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Entrepreneurship:
Myths and realities
The
founders of Infosys, Wipro and Biocon should not be revered
to the extent that it sends a message to wannabe entrepreneurs
that the path laid out by the role models is a walk-in-the-park.
MOHAN BABU writes a three-part series on the myths
and realities of entrepreneurship
As
the writer of this column, I enjoy considerable leeway when
it comes to selecting and exploring topics which I feel are
current. A topic that persistently comes to mind, and on which
I have dwelt on and off, is entrepreneurship; most of my articles
on this topic provoke considerable debate among readers. Many
readers also regularly write to me about their ventures and
adventures on the entrepreneurial front. Some mail requests
for help in their marketing, something which I am not inclined
or qualified to do, and a few write asking if I can review
and write about their software, which again I don’t normally
indulge in. Some readers assume that I am a sort of philanthropist
with truckloads of money to give away, mailing me, asking
if I can ‘invest’ in their nascent ventures. Well, what can
I say? I just ignore those mails. A few mails I receive go
into the heart of the what-and-why of entrepreneurship, and
dwell on fundamentals of business strategies; these are sometimes
intriguing.
At
the heart of every entrepreneur is the dream to make it big,
come up with the next big thing since Bill Gates developed
and marketed DOS. Not surprisingly, the current euphoria over
Infosys, Wipro and Biocon announcing their joining the billion-dollar
club made headlines in the Indian high-tech sector. Headlines
such as ‘Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, national icon’ are already making
rounds. Having had a ringside view of the euphoric dotcom
boom where similar headlines on the tech-boom regularly made
one sit down to think, it comes as a breath of fresh air to
see the tide swing towards the Silicon Valley of the East.
Indian
entrepreneurs seem to be basking in the spotlight, and the
media are having a ball, having suddenly found an easy picking
of stories to select from. This is where I take umbrage. Yes,
the founders of Infosys, Wipro and Biocon deserve to be fêted;
however, they should not be revered to the extent that it
sends a message to the youth and wannabe entrepreneurs that
the path laid out by the role models is a walk-in-the park.
The attitude of hero-worship by those ‘responsible’ members
of the Fourth Estate sometimes borders on the preposterous.
Having
set the ground for the discussion, I will begin by talking
about some of the most common myths of entrepreneurship and
innovation. Some of these may be common-sense and do not need
a eureka moment to realise. However, in many cases, entrepreneurship
goes against the grain of common sense. Purists should note
that this list is an eclectic collection of thoughts based
on my experiences and dealings with entrepreneurs and business
leaders, and is not an all-encompassing authoritative list.
Myth:
This is a killer idea that is going to revolutionise the world.
Reality:
Evolution, not revolution, really sells. The next big invention
since sliced bread has been invented scores of times, and
most of us probably didn’t even realise it. The world is not
really waiting eagerly for the next-big-thing, at least not
all the time. Most of us (consumers, business leaders, technocrats
and the public) are too busy fighting daily fires to embrace
the next big invention. What we really want is an evolutionary
change; a better mousetrap, if you will. Case in point: even
Microsoft, perhaps the most revered entrepreneurial venture
of the past century, worked on perfecting the art of identifying
trends after shaping up and then betting their dollars. The
company did not invent GUI (Graphical User Interface), yet
turned Windows into the de facto GUI for the desktop. The
company did not invent gaming, but turned X-Box into a force
to reckon with. Same with the famous/infamous browser wars;
as we read, the company is poised to increase its share of
the growing Internet search business by taking on Google.
I
would love to receive feedback from readers to examine the
models they are exploring. The issues I would particularly
be interested in include strategic aspects of entrepreneurship,
the business models being explored, analysis of business plans,
RoI (Return on Investment), SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
Threats) analysis done, and innovative use of collaborative
technologies to address globalisation.
The
myths we will be examining are some of the most commonly occurring
misconceptions of budding entrepreneurs. In the next few columns
on this theme, I will spell out a few more thoughts on entrepreneurship
and some of the most common myths associated with beginning
new ventures.
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