5 Lessons I Learnt In The Breaking Barriers to Growth – The Money Edition [Bangalore Meet]

A participant in the Bangalore session of ‘Breaking Barriers to Growth,’ talks about 5 key lessons she learnt in the meet. The next meet is in Mumbai.

On August 22^nd, 2015 the Breaking Barriers to Growth – The Money Edition event was organized in Bangalore by Women’s Web to motivate ladies running SMEs to adopt the right attitude and strategy to propel their businesses forward.

For me, this was also an event which reiterated the spirit of entrepreneurship – of taking charge, of daring to dream, of being passionate about one’s work, of having clarity on what exactly one is doing and of remembering that business is not just about making money, it is about having a higher purpose.

Sometimes, we just need to ask

When we need help or support, we tend to look everywhere, but we forget to ask those who are right there beside us. Arpita Ganesh, the founder of Buttercup Bras, was able to raise Rs.1 crore from friends who offered to help once they saw the viability of her business idea through the tremendous support she had received through her crowd funding initiative. The thought of asking her friends to help in raising capital had never crossed her mind and their unexpected support for her venture was a pleasant surprise for her.

There is enough business for everybody

We assume that sharing our ideas would hurt our business but the chief speaker of the day, serial entrepreneur Vandana Mehrotra, assured us that that was not the case. She stressed on the importance of sharing ideas and learning from one another even if people are in similar businesses since there is enough room for everybody to do well. Sharing ideas in the initial phase helps in getting feedback from those around us, and ensures that our product or service fulfills a genuine need.

Getting investor support is tough, very tough  

Though, the newspapers everyday seem to report on Indian startups receiving plenty of funding, Ankita Puri, co-founder and CEO of Healtheminds shared the bitter truth that getting investors to support ones business is no cakewalk. The fact of the matter is that very very few start-ups actually manage to get funding and hearing the “No” word from several investors can be demotivating, and yet, we should never let that get us down.

Dream, believe, plan, execute

Most of us have dreams about where we want to go, but we also have doubts about whether those dreams are achievable. The amazing story of Jayanti Kathale – the proprietress of Purnabrahma Foods convinced me that if we have belief in our dreams and work really hard towards making those dreams a reality, then the world is our oyster.

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Never, never, never give up 

One thing was clear as the day progressed and we heard all the entrepreneurs sharing their stories – none of them had, had it easy. Each had gone through times of despair, yet, in spite of all the obstacles and hurdles along the way, they had persevered and chosen to forge ahead and face the challenges head on. They had finally managed to make their mark because of their never-say-die attitude.

 I am glad to have had this opportunity to listen, learn, share and support.

Editor’s note: The next meet up of Breaking Barriers to Growth- The Money Edition is in Mumbai. Register now for early bird price.

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