After almost 20 years and 5 start-ups later, I wonder what takes me back to start-ups…
Is it the love of creating, the thrill of the unknown or the passion to turn ideas into reality. Perhaps it is the excitement of sketching an idea on a paper napkin and looking for another one as the ideas keeps flowing.To me it’s all of the above. I remember in my early stages of the first start-up. I had no office, no infrastructure but just the will.
I must tell you a story here. My first job was from a campus recruitment drive straight out of college & my first start-up in 1996 was a simple trading business in food chemicals after office hours.
It was hard work comprising of 16 hour days. After writing numerous letters to prospective clients and waiting for 2 months, I got my first order for a single tanker load. I had to make sure it was done right. The transport company was reputed and I paid them well. The road journey was 28 hours. On an impulse I traveled in the tanker with the driver for 28 hours as I wanted to be part of the delivery. The customer was happy to see me although he did wonder why I came along… and that’s another story.
Entrepreneurs are niche community of people, there is no shortage of people willing to help, network and listen in a start-up ecosystem.
Not all start-ups are successful and not all caution is to be thrown to the wind. The early stage of the start-up is the “Unknown” and is also the most exciting and most challenging. It changes and evolves rapidly.The passion and energy shows clearly in people who thrive in such ecosystems.
Start-ups just don’t exist in Silicon Valley there are start-ups in every city and every town. Find one where you live and you will discover a new way of life.
