What no one tells you about Founding a Startup

The case of an accidental founder

Founding a startup is easy!! Or so I thought till I became a co-founder myself. So what did I co-found you ask? Well we are a social travel marketplace called “Altertrips” which essentially connects travellers from across the globe with hyper local experiences and events…” and these have been my most used lines for the last 10 months.

In the age of startups, it seems really “cool” to be the founder of a startup but well in reality it’s actually one of the most frustrating and depressing experiences ever. I often feel like I have transformed into that crazy cat woman who is always ready to bite people’s head off for complaining about her “baby”.. And yes my startup is my “baby”, thank you!

Anyways so today I decided to do my good deed of the day by penning down what no one tells you about founding a startup. And no my intention isn’t to deter anyone though of course you won’t find me complaining if a few of our budding competitors decided to close shop because of this post. (And yes I am aware that that is as likely to happen as cows learning to drive)

The Story May Not Always Be Glam

To be really honest I became a founder by chance. I still remember the day as it was my birthday. I was having a night out with my gang, drinking, dancing, doing a 9–5 job and more or less leading a stress-free life. However, fate decided that I had had enough of mental peace and that it was finally time to screw with me a bit. To make a long story short, in my drunk stupor that night I gave my word to my friend-now business partner- that I would become the co-founder of her venture. The following morning the alcohol waned away, but the decision stayed because I am an ‘honourable’ woman and ‘honourable’ women don’t go back on their word especially that given under the influence of alcohol. Oh and yes, my decision to stick to my decision had nothing to do with the fact that my friend/partner can be a very scary woman at times. (Just clarifying!)

You’ll Be Learning New Things Everyday

Anyways, when you’re looking to found a startup, remember there will be days when you’ll probably weep your heart out because no one gets your idea or you- not even your co-founder. I’ve often come to wonder if like Harry Potter I could be blessed with the ability to speak in Parseltongue because I often tend to get these blank, scared expressions from my tech-team and partner when I’m trying to express my ideas and what I think would work.

Of course being a social worker by vocation while founding a tech-based startup does not help. Launching a startup isn’t just about the product. Ours is a travel startup but technology is the backdrop for it. If I only knew I had to learn so much about technology- its terms and meanings, its uses and at times misuses (when I am stalking my competitors), I’d probably have chucked the idea of being a co-founder the moment it was proposed to me. Sigh**

Another thing that is important to know is that while founding a startup, you must have the ability to grasp, comprehend and speak this very convoluted language. Terms like Minimum Viable Product, Bootstrapping (*Rolling eyes*), debt financing, SAAS, angel investors (who comes up with these terms??) will be the only permissible vocabulary till you’re probably the next big thing or have accepted that this startup thingy isn’t for you.

Your Co-founder = Spouse

Also, your relationship with your business partner will be like that of a spouse after the honeymoon period is over! I wish I could share with you all the innovative ways in which I’ve wanted to just choke-slam my partner after all the disagreements we’ve had but in the off chance she’s reading this, I don’t want her to get any fancy ideas. But one thing is for sure that I’ve never argued with anybody as much as I have with her and of course being women, we tend to remember the tiniest details of the arguments for long.

Resilience

Being a founder is indeed all about resilience. There will be days when you will regret the want to launch your own startup because of all the stress, the frustration, the anxiety and may be even some panic attacks but on the other hand seeing your vision and idea taking shape is the most exhilarating feeling ever. Believe in your vision, follow your passion, build on your strengths while accepting your limitations, trust your team and believe me when I say you’ll be there sooner than you could have ever imagined. Of course, there will be moments when you’ll come close to giving up but remember that the failure won’t matter if you get the product or service right just once.

So give it all you have and who knows you could be the next big, success story (hopefully after us) in the global startup scene.

Adiós for now but soon I may be sharing my two pence worth of thoughts on why I believe the chicken came before the egg!!