My Foxy Start-Up Crash
Background - Big numbers:
There is over a trillion dollars in student loan debt in just the United States of America.
India’s GDP is approximately 2.9 trillion dollars.
Loan History:
After the financial crisis of 2009, non-mortgage component of consumer credit played a significant role. Post 2012, there was more than 1 student loan for every mortgage loan. This ratio continues to increase.
My journey:
Back in 2013-14, I was exposed to several different options of studying abroad. I needed to understand the fuss around this and get the math to make some sense. We students were all told the several positives of studying abroad and we were obviously enamored! But no one gave us an analytical approach to showcasing our cash outflows and its long-term implications.
I come from a middle-class family, like many of us! Money is central to every decision we make. We need it most desperately to increase our standard of living and we use it most prudently to insure ourselves against adversity.
Thankfully, I learned about capital budgeting and core financial concepts around the same time in college. This got me thinking… I wondered whether I could build an analytical tool that could be self-intuitive to me and my classmates. I had no knowledge in coding (read my blog about the un-engineered to get a little tech guidance) but I had MS Excel! I built my model on Excel and hustled my way into launching an online version of my edu tool – Fox Counsel. It is a study-abroad calculator that adds up all the expenses one can and cannot foresee to give an estimated pay-back period. It truly was and I believe still is a novel concept. I tried hard to market it (almost for free) and generated great momentum.
But did I have any experience running a company? Running a business post building the product? I learned my way to market and build connections. However, not enough to create a sustained momentum. I featured in several online digital platforms and offline newspapers (all for free) but I did not have a strong vision. Why was it so? I simply lacked experience. After several years of working in the field of early-stage growth investments, I definitely am armored to level max. Still I don’t regret the timing of it. Nor do I regret failing.
Finally I’d like to leave you with a phrase: Don’t give up. Start.
Check it out: www.foxcounsel.com
