleable. Facebook works with the overarching theme of what customers want to share about themselves in a social platform which is the driving motto behind the backend of Facebook.

Build simple but effective products

Making a product that is simple, easy to use, and addresses the key concerns of a well-defined target group is key. That is what Facebook excelled at. It never over engineered anything beyond a point and struck at an optimum point. In an overzealous attempt to dazzle the customer, entrepreneurs often make the product so feature rich that becomes counterproductive. As entrepreneurs it would be worthwhile to learn how to build a simple and effective product that fascinates the customer but never overpowers them as that puts them off.

“I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.” Mark Zuckerberg

Start small but think big always

While it’s admirable to have a grand vision and passionately think about it always. Actions are what will take you closer to the goal. Interestingly Facebook, while having the vision of connecting the world, took it small initially opening Facebook up only for college students, who are reachable and available. Scaling up immediately after founding can be extremely dangerous, however starting small and gradually building as funds and support trickle in will be a wise move. Entrepreneurial success is largely dependent on the first few years of stability which is when the team, customers, and money start to trickle in.

“I’m here to build something for the long-term. Anything else is a distraction.” Mark Zuckerberg

Rejig your teams as you move the needle

One of the sharpest things to do as an entrepreneur would be to know what type of team members you need at each stage of the company’s growth. This was something Mark Zuckerberg did intuitively. He shrugged off some of the founding members to bring in new talent as the company scaled. Facebook’s hire of Sheryl Sandberg as its COO was a prudent one and was instrumental for the company’s phenomenal growth. So, knowing what team should be in place at what stage of the company is required of business leaders. Entrepreneurs must keep the growth of the organization at the epicentre and never be clouded by emotions.

‘‘

I think as a company, if you can get those two things right--having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on the stuff--then you can do pretty well.

- Mark Zuckerberg

Communicate consciously with your people

There are several reports on how Mark Zuckerberg is always walking around the office communicating with his team and getting to know them at a personal level. This is one of the smartest and simplest things that any entrepreneur can do. When one invests energy in team members you have their wholehearted support without asking for it. Every entrepreneur while spending time in forming the team painstakingly must also invest a similar effort in keeping the channels of communication open with them. This gives them the enormous opportunity to know what excites the team members and cater to it accordingly which also helps the business well.

“Treat your employees right so they won’t use your internet to look for new jobs”. Mark Zuckerberg.

Be the master of your mind

At the centre of it all is the mind and the power that lies within it. During the entrepreneurial journey one must traverse a lot. There are several junctures when you are at crossroads, when you encounter losses, failures, decisions backfiring, trolls and criticism. As an entrepreneur you will have to build the mental stamina to cut the clutter and shut out the naysayers and continue to believe in what you set out to do and never waver from it. This is something that Mark Zuckerberg has cultivated and uses the energy spent otherwise on negative emotions to fan his curiosity, creativity, and agility.

“You don’t let people deter you. That’s how you do it.” Mark Zuckerberg

Strive to have a healthy body

It is not about wearing the same grey T-shirt everyday like Mark Zuckerberg, which he does anyway. Setting yourself up for success means starting to respect your body and keeping it fit, flexible and filled with energy. Mark Zuckerberg runs/works out thrice a week apart from running with his dog. Entrepreneurship begins with having good health and realizing that spending time on yourself is an investment of time and effort in your business as well.

“Health is certainly extremely important, and we’ve done a number of things at Facebook to help improve global health and work in that area, and I am excited to do more there, too. But the reality is that it’s not either-or. People need to be healthy and be able to have the Internet as a backbone to connect them to the whole economy.” Mark Zuckerberg

There are several allegations and scandals associated with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. But the fact remains that for entrepreneurial success and stardom he continues to be an inspirational figure. And emerging entrepreneurs will benefit largely by looking at the multiple success factors of Facebook and of its famous founder. While the path to achieving business success is different for everyone, Zuckerberg’s journey can certainly act as the right reminder when you tend to question yourself when – overwhelmed by the entrepreneurial insurmountable risks.

