Is This The Right Time To Startup ?

THE REALITY CHECK

Whoever so profoundly stated that the youth of this country needs to take an initiative to turn around their economy, perhaps did not realise that the outcome could be so literal.An initiative is being taken, by every third person out of college, independently. And that is what marks the birth of a new venture, a start up.

Simply said, a start up is a new business. If you have a good idea, some funds to spare, a decent marketing plan in place and some good people, you’re all set. Companies like Facebook or Olx or Ebay did not start out with net worth of some million/billion dollars. They started as start ups and rest as they say, is history. Very memorable one too.
But what should have been the exception has become the rule. Everyone wants to own a start up. And why not? The perks are unlimited. You are your own boss, you make your own rules (which is mostly, no rules at all), you enjoy the income alone or share it with one or two other partners, you are a part of the ‘cool’ start up crowd and if you are successful, well you are the youth icon.

With all the entrepreneurship schools that have suddenly sprung up, all the incubator cells, angel investors, venture capitalists swarming the economy, it is not very surprising to observe this sudden craze for owning a company.
But aren’t we being too hasty?
I am not quoting statistics here, but it’s safe to say that out of every hundred start ups only one survives. Is this because that one idea had more potential than all the rest? I wouldn’t bet on that. The other ventures fail because of their inability to plan, to foresee the flaws in their plan, to determine the feasibility of their idea and almost always, a lack of funds.
Now imagine this, out of 100 start ups, one survives. The other ventures don’t just fail, they waste a pool of resources that could have been put to a better use. Multiply the wastage ninety nine times and think of all the growth this economy could have had with those resources!

I am not against the idea of a start up. We need good ideas to make this economy grow. There just might be another Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos still burning the midnight oil, trying to fix that one flaw in his plan that is holding back his venture from becoming successful. But at the same time, their needs to be some rationalization. Is my idea really worth all the effort? Is this what my customer needs? Who is my customer? Will I be able to fund the growth plans? All these are important questions, no doubt. But the most important one is this:
Am I doing this because I believe in my idea or am I doing this because I want to own a start up?

An answer to that question would perhaps set everything else straight and on the right track.
While becoming an entrepreneur is exciting, sustaining that position is a challenge. So before you want to opt for your own business, ask yourself the above question and make room for a reality check. But if you convince yourself that your idea really has that potential, proving it to the world is only a matter of time and not a matter of chance.