A Start- up is a student. It learns continuously. Failure is always insight and so is success. The moment a start-up stops to learn is when it is destined to fail. In today's world corporate people are like illiterate, they never dare to go to school to learn things. They are happy with the status quo. When a start-up becomes a company, its like a student landing on a job. Things are more secured and routine then. A start-up is a student in search of a job. There are few things that are fixed. Just like a student chooses to specialize in a certain subject, a start-up chooses to specialize in certain field (innovation). But there are always options left open. Just like a student may end up in a very specific job within his/her specialization, the start-up needs to find its specific core competency.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Innovation- Fun and Uncertainty Underneath
It is not a new thing when I say that innovating is fun and uncertain. We have all heard it, some of us read about it and few of us have experienced it. I hear, read and do it simultaneously now. And, though I would come to the same conclusion of innovation being exciting and risky from all three activities, 'doing' makes me comprehend what I hear and read with a personal touch.
Hearing
We hear great stories, mostly success stories and sometimes the failure stories. It has been one of the trends: to tell innovation stories in an exciting way. We have always somehow tried to associate innovation with some kind of magic and miracle. Most of these stories are told in terms of business growth and very few actually describes the innovation process involved. No wonder the innovation story would sound much boring than how a small business started from a garage went on to earn billions. I used to hear many such stories, mostly from friends when we were half drunk. The feeling that you could also become rich with in a finger click gave us excitement and would never fail to get attraction of all the wanna-be's in 20's. As I matured through the stories, I started hearing it from the professionals. Sometimes in advertisement, sometimes in corporations and mostly in Youtube from the inspirational and influential people speaking in programs like TED. It did not differ much from the drunken college discussions to the professional world. They were all stories and they all had a magic factor involved. It always made me believe there will be an eureka moment when everything will flash in front of your eyes and it is only success beyond that point.
Reading
I sometimes think one of the more successful entrepreneurs must be the ones who write about entrepreneurship. All you need to think of is a book title, that makes people believe that they have the opportunity to leave their boring job one day and become super rich. It sells. All the corporate people love it when they read about how exciting it is not to have a job, be your own boss and earn much more than salary. And thats what most of the innovation and entrepreneurship books focus on, tell and sell the exciting stories. I read quite a few of them. Most of them when I plunged into the corporate world and all of a sudden started seeing that all my college dreams were sinking. The great stories that I had heard till now were not happening in my life. I somehow believed I could be a part of such a story one day and when I realized may be its over, I started spending all the hard-earned money from the boring job into these "how to" books. I loved them, because these books were the only ones that kept telling me, there's hope.
As I matured through the reading process, I started reading textbooks on innovation and entrepreneurship. When I was high with all the books I had read, one day I decided I need to quit my job and start to create my own story. There I go! I started to teach entrepreneurship, I thought that was exciting, all I needed to tell was stories. In my interview for the teaching position my interviewer asked me if I could teach financial statements to the students. I said 'yes', but I had no idea of how the balance sheets looked like. I got the job, and soon realised I had to do more than just telling stories. I had to explain how innovation and entrepreneurship would happen. These books I read while teaching were more realistic and pragmatic than the ones I had read till now, but boring. Somehow I learnt what a balance sheet was and soon also learnt how to balance them. These books also described innovation and entrepreneurship as the holy thing, the ultimate. It covered all the details, but was more like a blind person describing the elephant.
Doing
From talking about entrepreneurship while half drunk to reading success stories to teaching students about entrepreneurship, I always believed I was preparing myself. I never got confident that I was prepared. Nevertheless the curiosity to try it once was killing me. And I started on the journey. Soon I started articulating my ideas. People liked them. I got excited and started thinking of more ideas. My ideas were like my children, some spoilt, some genius, but I loved them all. Ideating, I realised was easier than doing it. I saw many of my ideas in reality but someone else was doing it. Many of them before I thought of them and many after I conceived. Finally I broke the inertia. And I took one idea and started building it from the scratch.
I believe the things I read and heard had an impact on me but once I started doing it I forgot them all. Something else drove me. It was not money. It was not fame. It was the excitement that i could be creating something that had never existed before. Out of 7 billion people in the world, no body tried it. Is it exciting? You bet, it is. But, it is scary at the same time. The same fact that nobody tried it before makes you think, why not? It is easier to quote Bernard Shaw and say " Most people see things as they are and ask why, I see things that never were and ask why not?". I did that all the time to inspire my students. But when you were at it, you had to be careful. You might just make a fool out of yourself. One after another, I went on conquering the fear. Soon, my idea was being applauded and rewarded. And then, as I always tend to do, I relaxed. I was overwhelmed by the fact that people were calling me entrepreneur. Soon I lost the track and dedication. I was getting better at pitching my ideas but I was getting worse at thinking. But this time I was aware enough not to let another one of my ideas die. I tried harder. It has not been a smooth ride, however cliched that may sound. Not financially, but emotionally. It has been one of those journeys where you think you are right and then again question it later only to come back to the same point.
I am still trying it. I do not have a success story to tell yet. But I am working hard to make sure I do not have to tell a failure one.
