A bit about my background – I am a second year MBA student. I have started a venture called Sandwedges some nine months back and want to do it full time after MBA. Its placement time at our B-school.
I have no interest in placements. I never had. I have been having this entrepreneurial dream since second year of engineering. I am prepared now to have a different life. I am prepared mentally to have low income initially so that I can have bigger gains later in this life. When I started thinking about startups it was not even one word. Startups were for IITians, that too crazy ones. I remember explaining the word startup to my colleagues that it’s a company in initial stages led by people with entrepreneurial mindset. It was from that time I am trying to learn everything that will be required in my entrepreneurial journey. Times had changed since. It’s the buzz word today. Both the quantity and the quality of entrepreneurs have gone up. We have several success stories to talk about. Flipkart and redbus had started at that time. Now they are live examples of guts shown by entrepreneurs. Its not that we have only success stories to talk about. Several ecommerce has shut store (goodlife, letsbuy, chhotu.in). A lot has changed and it seems for better. But not all.
I am a self confessed entrepreneur. In last one year I have started two ventures. One couldn’t take any shape and we were not able to launch the product. Another is the one I am happy about but a lot needs to be done to take it to the desirable level. The point I want to bring to everyone’s notice is that I am still facing archaic problems that I thought don’t exist now. The problem lies around mindset, expectations, status quo , parents, family responsibilities, education loan etc. I come from a middle class background. I have always been a dreamer. My reason for choosing the startup way is to do something big but not compromising on fun and life. The satisfaction you get doing your own startup is unmatched. You live life each day. You are proud of what you create. Some may feel that it is risky. But I like to clarify that startups do fail but entrepreneurs don’t.
I also believe that one should start as soon as possible. Because in reality it takes time. Why not have time on your side. According to Malcolm Gladwell, the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. So I wanted to start-up as soon as possible. But all my logic of living life each day and starting up early goes in vain when I am talking to my parents and listening to their expectations. However they may try to understand me and my thinking, in the end they want me to take job. And the situation is that if I don’t take a job they’ll consider me someone who is unfit for securing a job and is misguided on his path. They will also think that all their efforts to bring me up with utmost care has been fruit less. They’ll be hurt. It was the case with me in summers when I decided to intern in my own company. They thought I was not capable enough to get a summer internship.
As If this is not enough. To add glitter to gold I am dating a girl with whom I’ll like to settle. All would have been ok if she would have been of same caste. Life would have been much easier say if ‘Sharma’ would have been ‘Varma’. But life has different plans. My parents will never approve me of getting married to someone in different caste. Now consider both the problems together. If I go against my parents wish i.e. start-up and marry my girl, I’ll be branded outlier for my life. And outliers are not considered good in society. My parents will be dejected. What all does any parents want from their child? A secured job for their child and a marriage they think is ok.
What I believe is that if you have a dream you should protect it. I have been dreaming about starting up all my life. Now when I have started up and want to do it as full time venture after college, my parents want me to take a job. Seeing my energy about my startup, they have not told me blatantly to shut down my venture and would not mind if I do both at the same time. But tell me, can anyone be a part of both Mckinsey and Goldman Sachs at the same time. My startup is Mckinsey for me. I am serious about it and I am ready to put in as much as anyone would put in Mckinsey. Should I shut down my venture for a while till I get a job just to show them I am competent enough. I don’t have answers.
******
UPDATE ON SANDEWEDGES (added by asha) DEC 15, 2014: SandWedges featured in The Hindu Business Line
********
Recommended reads on this topic:
Startup? Middle Class?? Oh boy!
********