Why not to become an entrepreneur - Evenote CEO

[challapradyumna]

TNW2012 Key Note

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-8xAUx5Y6s[/media]

First 8:30 about entrepreneurship.

1) Money

A lot of people think that they want to be an entrepreneur because it’s a good way to make money. It just isn’t, that’s just wrong. Depending on how you count, 95% to 99% of companies fail.

If you think starting from scratch is a good way to get a financial return, you’re just bad a math. And you kind of need to be good at it to become an entrepreneur.

If you’re smart enough, if you’re talented enough, if you have the drive, if you have the ability, and you’re motivated by making money, then you should just get a real job instead, like become a banker or an investor or a consultant or something. You’ll be much more likely to make a lot of money over the course of your career than by starting a company.

The second most common wrong reason is:

2) Power

People have this vision of being the CEO of a company they started and being on top of the pyramid. Some people are motivated by that, but that’s not at all what it’s like.

What it’s really like: everyone else is your boss – all of your employees, customers, partners, users, media are your boss. I’ve never had more bosses and needed to account for more people today.

The life of most CEOs is reporting to everyone else, at least that’s what it feels like to me and most CEOs I know. If you want to exercise power and authority over people, join the military or go into politics. Don’t be an entrepreneur.

Wrong reason number 3 is:

3) Boredom

This kind of poorly formed idea that you’re bored from work and want to do something different may be a good start, but it’s not sufficient. If you’re bored at your job, I strongly advice you to stay at your job and keep collecting your paycheck while you figure out what you want to do.

Wrong reason number 4:

4) Flex time

People tell me they want to become entrepreneurs because they want more flexibility in their schedules. They’ll say: “I want more time to spend with my kids, and more time to travel and spend more time with my familyâ€. That’s stupid. It doesn’t work like that at all.

If you’re going to be entrepreneur, you will actually get some flex time to be honest. You’ll be able to work any 24 hours a day you want!

In summary: there’s lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.

 

[rite]

Well, any real entrepreneur will tell you that all for of them are 100% wrong.

It is a story of an employee who thinks grapes are sour when he couldn't get them. I am not saying there can't be negatives but these four are wrong.

Source: experience (personal and first hand as well)

 

[Sei]

Well, any real entrepreneur will tell you that all for of them are 100% wrong.

It is a story of an employee who thinks grapes are sour when he couldn't get them. I am not saying there can't be negatives but these four are wrong.

Source: experience (personal and first hand as well)

You are calling the CEO of Evernote (a company with a $1 billion valuation and soon to release an IPO) a disgruntled employee? Kindly tell me Sir, just what the hell are you smoking?!

And btw, from what I read recently, Evernote was about to be bankrupt in 2008, with only 2 weeks of money left in the bank. It made a very strong comeback is a proper startup success. And it is earning real money from paid subscribers.

The points listed above, though he is quite bold to list them upfront, are more or less accurate.

Frankly speaking, I don't think you have even read what is written. If you did read, you only glanced and didn't try to understand. And if you have really understood, well.... then I have no words..

 

[rite]

He isn't an entrepreneur, a CEO is still an employee.

 

[dovakhiin]

He isn't an entrepreneur, a CEO is still an employee.

Wrong.He is an entrepreneur and the CEO is not just some employee.He's founded two successful companies before joining evernote and he makes buttloads of money.If he was a disgruntled employee he'd just quit and chill in his mansion.

I'm not saying he's right about everything but when it comes to this topic his words hold a lot more value than most of ours.Unless you can somehow prove that you're a more successful entrepreneur than him.

 

[rite]

Then he is again wrong. He wouldn't be anything had he not been an entrepreneur. Whatever he is today is because he became an entrepreneur and there are 10s of thousands of examples in USA of such people, not everybody reaches billion usd. But even earning 100k a year without a bachelors is being successful in some respects. And there are perhaps 100s of thousands of such examples in USA. Being an employee is only for the faint hearted or those who don't have luck on their side.

If you know what you doing and stuff the chance of success is at least 50-75% and the rest is luck. Across, 5 attemps the chance of success is greater than 90%.

