How I braved Anu aunty

and co founded a million

dollar company
Varun Agarwal
Bhaktee Modgil
TYBBA D-14
Professor Shruti Singh
10/08/2016

Book Details
Author of the Book: Varun Agarwal
Title of the Book: How I braved Anu aunty and co founded a million dollar
company
Name of the Publisher: Rupa Publications India
Place of Publication: India
Year of Publication: 2012

Book Summary
The novel talks about Varuns journey through the ups and downs setting up his
own business, whilst dealings with the infamous Anu aunty, who is an
amalgamation of Indian societys norms and judgments, and her open dismissal
of his idea to not follow the well worn path of doing an MBA and then working for
an MNC.
People called him a good for nothing loser, who did not do any work, even after
graduating from engineering school a year ago, even when his idea was turning
out to be successful, people like Anu aunty and her kitty party turned up their
noses and called him a lousy t shirt salesman.
Varun details his start up journey from its ideation at a bar in Bangalore with his
friend Rohn, the companys fluctuations fighting with his partner, effectively
getting his own alma mater to sign the permission form for selling t-shirts to the
alumni - to its success after being valuated at a million USD. Almamaterstore.in
is one of the earlier successes of the Indian start up era, and is now one of the
largest t-shirt customizers of the country.

How does this book help start ups/ entrepreneurs?

It was written to motivate young entrepreneurs to go ahead and work on what they
like at a time where e commerce and the start up culture was just at its infancy in
the country. Now it can help a young business to know what to do and what not
to do at a time where start up businesses are found at a dime a dozen. Young
entrepreneurs can use this book as both motivation and proof that it is possible
to get up on your own two feet without having to follow a customary route. It
highlights all the challenges that one has to face while coming up with their
business, in their personal as well as professional life. He was passionate about
things like photography and filmmaking, his parents forced him into engineering

where he performed mediocrely, which happens to almost every Indian kid. This
book can possibly be an eye opener for a lot of parents who put log kya
kahenege before the feelings of their children. The book is also helpful in terms
of teaching young businesses the importance of marketing through digital
means, including but not limited to Facebook in todays time and marketing
through the aunty gossip network. These things written in the books can really
help start-ups begin and keep a track of what they are doing right and what more
they can do to become successful as a business.

Learnings of the author

Varun learned that leaving the herd is not as easy as it looks; especially with the
pressures society puts on you. Even though he was being pushed into the herd
at every opportunity his mother got, he did not give in to the pressure and
patiently waited and continued working on alma mater, until it became a
booming success.
Family can be a support system, but unless you are ready, it is okay to keep
them out of the loop. Indian families are complex, especially when children have
to open up to their parents, because the family is worried about what the society
will think of my child. When Varuns mother is told by Anu aunty about his t shirt
selling business she is initially very disappointed, but when she sees the
response to the idea, and how hard he and his partner Rohn work, she gives in
and starts being less embarrassed and proud of her son. A lot of stress comes
off your head when you have the support of your family with you.
Networking is the most important step in order to get the word out for your
business. Shamelessly advertising your product is not a bad thing; in fact one
should do anything possible to create a buzz about the brand including baldfacedly tagging random people from your school to get them talking. Like Varun
wrote, You need to sell your company shamelessly. Like everywhere. During
the initial days of Alma Mater, practically lived in one of our Cottonian hoodies.
Networking is the key, and if you want be an entrepreneur, forget about being
shy.
One is never too big to do anything for your business, even though your title may
be CEO, never forget that once you did everything from A-Z for the company,
and you still can. Know your business well, and your target market too. If you
think the business is ready for funding then it is ready, and it is all right to reject
on the basis that the business is not ready enough for outside interference yet.
Putting your own phone numbers on the website creates a personal touch
between you and the customer, you can easily take feedback and implement
measures to correct criticisms.

How will this book help you in idea generation / B plan?

How I braved Anu aunty and co founded a million dollar company talks about a
start up journey which almost every young Indian can now relate to because
start-ups are booming in the country. This novel made me realize that its is okay
to do whatever you feel passionate about, no matter what people say. If you
stick with the idea you have and work hard for it, nothing can stop you. This book
has motivated me to think about a business idea that will be able to fill an
existing gap in the market scenario today.
The book has also taught me to see clearly, some real life problems that could
occur when you choose to go ahead with a business of your own. Societal
pressures will occur, but the book has helped me understand that it is possible to
overcome these, and still come out strong. Anu aunty represents an old Indian
mindset that is now changing because start-ups are prevalent and supported by
even the government, so now it is easier for us to set up and work on our own
ideas, especially with the technology advancing as it is.
It has given me various pointers when it comes to doing certain things in a
business, such as, naming the firm appropriately, something that will appeal to
everyone and not cause any discomfort. It also taught me that no one is too big
for any kind of role in the business, even though Varun and Rohn were
technically the CEOs of Alma mater, they never thought themselves too big to
go and deliver the first phase of couriers personally to their early customers.
The novel has helped me realize the importance of digital marketing in todays
era, Alma mater was able to create a large buzz and mass following because
their idea was original, but also because they were able to make people aware
of what they were doing through the companys Facebook page. Today there are
even more mediums available to market your product and a business owner
should know to make full use of this cost effective medium to get in touch with
potential and existing customers.
Varun stresses on talking to everyone and anyone you know about your new
business venture so that there is some buzz about it, also small things like
printing your own business cards and taking peoples business cards before you
ask them their name, just hoping that they would be helpful in some way some
day. He also emphasizes on having a very strong back end team that will be
able to take the stress when problems come in. focusing on a smart team when
it comes to your portal if it is an ecommerce website, that can fix bugs as and
when they happen.
Quality always comes before the price is another thing that Varuns book has
taught me, he talks about how if the price is high but the quality is exceptional
then people will not have a problem, but if the price is mediocre, but the quality is
bad, people will make noise about it.

It has made me want to take the leap first, and then think about the consequences
as they come. The book does not talk about a business plan in detail, however
has made me realize that a plan is important when it comes to an idea that you
have. You have to be realistic and practical about ideas, and think about what
will happen even if the idea does not work out.
Being an entrepreneur isnt cakewalk or a bed of roses, it takes a lot of hard work
and head banging to come through and success does not happen over night, but
when you are able to keep at it, you will see success, in one way or another.
Varun agarwal talks about passion being one of the biggest drivers for your idea
to work out. He made Alma mater his heart and soul and all his time, and it was
eventually valuated as a million dollar company.