Jobs Vs Startups: Opportunities and Options

Have you ever had one of those days of existential crisis where you just want to free yourself from corporate bondage and build a business of your own? There comes a point where you just wish to give up your job and do something that makes you happy? Or as a new graduate you are clueless and have no idea where to go? The answers for all these questions lie in one word – startup.

A startup or start up is a company initiated by individual founders or entrepreneurs. A startup is a young company that is just beginning to develop. Startups are usually small and initially financed and operated by a handful of founders or one individual. These companies offer a product or service that is not currently being offered elsewhere in the market, or that the founders believe is being offered in an inferior manner.

There were times when scoring your first job in a big corporation was considered as a great deal in the society. But now the times have changed. People no more thrive to get jobs in a multinational company instead a passionate person tries to build his own empire. Working in a big corporation surely gives you a lifelong experience about how things are to be done but there are many more limitations of working in such companies. Corporate jobs do not provide flexible working hours, fancy perks, growth opportunities and an innovative working environment. An employee in a corporate job is forced to carry out the same monotonous, consistent, predictable and repetitive work he was allotted on his first day of job for the rest of his career. This limits the growth of the employee in relation to his job and his own self. These situations force an employee to eventually get tired and give up. There was a time when big corporate were undisputed leaders in proving jobs with best salary and growth opportunities, but the modern-day scenario is entirely different. Everyday social media is brimming with stories of rising startups doing path-breaking work or existing ones making it big. This has led to an increase in the thirst for power and status amongst youth. This power and status can only be earned if they take the matters in their own hands. This is where a startup plays its part.

Startups are tricky in nature. Startups are successful only when there is a concrete idea of how things will be carried out by the owner. Starting your own company does not mean that you just quit your job and open up a venture. A startup requires a lot of work in the beginning few years but the fruits of those efforts are enjoyed for a lifetime. Before starting your own business there are a few questions a person needs to ask themselves before putting the idea into action:

• Is your idea new or superior to the existing businesses?
• Are you a risk taker?
• Do you have adequate finance to put your idea into action?
• Does your idea make any impact on the minds of the consumers?
• Are you flexible about your level of earnings in the first few years?
• Lastly, do you want to make an impact on the society?

At a startup, especially a very small one nearly every problem is an opportunity for you to step in and add value. Each problem that you face while executing your idea is an indirect opportunity to grow and prepare yourself for any challenges that might show up in the future. Once you learn how to remove those road blocks, you are good to go. Identifying and solving problems has one major professional upside: it allows you to grow your skill set and pushes you to innovate in your own way.

Generally speaking, if you own a startup or work at a startup, you are either building a product or selling it. In the beginning stage of the company, there’s less need for internal departments, like human resources and accounting. It often makes more sense to outsource tasks like bookkeeping, or managing the members of the team pitch rather than hiring a specific person to do the work. Building and selling will always be the core functions. Depending on your idea, the role, and the size of the company, sometimes there is need to carry out little bit of both the functions. But again, all the functions that will be carried out by the owner shall depend on the type/ nature of his business idea.

To build a startup a person must first be familiar with the opportunities he may get in the future and challenges that he might have to face to stay in the course for a long period of time. One of the great advantages of the rapid pace of startup life is that you’ll have the opportunity to learn and acquire a variety of transferable skills. a startup role can help you gain skills and insight into multiple positions. You will gain skills you never thought of having, simply because you have to. Working for a startup is the best way to gain as many skills as possible. In a startup, the person is his own manager and this gives him a lot of autonomy to carry out his work. If there is a proper balance between autonomy and responsibility, the work environment shall be more efficient which will eventually lead to increase in growth opportunities. There is another significant reason as to why so many people are so inclined to put in the hard work for a startup it’s because they know the payoff it will bring them later on will all be worth it. Get in early with a startup, make it big and you’ll never have to worry about money again. All these gains, equity, autonomy, skill up gradation for life, flexibility of working hours and opportunities for growth can be expected out of a startup. When an employee dives into something due to their curiosity to create something new, that’s when magic happens. Curiosity is part of the passion that startup employees possess. A drive to learn more and improve will lead to nothing but success and recognition.

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Startup has its advantages and opportunities but the road is not always easy and smooth. There are chances when the idea fails and the outcome generated is different from the expected. There is a high possibility that there is shortage of funds and the venture has to be shut down. A large corporation has a team to handle every task, but a startup has no team, no one to turn to in a crisis. You’ll have to solve your own problems. This can be strength for many because it will bring value in long run but again there might be people who avoid problems and might give up at once. Also, the workload in the initial stages is high; there is no flexibility in working hours and only few holidays and vacations to spare. It is important for a startup to show early growth trends. Another challenge for a budding entrepreneur may be stability. Stability in earnings is necessary to carry out a successful business firm. An entrepreneur loses his work life balance once he indulges in a startup. But on the other hand, it is safe to say that the opportunities outweigh the challenges mentioned above. Once the entrepreneur starts earning and the growth chart shows positive trend, all the challenges seem small.

