You know you are working on your startup when...

1. you derive satisfaction from your vision...while still trying to assess if you are crazy to have the vision in the first place
2. you look at people as potential customers no matter where you go, or try to understand their concerns so that you can make the difference (read: make money)
3. your faith in NPV gets even stronger, what with all the expenses you are projected to incur
4. you wake up with a defined plan of action only to have to work on something completely different 
5. you get super excited with the baby steps especially if it is with a potential partner or an investor
6. you refresh your coding skills for that 'MVP' because you found the quotes to be outrageous 
7. you can work from your bedroom 24*7, unless you have to meet customers / investors
8. you do not get excited about a weekend
9. you forget that Game of Thrones is still airing for a month
10. you write a blog post at 2 in the morning to energize yourself

More than anything you know you are working on your startup when you go to sleep with the hope that tomorrow will be better than today and the resolve that you will get it done no matter what it takes. 

Back home

I have moved back to India but am taking a fortnight off at home before I settle in Delhi. It means I have been having face-to-face conversations with family on a daily basis. Needless to say these are the most challenging conversations I have had so far.

The only number we discuss is what I was making pre-MBA followed by the fact that I spent a bazillion euros for an MBA and I am going to lay it all to waste by going for a venture. My parents have resigned to the fact that I am going to give it a shot and 'have faith in me', and my sister seems to be the only one who could rationalize my plans to any extent. The rest of the family is clueless at best. Convincing them will prepare me for some important meetings lined up for the month of May and June.

I love my conversations with the co-founder. At least I am not the only crazy here. :)

I cannot wait to move to Delhi.

ExSim: #1 reason for an IESE MBA

12 hours of sleep over 5 days. And you are still high on adrenaline, wanting to go on for another couple of days. This is the best possible way to end the MBA course and the biggest reason why I will advocate an IESE MBA going forward.

I am not talking of an all week long party in Barcelona but a course offered at IESE, ExSim or Executive Simulation. It is one of those simulation games with the twist that you have meetings with banks, union representatives and also you report to a board. 5 teams of 5-6 members who assume the roles of CEO, CFO, COO etc. spend the week running their companies.

By the end of the week, you see the best and worst in people. Subconsciously you make the choices of who are the people you would work for, who you would work with,  who you would hire and who you would have as a competitor. I learnt an awful lot during these five days. I was the CEO and it was all I could wish for before the startup and then some more. When I think of opportunity costs, this will pay me many times over.

How does this fit in my startup plan?

1. People matter: The biggest reinforcement was the fact that it is all about the people. Proper planning and ideas are important, but when in a pressure cooker situation I would much rather be surrounded by people with the right attitudes than the smart ones who are not motivated. One of my teammates will be my great friend going forward, and I even mentioned to him that we should work together in the future. Based on these 5 days, I will be comfortable with him running a part of my business.

I am also happy to have a co-founder who I had wanted on the team from day 1. We might have similar backgrounds but I am confident we can find our way through adversity.

2. Leadership style: One of my friends mentioned that she would die for her CEO, that their team was ready to work for him even though they had many issues. One's ability to create such a feeling in 5 days is commendable. I received favorable feedback from the board and the organizers but the team was not that synchronized.

I know that I need to buy PJ a cortado to learn the secret sauce.

3. Intelligence is underrated: intelligence/smarts is taken for granted at times. In my previous roles at Capital One and Credit Suisse I had heard comments from my mentors like 'any one can do this job'. Having interacted with people at those firms and at other places, I started wondering if those mentors were being delusional. I realized over time that they were pushing the right buttons. Some people might not take those comments favorably.

I need to hire the right people and acknowledge their strengths. Then it might be time to push those buttons.

Now on to why an IESE MBA.

1. ExSim: Enough said

2. Diversity: My primary reason for having  chosen IESE. The reality was much better than my expectations

3. Case study approach: The only mode of teaching that works for me. I have slept through lectures. Case studies require a lot of effort but it is rewarding.

4. Location: Barcelona, I rest my case

Importance of being patient

I mentioned one of P's, passion, in one of the previous articles. This post is about the other P, patience. These days I have started to value patience more than ever before. The reason: I realize that this is a long journey, and being impatient will do me no good.

Does this mean that one should not have milestones? How does BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) fit in this picture? And what about the regular inquiries into how far are you with your business plan / execution?

