When I say plunge, I mean taking a plunge to start one's own business. I have seen a lot of people who have done it, and still more who want to do it. But most of them are what they call "arm-chair entrepreneurs", those who sit cozy in their homes and just think about doing big things, but do not actually take the plunge.
So what stops someone from taking the plunge. The reasons are many and very common and known to all (I call them 3 Fs : Family, Facility, Funds). I wont repeat them here.
What I have observed is that the reasons for taking the plunge are very similar, a passion to start something of one's own and take it further. A zeal to become the next Ambani or Nilekani. Apart from the common reasons, I have observed other very common reasons among these real entrepreneurs. Let me talk about a few of them.
1. Exposure : I think this is the most important and common to all. Most people whom I have seen starting of their own have done so because of some exposure or the other to a kind of environment where you are encouraged to think unique and achieve higher. The kind of college one goes to is one such environment. The fact that most of the entrepreneurs I have seen have some connection or the other from IIT/IIM is no coincidence. Also the company you are in. Literally and otherwise. Many start-ups have been started by ex employees of Yahoo, Oracle and Amazon. (Must be true of start-ups from other industries as well)
2. Knowledge (or lack of) : Its not about how much you already know, its about how you can achieve and gain further knowledge. Most people I have met did not know much about the business they got into when they started. If they had waited to gain the 'appropriate' knowledge, as most of us do,they would not have started ever. Fact is, we think we should have at-least the threshold value of skills/knowledge before we can make a plunge, and as we grow in maturity and experience, with the amount of knowledge, the threshold increases as well. So it is kind of chasing a constantly moving target.
3. Funds : Most of us think that we can not start a business without Funds. This is partly true. We need funds, but we need ideas first. Funds are the last thing to be worried about. If we have an idea and the passion we can get the funds needed. There are ways. Might sound more philosophical than practical, but its true. One must not think about funds to start with.
Now to answer the question (When to take the plunge?) - The answer is NOW. If anytime is the right time, it is now.
What about me ? Well, I am going to do it as well. I did a lot of thinking myself. Was engaged in a lot of personal issues (I also have my own excuses) but now after doing an year long of thinking, I am taking the plunge. To start with I will be doing an MBA and then will be starting of my own. I did some work in a start-up in the last 1.5 years and I think an MBA will give me the time and knowledge to think about what went wrong and what can be done more in that.
[References]
http://www.lifebeyondcode.com/2010/03/14/why-some-smart-people-dont-take-action/
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Ten Things ...
Like everyone else, I do have a list of ten things I want to do before I die.
To get started, here is the list of monuments I want to see in my lifetime.
1. Space Needle, Seattle Washington : The Space Needle is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a
symbol of Seattle.
2. CN Tower, Toronto, Canada : The Canadian national tower (named after the railway company that built it) is a communications and observation tower standing 553.33 metres.
3. Burz Dubai, Dubai : The tallest building in the world !
4. Big Ben, London : It is the great bell of the clock at the northend of the Palace of Westminster in London.
5. Tower Bridge, London, UK : Often confused as London Bridge. This is one of the monuments that is recognized world over.
6. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France : The icon of France. Do I need to say more.
7. Opera House, Sydney, Australia : The Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. I have seen it in at least a dozen movies.
8. St Peter's Basilica : Vatican City, Italy : It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites.
9. Museum De Louvre , Paris, France : This is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. Have seen it in the movie 'Da Vinci Code'.
10. Petronas Towers, KL, Malaysia : The tallest twin towers in the world.
[Source : google See
http://www.google.com/help/maps/streetview/gallery/#world-landmarks]
Here is a list of ten world monuments I want to see before I die. I have already seen the Golden Gate bridge in CA, USA, so didn't mention it here. If you think there is some monument I missed and you think I must see that, do let me know.
To get started, here is the list of monuments I want to see in my lifetime.
1. Space Needle, Seattle Washington : The Space Needle is a major landmark of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and a
symbol of Seattle.
2. CN Tower, Toronto, Canada : The Canadian national tower (named after the railway company that built it) is a communications and observation tower standing 553.33 metres.
