Entrepreneurship is all about taking risks, about solving a problem and making some innovation happen, it’s a kind of a lifestyle which a founder or an entrepreneur picks-up out of his/her interest or passion or aspiration. It’s a path taken by very few people who challenge the status in the system and go through a road which has a lot of ups and downs, failures, embarrassments, adversities and even humiliation but the end fruit is very satisfying and full of joy.
I am glad and fortunate to have worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and startups over the last 10 years and there has been a lot of learning which I have personally gained based on the experience of witnessing the journey of many entrepreneurs from across India and few outside India as well. These learnings & insights are like tool mantras for founders with a combination of attributes as well as parameters to look at startup success.
1. Intersection with your own self is one of the key elements for a successful & long term entrepreneur journey . It is a journey where a founder has to look at his/her self discovery in terms of inner attributes, likings, deep rooted purpose, aspiration as well as skills and desires. A right intersection between self and entrepreneur path brings a spiritual fulfillment and brings about the element of joy and long term success.
2. Another key element for a founder is to identify the right spot or set the right goal post which he/she wants to chase in terms of solving a right problem or innovating right opportunity or filling up a gap or solving or addressing specific need. This right match has to be inline with the entrepreneur’s self and his interest and ability match as well.
3. The aspect of customer empathy plays a very important role for entrepreneur success. When it comes to defining the right kind of a solution which eventually will get validated and would be commercialized ,the pain of the customer, the feeling and empathetic view from a customer perspective is very important for an entrepreneur to understand. This is almost like living the life of a customer and to imagine the right of a solution which becomes an acceptable solution.
4. The right validation for the startup offering is vital. The right solution given to a right set of customers as part of proof of concept or a testing phase is also important. This is where a customer accepts the solution and is able and is ready to pay for it. So unless it is monetization in a real life environment, the validation is incomplete.
5. The other personal characteristics of an entrepreneur like being mindful of his work and integrity in terms of core values and trust are also critical when it comes to building a team or winning your customers’ confidence as well as having a vision for long which can create a brand for the society. The intention, genuinity and purity of the persona of an entrepreneur do matter.
6. Thinking of making a startup sustainable is also vital for long term success where whatever product or service and entrepreneur is trying to create, it has to be business model where it can be monetized, it can be commercialized and it can also scale up to become a bigger solution where it can impact larger and larger customer base. Sustainability thought from both ecology and economy are important.
Overall it’s the right attributes of an entrepreneur combined with a right spot with a mindful execution. I think this is a success mantra for an entrepreneur .The entrepreneur impacts many customer lives for betterment purposes. There is definitely wealth creation and at the end it has a lot of social impact through creating jobs and bringing economic growth for the nation. The spirit of entrepreneurship, spirit of innovation, the spirit of creation needs to be saluted and respected by society. This spirit is also successful no matter if a specific business wins or loses.
About the author
Mr. Deepak Menaria is Founder & CEO of Lemon Ideas. He is a passionate Creator, Executor and brings along multiple creations. He is the chair- Experiential Learning’s at Lemon School of Entrepreneurship (LSE). He brings rich experience in talent management for DIY approach at Lemon School. His avid
love for experimentation and taking offbeat paths filled with ‘crazy’ ideas has been a visible colour in his self –made professional journey.
Before founding Lemon ideas, he co-founded Lambent Technologies (Now GlobalLogic). GlobalLogic
is a Hitachi company now and one of the biggest product engineering companies in the world. He is
diversely educated in Computer Engineering, Management and Psychology. He learned Creativity &
Innovation from IIM Ahmedabad.
Deepak firmly believes in change as the mother of innovation and is on a mission Innovation by
EveryONE! Deepak has mentored, guided, supported around 100+ startups/ideas and 3000+
individuals as part of his personal interest in youth training and mentorship during 25+ years of rich
experience. He loves Adventures, Driving, Music and Philanthropy.
