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being in a START UP
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iii
The FUN
of being
in a
START UP
Umesh Santoshkumar
Yashoda Rathod
EDUCREATION PUBLISHING
(Since 2011)
www.educreation.in
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Jai Shri Mahakaal
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ix
Cover Story
The book cover is shot at the dramatic steps of the
Town Hall at the famous Asiatic Library, Mumbai. The
photo is narrated as a poem written by the author.
KEEP WALKING!
Walk alone if you must,
Keep walking,
You may fall, who doesn’t?
Keep walking,
They will stop you, won’t they?
Just keep walking,
You reached your goal? No,
Keep walking,
When people leave you,
Keep walking,
Everything will make sense,
Keep walking,
If you think your path is lost,
Remember you have just created one!
Does this sound like you? Were you thinking about
yourself while reading the above context? You, yes you
are on the right track. Keep Walking!
P
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Prologue
Former President our beloved youth icon Shri. Dr.
A P J Abdul Kalam has called for the inclusion of
entrepreneurship in the educational curricula in the
country.
"We need education that creates environment for
entrepreneurship," Kalam said at the EDI in Ahmedabad
few years back. The education system should introduce
syllabus of entrepreneurship; students right from school
to college need to get skills that can provide freedom,"
he said.
Dr. Kalam also stressed that banks should be pro-
active in supporting innovations. The global community
should focus on common issues like poverty, lack of
education and poor healthcare, he added.
"Today, the challenge before the world is of
poverty, including in India. We need to find solutions. It
is the collective responsibility of the global community.
Countries should start tackling common enemies
like poverty, lack of education and poor healthcare," he
said. There is need for an equal distribution of resources
and we should focus on national, regional and global
peace, he added.
Defeat the Problem and Succeed!
“If you're on a new mission or a complex task, you
should also expect to experience equally challenging
problems. You should not allow the problem to become
your captain. You should become the captain of the
problem, defeat the problem and succeed.”
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The above words were given to Dr. Kalam by his
professor once and he has followed them throughout his
life and it is also what he suggests to young
entrepreneurs.
"This may be true for every one of you in the
decision making process, venture capital acquisition,
equipment procurement, commissioning equipment,
paying back large loans, acquisition of human resource,
training of human resource, marketing of your products
and every one of your day-to-day activities as an
entrepreneur. Till you break even and start making
profit, you will have to have a willpower which is
stronger than diamond. I am sure; you will develop this
trait and become a very successful entrepreneur." said
Dr. Kalam.
With Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam at Mumbai (Year 2014)
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Further he added - Profit with integrity leads to
sustained growth. How is it possible? We need to have
National ethics for sustained growth and peace from
where it starts.
Nation has to have ethics in all its tasks, for
sustained economic prosperity and peace.
If nation is to have ethics; society has to promote
ethics and value system.
If society is to have ethics and value system,
families should adhere to ethics and value system;
If families have to get evolved with ethics and
value system, parenthood should have inbuilt
ethics. Parental ethics come from great learning,
value based education and creation of clean
environment that leads to righteousness in the heart.
"When you are inspired by some great purpose,
some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their
bounds, your mind transcends limitations, your
consciousness expands in every direction, you will find
yourself in a new great and wonderful world. Dormant
forces, faculties and talents become alive and you
discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you
ever dreamed yourself to be." It would not be wrong to
quote that, Dr. Kalam was India’s one of the most
successful Intrapreneurs& it is he from whom we drive
motivation even today.
P
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Dedication
I dedicate this book to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who
inspires billions of us and the Indian Armed forces who
protects billions of us.
P
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Preface
The Fun of being in a Startup resonates with the
thoughts of Dr. Kalam, "It’s only when we are faced
with failure do we realize that these resources were
always there within us".
I never thought I would be writing a book in the first
place. I never should have but after reading “Whatever
you think, think the opposite” by Paul Arden my plans
were put to actions through a journey called “Start-up”.
It took me 7 years to bring my whole experience through
this book which is the blood & sweat from yesteryears.
This book can accompany anyone who wants to start-up
at the various levels of their journey.
The endless Entrepreneurial opportunities in India
need Entrepreneurs more than the people wanting to be
an Entrepreneur. If you received this book as a gift from
your friends/relatives/colleagues I am sure they love you
more than you can imagine, take out some time to thank
them. Also, give someone an opportunity to thank you
by passing on this book. But before that make sure you
read this book good enough to accompany them in
Startup journey, it’s time to build a community of
Unicorns! In hope that this book hits you with what you
want right now because, it’s the right time to start!
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Reasons to Start –up now!
Free Internet
Access to Funding
More freedom & flexibility
More support for business than ever
More contribution to India’s economy
More impact on the society or community
And most important one
“INDIA needs YOU, WORLD needs YOU”
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Contents
Sr. No. Chapter Page
1 No Fun No Gain Only Pain! (Ouch)
Don’t Remain On the Sidelines
1
2 It’s Business (The Fun)
Or a roller coaster ride!
7
3 Be Secured or to be Unsecured
(The Real Fun) Self Employment
15
4 Who will do the talking? (Forced Fun)
Take the Opportunities.
21
5 Entrepreneurship helps
(Intellectual Fun) Innovation
27
6 The Extinction of JOBS (Jobless Fun)
Job Creator > Job Seeker
35
7 Building a team (Fun, Fun and fun)
Innovators, Thinkers and Captivators.
