My Startup Journey Unfiltered
Sometimes it takes the worst times to bring out the best in us
Slightly more than 2 years ago, I decided to pursue my own startup. I don’t think I knew what I was signing up for. But I guess sometimes ignorance is what’s needed to take the very first step.
The past 2 years have been rough. If I had to plot a graph to describe the positive and negative moments in the journey, I guess the negatives would far outweigh the positives. There were so many moments where I felt like I just wanted to dig a hole to bury myself into. The times where we launched a product/service hoping to get people to purchase, but seeing zero orders over the next few weeks. Sitting in an empty classroom waiting for those who signed up to come but only to realise that they were not coming at all. Going to the streets to give out flyers because none of our marketing efforts went through only to have people walk one big round to avoid me. Rejection has never felt more real.
When asked by my peers, how my startup is doing, I would always say, “It’s great!”. A part of me always felt the need to put up a positive front. What would it look like if a startup founder said otherwise?
A year later, just when I thought we had made major improvements and proceeded to approached investors, we were faced with questions that I did not even have answers to. Not to mention the countless times where they mentioned that we seemed inexperienced, making me feel that no matter how capable we know we are, nobody would believe in us.
There were so many times that I felt like it was us against the world. Honestly, it feels quite lonely. To constantly have people question the choices and judgments you are making, it got quite easy to let them get to my confidence. Questions like: Am I doing the right thing? But nobody else seems to agree with this strategy? So and so said that this other way made more sense. They are more experienced than me, so they would know more than me. These thoughts just made me doubt myself even more.
But I guess sometimes it takes the worst times to bring out the best in us. The past 24 months have pushed me to a corner and made me realise the principles and values that I stand for. There will always be a thousand other perspectives and a thousand other people who would think their advice works better. But ultimately, the decision is ours. And knowing my own values has given me the confidence to make even the most unpopular decision. Regardless of what investors think, what my customers think and what advisors think, I know what my company and I stand for.
Entrepreneurship has definitely made me a more grounded individual. There were many times where I could have given up. I could have taken another job, get a much higher salary than now, have a stable income. But I chose not to. I have never been more clear on why I chose to do my startup. It is not for money, not for fame, but for the belief that we can build a future where kids will genuinely be excited to learn.