The chance of an engineer making $200k in USA acc to stats is less than 10% as well. But if you go to a good college and do the right stuff, the chance becomes 90%. All his arguments are fundamentally flawed

I can tell you ways where you if try hard enough and across a few things, your chance of success if at least 80% and you can earn several times of what you would earn if you are a bachelors from a regular Indian college, not iit

The mere fact that he says go into investment banking if flawed. Going into investment banking is usually open only to top IITs and top IIms straight and very difficult even otherwise, so that itself means 0.001% of the population or less com

A 10% chance in biz is much easier than this. But then again the right study makes your chances more and so does the right work in biz. He is either trying to misguide people intentionally or is speaking through his hat

 

[rite]

The very fact that he left his own company means that

In his eyes he failed

2. He doesn't realize is that had he not been an entrepreneur he would never have been taken by this company. Just because he earns more here means zilch. There are many people who would earn nothing in a job but become Rich with their venture

And had he not started his own thing, nobody would have noticed him, so he doesn't even understand the bs he is smoking

He become a man because of his venture. Everything has its own time and place in life. Today he is doing well here Tom a new idea may click

And he is doing well but is no Steve jobs or Richard Branson or bill gates, all entrepreneurs. Similarly, there are many small entrepreneurs who earn a lot given their situation, but a job would just get them like 50k inr a month, bus makes them 5-10lacs a month

 

[Party Monger]

I agree with all except the third. The third one is just a tip, and a tip from a pov of money, i'd rather get off the job and find some inspiration.

The most important, about power is very true. No matter how much money, you dont have any power as such. You exercise it irrationally over a few people and you risk losing it all.

 

[Sei]

The very fact that he left his own company means that

In his eyes he failed

2. He doesn't realize is that had he not been an entrepreneur he would never have been taken by this company. Just because he earns more here means zilch. There are many people who would earn nothing in a job but become Rich with their venture

And had he not started his own thing, nobody would have noticed him, so he doesn't even understand the bs he is smoking

He become a man because of his venture. Everything has its own time and place in life. Today he is doing well here Tom a new idea may click

And he is doing well but is no Steve jobs or Richard Branson or bill gates, all entrepreneurs. Similarly, there are many small entrepreneurs who earn a lot given their situation, but a job would just get them like 50k inr a month, bus makes them 5-10lacs a month

Who the hell are you rambling about? Phil Libin has not left his own company!

 

[6pack]

he doesn't want competition to his company. all this talk is given by ceo's who are successful and want to stay that way. a business can get killed no matter how good it is today if it does not innovate or some other company comes up with a better idea than theirs. look at RIM and Nokia. Nokia is atleast trying to innovate. Rim will be dead soon. Probably some company like Apple will buy them out of their patents portfolio and close the company.

 

[Lord Nemesis]

Well, any real entrepreneur will tell you that all for of them are 100% wrong.

It is a story of an employee who thinks grapes are sour when he couldn't get them. I am not saying there can't be negatives but these four are wrong.

Source: experience (personal and first hand as well)

Are you by any chance trying to claim that you are one of those 'real entrepreneurs'? Oh Please, who are you trying to kid? Please don't make us laugh. I can understand if someone like you who doesn't have a clue of any damn thing, goes around splurging his dads money in the name of entrepreneurship for all the wrong reasons, But real entrepreneurship comes out of enthusiasm to do something that has an impact. It is the ultimate expression of following ones heart to do what they want to do. The goal is satisfaction from what you did, not merely money. You may think money is everything and the measuring criteria of an entrepreneur, but once you mature, you will realize that money is not always the factor. A person can start a company and start earning shit loads of money, but that doesn't mean that he would be ultimately satisfied with what he is doing or that he would see himself as a successful entrepreneur. Even an entrepreneur who made shit loads of money can die full of remorse and regret if he is not satisfied with what he accomplished.

 

[rite]

Let me make it clear. I don't really take pretty much any money from my dad. All my money is what I earn on my own. My dad can't afford to gift me my lifestyle, but I can afford it on my own money.

And I have several passions/hobbies and I splurge generously my own money.

