Welcome to one more edition of 2by2 - wherein I attempt to demystify big questions using the power of 2by2.

Today, the big qn is whether your AI tool is a feature or a product.

There are 2 broad parameters to look at when answering this - customer benefit (i.e. value as perceived by your customers) AND integration / implementation effort.

Do listen to this episode and share your feedback. What else would you like me to talk about? Do share.

More: https://sinha.nextbigwhat.com

Founders are often confused whether to bootstrap or raise funding?

First of all, there is no right or wrong answers here.

"What'ever floats your boat" is a generic advice, but there has to be a better framework for founders to make a well-informed decision.

At scale (say $100mn+ revenue or Series D onwards_, startups are all about 2 things

1. Control
   i.e. ability to control your decisions, your destiny, your path. Given the gen AI world we live in where companies are getting disrupted with each and every new model launch, you need to have a lot of control on your decision making. This also helps you move fast, take quick decisions and not be at the mercy of your competition’s agility.

2. Growth
   Of course, nobody wakes up saying ‘I want to build a slow growth business’. We all want high growth business - but here is the reality: growth comes at a cost. And we all have seen what happened to those high-growth businesses of 21,22 (ZIRP era). They don’t even have money to pay salaries to their employees. Founders are left with neither growth nor control of their business.

So what’s the right framework to look at this dilemma? Enters 2 by 2 :)

Do review/share your feedback.

The ixigo story by Aloke : On being a cockroach to surviving and thriving!

This episode brings you insights from the keynote delivered by Aloke Bajpai at UnPluggd conf, India's largest startup conference.

Aloke shares the early days of ixigo and how the company survived economic downturn to VC rejections..and everything else!