Are entrepreneurs born or made? This is a classic question which is often asked. Is there a most appropriate time when one should think of starting a company? Well, the entrepreneurial drive should come from within. The fear of failure or the comfort of a secure job with an attractive salary, invariably deters one from embarking upon an unknown journey of entrepreneurship. Sometimes a setback in your life gives you the necessary push to venture into entrepreneurship.

The path to entrepreneurship is often uneasy and unpredictable with numerous obstacles coming your way. However, the rewards of creating a successful sustainable enterprise, more than make up for the pain and struggle.

There is no right or wrong time to start your own enterprise. The critical thing is to think through more than a concept before venturing into anything new. Identify a niche or potential in the area of your expertise. It is important to have some core competence in the industry/area that you would like to venture into. It is important to get involved deeply into an industry to understand all the critical issues and trends of that industry. One model does not work for everyone. Some can start at the early stages of their career while some get the drive and motivation based on the expertise developed in their career.

Having a track record makes it easier to get funding, or attracting a good team, or for that matter to get the initial customers or business. It is always good to bounce off your concept and business plan on people whose judgment and opinion you trust. Ensure that your business plan is based on realistic assumptions. The valuation your business gets is not based on financial projections but on your ability to convince that these figures are attainable. Funding from a good reputed VC helps ratify your concept and business plan. Though a good VC may bargain for a higher share of the pie there is always a tradeoff between ownership and organizational growth.

Do not get dejected if a VC turns you down, as there have been numerous examples of VCs missing attractive deals because the promoter was unknown at that point, who later became a trailblazer in his or her industry. Ability to commercialize your concept is critical as you can then at least get angel funding if a VC does not ratify your view.

It is not necessary that if the idea of setting up the enterprise was yours, you are necessarily the right person to be the CEO. It is important to identify your own strengths and weaknesses and to form a core team, which provides synergy. It is important that the entire team buys into the vision and mission of the organization for the team to succeed. The ability to do an organizational self-analysis and cut short losses is very critical. Prudent cash management is key to managing a successful company.

The challenges of managing an organization are different for the different stages in the evolution of the company. It is critical to be able to recognize and understand these, to be able to manage growth. The success of many professionals especially in the Information Technology industry bears testimony that it is never late to start your own enterprise. Technological innovations are increasing exponentially given the global connectivity. Changes to be seen in the next 10 years will probably exceed all the changes seen in the last 100 years. Change is inevitable and there is a leader for every change. Even though it is hard to predict which change which will yield fruits, you can predict with certainty that there will be many changes and many successful entrepreneurs.

The opportunities today are many, technological innovations will change the entire landscape of global economy. At times smaller companies are better placed to carry out this change rather than established companies which sometimes get caught in their own processes, checks and control. Finding that balance is always difficult. Today funding is also available for truly innovative ideas. So if you have the concept that can be validated and can prove that it has commercial value, go ahead and look for a VC who will back you. Of course you have to have the appetite to take risk and the deep desire to make a difference.

TiE has institutionalized entrepreneurship. It provides mentoring, role models and the necessary skills required to practice entrepreneurship. However, entrepreneurship is a lonely experience and every entrepreneur ultimately has to go through the pains himself/herself, much like a mother giving birth to a new life. The world will change for the better not because of big governments nor the big corporations, but because of the leaders who have enough entrepreneurial instincts to take the personal initiatives to make the difference. I am proud that TiE can play a role in promoting it.