Erudition Amidst Get Going

Just an idea does not mean a successful startup. Some numbers — be it subscribers or followers — also do not mean a robust plan. Startups where anyone or everyone with a basic plan think they have the blueprint to change the world has been the way we have approached the startup scene so far. No matter how empowering the concept may sound, it is not the most ideal approach.

That brings us to two pertinent questions that are usually asked. Is there any formal education needed to have your own startup and secondly does one need the know-how to turn their idea into an economically viable plan. The answer to both the questions is a yes and no. No because some would argue that you don’t need formal education to think freely and secondly your instinct run the show and not necessarily your marketing degrees.

Sure there have been disruptive ideas that have defied any logic and have been runaway success. But rather than take those exceptions as a rule, here I plan to discuss why education is needed to think and run a startup. Every brilliant idea that we see today as a conglomerate, somewhere started as a startup. From burger and pizza chains to electronic products were originally an idea. What turned them into global behemoths was the implementation.

The nature of business may have moved from brick and mortar stories that someone somewhere set shop and rest was history to today someone starting an online space successfully. The chances of succeeding today are as bright or bleak as they were earlier. Some ideas click while some just do not take off despite all the merits. That’s where education of running a successful show comes handy.

A startup is not just about attracting investment. It is also not about blowing venture capitalists’ funds. It is important to treat your idea and your startup as any other industry. To say startup exists in a vacuum is the biggest mistake many of us make. Every project follows a same model. Even a real estate project starts as an idea. Based on its potential, banks and buyers lineup to fund it and it is hailed as a success. The endless wait for delivery and unfulfilled promises are where the idea goes bust.

Same has been happening with our startups. We present our ideas, attract investment and then do not have the know-how to take it any further. This is a brilliant time to give wings to your dreams. What’s needed though is to know how to go about it. Only a solid education can prevent chances of failure. There is no harm in reading about other’s successes and analyzing cause of their failure so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

I have known of many bright youngsters who have ventured out to present their ideas as worthy of investments without even realizing that basics such a blueprint for future or getting a company registered would have been handy. They were so intoxicated with thought of their own idea, that they forgot certain groundwork would have been handy. And their response has always been ruing lack of proper guidance or education.

It is imperative our education system equips our future CEOs to deal with challenges of new world economy where things are moving in a digital realm. We would need these ideas to be nurtured and provided a road map for us to finally usher in new age millionaires who know what do with the money they get and most importantly know fully well that the money is an investment is a means to an end and not the end itself.