Today we’d like to introduce you to Tan Kabra.
Tan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
To put it simply, I started LaunchByte to help primarily first-time founders and entrepreneurs build, grow, and scale their ventures. I am a serial entrepreneur that has had ventures in a number of fields. I started off at the age of 16 when I was living in Singapore. I left my company there in the hands of a big fund that was very interested, and moved to Boston where I went to Babson College for my undergraduate degree. Two ventures in college left me with virtually no time – but I loved every second of it. While growing these two companies, in the med tech and AI / ML space respectively, to an acquisition point, I realized that my hunger for the new startups in the exciting and fast-paced startup world could be satiated only by helping many at once. LaunchByte was formed with the intent to help founders, whether they are first-time entrepreneurs or seasoned vets like myself. At LaunchByte, we have helped the 36 startups in our portfolio (and growing!) avoid common pitfalls, crucial mistakes, find funding, and build, grow, and scale their companies.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were definitely some very, very big learning moments throughout this journey — and I’m nowhere near the end! I made wrong hires, tried to take shortcuts, tried to outsmart the system…the list goes on. I would say the biggest struggle was the king of them all: I would lose precious, valuable time every time a mistake / obstacle was hit, which would ultimately set back the company whether it was a few days or a few months. But every time I learnt what not to do the next time, which is why today when a young company successfully passes through the LaunchByte process, they come out stronger and wiser, with a big head start compared to the competition.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about LaunchByte.io – what should we know?
If I had to describe the entire company in ONE sentence, I would say: We help companies start, build, grow, and for our more mature clients, innovate.
LaunchByte is a unique startup hub with a focus on product design, development, and marketing. We help seed-stage, growth-stage, and corporate clients succeed in this extremely competitive and fast-growing sector. From my previous ventures, I found some of the most amazing and talented people around the world, so when I first started LaunchByte, I hit the phones to see if even half of these people would want to leave what they’re doing and be a part of something so exciting. We are the company that coined the term “reverse-angel”, because of our unique Reverse-Angel model for investing into promising companies. At LaunchByte, what makes us proud is seeing a company go through and grow throughout our process, from as early as inception, to the multiple rounds of financing, and ultimately to exit or scale. I have been fortunate enough to witness a few of our star portfolio companies complete the process and exit, only to have them coming back to start something new!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I am split between two. The first would be my energy and motivation to achieve my goals. Every day and week there are new goals. If this week is about expanding the network or meeting 5 new startup founders that I think I could learn from, but also help by leveraging my team at LaunchByte, then I will be out there at all the events (or even hosting the events!) to try to get to know and meet new people. I always have a few business cards on me, since you never know who you just might run into!
The other is my desire for feedback / constructive criticism / knowledge is what has really helped me succeed faster than normal. I am always sitting in meetings with staff, clients, key partners, advisors, with the mindset that I am the least knowledgeable person in the room. I don’t pretend to know everything and I have no problem in asking or learning about something new – that is how we ultimately grow as a company and ourselves. Instead of trying to get inside other people’s heads, I just ask.
Contact Info:
- Address: 715 Boylston Street Suite 120
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: www.launchbyte.io
- Phone: 617 755 6265
- Email: tan@launchbyte.io
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/launchbyte/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/launchbyteio
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/launchbyteio
- Other: www.tankabra.com
Image Credit:
LaunchByte Marketing Team
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