The post 10 Success Lessons from Mark Zuckerberg appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

How Does an Entrepreneur Pay Taxes?

Bhuvana Rajaram — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 09:30:04 +0000

“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax,” said the great Albert Einstein. If he could not understand the tax labyrinth, who could possibly master it? On that note we explore below what goes on in the Indian start-up scenario when it comes to paying taxes.

As an employee your taxes are straight forward, you receive your paycheck after paying taxes. However, as an entrepreneur you receive full payment and then pay the taxes. And as an entrepreneur you have the advantage of making use of the several tax benefits schemes that reduce your tax outflow. To begin with, here is a roster of prominent tax saving features for entrepreneurs which you can use for an intelligent conversation with your auditor.

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As an entrepreneur you have the advantage of making use of the several tax benefits schemes that reduce your tax outflow.

Prominent tax saving features for entrepreneurs

Family First

Hiring family members in key positions is an advantageous proposition. And if these members do not have other sources of income, then they can be paid Rs 2,50,000 a year and they are not liable to pay tax. These salaries can be accounted as a cost to the company, thereby the taxable income is reduced and as a result the tax pay out as well.

More Marketing

It is given knowledge that marketing efforts propel the business forward and afford you expansion opportunities. Also, digital marketing has gained traction and businesses can leverage this to increase overall profitability and mark these marketing expenses as cost to the company, as these expenses qualify for tax deductions.

Travel Time

If you are travelling on business, then it would be worthwhile to expense it to your company account. This is considered a business expense and can be deducted from the taxable income of the company.

Utilize Utilities

Tax burden can be brought down significantly by some of the basic utilities that every business spends money on – Preliminary expenses which are incurred during the setup of the entity. Convenience expenses which are incurred because of phone bills, vehicles and salaries. If you are in a home office set up, then electricity and internet charges are also deductible from tax.

Health Hazards

The medical insurance premiums of up to Rs 25,000 is claimable for tax deductions under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act, 1961. It includes your spouse, children, and parents under this. The caveat here is that this is not applicable if you are a start-up owner in parallel to being a full-time employee where the employer provides medical insurance coverage.

Give Good

Tax exemptions are applicable to when you make donations to the registered charities and funds such as the PM’s relief fund. In fact, you can also donate to a recognised political party to claim tax breaks.

Happy Homes

If you have a housing loan, you can claim tax deductions of up to Rs. 1,50,000 a year under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. Kindly link your PAN with the company.

Downward Depreciation

Companies (under Section 35AD) installing new equipment and machinery that have been installed for over a year can claim up to 20% additional depreciation, in addition to the regular depreciation in the year they were put in use.

Cash Crazy

If you are still stuck with cash disbursements to employees, please stop. As this increases your taxability and you are bound to pay more taxes. Adhere to digital transactions and adopt healthy tax saving practices.

Tax Compliance

Under the Income Tax Act, the payers (entrepreneurs) are liable to deduct a TDS at the rate of 10% for availing any service from an individual or a corporate if the payment exceeds Rs. 30,000 annually. In case you fail to deduct the same the entire amount paid will not be considered as an expense to the entity.

Are you an Eligible Entrepreneur? Here is a Checklist for Self-Assessment

Take this reality check to see if you are an entrepreneur in the real sense of the term according to the Income Tax department.

How old are you? You must be less than 10 years of age since formation.
How rich are you? Your turnover has not crossed 100 crores in any previous years.
What are your goals? You must be working to promote innovation, development of employment opportunities and wealth creation.
How were you formed? You must not be in existence due to a breakup of a company already in existence.
Which of the below best describes you?
Sole
Proprietorship
Partnership
LLPCompany
What is your identity?
Do you have a PAN? This is your unique number allotted by the Income Tax Department.
Do you have a TAN? This is required for TDS related compliances.
Do you require a GST
Required if income exceeds 40 lakhs and above for businesses engaged in goods.
If income exceeds 20 lakhs and above for businesses engaged in services.
Do you have a professional tax registration?
Do you have a shop and establishment license?
Do you have industry specific regulatory approvals?
Do you have an Import Export Code (IEC)? Necessary if your entity is involved in the import or export of goods and services.

