So you want to be an entrepreneur. Don't know where to start? When to start? Not quite sure about the challenges...well here are a few questions to start with...although not quite in an order of importance but worth considering. 1. When is the right time to start? There is no better time to start than now. All you need is a strong desire and belief to start. Neither is it too late to start. Don't believe. Check this out. 2. Do you bootstrap? Well if you don't, then learn. In general parlance, bootstrapping usually refers to a self-starting process that is supposed to proceed without external input. Many of today's largest companies started with bootstrapping including the likes of Apple, Dell, Zoho - Bootstrapping had a major role to play in their success. Hence it is important to learn to live and survive with bare minimum for the initial months and years. Whatever you earn you invest back not much goes into your pocket.
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A few things are remembered Only within the confines of the mind Where life's pains are kept hidden Etched into memories of heart That only bleed but never quite heal In remembrance of the life bygone That was never quite the one you ever owned
The Indian startup story is getting bigger and bigger. A lot of startups, big or small have already made the cut or are in the process of making the cut. However the growth story has not been all hunky dory. There are a lot of questions which remain unanswered. Leaving them unanswered may prove dangerous or even fatal. Probably for someone with a hardcore background as entrepreneur the questions may not be significant but they definitely are worth considering. The list though is not exhaustive. Is is it always necessary to burn cash and offer heavy unrealistic discounts to grow the business? Is this the only way of doing business? Is there not any other way? Don't businesses that bootstrap do well? What business sense does it make to spend Rs. 100 and generate revenues of Rs. 10-20? If you feel I am exaggerating please note some cases its even worse. Why go on recruitment spree only to lay off people later? Some startups that started only two years back shot to a
Everyone's running Either To From For Away Chasing Avoiding Confronting Hiding Out of the closet To catch To dodge To score To defend To win To loose The reasons vary The degree of intentions vary Some run out of choice Some out of compulsion Some because there is nothing else to do Some because its become a habit Some because that's the only thing they know And yet a few others as the last resort No matter what For better or worse Everyone's just busy running At times without even knowing - why
A picture tells A story Of despair, depression, angst and fear Of disasters, destruction and loss Of hope, beauty, joy and glory Of aspirations, dreams and achievements Which you may have never known, otherwise Existed i n the world Beyond your own
Maybe is always A possibility Of what could have been For better or worse But never the reality
There is always An other side to a story Good, bad Right, wrong Known, Unknown Understood, misunderstood Questioned, unquestioned Answered, unanswered Is not a matter of concern As much is the realization that Truth is not always What it appears to be For many a times When you get to the other side of the fence Perceptions change Assumptions get challenged Beliefs get disrupted Myths get destroyed The truth just ceases to be And what emerges May not have been there to begin with
What starts as an exceptionally good idea turns out to be a damp squib. There is nothing wrong with the idea though. It has all the makings of the one that stands out. However what it is meant to be and what it becomes are world apart. Call it the execution gap or inability to take the idea to its logical conclusion, something surely seems amiss. Something which no one accounted for or thought it worthwhile to make a note of. Perhaps the idea itself is so overwhelming that failure looks a distant reality. The adrenaline rush and the enthusiasm to put such ideas in action at times results in turning a blind eye to common sense. What remains thereafter are just remains of day difficult to make sense of an already scattered in bits and pieces which were lost in translation .
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them . Albert Einstein Most companies and even individuals aren’t rigorous enough in defining the problems they’re attempting to solve and articulating why those issues are important. The problems and the issues get lost in translation. For how many times have you been aware that the problems that you are trying to solve are different than the one that you should be solving? The realization however dawns in hindsight while the problem is still at large? Prior experiences, organizational constraints, biases and perception add to the odds of reducing successful outcomes that one wants to achieve. In the movie Moneyball, Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane is upset by team's loss to New York Yankees in the 2001 post season. With impeding departure of star players to free agency, Beane needs to assemble a competitive team for 2002, but must overcome Oakland's limited payroll. Realizi
When you are up against the wall the options you have at hand are limited. And the only way exercise those is to act. Act decisively. Act like there is no other way out. Like its time to stand up and be counted. Its a do or die. For nothing else matters.
You are not quite the one you used to be. (You have changed a lot.) It could mean either ways. Expectational or Aspirational. One way is where you fall short of expectations. You not being able to evolve with my needs or probably not moving along with changing times. The experience or the touch which you once had seems to be missing. Chances are you are not even aware. The ambience or environment in which you operate could be the same to you. But to an eye outside it's old and outdated, out of sync with times. The one reminiscent of the namesake you used to be. The milestones have been moved forward. What you are looking at may be memoirs of a time bygone. The other is aspirational. The one of you having raised the bar higher. Taking it a notch further where I aspire to be and even willing to be a part of it. Here I see you as adaptable and dynamic. Getting others to be one like you. Keeping up with the times. Moving the milestones along with times. They are not
Kids have their own ways of eating food. One often ends up trying various tricks to get them to eat. This though is not always the case. Give them something they like and relish and you hardly need do any of the convincing bit. Same is the case when they are hungry. The efforts are less as the child knows. And there is no better combination of child being hungry and him/her getting to eat what he/she likes. This simple instance got me thinking about its relevance to the marketing world. The efforts required to sell a product to a customer are more when he/she does not like or feel the need for a particular product. In such case the emphasis is on the push factor than the pull. Trying the various tricks in book to get the customers to buy. Just like the kids not interested in eating here there exists every possibility of the customer trying to resist products and services being thrust on him. Thus making the product prone to go down the drain. On the contrary, if the product is
Aspirations are good for a better tomorrow. They tell you where you want to be and how much you need to push the envelope. But they need to be grounded in reality. Reality tells you your capability. It tells you if you will be able to make the cut or not. Capability is the ability to go the extra mile with grit and determination to make the cut. It is the ability to act now, act sensibly for a better tomorrow. That's aspirations.
