KACHARAGADLA

Starting a new business is no small undertaking. There are many factors to be considered, and it is important to do your research and prepare yourself as much as possible, with some 80 percent of new businesses failing within the first couple of years.  Over the past 15 years, I have had the opportunity to be the founder or co-founder of three companies in three different industries. Along this journey, my teams and I have done a lot of things right -- and a lot of things wrong. Building a business is a daunting task -- from originally creating the idea, then planning and validating that idea to fund raising, staffing and achieving profitability. There are many pitfalls in the journey that could easily completely destroy your business.  Luckily, I have always been an avid reader. From my very first read, Og Mandino’s classic,  The Greatest Salesman In the World , I developed a hunger for learning. I satisfied that hunger by devouring over 1,500 books on business, leadership, st