Lessons from My Startup Journey

Beginning an entrepreneurial journey is an exhilarating experience. Excitement and tension flow together. No matter how much you’ve heard or read about being an entrepreneur; once you stand on the diving board and stare at the water down below, you’ve got to dive! This is the moment of truth. So let’s dive.

There is a school of thought that encourages entrepreneurs to document their journey, even if they're starting out, and to share that with others. Experience is valuable, all of it. This article is my attempt to do just that. Let’s begin.

Listed below are the actions and steps that have helped me as I rolled up my sleeves to get my startup going. Pick what resonates with you and put it to work.

1. Preparation

Before you play, know the game.

Being a voracious reader of nonfiction, I read a lot of books on start-ups and businesses before starting out. This prepared me for the journey and in understanding the startup ecosystem. What I lacked in my own knowledge and experience, I picked it up from others. This is what you're doing now. Become a student and learn.

Here is my advice. Before launching, read as many articles and books about business and startups. Seed your mind so that it becomes a fertile soil that can sprout those seeds. Read across business domains (‘tech guys please read finance’). Like a sponge, soak up all the knowledge and the wisdom that you can find.

Look at what the entrepreneurs before you have utilised to chart out their own course successfully. There is a lot to learn, and you will be taking baby steps. Be smart and shorten the learning curve by not trying to reinvent the wheel. Not in this stage.

Also, learn to differentiate between what you must know before going to the job and what you will learn on the job. Be prepared. Be ready.

2. Know thyself

Understand your motive behind starting a company. Why are you doing this? For how long? Will you exit? What is your pain threshold? Your commitment to bring your vision to fruition? Do you have buy-in and support? Are you well suited for the role that you have assigned for yourself in the start-up? Just because you can be a CEO or a CTO doesn’t mean you should. Being a founder and an executive board member and being a manager who operates the company are two separate functions.

Even more vital is to contemplate and understand your own personality, your peculiarities, your strengths and weakness, and if that it is alignment with the rest. Your startup is your alter-ego. It is mirroring itself back to you. It is your reflection. This is so important to understand.

My startup is a reflection of me and my co-founder’s personalities. We joined forces because of our shared values and how we see or would like to see the changes in the world. We were aware that who we are as people determines the company culture and what the company will be. Everything else comes later.

3. Have strong boundaries

As founders of our start-up, me and my partner are clear about our roles, equity allocation and our responsibilities and investments in the start-up. We have it down on paper. Since founder disagreement is the first reason a startup might fail, we wanted to make provisions for that so that the company is our priority. This leads to transparency, clarity and understanding, and we can get down to business.

4. Lay a foundation

Your start-up needs a strong foundation and it is your job to lay that down. A start-up based on running away from a current disliked job or easy money, looking cool and a stop-gap arrangement till you get the next high paying job is not strong enough for an entrepreneur to do what needs to get done to make an enterprise successful.

The start-up is not about you. You will realise that the start-up acquires a life of its own and is susceptible to all kinds of influences like an impressionable teenager. It is therefore necessary that you are clear about your startup upbringing:

What are your company values? What does it stand for? What is the company mission? Without clarity and with all the mayhem around you, there is a danger of your start-up becoming a rudderless ship and being tossed to and fro, accomplishing nothing because it has no or has lost it's purpose for existence.

With my startup, there is clarity on the company mission and what it stands for as a brand. All who wish to associate will have to align to the vision and values of the company. We’re very happy with how this is shaping up. Using a cricket analogy, as batsmen, we know the deliveries to hit and which ones to leave.

5. Learn to dance

When I was toying with my product idea in the early days, the startup was a mobile game company. As a game designer turned entrepreneur what other kind of startup does one start? Now we’re a conversational artificial intelligence startup. From a game company to an AI startup. Everything has changed: -  our product, business model, markets and the scope of our business.

This transition took place because of the continuous iterations from the feedback we received. Rather than foisting our ideas upon others, we listened to what they wanted from us and worked on that.

The same may happen to you, so be agile and open to feedback. Your original idea or plan maybe be completely altered once you take your baby to the public. You can either listen or fight back. My suggestion is hear, really hear, what others are telling you.

Embrace agility. There will be delays, disappointments and heart breaking moments. Be light footed, roll with the punches and keep moving. Don’t stop.

We are clear on where we stand. Our company values mission is fixed. We’re agile on everything else.

6. Don’t pull back your punches

Get out of your skin. Don’t hesitate or pull your punches. Stand up and let your light shine. Let others know who you are and what your startup is all about. Dream big dreams.You might meet with chuckles and rolling eyes but people who matter will listen to your dreams very attentively and may want join in. So be bold, speak out and share your dreams.

Above all, have fun, look cheerful. Drop the baggage that you are carrying the weight of the next unicorn. Focus on your mission and your legacy, Drop your inhibitions, your fears of failure and embarssment and go for it full throttle!

Conclusion

The best riches you’ll ever earn from your startup is the kind of person you are becoming and will become. This is a permanent treasure.

I'll be happy if you've benefitted by reading this article. Do share your insights.