The 3 stages of a game called entrepreneurship
Tags: Bootstrapping, Life Of An Entrepreneur, Entrepreneurship, Startup, Funding

The 3 stages of a game called entrepreneurship

There are a plethora of theories and lifecycles shared by experts, successful entrepreneurs or even the self-acclaimed #startupgurus. As I strive my way to being the second one on the list, sharing my two cents in this ocean. Fidato Dec 13, 2020·5 min read

How would you do it? What’s going to be the ROI? How do I exit? What’s your LTV or CAC?

Life of an entrepreneur

These are a few questions that I often use to get bombarded with during 2019 when I went for funding pitch. Though I often believe it was too early for me to be going out for funding, it really did act like a bunch of learning for me, which I have shared in this blog over here. Bootstrapping a startup has its own challenges; coming from a family where I had my fair share of support and resistance from my parents for my decision to pursue my dream, startup journey wasn’t all that glossy as it always perceived.

When you just know how to float in a swimming pool, and you challenge yourself to cross the 20 ft deep stretch of an ocean, you move your hands in each and every direction, with some you move forward and upward, with some you just stay at the same point drowning further down. I was in sort of a similar situation when the only thought in mind was to anyhow survive and learn to swim while you gasp every breath that you can steal, as a result, of buoyancy.

What really inspired the whole idea | Source: https://myintellectualheart.wordpress.com/2019/08/25/time-money-and-energy-conundrum/

Recently I was in a discussion with one of my friends and as the discussion transitioned to a more serious tone, I just sort of summarised the whole life of an entrepreneur in three broader stages, which I believe any entrepreneur could fit into:

Usual stages of a startup funding

Entering the valley of death(Access to funds but no learning)

This stage, like for any other journey is the time when you’re filled with energy, motivation is breaming over the edge, and you’re all set to hit the bullseye. You’re aware of the harsh realities of taking the untrodden path, yet you decide to be oblivious of all the facts. You start off with your life savings or initially borrowed money or funding, and take the leap of faith.

Experience Level — Nil

— Nil Funds — Savings or Borrowed

— Savings or Borrowed ROI — Highest

— Highest Risk Factor — Highest (additional risk as the person has shown no roadmap of success or signs of persistence)

— Highest (additional risk as the person has shown no roadmap of success or signs of persistence) Time Period — 1–2 years

Gasping for breath (Lack of funds, progressive learning curve)

As you evolve from the previous stage, you have had your share of learning and failures. You are trodding the path with more confidence, showing persistence, but still confused; that could probably be the tell-tale signs of your success. This, for most entrepreneurs, is a stage where they are struggling hard to meet their ends. The realisation strikes them about the unnecessary expenses that they have done, but since they have drained out most or all of the amount, they are finding ways to gasp for breath. Once the person is able to sustain through this stage, they are more or less bound to hit the bullseye. The person is able to derive the requisite lessons and work on improvising his approach.

Experience Level — Moderate

— Moderate Funds — Dwindling or Exhausted or On track for break-even

— Dwindling or Exhausted or On track for break-even ROI -Moderate to High

-Moderate to High Risk Factor — Risky but manageable (towards the end of the stage)

— Risky but manageable (towards the end of the stage) Time Period — 10 months to 15 months

The final flight (Funds and structured roadmap)

By now, you’ve nearly dedicatedly invested 1.5 years to 3 years into building your dream startup. One thing that’s really important is to get an expert opinion on legality and compliance from the start; otherwise, this could lead to an unprecedented breakdown before the final flight(or fight). You’re aware of the mistakes, the structured roadmap, a lot of pieces of the puzzle which for a very long time seemed to find their right fit, are now on their own getting into place. Your focus of discussions changes from striving to find the right product to how to scale the product. Your MVP is sorted, and now just last stage is left and that is either to bootstrap your way to success or go for the funding.

Experience Level — Moderate to High

— Moderate to High Funds — Either bootstrapping sustainably or raising funds

— Either bootstrapping sustainably or raising funds ROI — Low, Moderate or High(depending on the timeline of investment)

Low, Moderate or High(depending on the timeline of investment) Risk Factor — Low

— Low Time Period — > 3 years(from date of taking the plunge)

No doubt, the life of an entrepreneur is really thrilling, but does anyone know of the fears that reside in his heart? It’s really difficult to envisage what an entrepreneur has to go through to reach the heights. It’s always lonely at the top, however, the view is mesmerising enough to take anyone’s breath away. But it’s lonely!

Once you’ve cracked it for your life, what really matters is now scaling it to an undisputable market leader or making it a unicorn. The struggle is still there, but as you complete the world’s most expensive MBA called the life of an entrepreneur, then there is no looking back.