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If you’re starting something new: This discussion takes you through key tenets of running a startup, the primary one among them being true passion about what you are doing. Running a startup takes a lot more than courage or liking towards a particular subject. You’re starting something new and taking full ownership of an idea. Time will test your commitment to the idea and demand you to pivot, change or even give up. At these times, remember to keep coming back to why you started the business.

In this article, we will talk about

• Meaning of – If you’re starting something new, you better have passion for it
• Ownership and responsibility in startup
• Chances of failure and perseverace

The inspiration for this discussion is a beautiful quote from an entrepreneur – the cofounder of Ellevest – a business with a very clear theme and a strong message.

If you’re starting something new, you better have passion for it – Meaning

This is a powerful quote by Sallie Krawcheck – running a startup is an exciting adrenaline rush. But it demands loads of mental energy and commitment from you. Having worked in a few startups, I’ve asked myself – Life would’ve been so much easier in an established organisation – why bother create something new.

I think the answer for this question will help you define why and whether you want to build a startup. Remember, having an idea is only a small part of running a startup. Everyone can have ideas, but it takes a tremendous amount of work to make it succeed.

For the meaning of – if you’re starting something new, passion defines the source of this motivation. Each time you talk about a startup, everyone including investors, future team mates will ask you the question WHY. And even internally, you better have a compelling answer because the journey will put you through rough times and expect you to persevere through hardship.

Ownership in a startup – The buck stops at you!

If you’re starting something new, you must know that it all starts and ends with you. In an established company, you maybe able to escalate certain challenges. As an entrepreneur however, you just will have to find a way to make things work.

If you look at the reasons why startups fail, the top reasons are around lack of money, vision, clarity and product market fit. The market demands are probably the hardest to take control of. Even if you do a great discovery exercise, there’s a potential for things to go wrong. Customer needs will change through time, you’ll also face unexpected competitors.

With all this going on, you’ll need to dig deep into your passion to find out why you did something like this in the first place. While doing this, you’ll be forced to find your energy to persevere and keep pushing forward.

There is a great chance that you can fail with something new

Let’s face it! A large majority of startups fail. Again, this is not me trying to paint a dull picture about startups. But startups do fail, there is a great risk involved in it. Make sure to assess your startup and validate it before working on it straightaway. The market may not respond the way you want, the product team might take twice the amount of time you had hoped for and you might be constantly cash strapped. The startup journey takes you through an emotional turmoil and sometimes just getting out of them is quite a struggle on its own.

Yes, we all want a multi million dollar startup with no possibility of failure. But there is also a flip side to the coin and there is a chance of failure. Then again, it is a risk – if you are passionate about the idea you want to pursue and have a strong enough reason as to why you want to do it, then I am not sure if this is a strong enough reason to stop you in your tracks.

Something new will take you through a journey which you aren’t prepared

If you are someone who likes to be prepared at every step, this might come as a bit of a surprise. Yes, you will need all the business planning you can muster, but at the same time – things will not always work out according to the business plan.

I remember authoring multiple business case and many a time ended up modifying the business case to suit the market or response from customers. The biggest advantage of a startup is the agility and the pace with which you can move and keep changing. Most businesses tend to like startups for the very reason that you can cater them to a level which other businesses don’t. This is certainly a very visible gap in the market and it is brilliant if you can take advantage of this.

IT might either be the customer or market or revenues which take you through an unprepared path. It is never easy, but at the same time – none of the startups are. Very rarely you would find a startup which would have gone as per plan and delivered results in the desired timeframe. It does take an awful lot of time and energy in the process.

It is hell of a lot of fun!

Regardless of everything said before, startups are a lot of fun. They challenge you in every front and push you toward a new journey. But if it is the passion which is driving you and you truly are committed to getting there, it can bring in an awful lot of advantages and take you through a remarkable journey.

Startups by nature are very hard. If you do not have the support of pure passion and energy for this, you are probably driving yourself into a tremendous challenge. If it is not driven by pure passion and the belief in trying to push beyond your barriers, the challenge is doubly difficult.

If you’re starting something on your own, you better have a passion for it, because this is hard work

-Sallie Krawcheck, Co-founder of Ellevest