I have achieved many things through this journey that I would never have achieved otherwise. And I have lost many. As my friends prepare themselves for their job interviews polishing their resumes and highlighting the fact that they are graduating from one of the prestigious schools in the world, here I am trying to polish my ideas. I have thousand questions in my mind. I have fear. I have hopes and I have doubts. I do no know which one of the many glamorous strategies I should be using. Nevertheless I am determined to give this a try. And I will tell you a secret. I am betting a lot on my luck and my 'god'. I do not want to be rich anymore. Neither do I want to be that famous young entrepreneur. All I want at this moment is to create that has not existed before. Wish me luck!
Hearing
We hear great stories, mostly success stories and sometimes the failure stories. It has been one of the trends: to tell innovation stories in an exciting way. We have always somehow tried to associate innovation with some kind of magic and miracle. Most of these stories are told in terms of business growth and very few actually describes the innovation process involved. No wonder the innovation story would sound much boring than how a small business started from a garage went on to earn billions. I used to hear many such stories, mostly from friends when we were half drunk. The feeling that you could also become rich with in a finger click gave us excitement and would never fail to get attraction of all the wanna-be's in 20's. As I matured through the stories, I started hearing it from the professionals. Sometimes in advertisement, sometimes in corporations and mostly in Youtube from the inspirational and influential people speaking in programs like TED. It did not differ much from the drunken college discussions to the professional world. They were all stories and they all had a magic factor involved. It always made me believe there will be an eureka moment when everything will flash in front of your eyes and it is only success beyond that point.
Reading
I sometimes think one of the more successful entrepreneurs must be the ones who write about entrepreneurship. All you need to think of is a book title, that makes people believe that they have the opportunity to leave their boring job one day and become super rich. It sells. All the corporate people love it when they read about how exciting it is not to have a job, be your own boss and earn much more than salary. And thats what most of the innovation and entrepreneurship books focus on, tell and sell the exciting stories. I read quite a few of them. Most of them when I plunged into the corporate world and all of a sudden started seeing that all my college dreams were sinking. The great stories that I had heard till now were not happening in my life. I somehow believed I could be a part of such a story one day and when I realized may be its over, I started spending all the hard-earned money from the boring job into these "how to" books. I loved them, because these books were the only ones that kept telling me, there's hope.
As I matured through the reading process, I started reading textbooks on innovation and entrepreneurship. When I was high with all the books I had read, one day I decided I need to quit my job and start to create my own story. There I go! I started to teach entrepreneurship, I thought that was exciting, all I needed to tell was stories. In my interview for the teaching position my interviewer asked me if I could teach financial statements to the students. I said 'yes', but I had no idea of how the balance sheets looked like. I got the job, and soon realised I had to do more than just telling stories. I had to explain how innovation and entrepreneurship would happen. These books I read while teaching were more realistic and pragmatic than the ones I had read till now, but boring. Somehow I learnt what a balance sheet was and soon also learnt how to balance them. These books also described innovation and entrepreneurship as the holy thing, the ultimate. It covered all the details, but was more like a blind person describing the elephant.
Doing
From talking about entrepreneurship while half drunk to reading success stories to teaching students about entrepreneurship, I always believed I was preparing myself. I never got confident that I was prepared. Nevertheless the curiosity to try it once was killing me. And I started on the journey. Soon I started articulating my ideas. People liked them. I got excited and started thinking of more ideas. My ideas were like my children, some spoilt, some genius, but I loved them all. Ideating, I realised was easier than doing it. I saw many of my ideas in reality but someone else was doing it. Many of them before I thought of them and many after I conceived. Finally I broke the inertia. And I took one idea and started building it from the scratch.
I believe the things I read and heard had an impact on me but once I started doing it I forgot them all. Something else drove me. It was not money. It was not fame. It was the excitement that i could be creating something that had never existed before. Out of 7 billion people in the world, no body tried it. Is it exciting? You bet, it is. But, it is scary at the same time. The same fact that nobody tried it before makes you think, why not? It is easier to quote Bernard Shaw and say " Most people see things as they are and ask why, I see things that never were and ask why not?". I did that all the time to inspire my students. But when you were at it, you had to be careful. You might just make a fool out of yourself. One after another, I went on conquering the fear. Soon, my idea was being applauded and rewarded. And then, as I always tend to do, I relaxed. I was overwhelmed by the fact that people were calling me entrepreneur. Soon I lost the track and dedication. I was getting better at pitching my ideas but I was getting worse at thinking. But this time I was aware enough not to let another one of my ideas die. I tried harder. It has not been a smooth ride, however cliched that may sound. Not financially, but emotionally. It has been one of those journeys where you think you are right and then again question it later only to come back to the same point.
I am still trying it. I do not have a success story to tell yet. But I am working hard to make sure I do not have to tell a failure one.
I have achieved many things through this journey that I would never have achieved otherwise. And I have lost many. As my friends prepare themselves for their job interviews polishing their resumes and highlighting the fact that they are graduating from one of the prestigious schools in the world, here I am trying to polish my ideas. I have thousand questions in my mind. I have fear. I have hopes and I have doubts. I do no know which one of the many glamorous strategies I should be using. Nevertheless I am determined to give this a try. And I will tell you a secret. I am betting a lot on my luck and my 'god'. I do not want to be rich anymore. Neither do I want to be that famous young entrepreneur. All I want at this moment is to create that has not existed before. Wish me luck!
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