A NEW BREED, DIFFERENT BY INTENT – START-UP ENTREPRENEURS!

What does entrepreneurship mean? According to Wikipedia, Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business. But is this it? No. Entrepreneurship is not a process, it is a passion. It is not only about starting a business, but also about the intent to do it. It starts the moment the idea strucks you and not when you have set it up.

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WHY THE UPSURGE?

There is a definite strong rise in entrepreneurial spirit and more start-up activity than ever before. The trend observed since recession, maybe because of lack of jobs or a change in the mentality of the people as they are looking for satisfaction in creating and nurturing something of their own than tolerating mind-numbing work for money to find enjoyment someplace else. So what are the reasons that the world today is flooded with innovative ideas in the form of Whatsapp, Facebook, Quikr and Makemytrip?

1. PERSONAL WILLINGNESS & MOTIVATION

“Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” — Lori Greiner (Shark Tank)

One of the great things about being an entrepreneur today is that you can lead in countering challenges, and actually changing the way we think and behave in business, in our community, and our society. The image of an entrepreneur is at an all-time high and the youngsters find themselves more suited to the idea of working at own will and pace. The independence and the creative element associated with it are major driving forces too. With the views of majority of people, business is far better than a job.

NO LIMIT TO MONEY – Earning money being the motivation behind any activity, has no limit when you run your own business

FAR MORE LEARNING – When you run a business, you are its planner, executioner, and controller. You work in all domains and the experience is more enriching than any job profile could be. Not only the work but a person learns a lot about himself too when he handles a business. It is a transformative phase when your decision driven by your morals and learnings reap the consequences.

CREATING YOURSELF AN IDENTITY – A business is identified with its owner, it instills a sense of pride as well as satisfaction.

OWN, MEANINGFUL GOALS – In business your goals are for your own good, set by you, meant for you. The content derived on fulfilling them is way more than any job target.

2. CONDUSIVE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

“I don’t want my people to look for jobs, rather provide jobs.” These were the words of our Honourable Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi when asked about job crisis in the country. Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economic growth and development of nation. Measures are being taken to renew entrepreneurial activity across the country through simplifying bureaucratic procedures necessary to attract foreign investment but by promoting entrepreneurship the aim is also to ensure that country’s wealth multiplies but stays within the country.

FUNDING FOR EARLY-STAGE STARTUPS IS MORE AVAILABLE THAN EVER

Silicon Valley-based VCs who missed the China’s setup boom in the last decade are pumping money into India. At the same time, quality mentoring and networking in the Valley have enabled start-ups to set up their game globally.

COST OF ENTRY FOR A STARTUP IS AT AN ALL-TIME LOW

There was a time when building an e-commerce website required a million dollar investment. Today, building a website is enough to cater to the target audience with your innovation or personal service (Bookmyshow.com, Simplilearn Solutions). Even less, smartphone apps such as, Evernote(US) are built for less than $10K. Who needs an investor? All that is required is an innovative idea.

THE WORLD IS NOW A SINGLE MARKET, BOTH HOMOGENEOUS AND HETEROGENEOUS

Entrepreneurs now can think globally about the opportunity, from day one but start locally. This approach, popularly known as “glocalization,” means you design and deliver global solutions that have total relevance to every local market you plan to attack.

SOCIAL MEDIA AS A BOON FOR ENTREPRENEURS AND STARTUPS

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. are being extensively used by new as well as well-established brands to reach out and build product value and their customer base.

LARGE CORPORATIONS HAVE LOST THEIR ABILITY TO INNOVATE

Conglomerates, which were the engines of growth and vitality in the twentieth century, have proven themselves unable to innovate, and have a tarnished public image due to financial woes and poor management. Most now routinely buy start-ups for new technology and new products.

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS(IPO) ARE BACK AS AN EXIT STRATEGY

Exit Strategy is a method by which a venture capitalist or business owner intends to get out of an investment that he or she has made in the past. In other words, the exit strategy is a way of “cashing out” an investment. Initial public offering (IPO) or being bought out by a larger player in the industry is ways to it.

WOMEN ARE A GROWING FORCE AS ENTREPRENEURS

Zivame, an online lingerie selling portal, was founded by Richa Kar after quitting her job to satisfy the latent desire to own a set-up. Minnat Lalpuria Rao, after rejecting 26-28 job offers, followed her dream to start her own business, which she shaped into 7Vachan, a wedding-solution provider. She organized 150 wedding in 2013 and estimating 1000 this year, purely through word-of-mouth.

The interdependency amongst economies, healthy business environment and youth lush with creativity, vision and resolve, is all set to write an unmatched story of success and growth.