The biggest difference between a startup and a job at a bigger company is the rate at which things change. At a large corporation, you might do the same set of monotonous tasks for several years, until your superior retires or gets a promotion. At a startup, your role and responsibilities will evolve frequently. Within six months, you might be doing something significantly different from the role you were hired to do in the first place. That means your skill set will have to grow at an equally fast clip. India is all set to break away the traditional career paths as a lot of talent is tending towards working with the Indian startup space. India is transitioning from a 9-to-5 work culture to a startup environment, where employees are consciously forgoing stability in exchange for the promise of accelerated growth.

To boost a startup an entrepreneur requires funds. Lack of money is one of the major problems because money is the bloodline of every successful business. These funds can be raised in various ways.

1. Bootstrapping (self-funding) your own startup. New startups generally find it hard to raise funds from investors based on a plan on paper and thus bootstrapping is an efficient way to raise funds. You can invest your own savings and this will not invite a lot of formalities either.
2. Crowd funding. Crowd funding is a new way of raising funds. Under this technique money is raised from a group of people who are intrigued by the ideas presented. Money can’t be raised until the idea presented is rock solid and has a chance of growth in the future.
3. Angel investor. Angel investors are individuals with surplus cash and a keen interest to invest in upcoming startups. They also work in groups of networks to collectively screen the proposals before investing. They can also offer mentoring or advice alongside capital.
4. Venture capital. Venture capitals are professionally managed funds who invest in companies that have huge potential. A venture capital investment may be best suited for small businesses.
5. Business incubators and accelerators. Early-stage businesses can consider incubator and accelerator programs as a funding option. Incubators are found in almost all major cities and they help new businesses raise capital.
6. Bank loans. Bank loan is the most traditional method of raising finance. Bank loan can be either provided for working capital needs or for funding. Any entrepreneur can approach the bank and apply for the loan. The loan shall be granted on the basis of business valuation. Entrepreneurs can also raise term loans or asset backed loans.
7. Government schemes. To encourage the era of startups in India, the Indian government has launched various programs which help new entrepreneurs raise funds for their venture. The ‘Startup India’ project by the Narendra Modi can be another option to raise funds for your business. As a part of this initiative a fund worth Rs.10000 ($1.6 billion) has been set up the government. This money is disbursed via the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).
8. Microfinance. Non-banking financial corporations (NBFC) provide loans to small and medium enterprises at a very low rate of interest. These loans are generally given in order to promote the growth and development of small businesses in India.
9. Others. Some other way through which an entrepreneur can raise money can be through selling his own assets, borrowing from family and friends or by owning a credit card.

An entrepreneur can use all of the options listed above when raising funds for his business. However, if you want to grow your business really fast then you will have to take external assistance and borrow money from outside sources. Although, bootstrapping is an efficient way to raise funds but without external funding an entrepreneur may not be able to gain the advantage that market has to offer. It is also important to remember that before applying for funds the entrepreneur must have a solid idea for his business and must stand on strong grounds in times to come.

The investors invest in the business not only based on the idea presented but also on the basis of how the entrepreneurs come across during the meeting. An entrepreneur must be someone with an innovative mindset; someone who is not afraid to experiment when the opportunity calls for. An entrepreneur must be grit and must be an excellent communicator. Curiosity is the key. A curious person has the guts to go beyond the usual and experiment new things. Thus, an entrepreneur must possess all such traits in order to impress the investors and his own employees and consumers.

There was a time in India when the major player in the job sector was the government agencies. Later on, people started bending towards big private corporate offering higher salary and fancy perks. These perks enticed people and lured them in corporate bondage for life. But now the times have changed. India is a developing country which is continuously offering new growth opportunities to people who have their own ideas and wish to set up their own business. With the launch of government’s Startup India mission, India is progressing towards becoming the next big startup nation. Never before in the history of India the government has taken such a step to promote and flourish the startups. The aim of the mission is to provide funds to new entrepreneurs so that they can grow nationally and expand globally when the time comes. The direct involvement of government on such mission can prove to be a real boost for the economy as well. As a new graduate or a person who is sick of corporate jobs, with a startup idea, you won’t have to invest much of your time finding ways to raise finance and grow your business because the Indian government’s mission to make India the next big startup nation is at your service.

It is often said that, ‘The grass is greener on the other side’. People with a startup might feel jealous of their friends, working in big corporate going on vacations but the reality behind this fun is often frightening. A new entrepreneur might not get a chance to enjoy for a few years while building a business but for such real entrepreneurs nothing compares to the satisfaction that they derive from their work; the one they actually wished to do.