Essential lessons when you embark on the entrepreneurial journey.
Prepare your family
"My wife wasn't too comfortable with my entrepreneurial zeal, so we agreed to give it a year. If I failed to zero in on something within this period, I would return to a job." - Rivi Varghese, Customer XPs.
Plan your finances
"You might not earn anything in the first 2-3 years, so you need to plan your family's finances accordingly. A capital cushion is essential to ensure that your family lives comfortably." - Ashutosh Garg, Guardian Lifecare
Forget the job perks
"As a manager in a company, you are accustomed to other people doing things for you. In a start-up, you have to take care of everything yourself- from operational expenses to food bills." - Jiggy George, Dream Theatre
Learn to cope with failure
"I met 15 VCs before one agreed to fund me. One investor rejected my proposal within five minutes of a presentation. Instead, he spent an hour trying to convince me to go back to my job." - Kunal Bahl, Snapdeal
Have a plan 'B' ready
"After the first few months, we realised that service was not our core competence. Besides, the margins were quite low. This was the time we concluded that it was better to focus on products." - Rahul Anand, Happily Unmarried
Don't take too much debt
"If you are thinking of starting up, this is the best time. But don't take a home loan since it kills entrepreneurship. You can never get out of it." - Binny Bansal, Flipkart
Gain enough experience
"I used to teach at a diving centre in Lakshadweep. After teaching more than 600 students for eight years, I decided to float my own diving company." - Anees Adenwala, Orca Dive Club
Interact with like-minded
"My partner Abhishek was running an e-commerce portal, which was acquired by a bigger website. He expressed interest in working with me and we launched our site." - Chetan Bafna, Fetise.com
Believe in yourself
"Belief in one's idea can take you a long way. Our concept was ahead of its time, but I didn't give up on my vision. At every step, there were people who ridiculed the idea. I had the last laugh." - VSS Mani, Just Dial
Have a plan that is unique
"The business plan should be unique and clutter-free. An entrepreneur must look into his area of core competence and use it to devise a strong plan." - Kavindra Mishra, Zovi.com
