Startup fever in Bangalore
Startup fever in Bangalore is like pop-corn popping in a pan. The pops grow gradually and then its popping all over. May be it all started when we heard India shining and accelerated when The Times of India started their numerous Change India campaign. Majority of these starters are those who had seen the dot com boom and bust, but had not been a part of it. May be this time they hope to steal the show.
Among the experienced and veteran crowd ours is a small canopy, with dreams of making it big. The noise of startups had ignited the fire in us right from campus. Cushy and cozy jobs, with sky-rocketing packages could not hold us onto where we did not belong. After finishing a year in a faceless giant software company, we began our journey to the startup land. Not knowing what to do, how to start; but with faith and confidence, we began our voyage to undiscovered lands.
We had to face some smirks and laughs, for the “face value” of our potential. At some places we were mistaken as students, but who cares! During the long one year of job, we had had our hands on all the must reads of startup mania. Right from “Founders at Work”, “Art of the Start” to “Innovator’s Solution” , we had everything in our kit. So, we knew we have in us what most of the successful folks in the valley had.
But not being in the valley has its own flavors. The scene in India is not yet fully mature; people are blindfolded to look at any not-a-copy-cat concept. What VCs are wanting is a “proven model from the west”. Now, being an IITian it is a near- death experience if someone calls you a copy cat. So, we denied copying some concept, and looked around for an opportunity do something original. We were successful is finding one such opportunity, the problem of unsolicited tele-marketing calls. In India, these tele-marketers are a big menace, beaten by only terrorist and politicians. Our solution was original, and proudly uniquely effective in the whole world ( visit: www.bankaro.com).
It doesn’t feel like in startup land if you don’t grow in pains. So, we are having our share of it. Be it power cuts, un-reliable internet connection, Un-friendly payment gateways or ex-colleagues getting BIG bucks. It’s a part of the game. May be its all a test of how committed you are to the dream, how badly you want it and how tough you are.
In the end, we enjoy being lost, we enjoy being up all night and completing the 10000th line of code, we enjoy facing smirks-and-laughs… because we know if you miss enjoying it, its not life’s fault.