I believe milestones are very important. There has to be an element of intrinsic motivation to go down the start-up route. You work for yourself and the investors, so deadlines shouldn't be the catalyst for getting work done. Why have deadlines at all in that case? I think that it is important otherwise you might be walking down the wrong path for far too long. 

I am not a fan of management jargon and find it suffocating when people use it to cover absolute lack of content. Collins and Porras define a BHAG (pronounced BEE-hag) as "...an audacious 10-to-30-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future.". I like the idea that the authors did not call for a 1 year BHAG which is what annoys me when I see it used by some leaders. I like to think that you are either delusional or just haven't really set yourself a BHAG if you think it will be achieved in a year.

I have a BHAG, which I will announce through the blog in due course, and I think milestones will be the short term yardsticks that will help me course correct on the way. What is required is patience, prudence, and persistence. For me the biggest challenge is patience and that is something I am becoming better at as I walk this road. Inaction in the guise of patience is something one needs to be cautious about. 

I still have not finalized my team. This is the one place where I would prefer it take a long time rather than take hasty steps. I have heard a few stories over the last 2 years where the wrong team was the reason things fell apart for a start-up. I do not want my experience to be a lessons learnt exercise.The team that I currently envision (and hope it materializes) would be in it for the right reasons and it would be easier to navigate the challenges that we will face. Hope to get this completed by early next month when I start the next phase of my 'experiment'.

PS: Things are looking promising on multiple fronts. Looking at projected financial situation is not pleasing, but the contentedness is something I will have to start baking in for those projections to look better :).

I am happy

I am happy.

Did I have a breakthrough (finding that investor, completing that product, etc.)? No

After quite a hectic day which involved a few meetings, making another round of changes to the slides for my plan (I see the value in business canvas and business plans) and preparing for a private equity case competition I decided to call it a day. As I was walking back home, I felt happy.

I realized that I was genuinely happy, there was no reason for this happiness.

Earlier in the day, I had a chat with a person I consider one of my mentors / sounding boards. I was talking about my experience of highs and lows during the past 4-5 months and how I am committed to my goal. He mentioned that the peaks will be much more magnified, nothing has happened so far. I am looking forward to experience that Nirvana of the higher highs and hope I become strong enough to face the lower lows.

I am happy because I love this period of my life. I do not think I have done anything I would call tough in my life so far. This decision has been tough, and it has been a blast so far.

There have been times over the past few months where I was anxious about my decision to go down this route. I replied to quite a few job postings during my lows. Since I was not really interested in this, I decided not to apply to companies that required a cover letter. I couldn't be bothered with wasting time writing how company X was great and I was a perfect fit. The happiness I felt on my way back today is something that finally has put the nail in the coffin. That moment was worth more than the cushion a job has to offer. I reserve the right to change that stance if I get wiser when the reality of dollars and cents hits me, at which point there will be an additional post :).

I am 'pursuing my passion' and all set to enjoy this roller coaster of a ride. The clock ticks. Tick tock tick tock....

Why did I choose this path?

My last post had 6 views. For the 5 of you I do not know and who might not know me, I am a second year MBA student at IESE Business School. Prior to the MBA I worked in financial services sector, and realized my childhood dream of working at an investment bank over the summer during my first year. If you are wondering, that last bit is not true. And no, the long hours at investment banking was not the cause of this epiphany. I-Banking was a great experience but for me it will be one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Now to the topic of this post. Why want to do something of my own? Why now? What do I expect out of it? Am I made for this?

I chose this path because
1.) There is a cause I firmly believe in
2.) I am confident that there is a way to create a business while addressing the problem
3.) It will be a challenging an rewarding experience
4.) I have faith that I will eventually be successful even though it might take some time
In case you are still wondering, I love the lyrics to the Frank Sinatra song 'I did it my way'.

Not to mention FOMO :D. Everyone else seems to be doing it / talking about it, why shouldn't I have my shot at the next unicorn? ;)

Every journey has a beginning

This is the start of me penning down my thoughts as I walk down the startup route. This blog will hopefully see my idea get to fruition.

The law of inertia is quite potent. The state of rest is a far tougher nut to crack than the state of motion. This first post is meant to move me from the state of rest to the state of motion.

I will end with a quote I found online - 'That's why many fail - because they don't get started - they don't go. They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin.' W. Clement Stone