3. Burz Dubai, Dubai : The tallest building in the world !
4. Big Ben, London : It is the great bell of the clock at the northend of the Palace of Westminster in London.
5. Tower Bridge, London, UK : Often confused as London Bridge. This is one of the monuments that is recognized world over.
6. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France : The icon of France. Do I need to say more.
7. Opera House, Sydney, Australia : The Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of both Sydney and Australia. I have seen it in at least a dozen movies.
8. St Peter's Basilica : Vatican City, Italy : It is the symbolic "Mother church" of the Catholic Church and is regarded as one of the holiest Christian sites.
9. Museum De Louvre , Paris, France : This is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. Have seen it in the movie 'Da Vinci Code'.
10. Petronas Towers, KL, Malaysia : The tallest twin towers in the world.
[Source : google See
http://www.google.com/help/maps/streetview/gallery/#world-landmarks]
Here is a list of ten world monuments I want to see before I die. I have already seen the Golden Gate bridge in CA, USA, so didn't mention it here. If you think there is some monument I missed and you think I must see that, do let me know.
Next Step towards MBA – Applying for Loan
Even before the MBA applications started, I had started thinking about (at least created a spreadsheet listing all assets and liabilities) the investment I would be making for the MBA.
Here is how the Math looks like :
Cranfield Tuition Fees : 31000 GBP
Living and Other Expenses : 10000 GBP
Amount to be kept in Liquid/otherwise (contingency plan) : 10000GBP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total amount : 51000 GBP
Total Loan needed : 37000 GBP
Total amount to be paid from personal expenses and kept for later : 14000 GBP
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The good thing about getting an admit at Cranfield is that you can get a loan from HSBC, UK without a cosigner.Many fellow admits have started applying for the loan and a bunch of them have got the approval as well, some within 15 days. So good news.
So need apply for that. Looking at the list of documents to be submitted along with the loan application, it will take atleast a week to get them all.
Need to show some assets in liquid form or otherwise to convince HSBC that I would be able to repay them. It is believed that about 30-50% of the total loan applied needs to be shown somehow.
Here is the list of documents that are needed for loan application. I gathered this from people who have already applied.
1 Loan Application Form
2 Copy of Cranfield's offer letter
3 CV
4 Copy of Driving License (Address Proof) - Any paid bill like credit card or bank statement will also do.
5 Copy of Passport - ID Proof. (Passport wont work as address proof as well)
6 Copy of degree certificates and transcripts
7 Copy of investment documents (LIC ,ULIPs, PPF)
8 Copy of Provident Fund statement
9 Bank account Detail over the period of last 3 months
10 Payslips for last 3 months
11 Income Tax Return of last 3 years
13 Wife's Bank Statement
14 Wife's Current Income Statement
15 Wife's other investments
16 MF Statement
17 PF Statements
18 Superannuation statement
19 Wife's FD Statements
On top of this one can provide parents income statements and assets as well.
Here is how the Math looks like :
Cranfield Tuition Fees : 31000 GBP
Living and Other Expenses : 10000 GBP
Amount to be kept in Liquid/otherwise (contingency plan) : 10000GBP
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total amount : 51000 GBP
Total Loan needed : 37000 GBP
Total amount to be paid from personal expenses and kept for later : 14000 GBP
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The good thing about getting an admit at Cranfield is that you can get a loan from HSBC, UK without a cosigner.Many fellow admits have started applying for the loan and a bunch of them have got the approval as well, some within 15 days. So good news.
So need apply for that. Looking at the list of documents to be submitted along with the loan application, it will take atleast a week to get them all.
Need to show some assets in liquid form or otherwise to convince HSBC that I would be able to repay them. It is believed that about 30-50% of the total loan applied needs to be shown somehow.
Here is the list of documents that are needed for loan application. I gathered this from people who have already applied.
