6 Lessons Indian Startups can Learn from the Punk Culture

‘You’ll never be Larry Page or Steve Jobs, so stop trying’.

Does this statement seem to be demotivating? No matter how hard you try, you cannot make the same impact like those above mentioned people, in accord with the perception for the same, or mimicking their solutions with slight modifications. Trying to become a parodist, won’t help you at all in obtaining the success what Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg could achieve. It will instead hardly suffuse markets with akin business models being characterized only by a logo and a name. In this post, we are going to discuss what Indian startups can learn from the punk culture.

The early punk scene from late 70s in the United States was perhaps the most eccentric and experimental genre in the history of music. As a purveyor of suggestions about Indian startups, to date we have not found a reason to talk to our audience about punk rock. Until now.

What is punk?

 

The punk subculture was initiated for a unifying cause of transition, as the stereotypical thinking had to be pushed to the curb, and was genuine way to introduce the rock culture to the society and change it for better.

 

As per Greg Graffin,

|”PUNK is the personal expression of uniqueness that comes from the experiences of growing up in touch with our human ability to reason and ask questions.”|

What Indian startup leaders can learn from rockers and punk culture

Here are 6 lessons that Indian startups can learn from the punk culture –

1. Adopt punk rocker attitude

In order to make a real time impact, we need to do something different from the status quo. How about adopting a punk rocker’s mindset? Let’s take into consideration the cultural exchange between UK and US during 70s that had led to the rise of the punk culture. Let’s relive the moment and try to cultivate extra-ordinary achievements in our digital venture. By initiating such sui generis aspect to an enduring problem, and breaking the box, we can surely initiate a radical change.

Well this is not the only way to take a far cry to put forth yours ideas. Instead, there also leaders who don’t have punk roots but have the same affinity, an attitude that lies in the midst of their ingenuity and achievement. These are the entrepreneurs who have come together, brainstormed in their dad’s garage and executed a whole new approach towards a challenging problem. Just as the stereotypical music is never universally appreciated, in the same way the conventional marketing strategies do not appeal globally, especially in quickly explicating industries. The punk attitude is all about creating a difference, whilst being comfortable in your own skin. Be 100% yourself all the time. Take inspiration but do not let yourself succumb to the behaviors of others.

2. Pave your own path instead of taking inspiration from the already established success stories

This spur-of-the-moment approach might seem to you a bit too uninhibited. In order to initiate a fabulously creative project, one has to create an ambiance that would reflect “come as you are” fashion.

Bottom line is to encourage the staff to be what they are without wearing any corporate cloaks. The open door policy should enable the employees to open up about their thoughts, ideas, experiences, and their interests. It is only when they realize their freedom, they will gear up, join forces and give their best. Startups like GrabOn, a pioneer in offering genuine digital coupons along with mobile facilitated online vouchers, are transforming the Indian market and ushering it to the digital world. They take the best deals from online merchants and curate it to provide consumers with easy-to-use solution. Hence, it becomes crucial that the team players, who are engaged in selling and representing the products/services, be trustworthy and genuine. The key is to treat clients not just as service buyers but as key partners. This is what GrabOn has successfully managed to do over the course of 4 years.

3. Nurture the camaraderie and mosh pit spirit

For those, who are wondering what is moshing, let me give you a quick description – Moshing is a kind of crazy dancing style to rock music that involves jumping up and down and deliberately colliding with other dancers. The only purpose behind such slam dancing is to be in the moment together.

Can Indian startups introduce this culture within their organization and channel the chutzpah throughout the company? However, be warned that even the slightest of misconception about this culture can also send a wrong message. So, Indian startups should be very clear and transparent with their workplace culture and the ideas that they stick to. Leonia Lewis’ lyrics from his “Here I Am”song can best describe the all-in attitude – “You’ll never walk alone, but shoulder to shoulder.” And as they say, if you don’t develop your corporate culture, it will develop itself. So before this happens, bring together your determination and dedication and keep a check on how you work with each other, deal with your clients and the rest of your community.

 

This kind of spunk mentality can help the Indian startups create the best team out there, where forces from diverse backgrounds come together and create a Shnagri-La culture to blaze their own trail. The rapport they share with their colleagues will be unparalleled and even cultivate comradeship at the top levels, as they spend countless hours together, working relentlessly. And the outcome is simply enigmatic and cannot be put in words until one experiences it.

To sum up, the Indian startups will become a part of something that is bigger than their individual traits and should have a mission to rock the world!