41
8 A New Breed: CEO’s (Serious Fun)
New generation on the move.
49
9 Strong Strategy Building
(Captivation Fun) Wazaaa!
63
10 Cannibalize: (Wildest Fun)
A Business growth Strategy
79
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11 Empowering patience (Fun at Halt)
At the Workplace
91
12 Worry About Competitors!
(Dangerous Fun) Are you serious?
97
13 Creating a Culture
(Powerful fun) Entrepreneurship
113
14 Changing the World (Fun Unlimited)
With Start – Ups
119
15
Women Entrepreneurship (As they
say why only boys should have all the
fun!) The Indian Scene.
129
16 Experience (Fun Intended)
Learn | Unlearn | Relearn
139
17 Closing thoughts (Learning is Fun)
Entrepreneurial Community.
153
Summary Essentials for 1st
Generation Entrepreneurs
179
Acknowledgement 199
Author Profile 201
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#IAmStartingUp Umesh Santoshkumar Yashoda Rathod
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W
No Fun, No Gain, Only Pain! (Ouch)
- Don’t Remain On the Sidelines.
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The Fun of Being in A Start Up
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#IAmStartingUp Umesh Santoshkumar Yashoda Rathod
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“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and
it has to exercise your creative instincts.”
– Richard Branson
When we are doing something, if we love it then
not only we work to earn but also for winning, so that
our brand could stand tall against the giant ones in the
market.
The quote in the above context by Mr. Richard
Branson is so true; you need to be immersed in your
business because you have to put in many hours before it
pays off. There are many people who take up job and
think they have won something big. But the fact, that in
entrepreneurship you get a chance to win every day.
One of the biggest thrills of working in a startup is
being part of a team that is constantly striving to
improve their product and service. Sometimes the goals
are even loftier and are fueled by a drive to become the
leader in the industry.
In many startup businesses, employees are often
more like a family than merely a group of co-workers.
When you’re as friendly with the CEO as you are with
the person sitting next to you, you feel a strong sense of
togetherness and purpose that larger, more hierarchical
companies often lack.
The startup will let you push yourself to limits
unimagined. It also provides the cohesive environment
to question & to ponder upon things which are rarely
welcomed at a Corporate.
It is the survival of the flattest now, more power to
co-working, co-building & co-creating.
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#IAmStartingUp Umesh Santoshkumar Yashoda Rathod
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Startup employees have more fun. It’s just the way it
is because you get equal opportunities to learn more in
tenure of 6 months at a startup than you will in 4 years at
any university or at JOB. Running a startup is not like
having a job or being a student, because it never stops.
This is so foreign to most people's experience that they
don't get it till it happens. I think the thing that's been
most surprising to me is how one's perspective on time
shifts.
Working in the startup, I remember the time seeming
to stretch out, so that a month was a huge interval. The
love for the organization makes you strive harder to
achieve your goals and that too with a tireless feeling.
So the funniest thing about a start up is you enjoy
every moment through the hard times too. It's how much
you become consumed by your startup, the dedication to
think about it day and night, but never once does it feels
like "work" (boredom).
This fun helps you to gain more in your business
because you like what you are doing and do get a chance
to do what you like! After all success arrives to those
who strive for it. I am surprised by how much better it
feels to be working on something that is challenging and
creative, something I believe in. I knew it would feel
better; what's surprising is how much better.
Frankly, though, if I've misled people here, I'm not
eager to fix that. I'd rather have everyone think starting a
startup is grim and hard than have the founder go into it
expecting it to be fun, and a few months later saying,
Is this supposed to be fun? Are you kidding me?
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The Fun of Being in A Start Up
6
The truth is it wouldn't be fun for most people. A lot
of what we try to do in the application process is to weed
out the people who wouldn't like it, both for our sake and
theirs.
The best way to put it might be that starting a startup
is fun the way a survivalist training course would be fun,
if you're into that sort of thing which is to say, not at all,
if you’re not?
P
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#IAmStartingUp Umesh Santoshkumar Yashoda Rathod
7
W
It’s Business (The Fun)
Or a roller coaster Ride!
2
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In a startup, things seem great one moment and
hopeless the next. And by next, I mean a couple hours
later. The emotional ups and downs were the biggest
surprise for me. One day, we'd think of ourselves as the
next Google and dream of buying islands; the next, we'd
be pondering how to let our loved ones know of our utter
failure; and on and on. It's a Roller-coaster ride.
The hard part, obviously, is the lows. For a lot of
founders that was the big surprise: How hard it is to keep
everyone motivated during rough days or weeks or even
months i.e. how low the lows can be. After a while, if
you don't have significant success to cheer you up, it
wears you out.
The most basic advice to founders is just don't die,
but the energy to keep a company going in location of
unburdening success isn't free; it is drawn from the
founders themselves. There's a no limit to how much you
can take. If you get to the point where you can't keep
working anymore, it's not the end of the world.
Plenty of famous founders had big failures along
the way and lot many sacrifices in their life before
making big in life, I mean real BIG!
The Life, and business, can be like a roller coaster –
it’s great, then it turns ugly, then it’s great again. The
speed may vary, but it always seems to cycle like this. Is
there a reason for this?
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