There are different means of business modeling - one for profit, the other for passion. If you’re running a business for profit, ensure the problem you’re solving is worth solving. As for passion projects, do something you love, regardless.
1. Tell us more about your company and your journey.
I started entrepreneurship at 15. My first venture was an apparel wholesaling business. Not too long after, I started a gaming network, co-locating servers at data centers, sponsoring public game servers, and renting out private ones (mainly Counter-Strike). I’ve always loved fashion and tech, which was very different.
After exiting a media-tech venture in 2018, I started People’s Inc. (PINC) with a few partners. “Founded in 2018, People’s Inc. (PINC) is made for the people, by the people. At People’s Inc. (PINC), we intend to democratize the commercial world and allow users to take a share of those earnings.”
The business model focuses on creating an eco-system (you can find out more at https://www.thepeoplesinc.org/). We’re still at our infant stage, so the cycle is incomplete.
Our primary revenue generator is People’s Inc. 360 (PINC 360), an interactive digital media-focused creative marketing agency backed with our software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Our tech lets us provide brands with business insights, enhancing technology, digital marketing, influencer engagement, and public relations.
To give back to our community (brands, influencers, and consumers), we have our People’s Inc. (PINC) lifestyle platform that focuses on content, commerce, and education.
2. How did you come up with this idea and go about executing it?
When we first built the platform, our focus was more on social commerce. While acquiring new brands, we noticed many small businesses wanted to onboard our platform but didn’t have the tech and marketing capabilities.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, given the pandemic, we pivoted to first equipping the small-medium businesses with the tools to aid them in scaling up their business.
Our tools were created to improve our tech and marketing productivity - we used them to assist in our operations and offered them to our customers to help theirs. So in a way, we’re our beta testers and customers.
This pivot helped generate more revenue, build our base and offerings, and increase our ARR. In later stages, we plan to move back into completing the ecosystem, making it self-sustainable.
3. What has been your biggest challenge that you faced and how did you overcome that?
- Finding the right partners.
- Finding the right teammates.
- Fundraising - cause my previous businesses were all self-funded.
4. What do you think are the most important qualities of a successful entrepreneur?
- Self-motivation - the best motivation is self-motivation cause no one else can motivate you if you’re not motivated.
- Taking things easy, don’t overthink things. The more complicated you make something seem, the harder it is to let the next person understand it.
- Determination - you’re bound to hit roadblocks from time to time. It’s easy to give up, but if you believe in your product and yourself, overcome it and strive on.
- Consistency - keep doing what you do best till you’re known for it and become good at it.
- Passion and commitment.
5. What are some of the most important factors for running a successful business?
- Solving a problem, however big or small. Demand and supply - if there’s no demand, no one needs or wants it even if you have the supply. Similarly, if there’s demand but insufficient supply, you lose the trust of your potential customers.
- The right price point.
- The right team.
6. What are your tips for first-time and aspiring entrepreneurs?
There are different means of business modeling - one for profit, the other for passion. If you’re running a business for profit, ensure the problem you’re solving is worth solving. As for passion projects, do something you love, regardless.
7. How can one overcome a hurdle of lack of funds when starting up?
We were fortunate enough to raise funds at the getgo to build our MVP. Right now, we’ve gone to market, hence scaling up our revenue to better position ourselves for the next round of funding.
Sabrina Wang - Director of People's Inc. 360
Interviewed By: Navya Garg
){kind=link}
Social