If you have ticked all the above and have the necessary paperwork in place for qualifying to be as an eligible start-up, then you are entitled to enjoy the following tax benefits:

Initial Stage Waiver

If your entity has been incorporated between 1 April 2016 to 1 April 2021, then you can avail deduction of 100% of profits for a block of 3 years in the first 7 years of incorporation.

Angel Tax Waiver

When a domestic company wants to issue shares to public at Fair Market Value (FMV), the valuation is determined by the merchant banker based on the future cash flows of the company. In case the company decides to issue shares at a higher price than the determined FMV, such excess is treated as angel tax. With the requisite declaration with DPIIT and subject to certain conditions, eligible start-ups are exempted from Angel tax.

Set Off Waiver

The Income Tax laws provide for carry forward and set off of business loss. Meaning the same can be reduced from the profits of the future years. An eligible start-up is not taxed for the losses incurred in the first 7 years, provided the shareholders holding shares in the year of loss continue to hold shares in the year of set off.

Capital Gains Waiver

Long term capital gains from transfer of residential properties are exempted from capital gains tax if the consideration that it is invested in the equity shares of the eligible start-up.

ESOP Waiver

Eligible start-ups issuing ESOPs to its employees on or after the 1 April 2020 enjoy tax relaxation on deduction of tax on such ESOPs.

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Tax burden can be brought down significantly by some of the basic utilities that every business spends money on.

Types of Entrepreneurship and Respective Taxation

When it comes to entrepreneurship, which legal structure should your business take is a question you will have to think about. Not only is this important for your business to function, but it also has attendant tax benefits. In India, the three basic types of business structures that exist are:

Sole Proprietorship

Is a small and independent business owned by an individual, and they are unregistered and host hassle free operations. They are popular across the unorganized business sector and comprises merchants and traders with moderate incomes.

The taxation for sole proprietorship is conducted along with the business owner’s personal taxes. Therefore, the income generated from the business is added to the owner’s income after taking into consideration the deductions for tax, business expenses from the gross amount. They are entitled to enjoy the sole proprietorship tax deduction as per prevailing IT rules and upon the slab rates available to the taxable income.

Partnership firms and Company (Pvt. or Public)

Is a firm having more than one person conducting business under one entity and there are both registered and unregistered partnership firms. A registered partnership firm is one that is registered with the Registrar of Firms and has received a registration certificate for the same. And those that do not have a registration certificate from the Registrar of Firms is an unregistered partnership.
The taxation for partnership firm is required to pay the following tax percentages:

30% income tax – 12% surcharges where taxable income is above one crore rupees

Up to 12% on interest of capital is allowed

Health and Education Cess 4% of tax including surcharges

And unlike sole proprietorship the partnership firm has a different legal identity from that of its partners. Also, whether the partnership firm is registered or not they have to comply with tax norms. And they must also pay the alternate minimum tax which cannot be less than 18.5% of the adjusted total income.

Limited Liability Partnership (Hybrid of partnership and company)

With the rapid business growth across India, and the rise of the service sector there arose a need for a new form of organization that had the best of both Sole Proprietorship and Partnership. And this gave birth to the LLP which is a separate legal entity, and it stands separate from its founders. It has a minimum of two partners with no limit to the maximum number of partners. This type of hybrid organization is fairly easy to form and enjoys less restrictions and compliance as mandated by the Government.

The taxation for LLP is at a flat rate of 30% on its total income. There is a surcharge of 10% where total income exceeds one crore rupees. The amount of income-tax and the applicable surcharge shall be further increased by education cess and secondary and higher education cess calculated at the rate of 4% of such income-tax and surcharge.

Understand how to file your company’s ITR with these simple steps

Engage a practicing Chartered Accountant to audit your Financial Statements. This is mandated by the Income Tax Act Under Section 44AD.

