The last time I visited the Rodinhood Open House or OH as we all call it I was a bit scared, nervous even – I had recently come by the community and applied to share my idea for a startup on a whim and got selected to speak. But I was welcome with open arms and had an experience that will stay with me always.
This time however, it was like returning to a family for a thanksgiving dinner. A happy three hours spent in the company of people from all walks of life with whom I shared atleast one thing in common – my love for entrepreneurship.
From people who ‘wanted to be an entrepreneur but didn’t know how’ to ‘people who were bored in their current job and wanted to start up’ to those like me that just wanted to hear and share new ideas – there were all sorts present on this sunny Saturday afternoon (a much more convenient time to have an OH, I must say!)
As per my experience on The Rodinhoods online, the wisdom that came out from hearing the speakers talk just blew me away. Richa’s post on the OH gives a great summary so I won’t repeat it all again but below are a few golden nuggets that I will be treasuring until my next family dinner …oops Open House meet:
On respecting the team, Sushrut of Hammer and Mop, “Cleaning may not be the most attractive of startups for many. But for us, people are our product. At Hammer and Mop, we strive to make our employees feel like the professionals they are.”
Tackling the common excuse of not having enough funds to start, TheekKarDo.com, “I really wanted to start up but not take money initially from my family so I gave up movies for almost 8 moths and used all my savings from my corporate job to start”.
On meditation, Divyesh Panchal of iMeditate, “Separate yourself from your obsession so you can get more obsessed”.
Tackling the dilemma of fitting into categories and deciding whether your startup is a product or service, Saraansh, “I am the product & I am the service. At the end of the day, the category doesn’t really matter”.
On the biggest pain of being an entrepreneur, Kanchan of TiE, “The biggest pain as an entrepreneur is being understood. What’s worse than that is being misunderstood.”
Tackling the eternal question of when to make the jump, Anubha of Angel Xpress Foundation, “I worked in my corporate role for a very long time until while on a forced sabbatical I decided that I will do this regardless of the cost, simply because it is my dream”.
On just pure passion for what you do, a special mention for Ritesh of Defencely – Due to my limited technical know-how I couldn’t quite grasp an exact quote but hearing him speak about his startup, his energy and his commitment just gave me goosebumps.
And Finally…
Tackling the doubt every entrepreneur faces more than once in a while, Alok, “Get out of your comfort zone and get into the detail”.
Beyond some gyaan, what did I get out of it? Well, I got inspired to pursue my passion for writing and food and exactly 1 week later, started my very own Parsi food blog. Do drop by for a visit on The Bawi Bride
Hardik Shah
Thanks Perzen.
Just to add to this, what a lot of people have told me over the last 6 months is concentrate on your idea be it a product or a service, money WILL follow. Capital cannot be a valid excuse to not start-up, maybe delay it but not bury the dream.
Sushrut Munje
Thanks Perzen! Crisp and awesome! Always a pleasure meeting you 🙂
Aparna
Amazing! thanks for sharing!