This is our opening act on Sthri- A few women. A series of posts on women entrepreneurs, their stories, their dramas, their inspiration and many more.
Let’s get in to the action right away. Shall we?
The Tipping Point – Discuss about the moment you decided to take a leap of faith in to entrepreneurship.
Someone gave me a reality check and told me I had two options: either continue talking about my ideas and do them or stop talking about them. Talking about them and not doing them was not an option.
Doubts – everyone has it except God. Talk about the doubts that clouded your mind during that beginning phase.
I wasn’t sure if I would fail. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever make the same salary as in a corporate job. I was unsure if any corporate would ever want me again in case I went back. I was afraid of being vulnerable by exposing all my flaws and ignorance.
That Extra Chromosome – was there any incident when being an women was a big impediment?
Luckily I never experienced an issue with being a woman. However, I do look very young – so sometimes I have to convince folks I have nearly 15 years of work experience.
Nitro Boost – was there any moment when being an women gave you super sonic powers?
Women have a 6th sense – this has saved me numerous times by accosting unmotivated vendors and customers before really bad issues come up.
The Background – what is your support system like?
Since my husband has an entrepreneurial background he showed me many of the ropes and helped me avoid many of the mistakes he would have made. Also I continually reached out to other budding entrepreneurs and more experienced ones for advice and mentoring.
Count Your Blessings – any particular incident that was pivotal in changing your life as an entrepreneur?
Since my fancy visions for web development were taking too long for me to do myself, I hired expensive developers to create a website. A few months ago no one ever came to except that it got hacked by a terrorist group. From then on I kept everything simple.
The Funny Side Up – what would you do if you were put in a room with 14 year old kids?
I have mentored high school students creating business plans for a competition. First I’d love to share fun and crazy techniques for coming up with business ideas, then I’d rally the room in an improvisational exercise to role play the future.
Passing The Baton – if you were to give commencement speech to school kids what would you tell ’em
“Those who fail to plan….plan to fail!” -Anonymous
“If you don’t laugh at yourself, someone else will…” – Anonymous
The Dedication – that one person who was you idol or helped you in many ways or anyone – talk about them any why you want to dedicate this post to them.
I wouldn’t have done any of this without the sage advice of my husband. He has collaborated with my on many projects including the recent book “Cheating on your Corporate Job: A Comic Look at the Startup Dream“.
There are several interesting things Kriti shared but three things that stuck me most,
“…either continue talking about my ideas and do them or stop talking about them.“
“….kept everything simple.”
“I was afraid of being vulnerable by exposing all my flaws and ignorance.”
On the lighter note, I couldn’t agree more on the sixth sense part ;).
So, what did you find interesting in this post? Share a similar story? Feel free to share!
About the Author:
After two failed start ups, running my third. Cyclist by heart. Super enthusiast of Tennis. Lover of brownies :). Currently blogging at www.justaparna.wordpress.com
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p.s: if anybody is up to get interviewed or interview or bring a totally different take on this series inbox me! 😀
p.s.s: this is my first interview, if i can do anything better, i am listening :).
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Kriti is a regular contributor on trhs.
Her comics can be found in the Celebrate Failure! section.
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