From the legendary Richard Branson to the visionary Elon Musk to some of our very own Indian entrepreneurs – there is one thing that is common between all of them – they are all addicted ! Addicted to the idea of being an entrepreneur !
Yes, entrepreneurship can definitely be addictive too, and it’s not because of the success or the outcome but because of the journey. Many entrepreneurs don’t succeed after 1, 2, or even 3 ventures, but they keep trying. The risk and thrill associated with building and launching a new venture gives you an adrenaline rush and that’s what makes the process addictive.
A lot of entrepreneurs we speak to never went back to a corporate job once they took up this path of entrepreneurship ! And their decision to keep creating entrepreneurial ventures did not change depending on the success or failure of their enterprises. It is the learning, the creativity, the freedom, the challenge, the opportunity that comes with being an entrepreneur that makes these entrepreneurs fall and stay in love with the idea of entrepreneurship. As they say -” Once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur ! “
Yes, we are talking about serial entrepreneurs! It is about those for who “Entrepreneurship is an Addiction”. We at Techstory interacted with serial entrepreneurs and asked them what is it about entrepreneurship that makes them take up this path again and again? What is it that keeps them motivated through this tough journey? Here are some of the interesting perspectives we got from these serial entrepreneurs !
“I love the challenge of building a company from scratch and watching the path unfold as you go through it. Plus every time is different and you’re constantly learning. I already know things I want to do differently the next time around!” says Sridhar Venkatesh, VP, Product and a co-founder at Indix.
He adds other tangible things that helps keep him motivated: the energy from the amazing set of folks he works with, feedback from customers (both good and bad), and of course large amounts of coffee and red wine.
The drive to create something new and bring about a change is unstoppable. You tend to ignore your entire personal life along with the people in it. You start getting new ideas in your dreams, every moment you are looking for an opportunity – every day is a new day for innovation. Entrepreneurship – having something of your own – can only be compared to a strong and addictive drug. It’s a roller coaster ride with regular ups and downs: sometimes disappointment and anger, other times euphoria and happiness.
“Once you become an entrepreneur, it becomes your entire life. Everything else ceases to matter and you eat, sleep, drink, and think business. It’s your closest friend, your baby and your team becomes your family. It’s not something you can let go of one day and start living a new life; it’s a way of life and there is no going back once you choose it” comments Shruti Gochhwal, Co-founder, Zappfresh.
She further states that the love and support of customers, the passion of team, encouragement from family, her commitment to make a difference and disrupt a space entirely is what keeps her motivated through this tough journey.
Entrepreneurship gives you wings; it gives you freedom to choose what is right and what is not as per your own perception. You can take a decision and stay firm on it because you believed in it- whether that decision is worth or not is a different question but it allows you to explore what you believe in.
“Creating employment opportunities is something that motivates me to the core, it encourages to do what I do today. As a serial entrepreneur of two entirely different businesses, I get an opportunity to meet and work with different people of different mindset, there’s so much to learn from them. Switching my roles between an event designer and a startup founder is fun and challenging, needless to say, I love it” says Sameer K Singh, Founder & CEO at Yoola App | Founder and Partner at SparkShine Inc. | Managing Director at Adalwin Tech Pvt. Ltd. He adds that ‘Absolutely, it is an addiction worth having. When I was in my early twenties, I wasn’t very confident about leading a team but as I got the opportunity during my employment phase, I realized that this can be done’. He believes that his confidence as an entrepreneur has evolved over the years. This confidence is addictive and entrepreneurship is something Sameer can do without having a second thought about it.
Entrepreneurship violates the laws of physics by creating something out of nothing! Once you try your hand at it, it is very difficult to stay away from the fantastic experience of very high highs and very low lows…sometimes in a span of a few hours!
Founder at EduSports, Saumil Majmudar says that “It is fantastic to be able to create something that changes the world for the better. It gives a chance to work with and meet some amazing people who are also trying to change the world with impossible odds stacked against them. It is like being pushed intellectually, emotionally and physically at every stage and having to figure things out in a high ambiguity environment”.
He further adds that getting an opportunity to solve difficult problems with great team members and getting market feedback (good and bad) creates tremendous positive energy. Despite of all failures, knowing that value creation takes time and you can still do the best possible keeps Saumil motivated through the journey.
Being entrepreneur is a lifestyle choice. It’s about choosing to be the problem solver. It’s about being positive and opportunistic. It’s about the future and incessantly looking to make it a better place through innovative ideas, processes or devices. It’s about gladly accepting new challenges and doing best to overcome them. It’s about connecting the dots between resources and opportunities. I have got to say … it’s hard for someone to not be addictive to these sorts of attitudes. It’s life.
“Starting a business is a lot like becoming a parent. Not only you have to prepare for your start-up emotionally and financially, but you have to be committed to its constant needs until it’s mature enough to hum along on its own. And even then (much like a child) it will always need you in some capacity, no matter how old it gets” says Prafful Shekhawat, CEO & FOUNDER GharGharRamu.
He further suggests that being an entrepreneur is not an event, rather a process where you have to work incessantly to see your dreams take shape.
Once an entrepreneur always an entrepreneur. It’s an undeterred energy that continues to encourage entrepreneurs to progress through pre-planned milestones, inherently moving to larger milestones created during the journey; always raising the bar. And, this is an unending cycle during the course of an individual’s lifetime.
“I have always believed that the desire to succeed and the ability to create a greater good (as the end result) are some of the key elements needed to unlock the door to achieve ultimate goals. An entrepreneur may travel in any direction of his professional dreams, but the heart shall always beat with a fundamental belief in the value of his creation. Also, tasting success (at different levels) leads to greater desires to accomplish and succeed with great ideas and implementation” affirms Harish Bahl, Founder & CEO, Smile Group.
Entrepreneurship is about small wins on a day-to-day basis. It is about the satisfaction of learning from mistakes, correcting them and then getting it right. It is about constant learning and the regular eureka moment that displaces so many of your preconceived notions. It is about craving to “create” something new, to do it differently.
“The motivation and challenge is to build something new from scratch: to take a new-to-the-world solution, to recruit the core team and sell them the vision, prove its viability and build a successful business of it. The satisfaction of solving customer problems through a better and cheaper option is immense and hugely gratifying” comments Rahul Arora, CEO, Tentacle.
It is hard to understand addiction unless you have experienced it. Yup, it’s like any other addictions. From smoking cigarettes to playing video games, just about any substance or activity can turn into an addictive behavior. Serial entrepreneurs are more than just business-savvy and adventurous — it is a behavioral addiction.
“An entrepreneur is simply a problem solver, no more, no less. This definition is owed to the fact that entrepreneurs are nothing if they are not meeting the needs of a particular group of people, known as the customers or target market as the case may be. Without these people, an entrepreneur would never have considered starting a business in the first place” says Ranadheer Reddi, Founder, Helloshoppy.
Rana further shares about 6Cs that motivates the Entrepreneurs:
- Change
- Challenge
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Control
- Cash.
Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist, said “Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism”.
But what about entrepreneurship as an addiction? Is it bad too?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section. We would love to know your perception on the same.