Lessons from the Power of Ideas-Start-up Session

Last evening I managed to put the regular office work on hold and got myself out to go and listen to a few successful entrepreneurs share their magic stories. Of course it wasn’t magic. There is an idea, lots of hard work and luck which goes into putting them where they are today.

Some of the lessons from the evening:

Execution matters

Great, if you’ve got a brilliant idea. But if not executed well even the most unique one will fail. So having a great idea is only the start, a dedicated execution plan is what will get you to the real goal. Reminds me of this – 1% Inspiration. 99% Perspiration.

Keep it flexible

As much as we like business plans to be firm at the same time they need to be flexible enough to change as per market scenarios, consumer expectations.

Focus on the right thing

Often businesses lose direction because they are focused more on the competition rather than keeping a tab on changing consumer preferences.

Be human

Business is all about relationships. So you could be an IITian or a college drop-out but if you don’t have the right interpersonal skills and the humility to deal with people, you probably won’t go too far.

Be passionate

Entrepreneurship is not a moment of time. It’s a path you’ve chosen to walk. If you loose passion mid-way that’s the end of the game. Watch Narayana Murthy talk about Passion.

Accept failure

Entrepreneurship is all about risk taking. If failure is not your cup of tea, start-ups are not for you.

The mantra:

Passion. Perseverance. Patience.

And I thought it also needed the 4th P – Profit.

The Economic Times –  Power of Ideas got Narayana Murthy to share some of this thoughts on entrepreneurship. My favourites are Passion & Innovation. But you can see all the videos here at the powerofideasET – YouTube Channel.

Are you a successful entrepreneur? Would love to hear some of the lessons you learned while setting up your business. Use the comments area to share your story.