Is there a right time to launch a start up?
The Indian government has come up with an innovative campaign called the Start Up India Stand India. Through this the government is aiming to help people start their own company and provide incentives such as mentorship, 1 step clearance, incubation space etc. The facilities provided are magnetic and has helped many to start a startup. Now almost every state has its own startup policy, incubation centres and entrepreneurship programs.
The year 2015 ended with 4200 startups starting, taking the country to third position just behind USA and Uk and generated nearly 80,000 jobs according to Nasscom.
These numbers have boosted the youth to discover their inner talents and explore options. Starting up is a good way to learn many things and explore the market. But when you think of starting up one question tickles your brain and that is When should I Start?
Although there are no restrictions to do something good but everything has its own pros and cons. For example, certain family commitments or family background, risk taking capacity or support from people around you may prevent you from following your passion or when you start during you college days you may not have enough experience to run a company or crack deals or you may not know your strengths and weaknesses but starting up is all about improving your overall capabilities and obviously situations in your startup life will give the much needed exposure.
Should I start after gaining some experience in the corporate world or should I start early?
Let’s take a look into what few startup founders and people involved in the startup ecosystem have to say about this –
Siddharth Ram (Centre Head at SV.CO)
START EARLY because
• The help you get from the industry is immense.
• Opportunities are more for students.
• You get practical knowledge i.e. you may apply what you’ve learned or else may learn something new.
• Knowledge is something huge which cannot be learnt only through textbooks. Starting up early helps you explore the world.
• Will help you in the later part of your life even if you have failed.
• Create options for your career.
• Become indpendent.
• Meet industry experts and gain more.
And all these can obtained by clicking this link
Siddartha Varma (COO at Traco)
START EARLY because
• You can find the right team with entrepreneurial spirit in your college as you travel with them for 4 years.
• You’ll have the time to experiment for a year or two to decide your strengths and weaknesses.
• You can understand how a company works while you are in college before working for MNCs.
• Give a chance to make your passion as profession in this age as you won't have any risk, you’ll always have a scope to go for higher studies or job with the skill set you obtained.
• Know the real time challenges in building a product rather than doing orthodox job in which you don't even know what you are building.
• It gives a chance to explore the market , see the opportunities, seize the right space where you can start your business.
• Starting early changes your mindset , self- learning and maturity are major takeaways from this experience and these will help in a long run.
• Failures are common part of start-up journey which teaches so many lessons and failing early is best way to correct your mistakes.
• The most important point in starting early is a chance to build your dreams and turn them into reality and make an empire of your own. Not everyone is born to work but some are here to revolutionize the world, if you feel you are one among those then you should start early
Varun Kumar (Founder of Advoge)
START EARLY because
• You’ll have time to explore many options, paths and create one for yourself.
• You’ll have time to learn from your mistakes as there will be no pressure.
• The risk factors and responsibilities increases while your age increases.
• The more early you start the more experience you get.
• You’ll have lot of time to connect with people and build a strong network which in turn will help you find new paths and provide you with plenty of options to choose from.
• Even if you fail the rate of getting successful in the later part of your life is increased.
Sayan Ganguly (Founder at E2P Enterprises, CEO at Takeoff and Community Leader at Techstars [Visakhapatnam])
START EARLY because
• You get to know how the world functions.
• You build relationships with people which can help you in the long run.
• You build the skill to learn anything with a problem-solving approach, which makes you stand apart from people who just learn for the sake of it.
• As an early starter [presumably as a student] you get more opportunities to attend workshops, conferences and expos than others, who get involved with the responsibility of being economically independent, thereby being unable to devote maximum time to their start-up dream.
Finally, its all about converting your weaknesses into strengths, following your passion and achieving your goal. Startup journey will help you find your weaknesses and strengths, help you overcome your fears and help you change the world provided you have the zeal to work and an idea that has got the power to change the world.
