Is Entrepreneurship more secure than a job?

I know that quite a few of you would be shaking your head sideways, ready to dismiss this idea. After all, doesn't a good paycheck at the end of each month give a bigger sense of security than the dreams of a windfall some years into the future... While a majority of us might answer no, there is definitely a segment of individuals who live with a philosophy that the answer to this question is a resounding "YES".

Before I present a case for this, consider the following facts:

1. With globalization in full-swing, all organizations are trying to scout for work forces which offer maximum productivity and greatest return on investment. What this means is that if someone can do your current job better than you, or at a fraction of your cost, your job would be shifted.
   


2. Mega-mergers/consolidations are in full swing. And if there is anything that would change around these, it would be the rate at which these happen. And the only direction for that rate is upwards. Each such consolidation presents an opportunity for the organizations to streamline their combined work forces, and hence layoffs are imminent.
   


3. Technological advances are resulting in a scenario wherein, everyday, the effort/skill set required for doing any job is diminishing drastically. For instance, we all know how some large MIS (Management Information System) teams can easily be replaced by periodically scheduled cron jobs, which don't require any human intervention at all.
   

The biggest casualty of all the above are individuals who had got too comfortable in their jobs, and had stopped to evolve...

You must be thinking, "Agreed that these facts are true, but how on earth does that make entrepreneurship more secure"? If so, consider the following argument which might resonate with some of you...

Let me start by asking you a question. What is the best known protection against pathogens like viruses and bacteria? Yes, you are right, it is vaccines. A preparation of the same weakened or killed pathogen. Similarly, experiencing the insecurities and the uncertainties around your "Entrepreneurial Destiny" are the best way for you to prepare yourself against any other form of insecurity. As an entrepreneur, your very existence would depend on you being innovative; on you thinking on your feet; on you finding alternate paths if the primary one is blocked. If you are one of those individuals who hate to fail, you would always be evaluating new plans to succeed. All these would ensure that at no instant would you be resting on your laurels. While one plan is being implemented, which by itself has a pretty good chance of succeeding, your mind would have already moved on to evaluate the successive/follow-on strategy. Chances are high that, even before you know it, you would have lined up a very good strategy for survival, and possibly success, for the next few years.

Hence, the argument that Entrepreneurship can be more secure, as well as rewarding, for certain individuals. But before anyone jumps to any conclusions, let me clarify. I do not mean we can generalize this. This argument definitely does not hold true for "everyone".

While, the insecurities associated with the success, or the survival, of an Entrepreneurial Venture are grossly over-highlighted in a negative sense all across the board, the benefit of the same feeling of insecurity as an antidote against other evils rarely finds any mention. Hence, if you are one of those individuals who like to fight fire with fire, go ahead and take the plunge. In the long run, the bumpy "Entrepreneurial Ride" is definitely more cozy and warm than that office chair you have got so much used to...

A triple treat for future Indian Entrepreneurs!

All you fans of entrepreneurship in India, here is some good news for you. The following proposals are being considered by the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). When implemented, these would come as a big boost for promoting entrepreneurship in the country:-

• Most of the IITs are planning to soon have a venture capital fund on their campuses. IIT Bombay is in talks with Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and other major IT players to seek help to start a venture capital fund. IIT Madras, too, is considering setting up a VC fund on its campus. IIT Delhi, will explore the option in future, it says.
• IIT Madras is setting up a research park along with 35 companies. At the research park, the institute would reserve space to accommodate start ups by students and faculty.
• There is a recommendation given to the Department of Human Resource Development, Universities Grant Commission and All India Council for Technical Education, to encourage all science departments and technical education/training institutions to include entrepreneurship and new venture management in their course curriculum.
  

Now that's called a triple treat for all Entrepreneurs-in-the-making. Isn't it exciting to see that more and more colleges are starting to plant the idea of entrepreneurship in young minds, as well as guiding them some of the way? By also encouraging students to seek out early-stage entrepreneurs to work for, the colleges could guide the students on a path of exponential learning, growth and rewards.

Click here to read more details on the above mentioned proposals.

About Venture Capital And Innovators

First of all, here's wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year!

2006 was an year of tremendous growth and success for India. 2007 promises to be yet another year where the upward trend should continue!

As has been the theme for the past few posts, this time too we will focus on some important aspects related to entrepreneurship. These are Venture Capital, Advertising and Innovation. Instead of capturing my own thoughts, this time around, I'll introduce you to some really interesting information and thoughts on these topics by a couple of my very close friends.

Ritesh is maintaining a blog wherein he is following the Venture Capital situation in India. Here is a post by him which highlights some important facts about VC funding in India that has happened in the past 2 years. In case you are strapped for time, and don't click that link, here are some important statistics from that post:

VC Fundings in India
2005 - $482 million in 52 deals
2006 - $240 million in 49 deals till June, $300 million in 50 deals expected in remaining 6 months

This is excellent information to support my previous post about "Entrepreneurship in India". India might not be there in the league of big boys yet, but things are definitely getting started ;-)

Pranav is maintaining a blog wherein he talks about interactive marketing, innovators, new ventures etc. Check out this post in which he has captured some interesting insights about innovators. These were provided by Rohit Agarwal in his recent talk at Barcamp Bangalore 2. Also checkout some of Pranav's posts related to marketing and advertising. They might come in handy for all you entrepreneurs. After all, isn't Web 2.0 all about ad revenue? ;-)

Happy Reading!