Computation of Income Tax is the next crucial step. Calculate the difference between the total amount of Income Tax payable and amount paid as Advance tax or Tax deducted at source.

If the amount paid is greater than total income tax – get the refund.

If the amount paid is lesser than total income tax – pay the difference.

Obtain the Tax Audit report from the auditor who will provide the same in Form 3CA along with other details in Form 3CD.

File ITR once the auditor submits the audit report.

E-Filing: The entire filing process can be done only through the e-filing portal of the Income Tax website. The authentication of your signature is carried out through Aadhar Card and Bank Account numbers. Once your return is processed you will receive an e-assessment order from the IT department which will be notified to you via email. The refunds if any, are processed and dispatched within a reasonable timeframe. Your grievances can be registered through the same portal and you can also verify the tax deducted from various entities in Form No. 26AS, which is automatically populated in your IT return.

The post How Does an Entrepreneur Pay Taxes? appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

What are the steps a start-up must traverse in the IPO process?

Bhuvana Rajaram — Fri, 16 Apr 2021 10:35:03 +0000

While the coworking unicorn start up WeWork Initial Public Offering (IPO) debacle of August 2019 is fresh in the minds of start -up founders, it has also made them watchful and wary now. In a dramatic turn of events, WeWork brought down its valuation from a whopping $47 billion to a paltry $10 billion and removed its maverick CEO, Adam Neumann.

The global start up economy contributing to a behemoth $3 trillion in value has been tossed about during the pandemic crisis with a severe drop in VC funding and consumer appetite, leading to several closures and layoffs. It is common knowledge that start-ups in the Travel and Tourism and Automotive industries have taken a severe beating while Technology start-ups have manged to keep their heads above water.

The flip side is that the start-up sector is still eyeing the IPO as a coming-of-age sign in their growth trajectory. Many are making a beeline to the Wall Street, very recently Airbnb made waves with raising $3.7 billion after it priced at $68 per share. Digital transformation has been the game changer catapulting many start-ups focusing on cloud computing, analytics an artificial intelligence to float for IPO.

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The flip side is that the start-up sector is still eyeing the IPO as a coming-of-age sign in their growth trajectory.

Why should start-ups go in for an IPO?

Apart from raising the obvious ‘capital’ for the enterprise, seeking an IPO establishes fairly and squarely its merit worthiness. If you are a start-up operating with a long-term vision, it affords you cash flow, liquidity, employee shares, investors to exit and overall stature increases manifold. And one of the other key elements here, is the market exposure, because once public, the chances of expansion is more likely with people from across the globe finding and investing in you. And this is a fillip for the start-up brand. The rigour involved in getting listed can be enormous making the start-ups not just be satisfied in projecting numbers but also be rooted in firm – market and business fundamentals along with differentiated business models with high margins. Not to say that once publicly listed, there will be a loss of autonomy, perennial pressure for performance, mandatory compliance requirements, nevertheless, it is a dream moment for every start-up to cement their position in the world of business.

What are the 3 keys that tell you that your business is ready for an IPO?

The Core of Your Business

The very fact that you have a dependable product/service, you have the best team to continually improve it, you have the customer problem in the central, and you go all out to provide lasting solutions for this – is what will make you tick in the public eye. It can be tempting to put some quick runs on the board and resort to short term growth strategies, but public opinion resides on slow and steady, and in start-ups being a consistent performer with an enviable track record. As a start-up knowing this core, staying true to it, ensuring that this is driving every expansion tentacle is the first key that will demonstrate your readiness to go public.

The Agility of Your Business

Business decisions will play a humongous role, either it is playing pivot to change directions, or diversifying quickly into related areas, or entering new geographies to expand, or bringing in the requisite specialized talent, or deploying the necessary technologies to scale, a sharp business acumen to be on top of the game is crucial in your journey towards IPO. Start-ups will need to double or triple business volume in two to three years, so determine that goal and work towards it to make strategic moves that take you towards it. As a start-up your immense business knowhow and adaptability to market dynamics and customer demands will be the next key that will show you in unequivocal terms your readiness to go public.

