There comes a time ever so often when contexts are rewritten. Today the virus is tearing many existing paradigms to shreds.

Uncertainty is the only certainty.

We look around us; trying to understand the seismic shifts and prepare for an uncertain future. Some clear trends are beginning to emerge...

• Entrepreneurial mindsets will be valued. Like ownership, flexibility to manage scarce resources and adaptability to shifting contexts

• Job roles will not be authority led but inspiration led. Those who inspire teams and people will be natural leaders

• Many projects would be completed with amorphous skill sets coming together. Consider the many unlikely teams that built ventilators globally - many of them had not worked together prior to Covid

• Constant learning is important especially application of technology to business. Leaders are struggling with the new technologies around cloud, mobile and other digital assets. Covid has ensured that beyond technology, business models would need to be reconsidered

• New technology entering our daily lives - video calling, security around our devices, video calls and home routers

• One is forced to consider emotional and professional bonding over video

• Would family and personal spaces become more important; would there be a swing towards life in the work life continuum?

This pause has allowed many to reconsider family, reconsider the chase, reconsider jobs and futures, reconsider the planet and the clean air, reconsider life.

How would you manage in this new context. What skill sets would you need to have?

• Attitude shaped by

- Purpose and Curiosity

- Owning and taking Responsibility for all that happens to you

• Learning and Re-inventing Constantly

• Self Awareness and Authenticity

• Stepping out of Comfort Zones

My four and half year entrepreneurial journey has provided me with the context to master these skill sets. I am therefore excited by the shifts and by the opportunities it provides. I embarked on my startup as a seasoned corporate professional on the not so cherished side of 50.

Some of the aspects I learnt that are relevant today are...

• Purpose and constancy of vision are key - Am proud and gladdened at discovering that if you can persevere through your creation, always being true to the vision, the right outcomes invariably come through - there have been many many times when I was sure that the business would fold up the next day, but some window always opens up.

• A small pain point can lead to a big dream. The frustration in booking tennis courts in my condo/club in Singapore led to the biggest of dreams that can possibly make a difference.

• You are alone. You lose the safety of the corporate mothership. You pitch to investors in their hallowed boardrooms and argue with your mobile provider in the same morning. I had to strategise, define solution, sell and market it; hire and build teams and structure the company. All this across Singapore, India and the Bay Area. Each of these has a chestful of learnings.

• You get to know your priorities in the grind. Circumstances will make demands, many of them unreasonable. I had to live out of a suitcase for almost 2 years across 4 cities in India and the Bay Area. Most of those two years were in airbnbs, yes in cars sometimes.

• Get familiar with your gut and learn to trust it. I learnt that pacing the startup is like a dance, choreographed by your gut, most of all. That is a very uncertain way to live!

• Self doubt. In measuring myself through this journey I always fell short. Most of the challenging situations had a sense of - was it my fault or am I doing things right? Now I know that what I have been through is par for the course in evolved startup ecosystems. In The Hard Things about Hard Things, Ben Horowitz measures the performance of Founder CEOs, and the average score is less than 25%. That is comforting.

• I understood real close the true value of time management, prioritizing and that much ignored tool called networking

The Value in Learning

During this journey the whole context was novel. I had to keep learning all the time - selling an inspiring vision unfamiliar to most; was enabling growth strategies for business verticals and markets new to me; building a MEAN stack SaaS platform with mobile for the first time; legalities of company structuring, raising money...

You have to be confident that you can find a solution no matter what is thrown at you.

Stepping Out of Comfort Zones

• Life begins when you step out of your comfort zone - Even in my corporate career of more than 15 product categories, I always sought new paradigms. The risks are high but you get to hustle more and learn more.

• I learnt how to keep myself focussed, how to keep myself in good health, and how to keep swinging no matter the circumstances. I discovered that in the bleakest of moments, a run or a walk in the woods or a game of tennis would open my mind to new solutions. I discovered how much yoga and people mean to me.

• The ups and downs, moments both euphoric and “down in dumps” are ever present. Both are fleeting and short lived. So you learn to treat them the same

• I lived that ultimately only I have an understanding of my choices, and everybody else has only slivers; so I need to be listening hard with humility while making the choices that will serve the business best

Would I recommend a startup after all that you have read so far? Definitely NOT, not yet!

Entrepreneurship is not an escape from corporate politics, or a manager or from financial hardship. Entrepreneurship is best enjoyed when you are following your vision to make a difference.

Get an understanding of the startup ecosystem and understand your drivers. Make a plan. (see blog https://link.medium.com/76GyBuFt30)

I would highly suggest starting a Side Hustle

Ideally the Side Hustle should be something that you care about and love doing. It is an exploration of a possibility or idea.

A cash strapped housewife can cook meals and deliver, a school kid can design websites for friends, a group of friends can work in the evenings and weekends (when being employed in a job) to develop Spotify!

You don’t need to wait for The Nudge!

Embark on the journey with understanding.

• Get a mentor or advisor

• Find a problem that you care deeply about and you want to make a difference

• Think big, think global, think mankind

Then find a few like minded people and start working on your Hustle.

Then if you decide to become an entrepreneur, all power to you! It will be the most rewarding journey you could possibly undertake.

You will be the best prepared for Covid and much more. You will be surprised at how much you have in you.

As Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan marathoner lives by - No human is limited.

Definitely not you!