1 Loan Application Form
2 Copy of Cranfield's offer letter
3 CV
4 Copy of Driving License (Address Proof) - Any paid bill like credit card or bank statement will also do.
5 Copy of Passport - ID Proof. (Passport wont work as address proof as well)
6 Copy of degree certificates and transcripts
7 Copy of investment documents (LIC ,ULIPs, PPF)
8 Copy of Provident Fund statement
9 Bank account Detail over the period of last 3 months
10 Payslips for last 3 months
11 Income Tax Return of last 3 years
13 Wife's Bank Statement
14 Wife's Current Income Statement
15 Wife's other investments
16 MF Statement
17 PF Statements
18 Superannuation statement
19 Wife's FD Statements
On top of this one can provide parents income statements and assets as well.
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Questions in mind before accepting Cranfield MBA
There are a lot of questions in my mind regarding the Cranfield MBA. I must have thought about them before applying, but I think its not too late. Also got a mail from a fellow Cranfield admit who asked few of them, and now I am forced to think about them. I think I have concrete answers to them. Comment if you think otherwise.
"Concerns about post MBA job prospects & economy" - Well, I do have my own views on the job prospects and the economy. As suggested by many people in the industry, the job prospects depends on number of factors like the sector you want to work in, and the role/profile you desire. Since I do not have very clear picture of what I want to do post-MBA (except for the fact that I want to go into consulting) , I have not got very good picture of the job prospects.
But overall, one thing is clear, an MBA will give a lot of weight to my resume, and will definitely make me employable. One of my friends who works in UK says that with my profile (experience in IT software development) I can get jobs now even without MBA. So it means jobs are there. But with an MBA, I would like to get a job as a consultant, or a project/program/product manager in a niche sector, which might be difficult to get into. There are two main reasons for me to join Cranfield - to work in UK post MBA, and to get a quality education. And as I am not looking for a specific profile (as of now), I think I would be able to land a job.
"real ROI for people like us in IT industry." - About this, I think ROI should be very good. As IT is still a 'hot' industry and there are jobs around in the UK. And the ranking as per ROI being high in Cranfield helps, as it suggests ROI is indeed high, regardless of industry.
"Another concern is couple of top ranked Unis rejected my application due to my lack of management experience" - this happened to me as well, and I do not have answer as to whether its good to go for an MBA without managerial experience in the UK, as the course is for 1 year only and the class we will be attending will have quite a lot of people people with lot of managerial experience. It will be competitive, but at the same time there might (just slight) be a disconnect. I do not know.
"Also do u know which electives (specialization) is preferred by students at Cranfield?" - I did not do such research, but I am personally interested in Entrepreneurship, and electives related to IT only. As I do not want to move out of IT. Overall the course structure is very good with emphasis on personal and professional development, so I think the investment will be worth it.
"Concerns about post MBA job prospects & economy" - Well, I do have my own views on the job prospects and the economy. As suggested by many people in the industry, the job prospects depends on number of factors like the sector you want to work in, and the role/profile you desire. Since I do not have very clear picture of what I want to do post-MBA (except for the fact that I want to go into consulting) , I have not got very good picture of the job prospects.
But overall, one thing is clear, an MBA will give a lot of weight to my resume, and will definitely make me employable. One of my friends who works in UK says that with my profile (experience in IT software development) I can get jobs now even without MBA. So it means jobs are there. But with an MBA, I would like to get a job as a consultant, or a project/program/product manager in a niche sector, which might be difficult to get into. There are two main reasons for me to join Cranfield - to work in UK post MBA, and to get a quality education. And as I am not looking for a specific profile (as of now), I think I would be able to land a job.
"real ROI for people like us in IT industry." - About this, I think ROI should be very good. As IT is still a 'hot' industry and there are jobs around in the UK. And the ranking as per ROI being high in Cranfield helps, as it suggests ROI is indeed high, regardless of industry.
"Another concern is couple of top ranked Unis rejected my application due to my lack of management experience" - this happened to me as well, and I do not have answer as to whether its good to go for an MBA without managerial experience in the UK, as the course is for 1 year only and the class we will be attending will have quite a lot of people people with lot of managerial experience. It will be competitive, but at the same time there might (just slight) be a disconnect. I do not know.
