Chp 464. Lessons from a Start-Up – 1

It’s been 9 months now since we started our own company. Nine months of an extreme roller-coaster ride. Nine months of successes, coupled with itsy-bitsy failures. Nine months of trial-and-error experiments.  Nine months of risks, especially with the rupee value drastically falling and many Investors pulling out from an unstable Indian market because they prefer to invest in the dollar instead. Nine months of pivoting and adjustments.

I have learnt a lot in these nine months. Some learnings that would make me a better entrepreneur, and some learnings that made me regret about a few decisions we’ve taken. But nevertheless, learnings.

After all, that is the whole point of being a Start-Up, especially in an ever evolving industry. We learn, we lose some, we gain some, yet we keep adapting. We keep surviving.

I know there are already a lot of really good articles about lessons learnt from a Start-Up. I am not going to repeat the same thing that’s already out there, nor can I match the insight they have. But one of the biggest changes I have noticed in my personal life compared to the corporate life I used to dwell in, are the work hours.

There is no such thing as the “Monday Blues” anymore.

Yep.

I remember back in my corporate days, we would complain so much about the Monday blues. We would even post memes and gif images about it. But once you’re a Start-Up, there is no such thing as the Monday blues, purely because Monday is not a significant day any longer. After working from Monday to Friday, you eventually go to office on Saturday and Sunday as well. So Monday just becomes another normal day in your hectic timetable of trying to succeed in this competitive world.

Likewise, there is no such thing as TGIF. Hell if we want, we can make any day TGIF –> TGIM, TGIT, TGIW, TGIS. If we feel like we’ve been burning out too much, we just take the next day off. And I’m sure that is what most Start-Ups go through too.

Of course in the long run if when we become successful and turn into a full fledge functional organization, there will be rules laid down. There will be designated holidays and workdays. There will be a proper HR system. There will be a list of holidays mailed to every employee. There will be a reason to celebrate TGIF and a reason to hate the Monday Blues.

But as of now, I am in a “never experienced before phase” about all this, and it actually feels great. Let me try to make the best out of this before it changes.

And this is why I find it a tad funny now looking at all my Facebook friends complaining about the end of a long three-day weekend (today being Ganpathi Chaturthi). Or some of my Mizo friends rejoicing about a “bandh” in Mizoram tomorrow. Such sentiments I actually do not feel. They are irrelevant. Guess those are the changes one goes through when starting one’s own business.

Maybe in the future I’ll get to revel in such joys again.

But as of now, its back to the grind, regardless of whether this entire week had been declared a holiday or there’s a Zombie Apocalypse.

Here’s to Start-Ups. Cheers.