MILLENNIAL MINDSET TOWARDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Oxford dictionary defines the term entrepreneurship, as any activity that includes the acts of making money through starting a business, and specially one which involves the abilities to face financial risks while pursuing it. 

The traditional value of entrepreneurship has been about hard work, persistence, consistence, willpower and courage. A right mix of these quirks have proven to be the key for any entrepreneur to be successful. But the I would like to bring light on to the millennial generation of wannabe entrepreneurs, whom I feel will have to have a different mix of quirks to be successful. 

Even though governments have been taking up initiatives to promote the startup culture, it has been observed that more than 90% of the startups fail in the country. Considering the population and the glorified outlook in the world we carry, the failure rate has been severe. Even if the arguments of the unicorn growth percentage is used for a debate, the numbers don’t prove well for a country holding this massive population. 

I feel that it is time for the country to leave behind the stereotypical way in which the leaders portray the country to be in and its time for the citizens and interested individuals to take action into developing the right skills and a mindset towards being credible enough to make use of the merit of the startup policies.

Among India’s 789 Universities, the fields covered would include medicine, engineering, arts, psychology and rest. They hold equal scope as any management institute would in the space for entrepreneurship. But right exposure is absent even among the top universities in guiding students towards their entrepreneurial goals. 

It is observed that the social media’s influence on entrepreneurship has been so intense that it has been diluted by people who have decided to take control and lead the aspirants onto a dark path. The doubt whether this action in social media has been going hand in hand with the way the millennial mind is biologically intended to react and if it does, what organic actions could an indivisual inculcate to overcome the hype and achieve their dream. 

 The generation which lives online more than in the present world is more connected than that by the traditional ones did. Questions arise, if the compelling information and the overload of the same wears a facade in front of the younger generation to make them believe that they are ready to face the risks of entrepreneurship. And if succeeded to pursue them to march forward towards working on ideas while they actually could prepare themselves well enough to solve bigger problems in the world such as poverty, education, sustainable living, drinking water, sanitation and such global goals. This point could very much ignite an argument when one says a modern entrepreneur starts with a problem they have faced individually and they move forward to solve what they feel could be the problem of many.

Whereas, when compared to traditional businesses or the so called unicorns, they solve collective global problems in a sustainable way. Also does the way the country thinks and looks at things differs from the way one would in a foreign country? The scope for innovation and ease of doing business, holds a greater possibility of success among aspirants at home as it does with in other countries. 

The glorious outlook by governments, liberated thinking and the endangered quality of life make the possibility of a bright future hard enough to imagine but also keeps the spark of hope alive. 

- By Nirup Kamagethi Chakravarti