The Value Proposition (What)

Part 2 of 3 in “The Story of Flux”

When Parth first came to me with the idea of Flux, I was intrigued by the thought of focusing upon more than just a company’s product. From the perspective of a Venture Capitalist, the value of a potential investment comes from far more than simply the product. Throughout my time at Romulus Capital, I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with Krishna Gupta, the General Partner and Founder at Romulus, allowing me to get an insider look into his intuition and pattern recognition when it comes to sourcing companies. Krishna once said that he looks for three main qualities when looking at companies for potential investment:

Solution to a Problem

It seems redundant, but it’s no doubt the most important. Why is the product necessary? Often times, as an MIT student, product comes first. With top-notch technical skills and problem-solving capabilities, students throw themselves into projects without a thought into the value proposition. MIT is renowned for putting problems first, but finding the right problem to solve is often much harder than finding the solution.

At Flux, one of our goals is to help startups find the problem that needs solving. Whether that requires development of the current product or pivoting into a new space, at Flux, we provide students with the necessary understanding of the market to be able to approach a specific sector, understand the key inefficiencies at its core, and develop a product around the crux of the problem.

Competitive Advantage

Great. You’ve found a solution to a problem which need solving. Now, how do you find the best solution to that problem? How do you balance defensibility of your position in the market with the scope of your solution? A lot of this comes from market research. As a founder, you need to understand your market and how others are solving the same problem to be able to iterate and improve your product.

At Flux, we hope to guide entrepreneurs into not only the right problem, but also the right solution. Every space is different, and understanding the intricacies of each sector is quintessential to being able to provide a groundbreaking service or product.

Team

A sound team is integral to the growth of a company, especially one that is early-stage. The ability to get work done as an organization can make or break a company from the start.

Passion and expertise are crucial characteristics in successful teams, and without either, a company can sink before it even floats.

At Flux, one of our goals is to match individuals with a passion and expertise in business, specifically the auxiliary verticals, to technical founders of companies who have great products, but not enough time or experience to develop the business. Flux’s ability to connect students is powerful, as it can bring diverse experiences and unique skills together, utilizing the melting pot that is MIT to accelerate company growth.

Now, Parth and I understood the problem, and a sense of why to solve it. But the scale of our solution and vision was large.

We knew what to do. We just didn’t know how.

Cue Divya.