Startup Jugaad #2 : Alice in wonderland

Start-ups in today’s world are romanticized–have a look at the latest “Entrepreneur” magazine ad all over the telly and you are convinced a start-up the next big thing! The irony is that they have become motley commodities of varying quality and this has shifted the focus from what really creates value. Let me put this across as an example:

Student X has passed out of the Imperial College of Education [hypothetical IIT] and has not a job due to the current recession [at least a job that does not pay him a huge amount!]. So the alternative is to start his own start-up [based on some very vague idea he had]. Throw in some government grants and over-enthusiastic professors and we have a deadly cocktail of an “All fail” product.

In the above case, we see lots of Alices getting lost in Wonderlands [intricate ones at that!]. Lacking a strong intermediate incubation cell, the above is a blatant waste of time, money and energy for the system at large. In all honesty, most of the ICE students should attempt to bootstrap and spark out something that is self sustaining and, more importantly, a learning lesson. My experience has taught me that good mentoring is essential to succeeding in a very competitive environment. It is not enough to just plan well and execute better. Direction is sometimes more key than the perfection one achieves during implementation.

Its clear with time that the process is sometimes as critical as the end result; neglect any one of these and you may not be in a position to enjoy the fruits of your hard work.