Strategy:

Similar to a startup that cannot match up with the capital and visibility of large firms, the fakirs and sannyasis were not able to match the weapons and numbers of British army. So they played to their strategies.

The rebels mainly engaged in guerilla warfare. They knew the countryside very well, had been nomadically travelling their whole lives. The strength to camouflage and disappear easily was used as a weapon to survive against the British army.

As long as the fakirs and sannyasis conducted their battles covertly, they had a clear upper hand.

Focus on your own strengths rather than aspiring for the impossible. If they could do it then, you can do it now!

Community engagement:

The fakirs and sannyasis acted as intelligence agents of Indians and kept them apprised of the company's movements and whereabouts, creating a chain of communication not dissimilar to the telegraph system or the modern social media.

Company merchants and zamindars that were loyal to the British rule and the houses of their officials, were the target areas of the revolts. Consumers realized that they were exploited by profit driven international corporations, just like entrepreneurs.

Effective application of eighteenth century community engagement principles in the twenty first century will work wonders for you.

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