{"id":2050,"date":"2025-05-30T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-30T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prabjeetsinghanand.com\/thehustlememo\/?p=2050"},"modified":"2025-05-30T07:45:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T07:45:40","slug":"008-hustle-memo-part-2-what-do-you-do-when-youre-not-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prabjeetsinghanand.com\/thehustlememo\/008-hustle-memo-part-2-what-do-you-do-when-youre-not-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"#008 HUSTLE MEMO PART 2 -What Do You Do When You\u2019re Not Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

THE MOMENT AFTER THE CALL<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The phone call ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I just sat there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two giants\u2014Deloitte and Singtel\u2014wanted a demo of ChequePRO.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I had\u2026 what?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two forms made in Visual Basic and a website blurb we wrote just to fill space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was I excited? Absolutely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was I terrified? 100%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I started reading everything we had put on the website about ChequePRO like it was someone else\u2019s product. That moment when the world says \u201cYes\u201d before you\u2019re ready\u2014man, that\u2019s wild. I didn\u2019t know whether to celebrate or hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I scheduled the appointment with Deloitte and asked Anita, my wife, to accompany me to the meeting. Even with the two of us, we still felt like a whisper in a boardroom that was ten times larger than our entire office. The Finance Manager, the IT Manager, and the Accounts Payable team were all seated. In my head, I\u2019m thinking: What have they read about ChequePRO that I haven\u2019t? Did they land on the wrong website? Are they confusing us with someone else?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I could completely self-combust, I took every ounce of strength and courage from every cell in my body and asked the Finance Manager:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat is expected from us in the demo? I see quite a big team here.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He calmly picked up a cheque book and said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAll I want is a solution that can print on this cheque.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Thank you, cells. I was back in action. \u201cThat\u2019s alright,\u201d I replied. \u201cWe can show you that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DEMO OF THE CENTURY (TWO FORMS DEEP)<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So we began the demo\u2014a two-form solution being showcased to eight people like it was the next AI breakthrough. We showed the saved vendors dropdown. We showed the number-to-word conversion. That was it. Then came that<\/em> question\u2014the one every salesperson hopes never comes up in a meeting:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cLet\u2019s test it, then.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And with fake confidence and trembling cells, I said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWHY NOT!\u201d<\/strong> (While internally my cells were screaming: WHY?!<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Finance Manager asked me to enter the number 8<\/strong>. (If you don\u2019t know\u20148 is a lucky number in Chinese culture.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I typed 8.<\/strong> Then he asked for 88.<\/strong> Then 888.<\/strong> Then 8,888. 88,888. 888,888. 8,888,888.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every time I hit 8, my heart skipped a beat. By the time we reached 888 million<\/strong>, he said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cTry another 8.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I had to stop this heart attack somehow. With as much humility as I could gather, I asked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDo you issue 8 billion dollar cheques?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He casually said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cNo.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, all my cells looked at me with a big “?” But somehow\u2014we survived.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That 10-minute heart transplant moment ended with one final question from the Finance Manager:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHow much is the solution for?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I had no clue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I played it cool and asked back:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cHow many units would you like to buy?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

He replied: \u201cFour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I said: \u201cSure, let us get back to you with the pricing via email.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walked out of that meeting like survivors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Shook every hand. Walked out of the operation theater alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the office, we debated pricing. Too cheap and we\u2019d be undervalued. Too expensive and we\u2019d lose the deal. We finally settled on $3,500<\/strong> for the four licenses. Sent the quote. It was approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just like that\u2014a product was born.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A STAR IS BORN<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From that first corporate deal, ChequePRO went on to land clients across Singapore. We sold it to: Big brands, Embassies, Banks, Hotels, Casinos. All from our humble 5×5 office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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And here\u2019s the kicker: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t even have a full-time developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wasn\u2019t built in a fancy tech studio. ChequePRO was developed by multiple friend developers<\/em>\u2014people who worked regular jobs and met us after 6PM. We\u2019d sit at McDonald\u2019s and coffee shops till late, refining the solution. Then we\u2019d drop them home on our motorbikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s the truth. That\u2019s the hustle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

And to honour the number 8 that almost gave me a stroke in Deloitte\u2019s boardroom, we even made it part of our pricing tiers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n