The entrepreneur route

Youth have the zeal to learn and create things. This makes them perfect entities to follow the entrepreneurial drive. Dr Narendra Shyamsukha shares tips that will help them in the long run

Of late, we have been seen the rise in businesses being launched from the blood, sweat and toil of young energies, coming together to create a change. Gone are the days when well-defined career would be ideal among the young. The hunger to create a positive disruption, plus the onus to work on their own accord has lead to new rise of smart entrepreneurs, breaking older rules, to inject fresh blood into the stream.

The fact the youths have the zeal to learn, create newer things and grit to bounce back, makes them perfect entities to follow the entrepreneurial drive, especially for a nation like India, which is booming in youth population. Reports say more than 19,000 startups are currently operating in India, with cities like Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai contributing greatly to this. Yet, the entrepreneurial dream is not simply restricted to the bigger cities, as contribution from the rural and semi-urban regions are significantly changing the way the business winds blow. 

The main factor to this can be the lack of positions available for these youth — urging them to depend upon their own faculties and start something unique. Also, the success story of homegrown bigwigs like Flipkart, Paytm, Ola have lured the youth into dreaming big for their own.  Exposure towards digitisation and an increased mobile penetration have brought clarity into fuddled young minds. Finally, what can be said as a celebration towards this positive growth- the onset of angel investors and fund mediums have provided a much impetus for youths to leave their desk jobs and embark on their entrepreneurial journey. With the number of accelerators and incubators increasing by 40 per cent  every year, startups are staring at a bright future.

All these positives will, no doubt, urge you to actualise your journey at the soonest. However, before jumping into the vast world of entrepreneurship, always remember to

• Simplify your concept. It is the simple things that keeps you in relevance.
• nFind out a growing problem and provide a unique solution to it. This will help gain traction while creating value.
• Keep on perfecting your ideas. This is especially important when you go forth and pitch to an angel investor- your idea should be convincing enough to win their patronage.
• Always overestimate your costs — not on an exaggerated level, but significant enough to cover up for extra addition/changes you might want to make.
• Be prepared for stiff competition and acknowledge their strengths.
• Build a great team and instill the zeal to grow, in them. Success is a collective effort that comes through team effort towards a common goal.
• Prime yourself for failure and learn from it. Work upon your mistakes and rectify them to come back with a better plan.

It is a universal fact that an organisation/ venture cannot witness success, without emboldening the following foundational departments — accounting, IT and sales & marketing. Given the ubiquity of these functions, young entrepreneurs can directly garner expertise in these fields via specific certifications that cover essential skill sets required for working knowledge and fulfill the role requirements of full-fledging companies.

The writer is Founder, Chairman, ICA Edu Skills