Anupam Mittal, renowned entrepreneur, tech investor, and Shark Tank India judge, recently addressed a common excuse many aspiring founders use —“I don’t have time to get started.” Mittal cuts through this frequently heard statement with a powerful truth: most people aren’t short on time, they are short on courage. He urges would-be entrepreneurs and professionals navigating the “0 to 1” startup journey to stop waiting for perfect conditions and instead start hustling with what they have right now.
The Key Barrier: Fear Over Time
Mittal’s message revolves around courage over time scarcity. Many delay starting because of fear of rejection, overanalysis, or a fixation on infinite market research and large capital. In his view, real validation and momentum come from tangible hustle—building, testing, and adjusting on the fly, rather than sitting idle.
Practical Steps to Immediate Validation
Anupam Mittal’s playbook for founders beginning with zero resources involves three simple but effective actions to validate if an idea can gain traction:
- Start with a WhatsApp Group:
Create a small group of friends, family, and even strangers. Share a mock-up—far from perfect using AI-generated images if needed. Do not pitch aggressively but solicit honest opinions: “What do you think?”
This low-barrier crowd engagement quickly signals whether your idea resonates at a personal level. - Expand Outreach Into Online Communities:
Drop the same mock-ups into Reddit threads, Facebook groups, and niche forums where your target audience hangs out. Watch for comments, discussions, and unsolicited engagement from people who aren’t in your immediate circle. If strangers care enough to interact, you have promising market signals. - Build a Fake-but-Functional Website:
This doesn’t require inventory or fully developed products. Use photos, descriptions, and basic purchase or sign-up options to mimic a real site. Gauge if visitors place “orders” or inquiries. This is a strong indicator of market demand. If you can’t build a website, even a physical poster in the community works for early validation.
For service-based ventures, Mittal advises creating decks, landing pages, or “demos” that look real online/fake but are enough to start selling first and figuring out deliverables later. This approach, he notes, was how his companies like Shaadi.com and Makaan.com first secured revenue before fully building out their services.
Read this: Anupam Mittal Turns Celebrity? He Makes His Bollywood Debut with Diana Penty & Tamannaah Bhatia
Real-Life Inspiration of Anupam Mittal
Mittal’s own entrepreneurial start mirrors this no-delay hustle mindset. Early in his career, he bypassed heavy funding or exhaustive market studies and tested ideas in the real world, at times selling websites before product readiness. He underscores that the stumbling block is usually fear of rejection, not lack of time or resources.
Read this: Anupam Mittal Says Young Founders Should Learn Selling Early to Become a Killer Business Guy
Summary:
Anupam Mittal’s straightforward message for entrepreneurs is to stop hiding behind excuses related to time and preparation, and instead embrace courage and immediate action. By starting small—opening chats, sharing mock-ups, and building minimal viable representations of their ideas—founders can quickly test waters and build momentum. Drawing from his own journey and those of startups he has backed, Mittal reasserts hustle as the cornerstone of turning ideas into successful enterprises.
