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I was 20 and in my final year of college when we started working on Josh Talks. Starting up in college is not easy. Here is what I learnt. A thread.
1/ It’s tough to be taken seriously at 20. For the longest time people thought I was volunteering at an NGO or doing something to build my resume. Persistently advocating your beliefs helps you sail through.
2/ Placement offers are a distraction. I had 2 good offers and the option of either CA/MBA infront of me as well. You can imagine how difficult it must’ve been to convince my parents. It still is.... some things never change.
3/ There is never the right age to start up. While I respect everyone who chooses to gain work ex before building something of their own, books became the way to gain experience for me. Reading 24/7 trying to learn all that’s already been done was a huge saviour. Try it.
4/ People underestimate the power of young people coming together. We were 5 interns for 2 years. Luckily some of them came back after experiencing things and now lead teams at Josh. The person whose telling you you need to make your first full time hire may not be correct.
5/ Making money is tough. One of the biggest lessons I learnt during the time was from my father. He said unless the money hits your bank account, don’t be sure of anything. And once it does it means people value what you do. Run after capturing that value.
6/ Nobody knows anything! Just because you look young doesn’t mean you have to factor in 100 peoples advice to make decisions. Just like you; they too might not know the right thing to do. Go with your gut and back it with high quality execution.
7/ Don’t be afraid to fail. You’re 20. You have your whole life ahead of you to learn and do other things. I can say this in retrospect because I was deeply affected by small failures for the first 12 months until I decided to treat them differently.
8/ And last, don’t kill your curiosity ever. If you have a question ask, if you need help ask, if you want to try something out, try it because despite being young, you will find those 1 or 2 people who come out of nowhere to support you and make your magic happen!
