This series of chapters is all about what we have learnt till now at Zodhya. And one such important learning we had and we will continue to have is from the First customer.

In the days of “ilumin’’, our first product based on Automated energy-efficient lighting, we were targeting educational institutions. As explained in Chapter 4, we learnt it the hard way by targeting the wrong product.

So, we went back to the drawing board and asked ourselves what we wanted to achieve through our start-up. This will be questioned in many of the situations but this was one of the first situations. We understand that Energy is an essential need and we somehow have to improve the efficiency of usage.

In the process of designing the new prototype, we met various owners and managers of the commercial spaces. We understood that managing energy consumption metrics is tough for these spaces. So, we started designing a cloud-based portal to record and analyze data.

With this idea, we started meeting more prospective clients (people who might show interest in buying our product). And one such interaction was with the Chairman of a renowned real-estate company, who was impressed by our intent. He was actively looking for a comprehensive solution, which not just manages your energy consumption but reduces it by a considerable amount. He even gave permission to use his 10,000 s.ft office to design a solution.

And that’s how we ended up making a hardware device which reduces the consumption of Air-conditioned spaces.

 

The idea here is not about making different products and boasting about. It is about the importance of interacting with your target clients, even before you develop on the idea. Such interactions foretell you the changes your product needs and sometimes even pivot.