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“One year!!!”

Introspections beckon as I complete a year of starting-up.

Did I get enough done? Did my assumptions play out? Did I meet my goals? Did I do ok? What more / better could I have done?

No simple answers here.

Surely, I could have done more and better. Some assumptions played out, many didn’t. Despite all our plans to the contrary, starting-up tipped the scales on everyday personal decisions.

It has been a grueling year. So, how do I really feel?

I feel that I had the time of my life! I would never trade this experience for anything else.

But ‘why’ am I loving it, if it has been so grueling? As an entrepreneur I felt the answer to this question is consequential. I dug into the ‘whys’.

A Mission That is Dear to Me

I am pursuing a mission that is very dear to me. It’s serendipity that I have found myself in challenger roles &/or companies for most of my professional life!! Beating the odds has been thrilling. But, turning that experience into a mission that can level the playing field for hundreds, maybe thousands of challengers… is the opportunity of a lifetime!!

Living the Metamorphosis of an Idea

Living the metamorphosis of an idea into a product. Oh, what a beautiful experience this is! The first business plan, the lightbulb moments, the inevitable ‘re-pivot’, testing the first feature, the child-like joy when pilot users get their hands on the product!! I am thrilled to be on this fulfilling journey of creation; it’s dotted with action, drama, suspense, frustration, heroics…

The Learning Never Stops

The transition from a senior corporate role to a startup founder feels akin to going back to school. The learning is both on the job and from ace ‘practitioners’. The ‘course curriculum’ is diverse — from the skills to build a category creating product to the building blocks & tech to build it on, to the functions a fledgling business needs. This back to school is liberating. It’s as if a new world has opened up!

New ‘Sources of Energy’

I discovered new ‘Sources of Energy’. I knew a big mission would take a village. I was humbled by the help I got. Our investors rallied behind us. Pilot customers & partners became part of the solution from the get go. Providers went the extra mile. Friends & mentors were generous with their time and expertise! In them I have found a powerful, new energy source that continuously charges my conviction!

The ‘Transformers’

Our team packs some serious punch. Each one learning at lightspeed, each one pulling off in days, sometimes even overnight, what would typically take weeks / months. Each one digging really deep to translate their strengths into constraint defying miracles. As all this plays out, I can see a culture build that is so special that I wish I could freeze in time!

The Sum of My Whys

Those are the sum of my whys!! And I am sure the team discovered, as I did, that the unwavering support & the sacrifice of the family is the foundation of all this.

The journey is just starting, and I couldn’t be more excited & inspired about the future! Stay tuned…

“How does it feel?” Ever since I turned entrepreneur (again), after nearly two decades in the corporate world, this is the typical first question I get asked.

I have struggled with this response. I am enjoying every moment (nearly!) of it, I find it immensely fulfilling, I feel very purpose driven, every day. But there is the other side that weighs on my mind — it’s daunting, it’s lonely, it’s too early to say anything, you feel like a fish out of water sometimes, it’s a long haul to success, and that success — as traditionally defined — is tough to achieve. And so on.

So, how do I really feel?? I felt compelled to find the ‘right answer’ for myself. Now, don’t ask me why I felt this answer was important, it just was! Perhaps because it would help me connect seemingly disparate dots, make sense of emotions that I confront every day.

Some History

There is some history here. I have done a start-up once before. It was different then, to say the least. I was half the age, half the family size (my two college going kids had not even appeared on the scene!). Startups weren’t ‘the thing’ they are now, it was more like ‘what is this guy even upto’! Those nearly 6 years of start-up experience, in the most difficult times (post the dotcom bubble), shaped an incredibly fulfilling journey in the corporate world.

Starting Up is ‘The Sum of All X’

As I combined that history, with the experience of the last 4 months, an idea began to form about how starting up feels for me. Starting up is ‘The Sum of All X!’

X here represents the incredible array of emotions / response mechanisms that have characterized my starting up experience. What makes this ‘X framework’ even more fascinating is this constant dance of seemingly conflicting forces and emotions:

• The sum of all the learning | The sum of all the unlearning
• The sum of all the courage | The sum of all fears
• The sum of all your network | The sum of all the restraint (so what if you know someone!)
• The sum of all the support (family, friends, network) | The sum of all the support (yes, this is a repeat)
• The sum of all the freedom | The sum of all constraints
• The sum of all the vulnerability | The sum of all the urgency
• The sum of all the patience (your priorities are not others’) | The sum of all possibilities
• The sum of all expectations | The sum of all compromises (those personal plans will have to wait)

I am sure there are many more!

The Sum of All I Can Be

So, that’s really how I feel. The sum of all I can be! Starting up makes me dig really deep. I feel comfortable without the trappings I had gotten accustomed to. It helps me let go of my hesitations. I feel like going full throttle on every strength I got. Failure, rejection, and conflicting emotions feel like part of the script.

Starting up is the Sum of all You can be. It is you discovering yourself in the most un-filtered way. In a professional set-up it is perhaps the best way to discover your superpowers. I recommend a stint for everyone.