The Many Questions Entrepreneurs Have

Getting clarity on key issues can help start-ups stay on course to reach their goal

- Thillai Rajan A

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to conduct a fund-raising workshop for start-ups in partnership with this newspaper. As I stepped into the lecture hall that was filled to capacity on that balmy Saturday afternoon, two things caught my attention. First, the positive vibe that prevailed in the room. There was an unmistakable confidence on the faces of participants that their venture would succeed. Second, is the wide dispersion in the age of the participants. From the early twenties, surprisingly, participants even in the seventies. This indicated that startups have become a strong area of interest across the societal spectrum. The optimism reflected the increasing appetite to take risks.

As the session began, three prominent questions emerged where the participants needed clarity. Upon reflection, across similar programs that I had conducted previously, the participants had raised similar questions. In this article, I provide my responses to these questions so as to benefit a large cross-section of entrepreneurs.

What is a start-up?

First, is the question of what is a startup? Are they different from traditional MSMEs? Though the setting up of businesses is nothing new, the tag of being called a start-up is. Many entrepreneurs are confounded by this. Differences between start-ups and MSMEs exist – both in terms of practice and philosophy. From a practical perspective, start-ups have a higher degree of innovation quotient as compared to that of MSMEs. Innovation could be across any of the dimensions – product, business models, or technology, but the bottom line is the tag of a start-up sits well on businesses that are innovative.