"Also do u know which electives (specialization) is preferred by students at Cranfield?" - I did not do such research, but I am personally interested in Entrepreneurship, and electives related to IT only. As I do not want to move out of IT. Overall the course structure is very good with emphasis on personal and professional development, so I think the investment will be worth it.
MBA Volunteers
Came across MBA Volunteers, who help MBA aspirants in providing feedback on their MBA application in-exchange for a donation to a non-profit organization.
http://www.mbavolunteers.org/
Neat idea. People volunteering come from a diverse background and are ex and current students in top B-Schools in the world like INSEAD, Harvard, Kellogs ...
And the proof that this idea is indeed good - this idea was a Runner-up: The Good Idea Competition 2008, London Business School.
How it works:
1. Check for availability of the volunteers by mailing them,
2. Make a donation to the charities listed on their website (they are real non-profit organizations and not fake). You must make a minimum donation of $175 USD per application.
3. E-mail your application materials to them and get a feedback in 4-5 days.
Note that they will not actually write the essays, or fill the application for you, but you will get an idea of how you fare in terms of the target b-schools, GMAT score, profile, essay quality etc.
[Disclaimer]
I have not personally used their service, so I don't promise or guarantee any satisfaction, value for money etc. I am not associated in any way to this group and hence I don't have any motive behind publishing this here. Its all in good-faith. Do spread the word if you like the idea or the service.
http://www.mbavolunteers.org/
Neat idea. People volunteering come from a diverse background and are ex and current students in top B-Schools in the world like INSEAD, Harvard, Kellogs ...
And the proof that this idea is indeed good - this idea was a Runner-up: The Good Idea Competition 2008, London Business School.
How it works:
1. Check for availability of the volunteers by mailing them,
2. Make a donation to the charities listed on their website (they are real non-profit organizations and not fake). You must make a minimum donation of $175 USD per application.
3. E-mail your application materials to them and get a feedback in 4-5 days.
Note that they will not actually write the essays, or fill the application for you, but you will get an idea of how you fare in terms of the target b-schools, GMAT score, profile, essay quality etc.
[Disclaimer]
I have not personally used their service, so I don't promise or guarantee any satisfaction, value for money etc. I am not associated in any way to this group and hence I don't have any motive behind publishing this here. Its all in good-faith. Do spread the word if you like the idea or the service.
Creating your own brand - courtesy Gaurav
Read this interesting post in Gaurav's blog - http://brandfizz.wordpress.com/2010/04/07/how-to-create-a-positive-brand-image-in-social-media/
Quite interesting. And I like the idea of creating one's own brand and maintain it.
I think I also need to create a brand, of myself, for this blog, and for the work I do. Game on !
Quite interesting. And I like the idea of creating one's own brand and maintain it.
I think I also need to create a brand, of myself, for this blog, and for the work I do. Game on !
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Got the XLRI offer letter today
I received the XLRI-GMP offer letter today, and it makes it the first physical offer to knock at my door. Too sad I have to turn it down, would have loved to attend the program.
Here is the timeline of XLRI-GMP :
1. Application submitted -Dec 12th ' 2009 (last date jan 10th'2010)
2. Confirmation of application received - 22th Dec 2009. (by email)
3. Interview Invite received - Feb 2' 2010 - with questionnaire to be filled (essays to be filled online) before 15th March.
4. Interview (Chennai) - March 6th'2010 - Read interview experience.
5. Interview results - March 26th' 2010
6. Hard-copy received by blue-dart - April 7th 2010.
7. Acceptance, or otherwise to be notified by post by 20th April 2010.
Here is the timeline of XLRI-GMP :
1. Application submitted -Dec 12th ' 2009 (last date jan 10th'2010)
2. Confirmation of application received - 22th Dec 2009. (by email)
3. Interview Invite received - Feb 2' 2010 - with questionnaire to be filled (essays to be filled online) before 15th March.
4. Interview (Chennai) - March 6th'2010 - Read interview experience.
5. Interview results - March 26th' 2010
6. Hard-copy received by blue-dart - April 7th 2010.
7. Acceptance, or otherwise to be notified by post by 20th April 2010.
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