I don't need to explain anything to anybody. You can't understand, your problem, not mine.

 

[Lord Nemesis]

LOL... Looks like I hurt someone's feelings...

Got this over PM...

I don't really take much from my dad. And for the age of 21 I earn quite a bit. You can say nearing 2L per month after paying taxes and 1L/yr for PPF, close to 1.8L a month you can say after all those things. And I stay with my dad so I only need to take care of my self. I can afford my lavish life style. And I doubt you have a package of more than 30-40 L a year before taxes. STFU!

His attitude itself just proves that he isn't worth jack shit and how full of crap he is.

Entrepreneur my ass. Get over yourself. Even if you earn a crore a month, it doesn't make you an entrepreneur. Its your attitude and actions that makes you one and with the sort of attitude you have, you will just stay an immature brat with psychological problems. How much you earn doesn't mean a thing. Unlike you I don't live to earn money or measure success, happiness and satisfaction with it. Money is only a means and I make enough of it to suffice me and yeah its a lot more than what you seem to think.

Just out of curiosity, enlighten us on how you started your business on your own and with your hard earned money? If you have used your pocket money given by your parents or taken a loan from your parents or got a job with the help of your parents, it doesn't count as your own. What is the accomplishment/satisfaction that you can claim for yourself if you ignore the money you earn?

 

[rite]

I invested 0. Zero investment. IF you have the capability, think how I did it.

I have worked as a data entry operator at $3/hr at one point in time. I never asked money to invest anything.

And if you have the guts, why don't you tell how much you earn. I really doubt it is more than 4L a month. LOL

@mods, please post the remaining posts as well. That wasn't the only post.

I have worked as one at one point in time, I didn't ask for any money to start my business.

 

[hahahari]

I see a lot of romantic notions about being an entrepreneur, like how it comes out of passion and doing something to change the world. Yes thats what the media makes you think. Yes thats what is preferable. But the company milking billions of dollars out of Oil and gas has no inspiration, he isnt changing the world with something innovative.

The simple fact is, it takes balls to go out on your own and carve a piece of global money pie. The fact is you need vision. And YES money is a marker by which a company is judged. No matter how innovative the Chinese get and make a touch screen mobile within $50, it doesnt matter. It takes vision, it takes a lot of sleepless nights, it takes a lot of determination to make something work.

So if you think you have it in you to do something other than working for a big company, do it, but understand the risks first. It might not be rewarding at first. A lot of time, you might panic and think abt going back to another company. Stick with it, do something different from what the competition does. But always have a solid plan to fall back on.

Btw, the article is not wrong, its pretty true. Yes its a little exaggerated, yes its a little too grim. But those are true.

I started out as a consultant when I was in college, made it into a small company and now I am trying to innovate. I am trying to do something really radical (Ok, not so much, but still

) when it comes to an area of my personal passion and nope it doesnt have jack squat to do with computers.

If you have a solid plan to fall back on, then by all means, put yourself out there and make something out of nothing.

PS: I never used my dads money(but he bought a computer for me though), I never used anybody else's money. My first cheque was for less than 5000 INR and thats where I started.

 

[Lord Nemesis]

^^ Money may be one of the markers by which others judge the company you started, but it is not always the marker by which you judge yourself. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak started a company called Apple out of nothing. Despite the companies financial success, Jobs led an unhappy, bitter and dissatisfied existence which is quite apparent.. It is pretty obvious that he didn't believe that he has accomplished everything he wanted to. Steve Wozniak on the other hand left the company long back and is happy doing what ever he wanted to. Their goals in life are different neither of which being money and while money is important to both, at the end of the day, its the personal satisfaction that matters and money is not the way people measure their satisfaction.

When a person goes out of his way and decides to start a new venture on his own risking every thing, there is a definite goal that is behind all the determination.No matter how much one tries to convince self, it is not something as trivial as money. No matter how one expresses their goal, the ultimate prize is satisfaction of doing what they wanted to. Money is a means, not the end. When someone starts a venture without any definite goal in mind except for cashing out an idea and making a quick buck, they can earn all the money they want, but there can never be any satisfaction. Often the dissatisfaction itself ultimately ends in the venture falling apart. You get satisfaction when you follow your passions and achieve your personal goals. People who think of money as a goal ultimately just end up as a sad and confused existence.

