Show me the Money

#venturecapital #venturebuilding #venturefunding #StartupIndia #startups #Startups #startupfunding #startupgrowth

?One of the important discussions going around in the Start-up eco-system is the concept of Ageism, both Positive and Negative. “ Young people who don’t know how to read a balance sheet are being given millions of dollars” “ You are too old to start-up “, these are terms which I have heard in the past. Things have definitely changed over the past 20 odd years of India’s start-up eco-system and it gives me a great ring sized view of what it means to run start-ups across different phases of your lives. Life was very different when I graduated. The technology industry was primarily into services. Following the likes of TCS and Infosys lots of Young Indians were trying to start services companies or what was called Dot Com. However the support eco-system was not strong and lots of us were happy to get the kind of money that our parents generation could only dream of writing code for American Clients.

When you are in your 20’s

Today if you are in your 20’s in India, you could reach out to your University Incubator to start with. Depending on your business idea you would be able to connect with Mentors who would help with your idea, get your prototype built and help you define with Product Market fit. For startups working in the Software domain the only capital you need is the time and effort of coding the prototype. I strongly recommend that Software startups have a code programming / technology person in the founding team who will be able to build the prototype. If You are in college, your personal expenses are anyways minimal. If you have left college I often suggest that entrepreneurs take up side gigs as freelancers or take a loan from friends and family to give themselves a year to build the product and get the market fit. In other words think of your Startup journey as just an extension of your college life. A couple of years of Struggle more but the benefits of being an entrepreneur far outweigh any downsides. An early fund raise also helps founders to take a small salary which sustains the journey.

The Pros :

·??????You are young so you have less fear

·??????You have very few liabilities

·??????Your past failures don’t hold you back since you have none

The Cons :

·??????You may not have an idea about the Market

·??????You may not have capital to sustain

·??????You may not have connections and contacts to the Market and Investors

?

When you are in your 30’s and 40’s

You would have probably got married, had kids, taken loans and are busy raising a family. How do you get into entrepreneurship in this phase. I always recommend Entrepreneurs to set with their spouse and ensure that the basic finances are sorted for the next 2 years at least. A working spouse who is willing to shoulder the burden of running the household when you are building your start-up is worth its weight in gold, he or she is more valuable than any investor who comes later. You may also have saved sufficiently to handle the expenses for at least a year. If you have at least 10 years of work experience you would have got one of the biggest strengths, getting access to potential customers through contacts. The entire Product Market Fit, the most difficult phase in a start-ups journey. I really believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages if one has a strong team. I always recommend that founders usually have a mix of Diverse backgrounds and age that helps bring different perspectives to the product and technical Capability. So to start-ups founders in the middle ages you have a lot of things going for you.

Pros :

·??????You have contacts and relations to get customers and Investors

·??????You have experience to handle Finances

·??????Experience of Organisation development

Cons

·??????Your personal finances need to be sorted

·??????Your spouse and you need to work out things coz the next couple of years will be rough

·??????Your Interpersonal skills with your founders need to be top notch, your partner may be far younger than you but more capable in their job

?

When you are in your 50’s

When in your 50’s you would have made sufficient money to look beyond day to day expenses and your family is far more settled. I recommend that Entrepreneurs in that age group define their startup very differently. They should own a substantial part of the ownership and bring a strong team of a mix of young and Middle Aged founders. The Entrepreneur in the 50’s?needs to bring some substantial skill sets, he is a motivator, the dreamer, the person who will bring in the money and the connects while he / she empowers the other founders to focus on execution. The 50’s entrepreneur needs to define the values and vision and be the spear of the company that goes and sells the vision. Remember you are not at an age where you will be able to bring the energy, what the others value is your wisdom and your job is to motivate, above all you must be able to bring a strong board which allows you to plan a successful transition and succession.

Pros

·??????Strong connections in the Industry

·??????Knowledge and Vision

·??????Access to initial Capital?

Cons

·??????Patience or the lack of it – remember your team are co-founders and you may only be the first among equals

·??????Past : Do not let your past hold you captive. You are as good as the knowledge you pick up daily

·??????Adapt : Your ability to adapt is usually not going to be your strength. You know your weaknesses so please find people who could help you deliver on that

As you realise there is never a right age to be an entrepreneur. Every age is right, as there are more problems in the world which needs people who will solve them