Welcome to the weekly roundup of what we learned together this week. You can subscribe to join the full suite of Network Capital’s services - access to subgroups, subscriber only newsletters, live cohort based courses, 1:1 mentorship and Network Capital TV.

Also, now you can try Network Capital free for a week. Give it a go if you aren’t already a subscriber.

Dear readers,

Exactly a year after quitting my job at Microsoft to nurture my side hustle full time, I found myself working in a small village in the mountains of Lebanon. The country had plunged into deep economic and social crisis. I was left stranded with no electricity, fuel, and internet for days. My mobile hotspot was patchy, but as luck would have it, one call came through from an unknown number.

It turned out to be the coordinator from Facebook’s (now Meta) community accelerator program. “Congratulations,” the coordinator said. “Network Capital is one of the 13 communities from India we have selected for our program.”

I was ecstatic. With this new opportunity in place, I could leverage the positive energy to accelerate our growth. It also struck me that this was a moment that I could leverage to engage our community more and cement the trust our users had shown in us.

I decided to reach out to them and ask them to help us raise additional capital. While you might think “that’s just crowdfunding” — an approach where anyone from anywhere can invest in your business or cause — this was more nuanced. I’d like to call this approach “community-based funding.”

How is it different? Friends and family may loan you money because they want to show you their support. People on platforms like Kickstarter may donate to your cause because they see potential or are excited by your idea. But when your community members invest in you, it’s because they have observed your performance, believe in your purpose, have seen you deliver on goals consistently, and find value in your product. It can be pretty validating!

Read more about

1. How I did it

2. Community-based funding as an option

3. Figuring out the right funding model for you

in the Harvard Business Review article!

Live Cohort Based Courses

⭐ Product Management: Fundamentals & Unconventional Career Paths taught by Ravish Bhatia (Head of Products at indiagold) | Starts May 6, 2022

⭐ Web3 & Crypto Fully Funded Fellowship (Powered by Mudrex) | Starts May 22, 2022

Upcoming Events

1. April 12, 2022 at 10pm IST | Demystifying the MBA Application Process with Harjas Singh

2. April 16, 2022 at 5pm IST | Demystifying the MBA Application Process with Roshan Tathed

3. April 22, 2022 at 7:30pm IST | NC Mumbai Meetup

4. April 23 & 24, 2022 at 12:30pm IST | Weekend Sprint: Big Decision Fellowship

Talent Collective

We strongly believe that talent is equally distributed but opportunities are not. To help fix this divide, we are launching a talent collective that will help our members get access to curated professional opportunities.

Newsletters

💌 Managing work and life in a state of deep anxiety - A helpful step when that happens is to visualize the worst case scenario. Try and understand what would your world look like if things really go awry. It could be the loss of a job or a relationship or something else that mattered intensely to you. What would that really look like?

💌 Is finding career purpose distracting? - The most successful people haven’t necessarily figured out their calling. They are often ones who built it - one step at a time. They took the best of their job and made it the most of their job. They took the role they started in and molded it, day by day, to fit their strengths.

💌 Dalit Capital: The World's First Professional Network for Dalits - Talent is equally distributed, opportunities are not, especially for those who have been marginalized for centuries. Our vision is to create a safe space for Dalits to complement, not substitute the usual offerings of Network Capital.

YouthINK with Network Capital Summer School

As students embark upon their career trajectories, they will learn that complex coordination is the single most important charter for getting stuff done. They will need to learn to inspire people, give tough feedback and do so with empathy. The art of public speaking in important for this.

In the YouthINK with Network Capital Summer School, our students will -

1. Give a public INK-style talk

2. Join a global community of curious & ambitious students

3. Get insights from world leaders, CXOs, & industry professionals

Classes start May 28, 2022.

Have a wonderful week ahead. — Your Network Capital Team

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” ― Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Free Version

You're getting the free weekly roundup. Subscribers get so much more.