Becoming an entrepreneur is never easy. Although newspapers and business channels today are filled with news of billionaires and unicorn company founders making unimaginable amounts of money, the story behind, although often heard, cannot be understood until experienced. The internet is rife with stories of failures from the lives of Bill Gates to Jack Ma, yet their legacy lives on. This is because the path to entrepreneurial success is not easy. So, what is that makes the aura of these people so vast, much beyond the scope of the products they helped create? The answer lies in something elusive called the ‘start-up spirit.’
The road to entrepreneurship
Thanks to cushy white collared jobs and small businesses that are earning enough for existence and a little bit for indulgence, comfort of a familiar lifestyle cocoons us easily. Only entrepreneurs, with their desire, can break free from the invisible shackles. Their will to create something new instills a sense of discipline and long-term vision that distinguishes an entrepreneur. Surely, many failures come along the way, probably more than successes, but entrepreneurs never shy away from situations they perceive as opportunities. They continue to persevere knowing full well that one of their ventures will eventually hit the bull’s eye.
Reid Hoffman, the founder of LinkedIn had already founded six other brands, including the visionary SocialNet.com, before finally striking gold with the professional social network. The amount of adulation that his product received guaranteed his presence in the tech entrepreneurial Hall of Fame and he is now considered one of the finest investors of all time as well.
Down but not out
Although the existence of successful start-ups is important in an entrepreneur’s portfolio, the presence of failed start-ups is significant and sometimes necessary, in order to provide an essential grounding, maturity and practicality to an otherwise excited and quick-to-react individual. The importance of failed start-ups also ensures an entrepreneur does not gauge her/his abilities from the success of a single start-up as there are a variety of factors at play. It is said that from the ages of 22-36, prospective entrepreneurs should have at least some experience at handling unsuccessful business attempts to develop the priceless ability of starting from scratch.
Success sustained
After the throne has been ascended, the confetti showers done with and the last guests have meandered back with a bellyful of food and ‘high spirits’, the entrepreneur sits and ponders. It is not the time to relax, but to put in intense action and redouble the efforts. Complacency never finds a place in the arsenal of an entrepreneur, for his fight is not with anyone else, but his own mind and his own ambitions. New ideas, products, campaigns, growth, and markets swarm around an entrepreneur’s dream and continue to prick like sand in the eye. It is not out of greed, but out of a compulsion to create that an entrepreneur function. This gives him the liberty to be eccentric in words and deeds because his mind sees the potential of building bridges where others only see vast rivers.
The current situation is extremely favourable to foster the growth of businesses, as can be seen with the huge number of entrepreneurial talents developing across the country. The current Indian government is running a plethora of schemes and initiatives to promote skill-building as well as providing resources and a strong business framework that facilitates new businesses to develop and survive. Furthermore, the development of the internet and digital businesses have created a level playing field, and young entrepreneurs are now competing with established players in a territory both of them are trying to learn the tricks of.
In the end, it is essential for an entrepreneur to develop an outsider’s perspective and not be too affected by the success or failure of start-ups. It is necessary to not use the achievements of one’s start-up as the barometer of one’s own abilities. The important thing is to not stop even after failures or successes and keep striving to achieve innovation, efficiency, and perfection in every endeavour and stay true to your entrepreneurial spirit.
