Inder’s History
Inder’s love for startups was sparked during the .com boom of the late 1990s, during which he first saw the unique potential of the internet and digital technology to change the world around him. At this time, Inder was working for the tech juggernaut IBM as an engineer.
Inder started working for IBM as an intern when he was in his 20s and stayed with them for over 20 years working in sales at various global locations, before being transferred to Melbourne to oversee IBM’s global outreach across half of the globe. This wasn’t Inder’s first time in Melbourne. In the early 90s, Inder backpacked through Australia and immediately felt a connection here. He always knew that when he settled down and stopped moving, it would be in Australia. So, when IBM sent Inder back to Canada to, he decided it was time for change and he came back to Australia to begin the next chapter of his life.
This chapter started in the late 2000s, and Inder had started to notice a surge in digital innovation that reminded him of the .com boom of the late 90s. This time, though, he didn’t want to watch from the sidelines. This time he wanted to get his hands dirty, and the opportunity was there. A big difference that Inder noticed from between the current digital boom and that of the 90s was that power was shifting from the few major players into the hands of the many.
Inder dove right into Melbourne’s startup scene. He spent three years learning how to write code with general assembly, working with developers, and getting involved with accelerators. It was during this time that he noticed a serious problem existed in the industry: founders had brilliant, innovative ideas which were expressed across functional and accessible platforms, but were for some reason struggling to get traction and generate revenue. Inder realised he had the skill set to help startups solve this problem, and so founded his company SKALR Group to provide business development and scaling services to startups. Now, Inder is bringing those valuable skills to Allied Legal to help you grow your business.
Inder’s Impact
Inder likes to think of himself as a bridge builder and aspires to play a role in bringing the startup community together. The first impact he wants to have on the startup community is to have a hand in bringing members of this community together. He’s the first to admit that he has lofty ambitions when it comes to achieving this goal. With a career behind him crossing international boarders at every turn, Inder wants to help expand Melbourne’s startup scene first across Australia, then to the rest of the world. One thing which Inder finds so exciting about startups is their unique potential to grow exponential at a rapid pace. He sees no reason why this growth should be limited by geographical boarders.
Another impact Inder wants to have is to bring an angle of helping over selling to revenue generation, or what he calls “ethical sales”. He believes this approach is ripe to disrupt the traditional sales model by moving towards the flexible and autonomous gig-economy. One of Inder’s side projects, Pipecrowd, is designed specifically for this. It is an online service that connects businesses and startups with sales and marketing services which, when launched, will be accessible as part of Allied Legal’s services.
Inder’s Advice
As someone who’s been working in the technology industry his entire life, Inder knows a thing or two about innovation. He wants to share the following advice with any founders and potential founders, regardless of what their product is:
- From day one, share your ideas with people, especially peers in your industry. A lot of the time people want to keep their product a secret. From a business development perspective, it is a mistake to build something in a silo without talking to customers and potential customers. Feedback is the best tool available to any creator. If you acquire your customers feedback during the design process, you can incorporate this into your final product saving you time and money when your business is launched.
- Generate revenue by being authentic. When you’re authentic, you’re unique and different in a crowd. This holds true to your product as well. If you stick true to your vision and to yourself, you will stand out.
- Don’t think you have to be a salesperson to sell your product. Instead, try to be a problem solver. This goes back to being authentic. If you believe there is a market need for your problem, you believe that its fixing your customers’ problem. In that you, you’re providing solutions more than selling products. The solution should be your pitch.
- Finally, have a formal agreement in place between co-founders. Don’t let your friendliness with each other discourage you from executing a proper agreement. Without proper frameworks in place governing how your venture is structured, things can easily get out of hand.
To see what advice Inder has for your startup, or even just to have a chat and hear more about his experience, reach out at inder@alliedlegal.com.au. Alternatively, you can find him on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/inder-singh88/.
To find out more about the services offered at Allied Legal give us a call on 03 8691 3111 or email us at hello@alliedlegal.com.au.