Starting a venture for the wrong reasons can end in disaster though not always financially. I have seen that happen once too often. As you said yourself, it is quite important to think it over in detail before you jump in.

I have seen entrepreneurship in action quite a bit around me (some of whom were successful and others failures). In fact during my college days, a classmate of mine wanted me to join a company that he and a few others started. He didn't want me to be an investor, but just wanted me to take over technical leadership (sort of like a CTO) and was even ready to give me up to 1Lac a month as compensation. I turned down his offer as I was not interested in what it involved, but the sole reason he started the business was as a means to make a quick buck. From what I heard later, it went quite well at first, but soon the guy himself got dissatisfied with what he was doing and lost interest and the business went down hill in no time.

Even recently, I have seen an entrepreneurship failure in action. I have had occasion to interview a guy for a position at my company. He had an M.Tech from an IIT and was working at a big name US MNC earning 25 Lac/year. He had founded a publishing house and authored a few of books on DS& Algos that he claims were specifically tailored to allow the readers crack technical Interviews at top product based companies. He gave up his job for the venture he stared. yet 4 months later, he was at our office for a job interview. We naturally asked him why he gave up his job and why he is back looking for one, going by his answer, it appears that since his initial books sold quite well both locally and internationally, he thought he would give full attention to that line of work and start his own press so that he doesn't have to sell the rights to his books to publishers. Just because he thought it was a nice way to earn money quick, he gave up his job without thinking every thing through. He later found that he would need at least a couple of cores of investment to get the equipment he needed to take his venture where he wanted it to, At that point he was back looking for a job. During the rest of the technical interview, we found him quite weak. In fact, we found his knowledge and skills to be among the weakest. Prior to that interview, there were candidates who demonstrated more knowledge with a mere 2 years of experience and there he was authoring books that were supposed to help others crack interviews. I didn't know what to make of him. But it was clear that his attitude was not proper and even if his knowledge had been acceptable, his attitude towards handling of his venture might would still probably have resulted is his rejection for the job. I bet even if he had been able to put his venture on track, he would have got no satisfaction out of it and ultimately lost interest since there didn't seem to be any real goal or the passion to go with it.

 

[hahahari]

I never said Money is the only Marker. I said it is important. If your not making money, you will always be a little worried about whats going to happen next. What will I do if an emergency need for money comes up.

The main reason I gave up a job and went my own way is bcs I am not a big fan of a workplace which doesnt encourage free thinking and innovation and has so many protocols that it takes 10 mins to get the job done but 3 hours to file the reports and paperwork pertaining to that. I felt like a cooped up chicken being told to things every moment I spent in there. I longed for freedom. I had consulted before that and I went back to consulting and launched my startup.

Freedom exists, but its not what people believe to be freedom. Freedom to innovate and do what you like, not freedom to drink beer all day and watch movies. Thats not the kind of freedom that entrepreneurship gives you(ofc, if I really feel like chilling all day, I could occasionally). Its the freedom to think and improvise. To me that's the freedom I seek.

Like everything, there are two sides to this coin. Embrace both and you will have fun. I spoke to one of my colleagues who is still at that job that I left. He said "Dude, you seek freedom, I seek security. I dont mind working 8 hours, taking crap from people upstairs for a stable 25000/month(although this stability is highly suspect in my eyes, IT industry is too fickle, one recession and they kick you out)".

Startups are not for everyone. Money as a sole motive would not work, atleast for a long time, but something you get from this money might be worth keeping you go, say it allows your passion of paintings or bikes or skydiving. But to me, financial, intellectual and physical freedom comes foremost. If that is something that interests you more than financial security, you could be an entrepreneur.

Btw, I went from being broke beyond broke, lost all my savings due to a serious accident requiring extensive medical care. Now I am earning 8 figures a year. So trust me when I say this, money as such is worthless, but it might be enough to keep you going if there is something that you get out of it that you like or need, say following your passion.