The Reliability of Your Business

When you are in a pre – IPO state there are many things that you are expected to do. Simply because the public is not satisfied with one of your hallmarks, they want you to be hot, leading the race, gathering momentum, rolling out cool products, partnering with reputed names in the industry and so on. So, you must earn their trust, and through it all be original and genuine. It could be giving back to the society, or standing up for your employees, or connecting with employee families, little acts can do wonders to establish you as a trusted and reputed start-up in their mind. As a start-up your brand persona is being built every second and this the third key that puts you on the path to IPO.
The above keys are interrelated and act as cornerstones in providing you an honest report on your eligibility criteria to go public. And gives you a chance to insulate your start-up from the market dynamics that you cannot control.

What are the tenets that prepares you for an IPO?

The run up to the IPO can be laborious and long drawn process that can quash the groundswell of enthusiasm of any start-up, but if a plan is ready with the right team – then it becomes a largely a doable accomplishment. And what exactly makes this doable?

Financials form the fulcrum of this trek up, getting a trusted committee in place replete with specialists spanning risk, finance, audit, legal, taxation and regulatory body, banking, underwriting will be the first and foremost activity that a start-up should undertake. And this is a committee that has a significant exposure to IPO guidelines and must have experience in handling large scale IPO deals and clearly steer the start-up in the direction of going public.
Technology will be the next step that aid the reporting of financials. Large amounts of data, history, present and predictions will have to be dynamically generated. Manual reporting, Excel spreadsheets and simple data analysis is not only not scalable but is prone to error and drags the process. Smart use of technology that integrates quickly with other systems and can dynamically populate data dashboards for analysis will be the need of the hour.
Process rigour internally can be instrumental in assuring a clean house. Regular auditing, controls and checks must be implemented and conducted based on a set cadence. This will unearth financial irregularities and enable a quick course correction instead of a massive financial quagmire later.
Transparency is another pivotal piece in the IPO pie. Conducting frequent roadshows to meet investors, analysts, bankers and sharing start-up financials establishes credit worthiness. Honest and frank reporting on earnings, cash flows and outlook can turn out to make the start-up be seen favourably in the public eye. The start-up needs to be perceived as an entity in control of the affairs with access to large acquisitions that will open avenues for cash. And this will ensure that as a public company you can swim in deeper seas and not just in safe shallow waters.
Risk is another force that the start-up will have to mitigate. Insider trading, false representations, misrepresentation of financial data, employee speaking out of turn and fraud are some of the risks involved. Start-ups will need to address these litigation hurdles and be prepared to fix them and ensure quick corrective measures so that they don’t dent the start-up image. Also, as a public company it is more exposed to market volatility and the public will not hesitate to jump out and board another bus. So, preparedness to handle sudden and abrupt plunge in stock prices is paramount.
Timing can make or break a successful IPO. While start-ups may have all the above in perfect order, if they miss to market watch and roll out the IPO when the market is not bullish it will lead to aborted or unsuccessful IPOs. So, working with analysts and experts and assessing the market and launching when the demand is high with public in full support can make the journey seamless.

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As a start-up knowing this core, staying true to it, ensuring that this is driving every expansion tentacle is the first key that will demonstrate your readiness to go public.

What exactly steps should a start-up take to go public?

The below list comprises milestones that lead up to the IPO and once public.

Have you selected an investment bank associated with the regulatory body? They collaborate with the start-up to provide underwriting services in issuing the IPO. Careful selection based on reputation, network, expertise will be helpful in staring on the right note.
Have you methodically scoured through the due diligence paperwork that the underwriter draws up, ensuring the clauses and contracts are accurately documented?
Have you partnered with the underwriter to conduct roadshows to glean information on the demand to prepare number of shares to offer?
Are you ready to Go Live after ensuring the above aspects are ticked off along with the under writer to launch the shares in the market?
Have you monitored and used wisely the period following the listing where there are no rules determining the price?
Finally enter the market, after which it is only the market conditions and the start-up performance that ascertains the share price.

