Do you have it in you to start up

1. Do You Have it in You to Start
Up?
Their story begins as a dream journey to a big destination. Many have started theirs
from a small town with hope and trepidation. During the daunting voyage, cushy
jobs have been kicked and terrific risks taken. But those who have persisted with
courage have reaped big rewards. Our special coverage of ET Startup Awards 2015
starts with Myntra cofounder Mukesh Bansal writing about his journey. Do you have
it in you to be another Bansal? Read to find out

2. Contd..
INDIA IS ACKNOWLEDGED as a global startup power house, home to ideas and
entrepreneurs shaping the future of the new economy .About 3,100 tech-based ventures
were started last year, or more than eight startups every day , shows a study by industry
body Nasscom.
The number of Indian unicorns -that exclusive club of startups with valuations of at least $1
billion about doubled to seven in the past year. But it is also true that 90% of new
businesses wind up within 24 months, with entrepreneurs unable to cope with the
marathon exertions required to sustain a business. So while the startup opportunity exists,
are you the sort of person on whose door it will knock? Do you have it in you to startup?
For all the fables of legendary business acumen and leadership vision built around
successful founders, an absolute must-have quality for entrepreneurs is frugality . “I have
been used, abused, tried out and torn. But my biggest strength is that I can live on very
little and in lot of ambiguity,“ said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and chief executive of
digital payments and mobile commerce firm Paytm, which raised $575 million (`3,670
crore) in January from China's Alibaba Group.

3. Contd..
Sharma, who hails from Harduaganj, a small town in Uttar Pradesh, recounts when he
desperately needed `8 lakh to repay a costly loan.“I started giving internet training sessions,
setting up local networks for companies and did a lot of mundane small jobs to make my
ends meet,“ he said, adding adaptability as a key requisite quality for entrepreneurs.
Another essential is emotional fitness, which in the startup world translates to undying
faith. “Even when your employees start doubting your business along with your family , it's
you who has to keep faith.It's irrational but that's what has saved companies from the
brink,“ said Sudarshan Motwani, CEO at online foreign exchange buying venture
BookMyForex. “Copycats, thus, rarely work as they don't go through the pain of building
the road,“ said Motwani, 60, who started his venture in 2013. Entrepreneurship, in
essence, is nothing short of a crash course in survival in ambiguity , which makes intuitive
decisionmaking indispensable. “People who can't live in ambiguity , are rigid, don't possess
intuitive decisionmaking and can't inspire others should never take to entrepreneurship,“
said Deepak Menaria, cofounder at Lemon School of Entrepreneurship, which coaches
aspiring entrepreneurs on the lifecycle of a business.

5. Contd..
Finally , success is rarely about college grades or a high IQ. “If just smarts
were enough to be successful, we'd have a lot more successes. It's probably
more of grit and relentlessness,“ said Kunal Shah, cofounder of Freecharge
that he sold to Snapdeal for about `2,800 crore in April in the largest
acquisition deal in India's consumer internet industry . “I've seen so many
entrepreneurs, including myself -our IQ is not that big,“ said Phanindra Sama,
cofounder of bus ticketing firm redBus.in that was sold to South Africa's
Naspers for about $100 million in 2013.
Paytm's Sharma, schooled in a Hindi medium, struggled with entrance exams
and then at the English-medium Delhi College of Engineering, renamed Delhi
Technological University . But bit by the internet bug during the dotcom
boom of 1997, Sharma has emerged as one of India's most suc cessful
internet en trepreneurs.

6. Contd..
A large number of young Indians are hopping aboard the startup bandwagon
because it has become the `cool' thing to do. Investors advise them to be
prepared for a rough ride and stay harnessed if they plan to take the plunge.
“Even if you get funded, at seed stage investors won't let you withdraw a
salary until Series-A round, which may take 2-3 years,“ said Abhijeet Kumar,
cofounder at deal-making platform Ah! Ventures, which has invested in
online coaching firm Harness Touch and crowd-funding platforms Ketto and
Catapooolt. “Many people call it quits midway when they get exciting job
offers and see their peers buying cars and houses.“
So how do you assess if you are ready to start a venture? According to Sama,
the redBus.in cofounder, “Entrepreneurship doesn't need any special skills,
just hard work.“

7. Parveen Kumar Chadha… THINK TANK
(Founder and C.E.O of Saxbee Consultants & Other-Mother
marketingandcommunicationconsultants.com)
Email :-saxbeeconsultants@gmail.com
Mobile No. +91-9818308353
Address:-First Floor G-20(A), Kirti Nagar, New Delhi India Postal Code-110015