article thumbnail

Start-ups: Before You Launch Your Product, Start With a Service

Harvard Business Review

Much of what the company learned about its customers in the services mode has been developed into its product, although a good percentage of revenues still comes from services. Through these kinds of dialogues, entrepreneurs diagnose real pain-points in customers, and end up building products that customers are willing to pay for.

article thumbnail

How to Fund Indian Start-Ups

Harvard Business Review

But in 2011, $30 billion was invested by angels and $24 billion by Series A venture capitalists. If one assumes each angel deal was $300,000 per deal, then about 100,000 deals were done in 2011. Using IT services to generate cash and develop customer intimacy, it is entirely possible to build products.