Activated Scale

In this episode, of How I'm Building This, Prateek interviews Sneha Saigal, the founder of Geeks and Experts, a PR marketplace. Sneha shares her journey into entrepreneurship and the challenges of being a bootstrapped founder. She discusses the advantages of being bootstrapped, such as the ability to make quick decisions and set your own pace. Sneha also talks about the importance of pivoting and niching down to find success. She provides tips for startup founders on how to approach PR and build relationships with journalists. Finally, Sneha shares her insights on managing mental health as a founder and discusses the future plans for Geeks and Experts.

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Takeaways:

Being a bootstrapped founder allows for quick decision-making and setting your own pace.
Pivoting and niching down can lead to success in the startup world.
Building relationships with journalists and being proactive in PR can help startup founders get their name out.
Managing mental health as a founder is crucial, and it's important to set boundaries and prioritize self-care.
Geeks and Experts is focused on building case studies and expanding their in-house capabilities while also investing in a product that will streamline their marketplace.

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Sound Bites:

"Every day is an exciting day. There's no day that looks the same."
"You want to grow but you don't want to burn out while you're growing."
"Start building out your story and connections with journalists from the day you start."

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In this episode, we cover:

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:02 The Importance of Pivoting

06:50 Challenges and Advantages of Bootstrapping

13:12 Approaching PR in the Early Stages of a Startup

19:42 Managing Mental Health as a Founder

23:01 Mistakes and Lessons Learned

26:37 Balancing Work and Personal Life

29:00 Future Roadmap: Building Case Studies and Developing a Matching Product

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Where to find Sneha:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/snehasaigal

Geeks and Experts: https://www.geeksandexperts.com

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Where to find Prateek:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateekmathur

Activated Scale: https://www.activatedscale.com

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For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email prateek@activatedscale.com

Prateek Mathur

Before founding Activated Scale, Prateek spent the last 20 years selling for and building sales teams at startups and public companies. He has won numerous awards and recognitions over his sales career. Over the last 5 years, he has advised a number of startups on their GTM, sales hiring etc. Prateek has intricately seen the pitfalls that startups face when scaling their business and hiring sales talent. With Activated Scale, he aims to make sales hiring easier by connecting companies with experienced US-based sales talent fractionally. Prateek is fascinated by the drive of a startup founder and loves their passion, vision and mission to reimagine our world.