Proto.in is happening in New Delhi,India.It’s a two day startup showcase conference started today.Some very successful Indian entrepreneurs are sharing their wisdom with the community :

Here are some key takeaways(the way I understood it)

1. Dont try to build the complete product first time round.

2. Get 10 initial users who love your product.Then think about building the critical mass.

3. Ad based revenue is tough.But,remember,attention is a currency in today’s world.

4. Charge real money for your application- Charge as Early as possible for your start up - Charge a lot, even more than your competitors.Pricing should not be the factor of cost.

5. Focus on UI - Quality of experience.Yes,you can code better python than others.But spend some time on your UI.

6. Launch such a great product that it doesn’t require any marketing money and remember your competency as a marketer is inversely proportional to your marketing budget.

7. Speak at conference to promote your startup.Buying a stall or conference ticket costs are just too high for startups.

8. Become a thought leader in your field.Find a niche and blog about it.

9. Blog what you are passionate about irrespective of traffic you get on your blog.You will get returns sooner than later.

10. Keep Viral coefficient of your social web 2.0 application more than one.Viral coefficient is ratio of how many new users your existing user brings through various ways like emails,embeds etc.

11. Explain and explain your product and/or technology to VC.Don’t complain that VC don’t understand my product or technology.

12. See VC portfolio before you approach him.Do you think he can understand your vision ?

13. Can VC be your team member ? Can you find a good friend,mentor or a team member in your VC ? Ask yourself when you are finalizing a VC.

14. VC-Entreprenuer negotiation is not black magic.Learn the process (term sheet,investor rights etc) and it should not be a problem.

15. Working with fresh college graduates is great if you are ready for mentoring and you can’t hire that highly paid enterprise guy.

16. Contribute to open source projects.One of the best ways to market your skills and your company if you are in services business.

17. Share key metrics of companies with your employees all the time.Encourage employees to develop their own key metrics to measure their work.

18. Choose a URL for your app that is simple and logical.(ppl wondered how mahalo,twitter work)

19.Dont be 4th or 5th myspace or digg.Try to be original.

20.Find Social DJs - famous bloggers or regular users of your app that will make your app/content viral by blogging,digging,twittering,friendfeeding.Give special space to them in your application.Reward them.

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