HOW TO START A START-UP
W henever a young one says, “I want to be an Entrepreneur” or “I want to start a start-up,” I get into a teasing mode… “What is that?” I ask. Some days ago, in one of our PD sessions, 17-year-old Balpreet was telling us about his immediate plan… “I want to go to Canada for further studies,” he said, “I am preparing for some entrance tests.” “What do you want to ‘study’ in Canada?” I probed. “Sir, I want to be an entrepreneur,” came the reply, “I want to start a start-up.” “Lovely,” I said, my tongue a bit tucked in my cheeks. “Tell me, can’t you be an entrepreneur here in India? Can’t you ‘start a start-up’, here?” “I can,” said Balpreet, “but, Sir, I should study that first.” “The tuition teachers, the fruit vendors on the roadside, the paperwala and doodwala, the young men who run most of the mobile, stationary , jewelry, medical, hardware and sanitary stores in the city of Mumbai,” I pointed to all of them and...