Entrepreneur ? : What keeps you awake at night ?

I've frequently asked 2 questions of entrepreneurs during the pre-investment discussion and then during reviews, in my Angel Investor role.

a. What keeps you awake at night
b. What makes you want to go to office first thing in the morning



Most immediate answers are predictable
a. Competition (Paranoia to some extent) and scale issues keep them awake
and b. A sense of urgency / things to finish up make them go into office every morning...

However, now that I'm in the entrepreneur mode : I've asked the same question myself / reflected on this and found a very surprising answer ?
a. I lose sleep as I keep working through the POSSIBILITIES ie. not worried about competition / excited about what all can be done ?
b. I have a sense of urgency every morning to browse / look at what competition is doing in that regard

Do you see the difference ?
My thoughts are almost reversed. Why is that I wonder ?

Three "BE"s for the wannaBE entrepreneur

 

So, you wanna BE an Entrepreneur ?

then, here are 3 things you should BE ....

1. BE fanatical about efficiency

Any entrepreneur has to be super-efficient, on money, on efforts and most importantly - on time. Squeeze in those vital minutes when you are networking, ensure that you move on from that one individual who delivers long sermons extolling the virtues of his / her own idea or entrepreneurial experiences. You just don't have time. 

Your energy levels, given the adrenaline cache, may seem deep. But, face it : your journey will be tiring. Conserve everything by being ruthless about what returns you get. Dont' just be efficient, be fanatical about efficiency.

2. BE an active listener

You will have to be ready to be lectured at : You will be told in no uncertain terms why something would be good / not so good for you. Your ask of an "opinion" from a mentor / advisor will bring forth a long extempore on topics ranging from the equivalent US market to what specific steps you should be taking. Hear out all of them : However, that does not mean you will act of them !

Your pivot / the elusive business "spark" will come from one of these conversations - when your gut / instinct will make you perk up and keep you awake in the night. Wait for this. It is serendipity at work and that happens only when you are actively listening.

3. BE unreasonable

You will be told that you are not a reasonable person : that is ok ! You are an entrepreneur and the reason you are one is probably your own expectations from life are unreasonable. If someone says a task will take 2 weeks, push for it to be done in 2 days. Oh, it is a quick couple of days worth of work ? Can it be done in an hour please ? I'm sure you get the drift. Use all the charm, the cajoling you can muster and even threaten if you must : Just get the stuff done in less time than imagined.

So, dear wannaBE entrepreneur, be what you want to be : just don't be wanting.

Coming out of Hibernation

I guess some things just take time.
I have gone past 2 springs and the associated spring cleaning. Some cobwebs though seem to just have more sticking power.

What has happened in my life in the intervening period ?
Lots, I must admit.
My "wards" have all matured and changed in form.
ScienceAdda grows from strength-to-strength, we hit our milestone of 30+ new schools, started off in areas outside of Bangalore
A couple of my other investee companies have done Series A fund-raising and are in discussions to do another round
Collatebox just closed it's own fund raising with me in the hot seat.
Most importantly, my elder daughter is charting her own path...away from home.

With this in the background, am about to embark (hopefully) on another series of posts in my new "entrepreneur" avatar.

So wish me luck and free flow....