Last year end I was a contractor to an IT Startup in Pune and then I was hired full-time with a pay hike in the same company. Client of this company even offered me stock options to stay and of course this company gave me a better job title. I had got another job offer and I asked my manager what I should do, and he said to me,if he were me he would stay for long term than looking at short term benefits.
Fast forward to last week.. during my paternity leave for my second baby, I was fired on account of non performance!
(I have a gut feeling that since they lost couple of clients for which I was hired, they can no longer afford me… anyways, should anyone care? )
Whatever it is, I am eternally grateful to this company for waking me up as soon as I was about to slip into comfortable monthly salary mode. 🙂
I am contemplating jumping back in to entrepreneurship ride ( I no longer want to push myself to continue the Just-Obey-Boss thingy.) But I am still a bit hesitant.. here is why:
Today while I was listening to an audio book in which I heard about the laws of probabilities.. ( no matter how many times you flip a coin the probability of heads/tails is 50% each and every time no matter how many time you flip it) and that we all should constantly work to increase this probability in our favor in every dimension of life.
50% is still astronomically high probability for startup success, but you get my point.
Since I keep on hearing that probability of success for a startup is pretty low (and after good 4 startup failures in my life already).. I kept on wondering how we could increase this probability.
Here are some of my observations and thoughts in this context:
- Most wannabe entrepreneurs have either no idea or too many ideas to work on when they think of starting an enterprise. [ I’m guilty of later ]
- Even if they single out any particular idea for their venture .. quite often than not the product/service they are offering may not be needed in the market (at least in their geography). [No body wanted my product which helps blind people sense colored digital images via sound. and its not packaged properly as a product. My failed social enterprise.]
- Assuming the right product for the right market is selected.. the pricing & packaging /format invariably needs serious improvement /rethinking.
- Assuming all is well .. marketing & selling of the product / service .. the most critical part is often overlooked / done poorly / no money left will the time earlier points are taken care of. [Guilty again. My hospital staff training business did not scale up and fizzled out cuz of this ]
- Since most startups would do lot better if they have success in their first venture. ( The extremely steep learning curve would flatten a bit at least.)
- Often startups run out of money even before they can find and complete their first order [Gulp. Guilty again. My food manufacturing machine never fully got completed, let alone complete a single order. ]
So here is my idea –
What if successful companies list out products and services they already use / would surely need to have in immediate future?
Some companies might even be willing to extend support in terms of guidance and specific knowledge needed for an entrepreneur to start a new venture to provide the successful company with the product/service.
One may ask.. Why would they do that?
Well, simply to get more choices of suppliers, probably even their first supplier which they wish it existed.
But play with me for a bit and assume that companies do share such information with us just to help startup community. I know many Rodinhooders would at least.
So assuming the companies do give this info..
How would it help?
In simple words:
Boosting the probability of success of a startup and here are some more details:
- Entrepreneur’s probability of selection of right product /service , in right market goes up drastically.
- Huge Time saving for singling out practically working options .. so start of result producing actions could be sooner. Precious .
- Knowing the specifics of service /product would help in costing and pricing so much more.
- Time will not be wasted trying to figure out the best strategy and medium for promotions and sale. (at least initially)
- Hopefully since this setup is B2B, the very first client could be a repeat business. If that happens, it would give the startup far more time and space to stabilize.
- Since this is need driven startup product/service, its quite likely that other companies in the domain might need the same /similar product/service and might not even need altering/customization.
- Time to market could be minimal thus the cash flow could start much sooner than otherwise.
- Learning of the entrepreneur would be in a less risky arena because while the first order is being processes, other experiments can be comfortably carried out.
- The crucial initial journey would be slightly less lonely.
- Can you think of more points here?
All in all, we Rodinhooders can work towards insanely increasing the possibility of success of a startup by taming the defining factors in the success equation.
People like me who are fired, those who are about to quit, those who are sitting on one / many ideas but not sure how to take the leap of faith in entrepreneurship and even those who had lucky experience of starting up and failing earlier… they all can possibly benefit from such a database / platform.
Moreover the confidence that the first success would generate would increase probability of they expanding first venture and/or start more venture and of course.. looking at them, others could be more encouraged.. thus hopefully fueling more entrepreneurship in similar fashion.
Very critically, the cash flow would (I hope) be enough for basic survival of the new enterprise in initial days.
I am very aware that these thoughts are super crude and would need great deal of maturity and hearty dose of practicalness.
Initially I had selfishly thought of doing this ‘homework’ only for myself but then it thought..
NAAAAH ..
Our Rodinhood community together can make this “Super Start Startup Platform” a reality much more faster and thus benefit lot more people in the process.
Reminds me of this quote:
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” – George Eliot
I invite you all to strengthen this baby idea by suggesting which part of it can be improved and how.
Oh, speaking of babies, at the start of the last week I had a gut feeling that it would be a phenomenal week .. I got new professional life and on 19th this month me and my wife were gifted with a boy. I am happy to share both the awesome news with you my dear Rodinhooders. 🙂