Today, I came across a story about the Collison brothers.
You know, the brothers who founded Stripe.
Stripe helps businesses accept payments online.
But apparently, these guys weren’t just sitting around waiting for customers.
They were approaching people on the streets.
Asking them to hand over their laptops.
And offering to set up Stripe for them.
Now, that’s a different kind of sales department.
Meanwhile, most of us hesitate to call someone we already know.
But anyway.
That story reminded me of something that happened to me a few days ago.
And yes, it happened in Ahmedabad.
Obviously.
Where else would you find a startup pitch between a charging session and Navratri?
Scene 1: The Charging Point.
Location: Desi Cafe, Tea Post, Ahmedabad.
Occasion: Navratri.
Me: Charging my Ather before heading out.
Pretty normal day.
Until a guy walked up to me.
“How long will it take to charge?”
The usual Ather conversation.
People ask about the range.
The price.
The charging time.
Sometimes, I feel like I should start charging consultation fees too.
Anyway, we started talking.
He appreciated my choice of vehicle.
And then, the conversation took a turn.
Scene 2: The Plot Twist.
Turns out, he was associated with a startup.
An app called Clozzet.
Their pitch?
Clothes delivered in under 60 minutes.
They had already onboarded multiple stores in Ahmedabad.
And they were trying to get people to use their platform.
But here’s the interesting part.
The guy talking to me wasn’t even one of the founders.
He was an investor.
Yes.
An INVESTOR.
And instead of sitting in an air-conditioned office discussing customer acquisition strategies…
He was literally out there acquiring customers.
One random stranger at a time.
Scene 3: The Investor Who Became the Sales Team.
He explained the app.
Talked about what they were building.
And even offered to introduce me to the main founders.
They were already inside the cafe.
He was outside.
Promoting their product.
I mean, imagine investing money in a startup and then personally going out to convince random people to download its app.
No ego.
No “I’m just the investor.”
No “Let the marketing team handle it.”
Just getting the job done.
And the funniest part?
It worked.
He convinced me to download Clozzet.
Congratulations, Nandish.
You acquired a customer while I was acquiring electricity.
His name was Nandish Parekh.
And yes, the app is still on my phone.
And here’s what I found interesting.
The Collison brothers were approaching people to get Stripe into their hands.
Nandish approached me while I was charging my Ather.
Different businesses.
Different circumstances.
But the same kind of initiative that made me stop and think.
Sometimes, the best marketing campaign is a human being who genuinely believes in the product.
No advertisements required for that first conversation.
Just courage.
And perhaps a little shamelessness.
The useful kind.
One last thing.
I have no idea how big Clozzet will become.
Maybe it’ll take off.
Maybe it’ll face a hundred problems.
That’s startup life.
But I respect the effort.
Because while some people wait for opportunities to knock…
Some people walk up to strangers and introduce themselves.
And apparently, some do it at Tea Post while other people charge their electric scooters.
Nandish, if you’re reading this, keep going.
And next time, if you see me charging my Ather again…
At least let it reach 100% before pitching the next startup.
I’m kidding.
Pitch away.
Because you never know which random conversation might turn into a story worth telling.