The IPO Floats from around the world

Global

Some of the recently concluded and much anticipated IPOs of 2021 globally are Compass, UiPath, AppLovin, Joann, Thoughtspot, Rivian, Coursera, Instacart, Robinhood, Databricks, Nextdoor and Ascencus.

Europe

While Silicon Valley has hogged the limelight in start-ups venturing ahead with IPO, in Europe start-ups looking to be listed are Moonpig, Deliveroo, Transferwise, WorldRemit, Draktrace, Music Magpie Trustly, Kahoot, Trustpilot, Truecaller, Epidemic Sound and Valuer.

China

In China, a large crop of start-ups went public in 2020, and the pace seems to be only growing with Megvii, Yitu Technology, CloudWalk Technology, and talks of ByteDance’s Douyin and Toutiao and Didi Chuxing making the foray as well.

Russia

Signs are encouraging with several companies filing for IPO and expecting to raise $10 billion. A gold mining organization GV Gold, recently announced plans for an IPO, while the Russian eCommerce firm Ozon was listed on Nasdaq in November 2020.

Middle East

As for Middle East, Saudi Arabia leaped ahead with a spate of IPOs such as Dr Sulaiman Al Habib’s $700m IPO, Amlak International, BinDawood Holding and the gargantuan Aramco. And UAE is likely to go public with MAG Development and Seafood Souq General Trading.

Done right, start-ups can make it to the big league with an IPO, however, that can be the start of another major journey. And here, the responsibility of conducting business operations as a public company is steep and start-up owners need to be cognizant of this expectation.

The post What are the steps a start-up must traverse in the IPO process? appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Bhuvana Rajaram – Dutch Uncles

10 Success Lessons from Mark Zuckerberg

This is where it all began…

Create a clear and compelling vision

‘‘

Facebook was not originally created to be a company. It was built to accomplish a social mission - to make the world more open and connected.

- Mark Zuckerberg

Give wings to goals with passion

Keep the customer in mind always

Build simple but effective products

Start small but think big always

Rejig your teams as you move the needle

‘‘

I think as a company, if you can get those two things right--having a clear direction on what you are trying to do and bringing in great people who can execute on the stuff--then you can do pretty well.

- Mark Zuckerberg

Communicate consciously with your people

Be the master of your mind

Strive to have a healthy body

How Does an Entrepreneur Pay Taxes?

‘‘

As an entrepreneur you have the advantage of making use of the several tax benefits schemes that reduce your tax outflow.

Prominent tax saving features for entrepreneurs

Family First

More Marketing

Travel Time

Utilize Utilities

Health Hazards

Give Good

Happy Homes

Downward Depreciation

Cash Crazy

Tax Compliance

Are you an Eligible Entrepreneur? Here is a Checklist for Self-Assessment

Initial Stage Waiver

Angel Tax Waiver

Set Off Waiver

Capital Gains Waiver

ESOP Waiver

‘‘

Tax burden can be brought down significantly by some of the basic utilities that every business spends money on.

Types of Entrepreneurship and Respective Taxation

Sole Proprietorship

Partnership firms and Company (Pvt. or Public)

Limited Liability Partnership (Hybrid of partnership and company)

Understand how to file your company’s ITR with these simple steps

What are the steps a start-up must traverse in the IPO process?

‘‘

The flip side is that the start-up sector is still eyeing the IPO as a coming-of-age sign in their growth trajectory.

Why should start-ups go in for an IPO?

What are the 3 keys that tell you that your business is ready for an IPO?

The Core of Your Business

The Agility of Your Business

The Reliability of Your Business

What are the tenets that prepares you for an IPO?

‘‘

As a start-up knowing this core, staying true to it, ensuring that this is driving every expansion tentacle is the first key that will demonstrate your readiness to go public.

What exactly steps should a start-up take to go public?

The IPO Floats from around the world

Global

Europe

China

Russia

Middle East