Sometime back Ranvir (name changed to protect identity) came up to me with a business proposition. I have known him for more than a decade, worked together in the Telecom Industry. His objective was to begin his Entrepreneurial journey by starting a business and continuing his corporate job at the same time. I said “Fantastic, we need more enterprises to start in India”.
The following 2 weeks were spent on discussing the business model. It took us a week to identify the right space and another week to finalise the terms of the contract. We were all set to go and suddenly it was all quiet: phone calls unanswered, messages not responded. Then after 2-3 weeks I get a call from him saying “I am sorry, not going ahead with the plan”.
I simply said “Oh S&*t, Is there blood on the bed sheet?”
He was lost, said “WHAT?”
I said “Did your wife tell you not to go ahead with the plan considering the burden of the current EMI, Kids’ Education, lifestyle changes, etc. etc.?”
His answer was a big YES and he hung up the phone.
Ranvir’s dream of becoming an Entrepreneur was shattered by his wife in the bedroom.
I think this is a common phenomenon amongst people in their late 30s/early 40s who suddenly decide to quit their corporate jobs and wish to start something for themselves.
My life was no different. When I first announced “I want to start a venture, I will quit my job” there was a lot of hue & cry in the house; friends came up with funny hashtags #Mat_Kar_beta, #pagal_hai_kya, #Kharche_ka_kya_hoga.
I had decided and I ignored all these trending hashtags and finally one fine day put in my papers at Oracle. Ranvir too could have done that but he would have faced severe domestic violence just like I did.
So for all those nearing their 40s, who think that the age to start your Entrepreneurial journey is over, think again and don’t let go, take the plunge now … it’s never too late.
Let me share 3 things (with all the budding & struggling Entrepreneurs) which I did to overcome the bouts of depression:
– I stopped talking to people who did not inspire me in pursuing my dreams. This included my family, friends and ex-colleagues. Hence I got more time to get connected to Entrepreneurs in TiE, NEN, Start-up Saturdays etc. I wrote to a few of the CEOs, most of them gave me time, a patient hearing and motivated me to continue the struggle.
– I stopped listening to sad & emotional songs, instead read Page 3 of TOI, listened to Coke Studio, watched TED talks, read books by Steve Jobs, Peter Thiel, Bill Gates, etc. etc.
– Slowly I got used to the Non-Corporate life, got habituated to unavoidable criticism. Most importantly I became absolutely non temperamental & stopped being an egotistic.
If you have a receding hairline and often get frustrated by the persisting question in your mind “What am I doing? It is the right time to take the leap. No worries, your EMI, School fees, committed vacations, etc. will be taken care of. Just believe in your idea and start your Entrepreneurial journey now! All the Best & God Bless.
Written and Believed by Rajarshi Guha (rguha@hotmail.com)
asha chaudhry
this is such a real story rajarshi…. thank you for sharing it with us.
a lot of folks face resistance, if not from the wife, then from parents and family per se.
your headline if very powerful!
asha chaudhry
ps: if you could create a twitter handle and add it at the end of your post, i could mention it while tweeting your story.
Rajarshi Guha
Will do so ,thanks Asha
Krishna Chandra Dey
I still remember a meeting with an angel group and they asked me hopefully you are not married? I said no and he said fantastic!! 🙂
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
Good Post, but one thing have to check before taking entrepreneur journey, have to make sure that other things can be taken care of for some time. Otherwise peoples life will stuck up in middle.
Rajarshi Guha
Sai, you should not check anything before taking an entrepreneur journey. I started this more than 5 years back when I was 39 years of age, has a school going child, rent accommodation is south Delhi, EMI for a flat in Noida, aligning parents and what not ! But never felt afraid of taking the jump, You should do that and be free from bonded labor
Rajarshi Guha
Krishna, Quite a nice quote which can be shared within friends. Till now none of the (probable) investor have asked me this question because of my receding hairline and greyed mustache
Krishna Chandra Dey
Haha…Ya…actually it’s a very big angel group almost equivalent to VC with big exits. The reason he asked was very similar to the story. He too had same experience with an entrepreneur and the guy was in mid 20’s which made things more difficult!! Will meet them again in a week and at that time will tell about this article so that he finds some solace 🙂
Ishani
loved your response… btw can you pls tell more about your startup.
Rajarshi Guha
Ishani, Thanks for the note. Our start up, Navrang-Colours of India, is to sell Handloom and handcrafted textile over a virtual store. We have started with Sarees and moving into home furnishing. We buy directly from weavers and don’t use any middleman. This is not a market place hence we ensure the quality. Visit us a http://www.navrang.net and like our FB page. You should get connected to my Co-Founder Sonal, she is a hell of a lady, Engg/MBA served in Indian Army then Corporate , finally jumped into the entrepreneurship with me.Write to me in the email above
Akshay
Rajarshi – Great story & trust me very inspiring for ppl on the wrong side of 30’s!
BTW on a lighter note, u can even become an author, your headline blood on the bed sheet really got me hooked 😉
Rajarshi Guha
Thanks Akshay for the encouragement. Happy to know that its inspiring for you. Wish to write all crazy stories of my life and keep watching this space. Wishing very best !
Gulzar Wangde
Great post Rajarshi! I would say “just what the doctor ordered!”. I can relate to this completely.
I am going through a similar phase – inching towards 40, 3 kids, anxious wife, worried father……….
“Are you nuts?”
“You have a settled life? Why do you want to take that risk?”
“What if you loose?”
“Where will you the money to invest from?”
“It isn’t easy doing business in India!” (I am based and working in Saudi Arabia at the moment)
“From where will we manage the monthly expenses?”
I have been thinking about taking the plunge since Dec last year, but decided to postpone due to the above factors. But the zeal to take the entrepreneurial journey is still alive. I plan to shift base back to India in the next 7-8 months. This question still haunts me “What am I doing here?”
Phir jo hoga who dekh lenge! 🙂
On the brighter side – my hairline is still intact! 🙂
Ashwin C Parulkar
My observation is I have to come across people who have put in their papers,no body puts his papers it’s always the other way round with 99.99%
Right of refusal, opportunity cost of a decision has to be taken in consideration
Rajarshi Guha
Gulzar, I am moved by your passion and putting the true story forward. Sooner you start better for you as ZNMD. I am open to help you to sharpen your idea and setting up shop in India. Write to me at rguha@hotmail.com and lets discuss. On a lighter note domestic violence will not go away just you need to have a rhino skin for sometime
Arun Mishra
Just read this and I can’t agree more with you Rajarshi. I did the same thing and quit my job. In my case, my wife was supportive but everyone else was like “Road pe aa joage” 🙂 So far, I have somehow managed to pay EMI of two big home loan every month. I am working on a product and because of my 12 years of experience in IT, I am also helping few other startups/corporates with their products so that I can pay my bills. Team has grown from 0 to 11. So you are right, You just need to believe in yourself. Everything else will be taken care. If not, you will still learn a lot and will come out as a more humble and matured person.
asha chaudhry
hey arun,
i think you must share some stories about your entrepreneurial journey! am sure they are inspiring!!