Lessons learned at a start-up accelerator

In Tech in Asia, Artur Akhmetzyanov shares his learnings from the first weeks at start-up accelerator muru-D Singapore

My friend reread my previous article on why I left a VC to join a start-up and asked me when it would be his turn to dive into his own project. I decided to share my learnings from the first weeks of muru-D Singapore accelerator and give some thoughts to those who consider exploring the entrepreneurial path.
 

It’s definitely a great life experience you will never read in any books but entrepreneurship is extremely challenging and demanding. 
 

For me personally, it’s actually all about ‘flearning’ (learning through failures) and getting priceless professional and life experience. 
 

Before jumping down the rabbit hole, consider a few things:
 

Be prepared for a long fight and daily psychological roller coasters

You will find yourself working hard and late in the office and facing many problems?—?having perseverance and passion are the only ways to survive.

Enjoy the ride?—?entrepreneurship is a marathon

There is no way you will survive unless you actually enjoy most of the things you have to do in a business.

Take care of yourself?—?avoid burnouts

Do some physical exercise to relax and recharge.

Embrace the local opportunities

Get out of the building?—?explore the local ecosystem, network and leverage the existing resources. You never know who might help you.

Do not forget about your roots and culture

This point is especially true for international accelerators. Being away from home and working countless hours on your business, it’s easy to lose the connections you have with your home, friends, family, and culture. 

People are the most important thing in your life

The best moments in the accelerator so far?—?my communications with people there. Talking to other founders helped me to understand we were all going through the same hard times and gave me relief. 

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.