sample copy. not for distribution. · place. i never should have but after reading “whatever you...

Sample Copy. Not For Distribution.

i

being in a START UP


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Publishing-in-support-of,

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING

RZ 94, Sector - 6, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075 ShubhamVihar, Mangla, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh - 495001

Website: www.educreation.in __________________________________________________

© Copyright, Author

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer.

ISBN: 978-1-61813-676-3

Price: ` 415.00

The opinions/ contents expressed in this book are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions/ standings/ thoughts of Educreation.

Printed in India


iii

The FUN

of being

in a

START UP

Umesh Santoshkumar

Yashoda Rathod

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING

(Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


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Jai Shri Mahakaal


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ix

Cover Story

The book cover is shot at the dramatic steps of the

Town Hall at the famous Asiatic Library, Mumbai. The

photo is narrated as a poem written by the author.

KEEP WALKING!

Walk alone if you must,

Keep walking,

You may fall, who doesn’t?

Keep walking,

They will stop you, won’t they?

Just keep walking,

You reached your goal? No,

Keep walking,

When people leave you,

Keep walking,

Everything will make sense,

Keep walking,

If you think your path is lost,

Remember you have just created one!

Does this sound like you? Were you thinking about

yourself while reading the above context? You, yes you

are on the right track. Keep Walking!

P


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Prologue

Former President our beloved youth icon Shri. Dr.

A P J Abdul Kalam has called for the inclusion of

entrepreneurship in the educational curricula in the

country.

"We need education that creates environment for

entrepreneurship," Kalam said at the EDI in Ahmedabad

few years back. The education system should introduce

syllabus of entrepreneurship; students right from school

to college need to get skills that can provide freedom,"

he said.

Dr. Kalam also stressed that banks should be pro-

active in supporting innovations. The global community

should focus on common issues like poverty, lack of

education and poor healthcare, he added.

"Today, the challenge before the world is of

poverty, including in India. We need to find solutions. It

is the collective responsibility of the global community.

Countries should start tackling common enemies

like poverty, lack of education and poor healthcare," he

said. There is need for an equal distribution of resources

and we should focus on national, regional and global

peace, he added.

Defeat the Problem and Succeed!

“If you're on a new mission or a complex task, you

should also expect to experience equally challenging

problems. You should not allow the problem to become

your captain. You should become the captain of the

problem, defeat the problem and succeed.”


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The above words were given to Dr. Kalam by his

professor once and he has followed them throughout his

life and it is also what he suggests to young

entrepreneurs.

"This may be true for every one of you in the

decision making process, venture capital acquisition,

equipment procurement, commissioning equipment,

paying back large loans, acquisition of human resource,

training of human resource, marketing of your products

and every one of your day-to-day activities as an

entrepreneur. Till you break even and start making

profit, you will have to have a willpower which is

stronger than diamond. I am sure; you will develop this

trait and become a very successful entrepreneur." said

Dr. Kalam.

With Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam at Mumbai (Year 2014)


xiii

Further he added - Profit with integrity leads to

sustained growth. How is it possible? We need to have

National ethics for sustained growth and peace from

where it starts.

Nation has to have ethics in all its tasks, for

sustained economic prosperity and peace.

If nation is to have ethics; society has to promote

ethics and value system.

If society is to have ethics and value system,

families should adhere to ethics and value system;

If families have to get evolved with ethics and

value system, parenthood should have inbuilt

ethics. Parental ethics come from great learning,

value based education and creation of clean

environment that leads to righteousness in the heart.

"When you are inspired by some great purpose,

some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their

bounds, your mind transcends limitations, your

consciousness expands in every direction, you will find

yourself in a new great and wonderful world. Dormant

forces, faculties and talents become alive and you

discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you

ever dreamed yourself to be." It would not be wrong to

quote that, Dr. Kalam was India’s one of the most

successful Intrapreneurs& it is he from whom we drive

motivation even today.

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Dedication

I dedicate this book to Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam who

inspires billions of us and the Indian Armed forces who

protects billions of us.

P


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Preface

The Fun of being in a Startup resonates with the

thoughts of Dr. Kalam, "It’s only when we are faced

with failure do we realize that these resources were

always there within us".

I never thought I would be writing a book in the first

place. I never should have but after reading “Whatever

you think, think the opposite” by Paul Arden my plans

were put to actions through a journey called “Start-up”.

It took me 7 years to bring my whole experience through

this book which is the blood & sweat from yesteryears.

This book can accompany anyone who wants to start-up

at the various levels of their journey.

The endless Entrepreneurial opportunities in India

need Entrepreneurs more than the people wanting to be

an Entrepreneur. If you received this book as a gift from

your friends/relatives/colleagues I am sure they love you

more than you can imagine, take out some time to thank

them. Also, give someone an opportunity to thank you

by passing on this book. But before that make sure you

read this book good enough to accompany them in

Startup journey, it’s time to build a community of

Unicorns! In hope that this book hits you with what you

want right now because, it’s the right time to start!

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Reasons to Start –up now!

Free Internet

Access to Funding

More freedom & flexibility

More support for business than ever

More contribution to India’s economy

More impact on the society or community

And most important one

“INDIA needs YOU, WORLD needs YOU”

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xix

Contents

Sr. No. Chapter Page

1 No Fun No Gain Only Pain! (Ouch)

Don’t Remain On the Sidelines

1

2 It’s Business (The Fun)

Or a roller coaster ride!

