How starting a business led to a full blown existential crisis

Farhad Malik
Sep 7, 2018 · 3 min read
Setting up a business started me questioning my very purpose

It was only ever meant to be about the money, an additional income stream that would mean we wouldn’t be reliant on just my salary, perhaps some extra cash to go on the occasional nice holiday.

That is why I embarked on the LondonReal Business Accelerator programme in the blissfully naive days of early summer, when I could allow myself the luxury of imagining having a light-touch, money printing internet business that I would check in on once in a while, like a caring grandparent peering over his Sunday papers making sure the kids haven’t put the cat into the washing machine.

And if this were any other business course I would have been allowed to maintain this fantasy, done the course work and been able to get on with my life with no change in my circumstances.

But this course was different.

Sure, they teach you things that you can Google and figure out yourself if you are so inclined (identify a gap in the market, build a website and social media following and test the market with a minimum viable product) but there was one thing that set this course apart from all others that I have seen and tried.

Accountability.

You were made accountable for doing the work from day dot. This was tracked in the mother-of-all-spreadsheets that screamed out in blood red for every thing you didn’t complete. And it wasn’t just the fact that that you were being named-and-shamed on the weekly live calls if you were behind on the work, you were also letting your team mates down if you failed to deliver on any given week’s assignments. And to tie all this together you had experienced team leaders, who had established their own businesses using the techniques that were being taught, to ask questions of all along the journey.

All these things were great motivators for doing the work. However, this was only part of the story.

We were taught that the foundations of your business should be something you care about and that will add value to the world — if you chase the money you will fail, either financially, emotionally and/or spiritually. The longevity, and ultimate success of your business, had to be predicated on making the world a better place.

Which led to my existential crisis.

If we need to add value to the world to succeed in business, this surely should be the case in all that we do? Can I hand on heart say that this is the case for me, at this moment? Probably not. Do I have the grit to make the change and re-orient my purpose in all I do for the betterment of others? Quite possibly.

What I know is that I have been given the tools, guidance and encouragement to add value and generate an income at the same time, and it is up to me to make it a success. What I also now realise is that this adventure likely won’t end with me and the family going on a nice holiday, but probably with me thinking of new ways to add further value on future ventures.

Thanks to all the LondonReal team for invoking my existential crisis and giving me the guidance on how to overcome it!

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade