My start-up should fail. But it won’t. 6 questions to ask yourself before starting-up

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I don’t have an investor. I’m not looking for one.

walk-on-water
photo credit: theyellowpicture.com

I don’t have a plan on how I’ll make a million dollars. It’s not on my to-do list.

I’m not looking to on-board customers and worry about monetisation later. I have a very simple, clear business model.

I’m not sure how I’m going to scale. Hell, I’m not even sure I want to scale GeekTrust.

By all accounts, I should fail. The whole start-up industry seems to be based on the premise that you’re involved only to make big, big bucks. If you question that, most people can’t process it. Try explaining that you want to have an engaging job, where you’re not constrained and want to explore what you are capable of. Nobody believes you. And therefore you don’t get good advice when you decide to start up. If I use the regular start-up parameters, mine should fail. So, for the unconventional ones – here’s my set of 6 questions you should really be asking yourself before starting up.

1. What does your spouse think? Getting your startup off the ground is lonely at the beginning. You’re mostly on your own. Some people will laugh at you, others won’t believe in you and no one will invest as much (money, time, emotion) as you. So you need to ensure you have emotional support from your immediate family. My wife is my staunchest supporter and healthiest critic.
2. What’s your bank account look like? Figure out how long a runway you have before you need to start making money. How much money do I spend per month? Where can I cut expenses? Create an exhaustive plan of how long you have before you have to start making money. Don’t eat up all your savings but figure out how much you can spare and plan accordingly.
3. Who’s with you? I wouldn’t have begun this journey if I didn’t feel I have a strong team who is on-board with me. Luckily for me, I have a super strong team who happen to be friends as well.
4. Your solution won’t work. How flexible are you? Forget your product or the solution you’re bringing to market. Instead, focus on the business problem you’re trying to solve. And find out if someone will pay you if you solve it for them. So validate the business space and only then validate your solution. And be willing to change.
5. How are you at failing? Failure is acceptable. No big deal…life is too short to worry about how bad you’ll look if you fail. All those who tell you that failure is not an option, and that you need to obsess about success, are just being melodramatic. Ignore them.
6. Do you have a calculator? Starting up is not about courage, it’s a calculated risk. Look at the questions above, think through it clearly and go for it. If you’re not sure about any of them, retreat and come back later. It’s never now-or-never. There’s always tomorrow.

I guess what I’m saying is that if you’re strong mentally, have a good team tackling a tough business problem, and a fine support structure at home, you will do well. I ticked all the boxes above and decided to start. Sure, it’s a lot more nuanced and complicated than I put it, but these are the fundamentals IMO.

And finally, your start-up need never fail because you should define your own terms – of success and of failure.


contact me at krishnan@geektrust.in for career input, advice or to just discuss the weather.

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