You Are a Startup: Invest in Yourself

As a college student, I take part in the entrepreneurial culture that dominates many college campuses today. In many ways, the culture around me fosters innovation and (in some cases) subversion. As a result, it seems rather fitting that the Maryland University System declared they would create a $25 million fund for startups launched by students and graduates. This environment of opportunity is inspiring countless students to launch their own ventures and secure a place as a successful entrepreneur. However, is every entrepreneur destined to be the next Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg? Unfortunately not. (Although the drive to become the next big thing is a necessary quality for success)

One definition of entrepreneurship that I particularly like is that of an individual who undertakes risk in order to fulfill a need. Note how that definition does not use the word “business” or “venture” at all. Why is it like that you may ask? It is because many people have their own measures of success- be it at landing that dream internship or finding your ideal career- and said people will gladly take risks in order to fulfill their personal needs and aspirations. I would say that we are all entrepreneurs in one way or another and in order to reach that defined measure of success, you need to be able to invest in the most important startup of them all- yourself.

Branding

As a student, I have constantly heard about the importance of creating a professional brand. Now during my freshman year, I was unsure about what exactly that meant. I had a resume; I was able to write up a cover letter; I even set up a LinkedIn profile; yet, I had difficulty getting results. I later learned that, while I had the core components down, I failed to create a brand for myself through those components.

In essence, I wrote down what I was involved with rather than writing down what I had actually done (in terms of adding value to myself or my workplace) for my resume; I had failed to craft a story for myself (talking about why I am the best fit and what I hope to achieve) for my cover letter and I had treated LinkedIn as some sort of online resume rather than the powerful networking tool it really is. Publishing on LinkedIn has been a tremendous experience for me in particular and my position as a LinkedIn campus editor has allowed me to help other students develop their professional brands.

Human Capital

As I said before, entrepreneurship is almost synonymous with risk-taking. If you do not undertake a certain level of risk, you are not an entrepreneur nor will you likely achieve true success in any type of endeavor. Now a startup can make use of a number of resources in order to succeed; one of those being human capital. Human capital refers to the collective skills or abilities one possesses, usually viewed in context to his or her collective value to a group or organization. One way that I look at building human capital is to view every opportunity as a way to reach your end goals. I currently study bioengineering; yet, I love learning about business, finance, and economics. That isn’t to say that I don’t enjoy the problem-solving mentality that engineering has instilled within me. Bioengineering forces me to look at things in a broader perspective and see how all components of an issue contribute to one overarching theme. As someone who aspires to gain exposure in the field of consulting (namely management or strategy), this is particularly relevant to me. I would argue that many of my current activities and positions came to be because I took a risk (I actually stumbled on LinkedIn publishing by accident- but that is a story for another day).

Vision

I saved the most important component for last. Above all else, you need to have a vision for yourself in order to achieve your goals. If you listen to any successful entrepreneur, they will most likely say that if you do not have passion, you will not succeed.

This is not exclusive to entrepreneurs though. Whether you are trying to find your dream career or trying to get that prestigious internship, setting a vision for yourself is essential. After all, how will you get through those trying times if you do not have an end goal for yourself? Inevitably, I believe many people will come to grips with the question of “Why?” Do you have an answer? Is there something you aspire to be or achieve? Unless you give yourself a reason and want to succeed, you will never be able to answer that question.

 Whether or not you consider yourself an entrepreneur, you have to at least admit that finding success is a process. Just as how a company like Facebook started off as a dorm-room project, every success story has to begin somewhere. Why not start with something that is readily available and requires no financial capital? After all, one definition of a startup is “the action or process of setting something in motion”.

#StudentVoices

Ajay is a rising junior at the University of Maryland, College Park where he hopes to succeed in the professional world through his passion and innovation. 

Like what you read? Share, like, comment below. If you want some more professional and cultural insights from a student's point-of-view feel free to follow me.