'Unconventional ideas become conventional down the line'

Have no doubts if want to become an entrepreneur. There is a never-ending scope for starting a venture provided you have a strong belief in your ideas and great conviction to work on it. That was the message of many of the entrepreneurs.

“It starts with a gut feeling and all that you need is take a plunge,” says Kiruba Shankar, CEO of Business Blogging Pvt Ltd, a social media consultancy, in an event they called ‘Unconventional Entrepreneurship’ held at IIM-Bangalore. One needs to have three strong reasons, why he/she want to do it, he added. When you take up any unconventional profession, people ask: “Oh! Is it your hobby? Is this an NGO? What is your main profession apart from this?” It takes time before it actually kicks off, said some of the ‘Unconventional Entrepreneurs’ who tasted success only after a considerable period. “When to take the final call is a big question,” says Amuleek Singh, founder and CEO, Mountain Trail Foods. One can take help of experienced CEO for their start-up or personally garner some experience and become CEO of their own enterprise, he added. He suggests one to start early as unconventional ideas of today become conventional down the line. Many start-ups / entrepreneurs actually end up starting late because of funding constraints. But Saumil Majumdar sees it differently: “Cash is always available. There is only a certain cost attached to it,” said Majumdar.

Many a times people don’t ask for money from their family or friends for many reasons. But all it takes is for one to open up and ask for it. If the answer is yes, then go ahead. If it’s a no, you have nothing to lose, he added. The panel agreed that there is a risk in ideas being stolen, but, concluded that ideas evolve over time and are never static. “Greatest of ideas due to their poor execution and commitment,” said Shradha Sharma, founder of Yourstory.in, a platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups to share their stories.

There were doubts expressed on ideas being stolen by others when shared.

The panel agreed that there is a risk. But, it concluded that ideas evolve over time and are never static. “Greatest of ideas due to their poor execution and commitment,” said Shradha Sharma, founder of Yourstory.in, a platform for entrepreneurs and start-ups to share their stories.