This article is based on an interview between Mr Sanjay Kathuria and Mr Ritesh Agarwal who discusses how to develop the skill sets required for startups. **The article is divided into 3 parts:** - **What -** What are the skills required for your startup? - **Why -** Why should you develop these skills? - **How –** How to develop these skills? # **Digital marketing**  Mr Ritesh Agarwal shares that he learned digital marketing that is growing fast today.  They thought about advertising on platforms such as: - Google - Facebook  - Websites Also, they thought of managing returns & investment that was an important learning for them.  Before starting Oyo, Mr Agarwar did internships at various events to learn digital marketing. He learned how to use Facebook, Googles, etc., to reach maximum people at minimum cost. He came to know that one should consider these things in marketing: - Click-through rate - Conversion  - Repeat purchase   So, it would help if you learned the subject matter of your business by yourself.  **For example:** 1. If you want to start a diagnostic clinic, you should spend 2-3 months at a diagnostic clinic. It will help you in learning about how to make a better diagnosis. 2. If you want to start a hotel, you should learn about housekeeping, food, reception, front office, etc. to provide better services. Therefore, subject matter expertise should be an important strength of yours in whatever business you enter into.  You can learn this expertise through: - Google  - Market research  - Internships  # **How to develop skills for your startup?** - When Mr Agarwal opened his first Oyo room, he was everything, including GM, cleaner, receptionist, food, etc.  - He learned many basic things that were required in the Oyo rooms.  - The basic point he considered was that for a better Oyo room quality, he has to purchase many things. -  Whenever he asked people, they explained that it would require lakhs of investments. But Mr Agarwal never agreed to this. - So, he went to the Sadar bazaar in Gurgaon and purchased basic items such as room curtains, cleaning items within a budget of Rs. 7000-8000.  - Also, he did cleaning by himself and prepared the reception counter also.   This benefited him in the following manner: - Provide him with an understanding of unit economics & business model - Understood the promises that should be made to the customer - Build investors confidence through a detailed understanding of the profits  So, the way Mr Agarwal has done basic work such as housekeeping, receptionist, etc., in his own business, you can also do this. This will help you in learning many things for your business. - Either you will feel that this work very difficult or you will think that is work is a shallow profile. - Both ways of thinking are wrong. -  First of all, this work is not difficult, and when you start doing this, you will develop an interest.  - Second, no work is a low profile, rather you will learn from everything. **For example:** - Once, there was a shortage of housekeeping people, so Mr Agarwal decided to provide these services by himself.   - He served the food did other works like a normal room service person.  - A customer got very angry at him, and he realised that despite everything, there are many points where room service person faces such situations such as delays in food, etc. - So, he started a concept in the training program known as “Art of patience”.  - He explained to their housekeeping and room service people that in such situations they should smile and say to customers “ Sir, I understood that your experience was not good because of delay. “ - Also, they empowered their room service people to show some additional gestures to the customers so that customers are happy, and the team member should understand that such situations can arise anytime. In the hotel industry, you should treat customers with respect and ensure that you are continuously learning. To sum up, you should do the following things: - **Internship:** You should do an internship in the area of business in which you want to enter. Do not hesitate to do any role because no job is small.   - **Digital marketing:** It is crucial for the growth of your business. So, you should develop these skills to become a subject matter expert in your business.