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Starting an online business is both exciting and challenging. As a content writer, I often come across many entrepreneurial stories, but the journey of Mridu and Amit, who co-founded hipCV, truly stands out. It’s a story of resilience, learning from mistakes, and the drive to create something meaningful for job seekers. Let me share their journey, how they turned a simple idea into a successful startup, and the lessons they learned along the way.
The Spark: Turning Frustration into Opportunity
Mridu and Amit’s story began with a problem they noticed in their circle of friends and family. Many people were struggling to create resumes that effectively showcased their skills. The available resume-building tools were either too complicated or outdated, making the entire process stressful. That’s when they saw an opportunity to make a difference.
Their vision was simple yet powerful: create a platform that would help job seekers craft professional resumes without the hassle of design and content complexities. Thus, hipCV was born—a tool to help people build resumes that stand out to employers.
How hipCV Started
Their entrepreneurial journey began in 2013, when they first launched hipCV. At the time, they were living in Chicago, USA, and were determined to create a resume-building tool that would help job seekers streamline their resume creation process. But, as often happens with startups, life got in the way, and the project lost momentum.
However, when they moved to Sydney, Australia, in 2018, Amit decided to revive the project. Despite a busy schedule with a full-time job, he treated hipCV as a side business. For nearly two years, he worked tirelessly on the platform, dedicating evenings and weekends to refining it.
Finally, in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, they officially launched hipCV. This was a turning point, as many job seekers were looking for ways to improve their resumes in an uncertain job market. The timing couldn’t have been better, and the platform quickly gained traction.
The Validation Process: Listening to the Users
Before diving into development, Mridu and Amit knew that validation was key. They wanted to be sure their idea had potential. To gather feedback, they reached out to job seekers, students, and professionals from various industries. They also consulted career coaches to understand the challenges people face while creating resumes.
The feedback they received was overwhelmingly positive, confirming that there was a real need for a tool like hipCV. The main takeaways from their validation phase were:
- Ease of Use: Users wanted a platform that was intuitive and easy to navigate, especially for those who weren’t tech-savvy.
- Customization: People wanted templates that could be tailored to different industries and job roles.
- Actionable Guidance: Users needed clear tips and advice on improving their resume content and formatting.
Building the Foundation
With their insights in hand, Mridu and Amit began the development process. The journey was not without its challenges, but every step brought them closer to their goal.
They focused on core features that would provide the most value to users:
- Drag-and-Drop Editing: This allowed users to easily add or modify sections in their resume without any hassle.
- ATS-Compliant Templates: The templates were designed to pass Applicant Tracking System (ATS) screenings, ensuring job seekers’ resumes would get noticed.
- Real-Time Content Suggestions: As users filled out their resumes, the platform offered suggestions on how to improve their content.
Being a bootstrapped venture, they had to be strategic with their resources. They outsourced tasks that were outside their expertise, such as design, and made use of free tools and open-source software wherever possible.
Marketing Strategies That Worked
Building a great product is only half the battle; getting people to know about it is the real challenge. Here are the marketing strategies Mridu and Amit used to grow hipCV:
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Content Marketing: They started by publishing valuable content on their blog, including articles on resume writing, job search strategies, and career advice. This helped them attract organic traffic while establishing hipCV as a trusted resource.
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SEO Optimization: From the beginning, they focused on SEO by researching keywords related to resumes and career advice. By optimizing their content around these terms, they increased their visibility on search engines.
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Link Building Strategy: They collaborated with high-quality career blogs by contributing guest posts and getting featured in articles. This strategy improved their domain authority and brought more traffic to their platform.
Lessons Learned
The journey wasn’t always smooth, but it was full of valuable lessons:
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Start Small, Then Scale: Mridu and Amit didn’t try to build everything at once. They launched with core features and scaled up as the business grew.
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Be Adaptable: The market is always changing. They were open to feedback and willing to pivot when necessary.
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Build Relationships: Networking and collaborating with industry influencers helped them expand their reach.
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Keep the User at the Heart of Everything: Constantly listening to users and addressing their pain points was key to improving the platform.
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Don’t Be Afraid to Fail: They learned to embrace failure as part of the entrepreneurial process, using it as an opportunity to improve.
Reflecting on Challenges and Solutions
Looking back, Mridu and Amit learned a lot from their challenges:
- User Feedback is Invaluable: Listening to users helped them create a product that truly met their needs.
- Perseverance is Key: Even when progress seemed slow, they kept going and eventually succeeded.
- Collaboration Matters: Partnering with experts helped them improve their platform and broaden their reach.
Tips for Entrepreneurs
If you're considering starting your own online business, here are a few takeaways from Mridu and Amit's journey:
- Validate Your Idea: Make sure there’s a demand for your product before you invest time and money.
- Start Lean: Focus on creating a minimum viable product and improve it based on feedback.
- Stay Committed: Building a successful business takes time and persistence.
Conclusion
Building hipCV has been an incredibly rewarding experience for Mridu and Amit. They’ve faced their share of challenges, but through persistence and a commitment to delivering value, they’ve built a platform that’s helping thousands of job seekers land their dream jobs.
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, their story proves that with determination, even a small idea can make a big impact. And with the launch of their new AI Resume Builder, they’re excited to see what the future holds for hipCV and the job seekers who will benefit from this new tool.
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