Ideation

Ideation


Why do 90% of startups fail within less than two years of starting up? Their ideas are brilliant but they fall sick because of lack of proper guidance. At the outset ideas are raw and need to be processed well before you can get on to business. But the big question is do we have a structured ecosystem wherein people with brilliant ideas can get consultation. In this post I will give you reasons not to lose hope. The last 3 years have seen some organizations coming to the forefront to lend a helping hand to entrepreneurs-to-be like you.

Well if you are to become an entrepreneur, the first thing you should remember is that your chances of receiving help will depend solely upon you. No one can help you unless you have the knack to single out a problem area and own the problem passionately to do business with. Do your homework well. Discuss your idea with a few confidential colleagues, teachers or friends. That will give you some kind of assurance. Next, conduct some research on your business proposition, is your product well defined, where is the market, find out if you can partner with someone?

Now chalk out a business plan (it may be rough but presentable) and reach out to the right people. If you are from a B school with an incubation cell you are lucky. Incubation cells give you a chance to present your business plan before a team of mentors. Experts at the incubation centre will screen your business plan and they may tweak your idea a little so as to make it a profitable proposition. Once your idea is validated, they even provide you the basic infrastructure so that you can operate from the campus itself and be guided by mentors until you are able to operate independently. The National Entrepreneur Network (NEN) works on 300 campuses with incubation centres all over India.

Secondly you can derive immense value from conferences organized by TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur) on Startups. There is a program Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program where you can receive help and guidance from mentors who would be even willing to invest your venture for a stake.

One can also approach people at the Indian Angel Network, Mumbai angels and other angel groups which comprise of experienced people. They can spare time (in a scheduled meeting) to discuss your business plan and make corrections if required. Additionally they give you clarity and direction as to what aspect of business you should be focusing on. Apart from bringing investment angels can also help you with valuable contacts which can help you with your first customers.

Headstart is another organization that organizes monthly meetings called Startup Saturdays on the second Saturday of every month in major cities, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and others. It provides an engaging forum for budding entrepreneurs to discuss, present, network and learn from other counterparts and also find mentors and investors for your business.

Folks, you must have had interesting experiences while ideating and approaching someone for guidance. You are most welcome to share your experiences with other readers.