passion paradox

The evangelists of the startup world sermonized passion like a drug. Pick a blog, book, or podcast: passion trumps over everything. You have to be passionate about the idea, team, and what not build a successful startup.

A few years back, starting my own, I read Scott Adams’s post on the goal VS system. He stressed focussing on building system. The byproduct will be a success. I laughed at reading it and felt like Scott has gone nuts. We have to be passionate and have a goal when it comes to our startup, team, product, and everything.

What happens when your idea fails, the team leaves or the product you have been passionate about never takes off? How will you handle these?

My limited learning resonates with Scott Adam’s now. We should keep passion, goals, and profession separately. We will suffer less, and failures will not break us apart.

emotions

The past few weeks have been a little hard on me. It threw me into the self-introspection mode. The more I questioned myself, the I sulked deeper into emotions.

I spent time reading about emotions from science to philosophy. The summary was simple: it is manifest of our mind. How we see an incident and how we react to it.

Emotions are the byproduct of our ego, attachment, and perception. The meaning changes with the lens you are looking at it.

Bhagwad Gita talks about: Attachments are the cause of human misery.
Epictetus said: There are things in our control and things not in our control. Dwelling on things that are not in our control will make us miserable.
Murakami says: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Many professional coaches say to be more rational in business. It makes me wonder how can a human life in this dual state where he/she has to buckatize their actions?

If in a business, we have to be more rational and less emotional, then why not automate that part too? Is singularity even achievable?

Lifespan

In Lifespan, David Sinclair writes about how we are going to live much longer. He also points getting old is a disease, and we can live much longer.

In the initial chapter, he cites how we started dying less at an early age because of advancements in medicine and science. With time and our sedentary lifestyle, we are getting sick from a heart attack, Diabetes, and other failures.

In later chapters, he mentions the newer research and experiments on the mouse and how they are living longer. He gave stress on metformin and resveratrol. He also cites how his father, based in Australia in his 80’s lived like a 60-year-old, trekked consuming these drugs.

I remember reading a section where he also mentions how we are making our planet worst by cutting trees, the plastic, and how we will witness more pandemics in the year to come.

The part I resonated with most was about intermittent fasting, restricted dieting, and regular physical exercise. The importance of eating leafy vegetables, fermented food. He advised avoiding non-vegetarian food. I am not sure about the importance of hot and cold baths.

Let’s build a startup

Let’s build a startup book talks about Harpreet S Grover’s journey in building CoCubes. I could relate myself more to it because I grew up in a middle-class family in a small town in India. 

These are some notes I took away from the book:

  1. Parents: Indian parents are paranoid about starting a startup. Some dislike their kids starting one and many others seeing their kids working at a startup. I don’t blame them. They want their kids’ life better and stable.  
  2. Work-life balance: Running a startup is like running a ship in uncharted territory and, unexpected misadventures are part of it. If you are married, the wife is an equal stakeholder. The author mentions meeting family and wives/husbands in some instances in recruiting his team members.
  3. Co-founders: In the early days of a startup, you are married to the idea as well as the co-founder. You spend most of your time with them, so pick them well. 
  4. Burn slow: Don’t waste money on decorating the office or making the canteen a retro/designer look.
  5. People: Focus diligently on company culture. That could make or break your startup. Hire slow, fire fast. Give regular feedback, get feedback. People leave, wish them luck, and help them whatever way you could. 
  6. Customers: Only money that matters is money coming into account from customers. Spend more time with your customers and get their feedback. They will help you grow as a product and customers.
  7. Focus: Don’t spread too thin and build everything. Build one thing and focus on executing it well.
  8. Leadership: The founder’s time is precious. Focus on hiring the r leadership team and give them freedom and independence to run the show. Have faith in them. 
  9. Coach: A founder’s journey is lonely, and others are part of it as a sports club. Having a coach helps in bringing clarity and picking blindspots.  
  10. Have some fun: Get to know your team, go on trekking and have some fun. A hot, burning environment will hamper progress in the growth of the team and an organization. 

emotions

There is some part of emotions always associated with entrepreneurship. It could be with an idea, team, or journey. I have been talking to a lot of friends, and everyone agrees to it.

The experienced funders suggest being more rational and less emotional. We are dealing with humans, and there will be differences with co-founders, teams, customers, investors, and emotions will only affect adversely.

Building a startup should be like running a sports team: everyone knows what their defined role is and how their performance elevate or deprecate the team. That is what Reed Hasting’s analogy. I reluctantly agree with his view now.

parting

I have realized people dwell on everything they disliked about you or the organization. The hate, anger, or non-likeness will take over everything else. It seems like no parting has ever been mutually amicable.

Does it mean our dreams or journey has to be of our own all alone?

jina seekh liziye

Aise he hai zindgi, jina seekh liziye.
Kitne aaye, kitne gaye, riste bane, sapne saze aur zindgi chalti gaye.

Sabne kaha aise ziyo, kuch ne kaha waise ziyo, baaki kuch saath rahe hamere. Chal rahe thee saath kuch pal tak aur phir kinare me ho liye juda, zindgi phir bhi chalti rahi.

Apne, paraye, zulm, sitam, ruswai, siskiyaa sabko mila liziye phir bhi kam par zaiyge ye zindgi. Aise taise, taas ke patto zaise simte hue hai ye zindgi.

Zaise bhi hai ye zindgi, jina seekh liziye.

co-founders

Running a ship in uncharted territory is challenging. Most of it has surprises, good and bad. It’s the people who keep it sailing. It requires a lot of self-belief, focus, and grit. The complimentary skillset of an individual’s help in tough times.

The same goes with running a startup. In the end, it is about who you are building your company with aka, co-founders. How motivated and what all they are going to give up for this journey. Next comes the team where everyone plays their part like any football club, with time some move. The idea is the last part because it can change any day, anytime with the market.

If you intend to start, find that co-founder who will be there with you in the journey, who is going to be equally motivated as you and who has a complementary skillset. The journey is challenging, full of pain, uncertainty, and miseries. Don’t fall for the puff pieces or podcasts, interviews media, or startup influencers are selling you.

Dealing with people is must-have virtue for you both. Most startups die not because they run out of money; but because founders give up.

I understand this is against what everyone else in the industry preaches: market size.

body

Last few years, I have become more careful about myself, especially my body. I am getting old like everyone else. Once you cross 30’s, it is better to start giving more attention.

Food:
I figured out that wheat is making me bloated, and coffee post-lunch can screw up my sleep. It took me multiple hit and trial to find our peanut sensitivity. The sugar ailments run in the family’s DNA so, I have given up white powder.

Exercise:
I was running 35-40km at a good pace until 2019. I have slowed down, running much shorter distances now. My knee has started giving me pain once in a while, and I don’t want to get it operated on it in later days.

Mind:
Jiddu says our mind is like a monkey mind; other social scientists talk about type1 and type2 brain. You have to find out what calms you down. Is it listening to some instrumentals? Spending time on gardening? Doing pranayama?

In the end, it is our body and, we have to find out what works best for us. Others will only advise from their past experience or readings.