Inside the Mind of a Startupreneur

Do not think that its easy, Do not think that its difficult, Think that it is not difficult...

That's what I tell people about starting up (my original line BTW). After #TheStartupVideo, I have come across many early stage entrepreneurs or wannapreneurs who have various questions in their mind before starting up; to my surprise there has almost been a consistent pattern in the kind of questions they ask. I want to take this opportunity to put together some of the ‘Real’ questions that run inside the mind of a Startup Entrepreneur or a Startupreneur before they decide to start up:

Ideas and Innovativeness

Idea is often misconstrued by Startupreneurs as having to be innovative or fancy; to the extent that they are even hesitant to share their ideas with the fear of somebody stealing or copying it. They often believe that their initial idea is so awesome that it will be the same idea till the end; thereby refusing to change or pivot at times. Another issue is also about believing that ideas have a monetary value and that patenting them may help. Infact, they also believe that the idea or thought that they have is original and unique and that nobody else is thinking about the same idea; when in reality, I have heard a similar idea at least 10 times before I met them!

Funding and Investment

Having fixated on an idea, there are a lot of Startupreneurs who believe that lack of funding or investment is a major roadblock to progressing with their venture. They also believe that Angel investors or Venture Capitalists (VC’s) are the only source of funding and get dejected by the thought of not finding or getting funded by them. They even equate their ability to raise funds to the success of their venture and do not bother about the revenues it is going to generate. Even better, they believe that building a website/app or technology and hiring a team is going to cost millions of dollars; they often do not have an accurate assessment of the exact financial need and the unit economics to run their venture.

Starting Up and Shutting Down

Starting up is not just an individual decision as it involves taking into account a host of factors. The decision to startup is itself triggered by various factors such as not liking the job, becoming their own boss, seeing a problem/opportunity, following their passion and the likes. So the usual question bogging down Startupreneurs is the decision to break their comfort zone and venture into an unchartered territory. What is the business model or plan? Do I have the right team or technology? Is it something I want to do? Is it the right time to startup? How do I convince my family to take this up? Can I be in my job and startup at the same time? What if this fails? Will I get a job then....

These are thoughts that every potential entrepreneur may have gone through at some point before starting up and there is nothing wrong in acknowledging them as it is an essential part of the learning and validation process. If you relate to these thoughts at some level or believe that this may resonate with someone you know, do share this. I am also coming up with an initiative called 'Doctor Startup' which will help you resolve some of these questions; watch this space and sign up using this link.