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3 Be Secured or to be Unsecured

(The Real Fun) Self Employment

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4 Who will do the talking? (Forced Fun)

Take the Opportunities.

21

5 Entrepreneurship helps

(Intellectual Fun) Innovation

27

6 The Extinction of JOBS (Jobless Fun)

Job Creator > Job Seeker

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7 Building a team (Fun, Fun and fun)

Innovators, Thinkers and Captivators.

41

8 A New Breed: CEO’s (Serious Fun)

New generation on the move.

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9 Strong Strategy Building

(Captivation Fun) Wazaaa!

63

10 Cannibalize: (Wildest Fun)

A Business growth Strategy

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11 Empowering patience (Fun at Halt)

At the Workplace

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12 Worry About Competitors!

(Dangerous Fun) Are you serious?

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13 Creating a Culture

(Powerful fun) Entrepreneurship

113

14 Changing the World (Fun Unlimited)

With Start – Ups

119

15

Women Entrepreneurship (As they

say why only boys should have all the

fun!) The Indian Scene.

129

16 Experience (Fun Intended)

Learn | Unlearn | Relearn

139

17 Closing thoughts (Learning is Fun)

Entrepreneurial Community.

153

Summary Essentials for 1st

Generation Entrepreneurs

179

Acknowledgement 199

Author Profile 201

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#IAmStartingUp Umesh Santoshkumar Yashoda Rathod

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No Fun, No Gain, Only Pain! (Ouch)

- Don’t Remain On the Sidelines.

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The Fun of Being in A Start Up

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“A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and

it has to exercise your creative instincts.”

– Richard Branson

When we are doing something, if we love it then

not only we work to earn but also for winning, so that

our brand could stand tall against the giant ones in the

market.

The quote in the above context by Mr. Richard

Branson is so true; you need to be immersed in your

business because you have to put in many hours before it

pays off. There are many people who take up job and

think they have won something big. But the fact, that in

entrepreneurship you get a chance to win every day.

One of the biggest thrills of working in a startup is

being part of a team that is constantly striving to

improve their product and service. Sometimes the goals

are even loftier and are fueled by a drive to become the

leader in the industry.

In many startup businesses, employees are often

more like a family than merely a group of co-workers.

When you’re as friendly with the CEO as you are with

the person sitting next to you, you feel a strong sense of

togetherness and purpose that larger, more hierarchical

companies often lack.

The startup will let you push yourself to limits

unimagined. It also provides the cohesive environment

to question & to ponder upon things which are rarely

welcomed at a Corporate.

It is the survival of the flattest now, more power to

co-working, co-building & co-creating.



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5

Startup employees have more fun. It’s just the way it

is because you get equal opportunities to learn more in

tenure of 6 months at a startup than you will in 4 years at

any university or at JOB. Running a startup is not like

having a job or being a student, because it never stops.

This is so foreign to most people's experience that they

don't get it till it happens. I think the thing that's been

most surprising to me is how one's perspective on time

shifts.

Working in the startup, I remember the time seeming

to stretch out, so that a month was a huge interval. The

love for the organization makes you strive harder to

achieve your goals and that too with a tireless feeling.

So the funniest thing about a start up is you enjoy

every moment through the hard times too. It's how much

you become consumed by your startup, the dedication to

think about it day and night, but never once does it feels

like "work" (boredom).

This fun helps you to gain more in your business

because you like what you are doing and do get a chance

to do what you like! After all success arrives to those

who strive for it. I am surprised by how much better it

feels to be working on something that is challenging and

creative, something I believe in. I knew it would feel

better; what's surprising is how much better.

Frankly, though, if I've misled people here, I'm not

eager to fix that. I'd rather have everyone think starting a

startup is grim and hard than have the founder go into it

expecting it to be fun, and a few months later saying,

Is this supposed to be fun? Are you kidding me?



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The truth is it wouldn't be fun for most people. A lot

of what we try to do in the application process is to weed

out the people who wouldn't like it, both for our sake and

theirs.

The best way to put it might be that starting a startup

is fun the way a survivalist training course would be fun,

if you're into that sort of thing which is to say, not at all,

if you’re not?

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It’s Business (The Fun)

Or a roller coaster Ride!

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In a startup, things seem great one moment and

hopeless the next. And by next, I mean a couple hours

later. The emotional ups and downs were the biggest

surprise for me. One day, we'd think of ourselves as the

next Google and dream of buying islands; the next, we'd

be pondering how to let our loved ones know of our utter

failure; and on and on. It's a Roller-coaster ride.

The hard part, obviously, is the lows. For a lot of

founders that was the big surprise: How hard it is to keep

everyone motivated during rough days or weeks or even

months i.e. how low the lows can be. After a while, if

you don't have significant success to cheer you up, it

wears you out.

The most basic advice to founders is just don't die,

but the energy to keep a company going in location of

unburdening success isn't free; it is drawn from the

founders themselves. There's a no limit to how much you

can take. If you get to the point where you can't keep

working anymore, it's not the end of the world.

Plenty of famous founders had big failures along

the way and lot many sacrifices in their life before

making big in life, I mean real BIG!

The Life, and business, can be like a roller coaster –

it’s great, then it turns ugly, then it’s great again. The

speed may vary, but it always seems to cycle like this. Is

there a reason for this?



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www.educreation.in


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