"Don't Startup" | Think before you startup

In the world of business tycoons, entrepreneurship is often understood as akin to walking into a lion's den. Nevertheless, youngsters today are endlessly attracted towards this profession; often understanding it as preferable to being a bonded labour in an MNC. But running an enterprise is not really a cakewalk, especially when there are experienced competitors waiting to devour young spirits in the market. To portray the varied and the truthful aspects of a startup, Karthik Kumar has penned this illuminating book Don't Startup.

Kumar is an actor turned stand-up comedian, who has shared his own journey of starting-up an entrepreneurial venture. He has thoroughly described the positive as well as the negative aspects of a potential startup. The novel further details the value of money and time during the entire process of building an enterprise – specifically highlighting how time utilisation works in providing long-term benefits.

The author, who runs an arts-based entrepreneurial venture named Evam, has shared that not everyone can be successful. The key is to come out with subjects that they and the audience will both be interested in. The craze and fancy idea of building a startup is often shrouded in over-enthusiasm, which takes away from the practice of focusing on one’s own subject. This is the root of a growing startup – to have a strong subject base.

In one of the chapters, the author writes, "Imagine building a castle, a fortress and an entire kingdom around something that you love doing and even a hut around it will feel like a castle." This aphorism puts the author’s idea in a nutshell – passion must drive profession.

The novel further emphasises that an entrepreneur must always focus on their area of interest. These include the various topics or subjects in which they can invest themselves without losing focus. Otherwise, in the search of a solution, we may end up becoming a part of the problem.

The author, who has acted in several south Indian movies before entering the world of comedy, believes in self-discovery as he, in his early graduation days, was planning to come up with something that has probably never happened before. Despite being aware of the consequences of entering into the world of entrepreneurial adventures, he chose to encounter and overcome challenges in this voyage of business and self-discovery.

While reading the book further, one will encounter a defining fact about decision-making – especially about never losing oneself in the chase towards earning more money in the initial days of establishing a startup. The book emphasises, “We had to start working for that money, instead of having it work for us.”

Apart from all the facts, there is also an interesting and inspirational chapter which quotes a famous line of Mahatma Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world" and Michael Jackson's epic song "I'm starting with the man in the mirror". The novel repeatedly highlights that one should hear their inner-thoughts and choose the right path – the path that feels right to you instead of the path chosen by other people.

The novel is a learning for all – whether someone is an entrepreneur or not – as it elaborately discusses how often people run towards glitter without knowing their interests and end up being disappointed or bored with it. The book will also hold your interest as you turn each page; each chapter ends with inspiring thematic takeouts – providing a succinct analogy in the end.