 

4. The DIY philosophy conceives innovation

The major reason why Indian startups like GrabOn are now proudly sharing their success stories is because they have thought out of the box. Punks were always appreciated for their Do It Yourself attitude. The DIY spirit has ignited many aspects of punk culture, perhaps the most noticeable being the punk facade. Before today’s fashion that boasts ripping off jeans on purpose, punks were ripping their clothing just as a rebellious attitude. Before there were shirts with skull logos on them to be sold at major e-commerce stores, there were punks using stencils and cans of spray paint. Before there were nicely shaped Mohawk hairstyles coiffed in beauty salons, there were punks hacking and shaving in the basement.

Indian startups can learn a lot from this DIY culture. For example, one problem many e commerce startups encounter is their never ending desire to carry out market research prior to making decisions. This suggests deliberation, but it is also expensive and, when conducted to excess, wastes valuable time. Instead of this analysis paralysis – try stuff! Try, try, try – and see what happens.

Just like the punks do, startups can experiment. Whether an employee policy or a new product – go! Strive for cheap accelerated learning. Don’t worry about failing – the goal is to learn, on the cheap, quickly.

5. Attitude aids talent

Talent rocks, but attitude is king.

 

 

 

Not many Indians are aware how much influence punk rock has had on US society at large, given how little talent there was in the movement. Talent was always present to be discovered, for instance, Strummer and Jones over the Beatles band.

The punk movement was screaming attitude followed by conviction, and a steadfast desire to conceive new concept and ideas. If we take the case of the Sex Pistols band, whose members couldn’t play their instruments initially. Hardly anyone could! Nor could they even properly sing. Joey Ramone is one of the most iconic front men ever, yet he couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket.

Talent is awesome, but punk proved it’s often over hyped. Success is always determined by a host of variables, not just one. Indian startups should remember this especially when hiring resources. Firms follow this typical method of hiring solely on talent. They find a person with strong capabilities in their given area and they hire based on the strength of the capabilities.

Unfortunately, they overlook assessing the candidate’s attitude, personality, work ethic, and character. Who is this candidate as a person? Will be they able to adopt the company’s culture? How will they mesh with the team?

Such questions make us realize the punks were right – Attitude is everything. Consequently, a skilled person who is nonetheless not the single most skilled in the pile could in fact be the best person to push the team forward.

6. Genuineness is a sign of greatness

 

Punk culture ultimately matured into stockpiles of masquerading posers, each trying to out “cool” the next. This was such a migration from the initial punk movement that got started with real acts of rebellion. Punk always involved bold artistic expression. It began with a guy who just had to know what a safety pin would look like in his nose!

The inventors of punk culture were truly genuine. When the Ramones first toured England, they inspired a revolution. Members of the Sex Pistols, the Clash and many other soon-to-be-formed bands watched in wonder as the Ramones entertained the crowd despite having barely any talent at all. But what they had was authenticity and they were real. The audience members figured that if the Ramones could be in a band, anyone could.

 

 

The leadership lesson here is something every startup enthusiast could take cue from. Confidence and the right attitude are the keys. People may not initially accept you as real, raw, unfiltered, and imperfect. Eventually they will, and you will be able to inspire the strongest possible fan base.

These days, unfortunately, professionals spend their considerable amount of time in creating impressions. They spend their valuable time and energy in crafting fake images. People over-indulge to the point of becoming sterile, cardboard and uninteresting.

One such Indian startup which has inherently adopted this kind of sui generis culture is GrabOn. Here is an excerpt about the company –

GrabOn is a 4-year old Hyderabad-based startup that deals with online coupons and deals venture. It has been consistently working towards the pursuit of ingenious acquisition through technology overhaul. Ashok Reddy, Founder and CEO, GrabOn had this to say,

|“Within a month’s time this new platform has had more than one lakh users getting the most exclusive coupons from GrabOn straight to their work stations and mobile phones. Genuine real-time coupons and technology innovation are the two platforms that GrabOn has introduced to this segment”.|

GrabOn claims to be the first of its kind to introduce this segment to the domestic market so as to get the end user at the best deals through the easiest means of technology. This Indian startup works on a cost-per-sale model and makes money based on the end sale.

Even another company which is still at its nascent stage but has already defined its culture that stands out from the crowd is BestPriceOn.

The need of the hour is to let down your hair and let them see you as you really are. You don’t have to impress people at work, but they need to know you as a person as a whole. When they relate to you on a human level as well as a professional level, that is when the magic begins.

So, these are the 6 lessons Indian startups can learn from the punk culture.