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Springtide Hopes To Help India’s Youth Surge Ahead

With the largest youth population in the world, it’s no wonder India has startups springing up that are geared towards youngsters. One such startup is online publication Springtide.in where youth can find articles on pressing issues to share, explore and discuss.We touched base with founder and chief editor, Pawas Jain to find out what inspired the magazine-like online publication, and how struggling and criticism are all part of the startup game.

 

How’d you come up with the name for your company?

My basic concept was to represent the youth of a country, which is supposed to have the highest youth population in the world. I wanted a name which could connect with youngsters. I wanted one word, which could present the idea behind the magazine, which would need no further explanation. I hit on the name “SpringTide” when I found that it also means our younger days or a sudden rush of emotions and excitement. That was the very moment, it was born.

 

What’s the very first thing you do at work every day?

Without a doubt, I sign in into all the accounts of our venture, first thing in the morning and check out what has been going on while I was asleep. We do not have a physical office and practically some member or the other of our team is available and working 24 hours of the day. While I am asleep, our website designer might be coding, and when he is off from work, I might be taking follow ups, so you see, there is no ‘first’ thing we do, we just continue from where we left.

 

How many people did you start the company with and how many people work for you now?

Initially, I must say, I started the venture single handed. Once the website took off and the Facebook page was gaining popularity and we were close to launching our very first issue, I was joined by a very close friend. Then, the 2 of you did the brainstorming, whereas now after 8 months of operation, we have grown into a team of 10 young and dynamic people and a pool of about 7 bloggers and authors who are our regular writers.

 

 

Remember the early days starting up? Maybe you can share one anecdote that describes the struggle you went through?

Struggle is a part of starting up. There is no single such incident that I could describe but it was a time when even a single “Like” on the Facebook page would mean a lot. Pitching to people and asking them to join the page, when they had no idea what it was all about, was a really difficult phase. It was a time when I had to reach out to people to read the magazine and contribute, and it is amazing how we have reached a place where people reach out to us. It is very heart touching.

 

What’s your office environment like?

We do not have a physical office. Our work is  totally virtual and online and we need not meet physically except sometimes for partnerships and alliances. However, our core team, which comprises of 4 members, has an online communication thread where we usually do all the brainstorming about the upcoming issues, the website designs, the contests, the concepts, new innovations, ideas and technology. The work gets done very easily in an environment which is mostly humorous and intellectual.

 

How do you picture your company in 5 years?

Five years is a very long time, and statistically speaking, what we have achieved in 8 months, I can definitely see our magazine becoming India’s most read online magazine in 5 years. The response that we have received is overwhelming. We might be setting up a physical head office for carrying out the collaborations and promotions more easily. And since “Change is now”, who knows, what we might have innovated into in 5 years!

 

Who or what inspires YOU?

Nothing inspires me more than the spirit of the youth of my country. No doubt, there is this huge part of youngsters, which is disoriented, aimless and unproductive, but then awaking them and bringing together the rest is the very idea behind the inception of SpringTide. I do not have any role model as such, but humour, intellect and quick wit usually impresses me. I like reading quotation across the internet, but again, there is no such quotation that inspired me to move ahead. However, I do remember this quote which I read on one of the Facebook pages – “Your dream job doesn’t exist, You must create it!” I really liked it, and one other which supposedly said by Milton Berle – “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.

 

How’d you fund this venture?

Frankly, the thrust and the attraction of our business so far has been the fact that we haven’t invested a single penny. All the marketing is based on social media pages, the content sharing is based on cloud computing programs, and then there are emails, Facebook messages et al. However, we do realize that every business needs feeding some money into it, and we are all prepared for it. We might go in for bootstrapping since VCs is not a source of fund which has attracted me very much, given the fact, that I want the complete decision making power to rest in my and the core team’s hands. Who doesn’t know GitHub?

 

Got any great bootstrapping tips for the lean startups out there?

Just that if your idea is unique, then remember a few things:

  • Stick to your idea and don’t lose hope if your Facebook page had only 50 likes in 5 months or Youtube video has 10 views in 2 months. I would say, still keep hanging on to it. Your desire to succeed needs to be greater than your fear of failure.
  • Maintain the control over decision making. Always.
  • Don’t be afraid of criticism. Be prepared for it.

Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur right now? If not, what’s it gonna take to make you feel successful?

I do not know what defines success. The business that I have got into doesn’t really have a standard of success. It is not like a movie which is successful if it earns 100 billion. It is an ongoing, ever continuing process. I would rather consider myself successful only when SpringTide brings about some change in the country and achieves what it has been established for.

Where can our readers reach out to you?

Catch us anytime at

 

 

Thanks Pawas! Check out Springtide and join a community of spirited, united Indian youth. I can’t help but think of P.O.D’s Youth of the Nation. Oh, high school memories.

 

Photo Credits

PagalPawas.blogspot.com / Springtide.in

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