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Previously, I was mentoring two talented engineers from IIT. After working for several years in the technical team of a global technology company in Bangalore, they decided to quit their jobs and start their own business. After months of hard work, they released the first version of the product that I felt would be well received by consumer brands. As expected, there was visible excitement among some marketing teams, with a top multinational FMCG brand signing up for a proof of concept. I was so excited by the response that I put seed money into the startup.
Then one of the founders fell in love with a girl from Hyderabad. After several months of whirlwind dating, they decided to get married and the founder announced that he would move to Hyderabad after the wedding. So far, things have been going well, as he’s been able to build the product from there, and the other founder will be driving sales and customer operations from Bangalore.
Then the girl’s father called me. He was a former civil servant and since I was in a senior position and the founders were “just kids”, he wanted to talk to me directly. He said he had no problem with his daughter marrying a boy, but was against start-ups. Ideally, he felt, his son-in-law should get a government job, but he was also open to permanent employment in a private company, preferably a multinational company.
I didn’t know what role I had to play in this personal matter, but I nevertheless explained to the founders that a decision had to be made soon. After much consideration, the founder announced that he would like to take up a permanent job in Hyderabad. The startup shut down, the other founder moved to Gurgaon to co-found another venture, and I wrote off my investment.
Despite all the excitement surrounding entrepreneurship, there is still a lot of social stigma surrounding entrepreneurship. Risk-averse parents, most of whom came from previous generations who struggled to obtain basic comforts, still desire a steady job and steady income. Entrepreneurs achieve success after years of perseverance, but family and friends are rarely willing to help along this difficult journey.
After more than 10 years of being a breadwinner are wasted without success, when you see your college classmates doing well in stable careers, building incomes, assets, and happy families, you become an entrepreneur. Even disappointed.
For us to truly succeed as a startup ecosystem, we need investors and supporters who are patient and encourage risk-taking. India is in the midst of a massive economic recovery and startups will play a key role in this.
So, the next time you meet your future son or daughter-in-law who is starting a startup, remember that the right question to ask is, “How can I help?”
(The author is a serial entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book, Failure to Success. Posted by X @vaitheek)
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