Darpan is the Founder of Squadhelp.com, a crowdsourcing platform helping entrepreneurs engage experts for their branding projects. Previously, he co-founded a VC-backed business that was a leader in Fortune 500 companies.

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Resources

Your Big Idea: Successful Entrepreneurs have One Big Idea. Follow JLD’s FREE training & you’ll discover Your Big Idea in less than an hour!

Audible – Get a FREE Audiobook & 30 day trial if you’re not currently a member!

Google Optimizely – Darpan’s small business resource

10% Happier – Darpan’s Top Business Book

Darpan’s website

How to Finally Win – Create your dream life one step at a time

3 Value Bombs

1) You can’t solve all the problems in the world, but there’s definitely one problem that you can solve remarkably.

2) Pivoting can be hard at times; don’t hesitate when you know it’s the right thing to do.

3) Innovate in your own industry.

Show Notes

(click the time stamp to jump directly to that point in the episode.)

[01:08] – Darpan was born in India and moved to Chicago 20 years ago

[01:43] – He currently resides in Chicago with his family and their dog

[02:45] – JLD himself has used Squadhelp and still uses it every now and then

[03:28] – Darpan shares how he came up with Squadhelp through a contest on a marketing focused site

[03:54] – “There needs to be a resource for companies to use”

[05:03] – His expertise is in building large scale Internet applications

[05:35] – There are some known myths about branding that most companies focus on; don’t forget to:

Pick a brand name that is productive, intriguing and connects with customers
Pay attention with the validation of your brand name
Trademarking is important — Go to uspto.gov for a free trademark check
Do a sample audience check on your brand and get feedback
Check with Google Translate to make sure that your brand name won’t become complicated in other languages

[08:30] – Darpan thinks JLD’s brand ‘Cities by Sound’ evokes positive emotions

[10:31] – Worst Entrepreneurial Moment: Darpan co-founded an ecommerce business in fashion products for the Indian market. They raised a couple rounds of capital and built a great team, but they found themselves caught in a price war between two major players—Amazon and a different Indian company. There was no other way to become profitable so they shut the business down

[12:10] – That experience gave Darpan a lot of wisdom for his current venture

[12:29] – “You should not wait a second longer to pivot your business”

[12:56] – Part of being an entrepreneur means making tough decisions at the right time

[13:32] – Entrepreneurial AH-HA Moment: Darpan ran contests on his own platform to get ideas on how they could improve engagement. They added gamification, quality squading, leaderboards, a point system, and badges. Now their audience not only continues to engage on their platform, but they also give feedback

[15:13] – It’s powerful when the feedback you’re getting is from the people inside your community

[16:13] – What is the one thing you are most FIRED up about today? “I think we have built a very credible alternative to a branding agency, and that is the most exciting part”

[17:30]– The Lightning Round

What was holding you back from becoming an entrepreneur? – The comfort of working in a stable paying job
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? – “Focus on the core of the business”
What’s a personal habit that contributes to your success? – “My passion around innovation and technology”
Share an internet resource, like Evernote, with Fire Nation – Google Optimizely
If you could recommend one book to our listeners, what would it be and why? – 10% Happier – “it’s about a journey that shows how mindfulness helps us to be more focused and happier”

[22:06] – Spend time picking a powerful business name

[22:28] – Connect with Darpan on Squadhelp and download his FREE eBook!