Five Accidents to watch for on the Startup Highway

Yippee!!!! My article got featured in today’s Economic Times – in Corporate Dossier! 

Have you ever come across these “accident spots?” Do comment below!

Startup Highway on your Mind? Watch out for these 5 accident spots! 

Fancy stepping out of your dreadful, unsatisfying salaried job that’s sputtering at 58 kms an hour (takes you 58 years to make boss) and fantasizing of getting into the F1 zone of starting up where you could be rich & famous and your own boss in less than 3 years? 

Well dream on, and pay critical attention to these 5 ‘accident spots’ on your Startup Highway that could get you in serious trouble:

1.     “Finding a problem for a solution – not a solution for a problem!” 

I was once a Jury Chair for a rather prominent startup competition that was being recorded for National Television. My fellow jury members were very distinguished and we had an entire panel of IIT professors as tech advisors on the side. This was serious stuff. 

One of the most passionate presentations was made by a man (in a suit) who described how he had created a complex ‘sms’ alarm system to wake up people when intruders stepped into their homes. His solution would cost Rs. 7 lacs. Mr. Suit spoke non-stop for 28 minutes about how triggers all over the house would be invoked to spot the intruders. He had complex charts (that looked like rocket designs) to show off. 

Some of us tried to question him. A jury member said, “But I sleep with my phone ringer off.” The man shot back, “No, you will set your phone ringer on after you install my security system.” 

When it was my turn, I smiled at him and asked, “Why can’t I keep two dogs in my house?” 

The man looked at me, shattered and bitterly angry. He refused to answer my question and walked off the stage. 

Lesson 1: While starting up, don’t go around looking for a problem to ‘fit’ your so-called solution. Most probably, the problem does not exist!

2.     “Worrying that people will steal your idea” 

Many interesting ideas pop up in the minds of several people across the world at the same time. It’s as if God sprinkles the world with ideas every morning! 

Having said so, many people hold on to these ideas in their minds, as if they have found the Kohinoor! They refuse to ‘share and discuss’ the idea with people around them because of the insane fear of their idea getting stolen.

Unfortunately, in the startup world, ideas are worth only 1% of the real value of a great company. The rest of the 99% value comes from execution, and only execution. 

Now consider the rather contrarian case of Facebook and the so-called ‘idea theft’ by Mr. Zuckerberg (those who haven’t heard, please go and watch the movie, ‘The Social Network’). So, Zucky Baba stole an idea. Hmmmm. Ok. Sniff Sniff for the Winklevoss Twins. But guess what? The manner in which Facebook has been ‘executed’ in the past 7 years beats any other social network that has existed, even before Facebook – like Orkut (owned by Google!) and hi5! No one executed like Zucky and that’s why he has won. 

Lesson 2: The minute you get a great idea, share it and start building it! If people steal (copy) it, feel proud! It means you have a valuable idea!

3.     “Starting Up is the fastest way to get RICH” 

Quite the contrary! I can assert that starting up is the fastest way of getting poor. 99 people out of 100 who start up typically lose years of salaries, job promotions, relevance of being out there in the professional job market and of course, the ‘reputation’ of being unsuccessful amidst friends and relatives. 

The reason is very simple. Starting up is like replicating 22 years of education. When you start up, you go back to Grade 1. I mean who would pay you to be studying in Grade 1? Later on, only the awesomeness, great application and favorable stars get you noticed as you inch up the grades and have a VC or Angel finance you in bits and pieces. Typically there is only one student who tops the school. And she is the one who walks away with the scholarship. 

Lesson 3: Yoda, the Guru of Star Wars tells Anakin the Jedi-in-making, “Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose”. Yoda was most definitely speaking for startup entrepreneurs!

4.     “Building to Sell – not Selling to Build” 

I am a Marwari Dinosaur of the Internet. Been around since 1998 and have seen many moons and suns go by. One of the most common blunders I have seen being committed by entrepreneurs is starting up a company with the sole intention of selling it to someone else! 

In fact, a slide in most funding pitches mentions ‘Exit Plan’ and that is where most entrepreneurs let their imaginations go wild on speculating who will buy them out!

Think of real businesses around you. McDonald’s sells burgers to build its business. Mercedes sells cars. Bose sells music systems… These companies sell things to MAKE their business valuable! They don’t sell themselves as the value proposition! 

Lesson 4: Building a business to sell out is perverted. It’s like growing up for someone else. If you are a startup, build to create a great business that will sell great products and services. It will sell itself.

5.     “Starting up is an Adventure – not a boring dull job” 

People who burn out at their jobs typically take ‘exotic’ vacations here and there. Some enjoy standing on icebergs while their nose freezes; others like to swim in underwater cages getting clicked with thumbs up signs (while they are actually worried about the shark near their leg). Once the vacation is over, they come back to their 9 hour-day at work, staring at spreadsheets like zombies. 

Many people think starting up is an adrenaline-pumping adventure that will leave the drudgery of their job behind. Unfortunately, that is never the case. Starting up is tedious, taxing, draining and hopelessly lonely. The loneliness kills. An entrepreneur has to do 10 times more boring things than most salaried employees ever do (like packing parcels). 

Lesson 5: Don’t start up for a thrill. Go Ostrich-riding instead! Start up as if you are switching careers and plan for a 20-25 year innings in which you may see some fun…

*****