Running a startup

Why do people leave the (relative) comfort of a corporate world to work for a startup ? I know there are thousand reasons out there and I am not going to add another one…. in my case it is the desire to make a difference, to try something new, to face hurdles and solve them (yeah…sure...).

Honestly, it has been a lot of fun trying to run the show at SolidGyan for the past couple of months. From thinking of a marketing campaign in one moment, one has to immediately shift gears and get involved in buying new servers to cope with customer demand and later go out and meet the subject matter experts or a potential partner….it has been a bucket load of fun !!

And what has honestly amazed me is the quality of people I have interacted with and the strong desire they have wrt not compromising on quality of their work……very, very different than my experiences 15 + years ago where general perception was of a bargaining mentality……where at a moment’s notice, majority would compromise on quality for a cheaper price…..not so anymore.

One really is bowled over by seeing the passion in their eyes, especially on a subject like education because they strongly (and rightly, if I may say so!) believe in Education being one of the key pillars that would keep India going forward. When others ask me as to why we would succeed ….the honest answer is because of the quality of people we are associating ourselves with. Just look at the plethora of experience these folks bring to the table – one has 20+ years of teaching experience; another has been involved in education space for 12+ years and also shoots movies; yet another one not only has 22+ years of experience, but is also a well respected author; another one is a Doctor, then did his MBA from one of the IIMs, then sat for IAS and still finds the time to help us; another has been exclusively focused on this space for last 6+ years; couple of them are Engineer – MBAs, who have left the horizons of corporate world to get involved with education; another used to be a fashion designer; another has been country manager for couple of multi-nationals; another runs his own software company; another is a financial wiz…..the more I look across the people who are willing to help us, the more this group looks like a real diverse class at the business school…..people with different backgrounds bonded together with a single reason. While the reason in B-school may have been to get the best grade, the real exciting thing here is that these people are willing to bond so as to help others succeed – Cliché as it my come across, money is not the #1 reason for all these folks willing to spare their time and knowledge… and that is why it has been a real great experience running SolidGyan ……..