For a lazy bum like yours truly, who has a dangerous thing (a.k.a little knowledge), doing something on one's own, by itself is quite a scary proposition. The first thing that puts me off about being entrepreneurial, right at the outset, is the bloody spelling of the very term. I'm like, yeah, right, thanks for the encouragement, right there. I needed THAT spelling in my life to work this out. But when I look back, I realize I have always tried to do something on my own. It began right during my childhood, with inventions. The trouble was, I soon figured out that whatever I tried to invent, was already invented. Also, in the pursuit of Science, I have had to face several hardships, like any true inventor. I remember I once made a contraption which would let a small G.I. Joe action figure float in the air for around 30 seconds. The item was a huge hit within my friends circle. Little did they know what severe criticism the inventor had received from his mother whose kitchen was almost burnt down, thanks to the experimentation with kerosene. There was this other time when I had created a crossbow of sorts, only that it would fire a lasso, instead of a bow. Hulo, the neighborhood cat, who had the reputation of being a light footed thief, was my prime target. I was scoping and stalking him for weeks and had taken elaborate notes of his modus operandi. One beautiful spring afternoon, I decided to strike. Now, my mom had (and still has) a hobby of gardening, and as every gardener would know, a rose is an extremely high maintenance plant. After several months of care and delicate nourishment, mom had successfully created a breathtakingly beautiful shrub of yellow roses. I fired my lasso at Hulo, dropped my weapon, and pulled the other end of the cord with all my might. What came and landed at my feet was a living creature, no doubt, but not the species I had targeted. With a dozen yellow roses strewn at my feet, I stood there like a fallen God, nervously waiting for my fate, as mom decided to walk into the backyard at that very moment. I will not get into the details of what followed, but I do remember that my creativity took a backseat after that incident.
The only time we could be a little entrepreneurial in school was during the fests. Girls and other unimportant people used to visit these fests, and I had built a device, something that I'm sure you must have tried to build during your childhood days as well. I stretched a copper wire across two small upright pillars. I bent the copper wire like a sinusoidal curve, with zigs and zags. I created a small loop with another copper wire and both these wires were connected to batteries through a series connection. There was also a bulb which was part of the connection. The game was simple. One had to take the loop with a steady hand through the zigs and zags of the crooked wire from one pillar to another, avoiding contact between the two wires, failing which, the light bulb would glow. After the first day of the fest, a Marwari friend of mine called me for a meeting. We met in the evening over Gold Spot and my friend proposed that we attach a revenue model to this invention. "We could charge 5 bucks for a shot, and we can keep some kind of prizes for those who succeed", he said. I wasn't sure, and asked "Why would someone want to spend 5 bucks over this stupid game?" My friend took a long sip into his drink while giving me a deep and hard look, and said, "Lesson # 1: Never think of your own offering as stupid." I was amazed. How true! What a visionary! He continued, "Lesson #2: People have been known to do a lot of stupid things when challenged." I was more amazed. This guy is gonna do something with his life! He went on, "Leave all that to me. We need to get some cheap prizes. You know, stuff we can find at home? And the prizes need to appeal to girls, coz they're the ones who'll be giggling a lot while trying this. Which means more attempts, and therefore more revenue. Plus they'll have boyfriends, who'll be more than willing to pay 5 bucks to show that they, and none other, are the right men in their girls' lives." I was amazed at how he was segmenting and scoping the market with such ease. The final strategy was yet to come. My friend said, "Oh and by the way, make the wire more crooked and the loop smaller" and disappeared into the darkness outside. We earned quite a bit during that week, enough to have a delicious Biriyani lunch at Gulfam restaurant in Hotel East End. Our model was replicated by several other business groups in school in the years to come.
But now, when things are quite different, I genuinely salute every individual who is entrepreneurial in nature, and who has tried to do something on his or her own. I have a few friends of mine, who have succeeded with ventures of their own. I also have a few friends who have not succeeded. What I like most is the confidence that people from both these groups have. I see young boys trying to set up a company and go to market. I see teenage girls coming up with wonderful ideas, and taking them to fruition. I like their confidence. Every time I see them, I am reminded by my friend's statement: "Never think of your own offering as stupid."