The words that I write Are not just words But an expression of thoughts, A depiction of picture, An account of history, A tale of paths unexplored, A source of knowledge, A comment on society, A pursuit of truth, A voice of the unheard, A rebel against establishments, A ray of hope, A quest for spirituality, A discovery of self, A dream for tomorrow, An aspiration for a better world
We all experience a stage where we are of a confused lot. Not quite sure what's in store for us or where life is going to take us. At this point its common to look at life in disbelief and doubt our capabilities. We tend to miss what comes naturally to us, even discard our strengths. In the movie, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, a visionary sheikh believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his representative to turn the dream into reality, an extraordinary feat with the help and involvement of Dr. Alfred Jones, Britain's leading fisheries expert. The visionary sheikh’s dream however gets stalled as a result of strong opposition to removing salmon from British rivers. The Government suggests that he used farmed salmon instead. Not quite sure if a farmed salmon which has not run upstream for two
Failure is a part and parcel of life. What's a life without failures? But then not everyone rises up from failures. Likewise, nor does everyone get a chance to start all over again, especially after everything that one has built has been washed away and destroyed. It could be for reasons within or even beyond control. Mistakes one made or did not make. But the most important lesson when starting again is to be able to realize the mistakes that one made and accept them. That's the first thing one needs to do. Then evaluate and learn from them. There is no point in starting all over again to make the same mistakes again. That's far worst than not getting an opportunity to start again. In the movie, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, a visionary sheikh believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his represent
It’s been almost a decade since the Dean of the institute where I was pursuing my diploma threw us a challenge. A challenge which would profoundly impact us, if we had the courage to practice it daily. But then it is easier said than done, he cautioned us, for only a handful few had really managed to go beyond the first few days. And those who did had reaped benefits of the habit. The challenge was to stand in front of the mirror everyday and look deep into your eyes for 2-3 minutes. Simple as it may sound, it’s an equally daunting task. Don’t agree try giving it a shot. Over the years I have come to realize why only a handful people managed to go beyond the first few days. It is a psychological truth that we often see in others what we don’t like about ourselves. When there is an aspect of ourselves that we find unacceptable it is human nature to hide it from ourselves, even to pretend the opposite, and instead project those feelings we have about ourselves onto others. But whe
Many a times we are confronted with making decisions. Not quite knowing what to do or how to go about making the choice. Many a times we are faced with a conflict about who is it that is making the decision. Is it really us or the person who put everything at stake for us to be able to reach a particular level making the decision for us? Are we taking a decision because we are indebted to or are we taking a decision because we want to? Is the unintentional / intentional behaviour of others involved compelling us to make a choice without even realizing? These are underlying questions beneath the surface which rarely anyone gives a thought when making decision. Yet these very questions set the tone for the decision which we are never quite sure if its ours. It's the same conflict which Michael Oher experiences in "The Blind Side". Realizing the influence of Tuohy's in his choosing Ole Miss, Michael is not quite sure if he made the decision that he wanted to
You have only excuses And reasons to give For the ills As the outcomes of your actions That have caused more harm Than good, and Deprived, oppressed, repressed For no fault of theirs Pushing them to the brink of death And leaving them at its mercy As an act of justice Which you use as a cover Of righteousness No matter how big or small you are No matter how rich or poor you are My thoughts after watching India's Daughter... seeing the convict and his defence trying to justify the gory act...still fail to understand why the government wants to ban it..how long are we going to continuing to live in self denial.
Today I received the following message. One of the countless forward messages which do rounds across various messaging apps but definitely worth taking note of. The message is as follows S uppose 500 people visit bigbazaar daily. No one collects change. 500×1= rs500. For 365 days, 500×36 5 = rs 1,82,500 This is from ONE bigbazaar MARKET. There are 1500 bigbazaar markets in the country. rs 1,82,500×1500 = rs 273,750,000 27 crore per year. & the worst part about this is, IT'S NOT EVEN TAXABLE because the bill doesn't count the one rupee, remember? Now you know why they always put price tags like 49/- 99/- 999/- only? Anyone who has ever been to any supermarket (or even shops for that matter) will easily relate to the scenario illustrated. It's a very common thing. At times the shopkeeper or the person at counter hands over a sweet supposedly worth the value of the balance exchange amount. Surprisingly though you as the customer cannot reverse the favour i.e.
Then... It was the best thing to do This was the only way one could think of We were in a comfortable position There was only pain going forward We were happy with the things were Everything seemed obvious Looking beyond was out of question Now.. It's no longer the best thing to do There exist a lot many ways of doing things We are no longer in a comfortable position There is pain but there are also gains We are no longer happy with the way things are Nothing seems obvious Learning to look beyond is the only way forward Then is an excuse that blocks learning and growth. Then is a situation you want to believe will continue. It dwells in the world you think exists with chance of you living in self denial. It lies a notch below now. Now on the other hand is the threshold of realization, an awakening to the reality that exists and the potential that lies ahead. It's a call to action and execution once the realization has dawned. It is fina
One day everything Comes to an end inevitable Sometimes abruptly, Sometimes expectedly Leaving behind Memories and stories Of joy and anguish Of ecstasy and agony Lived and fought in a lifetime Through the ups and downs That moisten the eyes That everyone calls death
What's the true meaning of words It's hard to fathom When the actions speak otherwise When the words used Don't mean what they say Lead the thoughts astray And the person in its path they slay
We see what we want to Encouraged by experience Justified by perception Blinded to the facts Distorted by mind Through the prism of Convenience The truth, however Still lies out there Naked Just like the Kings Clothes