Unboxing of National Startup Day

Shouldn’t our National Startup Day be all about inspiring our youth to be job-creators in our nation’s MSME sector, rather than be that elusive unicorn founder?

Even as the excitement and fanfare around the National Startup Day begin to subside, I am left with one thought — what should we be really celebrating?

The dictionary defines an entrepreneur as ‘one who makes money by starting their own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity and taking risks’, and a startup as ‘a small business that has just been started’. Clearly an entrepreneur creates a startup, grows it over time, and they create jobs in the process.

A startup is the manifestation of the entrepreneur’s passion and purpose. The manifestation may morph and change over time due to various factors inherent to the business. But the entrepreneur’s passion and purpose remain rock solid through the ebb and flow. Therefore, shouldn’t we be celebrating the entrepreneur’s passion and purpose more than the manifestation?

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When the focus is on a startup, the focus is on the metrics of that startup such as funding, active users, revenues, burn-rate, etc. These metrics, while important, are derived from the struggles of the entrepreneur which are usually hidden from the view of the external world. Resilience, ambition, motivation, and the energy to get through the hard, dark phases define these outcomes.

Add to that the willingness to learn, unlearn, and adapt are additional traits that go into making of a startup. Even if one has all these ingredients in good measure and the right mix, there is no guarantee of success. Constant firefighting, remaining open to frequent changes, getting the timing right, making sacrifices, and being emotionally ready for the roller-coaster are also critical requisites for a successful ride. Shouldn’t we be celebrating the inner journey of the entrepreneur, rather than the external metrics of the ride?

I recently read an interesting definition of a startup: ‘an entity or group of people who are not sure who their customers are, don’t have a full-fledged product to meet the needs of these customers, and no clue how to make money from this product’! While there is the thrill of finding the ideal product-market fit, innovating like crazy to make the venture profitable — and creating a unicorn in the process, it is easier said than done, and it is only a handful of entrepreneurs who make this magic happen!

On the other hand, there are thousands of small businesses out there that pull off this stunt, albeit at a much lower scale. Think of the bakeries that we buy our bread from, the small restaurant that serves mouth-watering idli-vada-sambar, the grocery store where we get our rice & dal, and so on. The entrepreneurs behind these ventures go through their own rollercoaster rides everyday of satisfying the needs of their customers, hiring the right people, maintaining that quality that we seek, finding working capital, negotiating rent increases with the landlords, struggling with delayed payments, dealing with rent-seekers who throw the rule book at them — all the while making sure that that they generate enough income to support the household — putting food on the table, and providing decent education for their children.

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There are 68 million registered MSMEs in India, and my father was one of them — running a small travel agency, who worked hard day and night, battled the up and downs of the business — all with a contagious smile, a never-say-die attitude, and oodles of faith in the universe!

For me, my dad was more than a unicorn founder because he ran a profitable business, provided employment to 10+ cab drivers, and ensured that his children grew up with good education, and the basic needs taken care of. Shouldn’t we be celebrating such entrepreneurs along with our ‘unicorn startups’?

I learnt a lot from watching my dad run his business — spending some of my evenings and summer holidays helping him. I learnt about customer centricity, equanimity, doing one’s duty in a steadfast manner, taking risks, dealing with failures — and more importantly, that it is takes sweat, tears and blood to get to the growth curve of winning customers, retaining employees, managing cashflows, and slowly yet surely finding a profitable model.

I got lucky with my dad as a ‘teacher’, but how can we really teach these life skills to every young person in India? How can we enable our young people to recognise the entrepreneurial energy and resilience that resides in every small business, and to learn to dream big, take risks, believe in their ability, and have the self-confidence to remain undeterred when faced with challenges?

Shouldn’t our National Startup Day be all about inspiring our youth to be such job-creators in our nation, rather than be that elusive unicorn founder?

Madan Padaki is co-founder, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, Founder & CEO, 1Bridge, and president, TiE Bangalore.

The views expressed are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.