Management Perspectives

I t may be the most irresistible lure in the business world. But it is a cold, hard fact that over 97 per cent of startup companies are destined to fail. Why do generations of entrepreneurs keep trying? Why do seasoned venture capitalists keep investing? What exactly isn’t working? The failure rate seems counter-intuitive, given the brilliant, hard-working entrepreneurs who check all the boxes with impeccable business plans, access to resources, and unflagging commitment. But these incredibly impressive humans still crash and burn—not only in business, but in life. Perhaps steering one’s life into the realm of startups has become too easy. It is estimated that close to 1,50,000 startups sprout every day worldwide. With a plethora of online services at their disposal, entrepreneurs can quickly arrange nearly every facet of a business, from outsourcing product development to crowdsourcing funding. Today, you can launch a business within twentyfour hours and achieve worldwide reach with the click of a button. It is not easy. It is not supposed to be easy. There are countless ‘X-factors’ hiding in the shadows—things that go beyond business plans, beyond what’s taught in books, or what investors would ever admit publicly. These are the counter intuitive myths that often defy conventional wisdom.

MYTH 1: It’s not personal. It’s business.

Working with countless startup entrepreneurs, I have noticed a pattern: what begins as a professional venture often transforms into a modern-day pilgrimage—a deeply personal, inward journey woven into the challenge of navigating external business forces. And that flips the myth: It’s not just business. It’s personal. An entrepreneur may have the groundbreaking product, the fabulous pitch deck, an A-Team, and willing investors. But the success of the venture rests on a single question: Are you built for this? Not everyone is. The personal dynamics and sacrifices required to start a business are hugely underplayed in our culture of success. At the point of startup, you are the biggest asset of your company—and potentially the biggest liability. Today’s founder would be wise to re-envision their ‘Dream Team’ to include a personal coach, a therapist (or shaman), a physical trainer, and a nutritionist. Regardless of whether you think you need their guidance at the outset, chances are you and your business depend on it.

MYTH 2: You must follow your passion.

Steve Jobs famously said, “If you’re not passionate enough from the start, you’ll never stick it out.” I must respectfully disagree. In my experience, passion—though undeniably important—isn’t always sufficient to see an entrepreneur through the relentless challenges and obstacles involved in building a successful venture. Passion is the initial spark that ignites our interest in a particular idea or pursuit. It is the feeling you get when you are first dating someone and everything is new and exciting. But that spark alone, or even the love that grows from it, is not enough to sustain a long-term partnership. Purpose, on the other hand, plays a different role. It is the profound ‘why’ behind what we do, the deeper commitment we make to our business or the cause that propels us forward even when the initial euphoria has faded. It’s like the hard work and dedication required to make a marriage work. One powerful tool for delving into this concept is ikigai, a wisdom practice rooted in the East that has gradually gained prominence in the Western world. For startup entrepreneurs, this translates to: • What are you good at? • What do you love? • What does the world need? • What can you be paid for? So, when we hear the word ‘passion’ in entrepreneurial pitch decks, we must take caution. Because passion has a definite shelf life; purpose does not.

MYTHS 3: Innovation is always the key to startup success.

Many entrepreneurs are convinced they will beat the odds because they are bringing a disruptor, a unicorn, or a paradigm shift to the table. Maybe they are, but it is not enough. Over the years I have found the single most influential factor in determining success or failure is timing.

Timing is everything.

Companies whose business models initially drew skepticism from investors, such as Airbnb, Uber, Zoom, and CarsDirect, ultimately achieved monumental success owing to their impeccable timing. On the other hand, ventures like Webvan and Pets.com, armed with brilliant ideas, substantial funding, and dream teams, seemed poised for triumph but met an early demise. Despite its ingenious concept, Z.com faltered due to the limited internet bandwidth that hindered online video streaming at the time. Just a year later, the advent of Adobe Flash led to the rise of YouTube, which though lacking a solid business model brought about a transformative shift in the digital landscape. When navigating the struggles of the goto-market phase, ask yourself: “Is the timing off because the market isn’t ready?” “Am I too early, needing to educate my customers?” “Too late, facing overwhelming competition?” “Or is my timing just right?”

MYTHS 4: You need to hire true experts.

A lot of things look great on a resume: A degree from a top university, experience at the last hot startup, a marketable skill you don’t have. Those qualities obviously have a place on your team. But to succeed in the startup trenches, you need people with ‘Scrit’—a combination of scrappiness and grit. Scrappy employees can do more with less. Gritty employees will pursue longterm goals and refuse to give up in the face of hardship. They may be difficult to work with at times, but they have unwavering focus. Scrappy employees are also adept at working with minimal resources and

MYTHS 5: You will always be the CEO of your venture.

Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, but he didn’t start Tesla. The company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors, with Musk stepping in as CEO in 2008. In startups, the CEO—often dubbed the 'Chief-Everything-Officer'—rarely stays long enough to see the company’s ultimate triumph. The skills needed to launch a company, achieve lift off, and drive the first $10M in revenue are often very different from those required to scale it from $10M to $100M. Becoming a technology icon is a long and gruelling journey, often marked by countless near-death experiences.

The hard truth? It took Tesla 18 years to hit a $1 billion valuation. Research shows that nearly every billion-dollar brand we know today spent roughly a decade reaching their critical inflection point, followed by another decade to achieve billion-dollar status. Companies like Google and Amazon all share a similar trajectory—long, flat growth curves that required at least ten years of steady effort before they finally took off. MYTH BUSTER constraints, can operate on tight budgets, and will negotiate every expense to extend the company’s runway.

They think big, but act small, and although they too can be challenging to deal with, their frugality makes them an asset to the team—particularly in the eyes of investors. And one caveat: though many scrappy individuals possess grit, the reverse isn’t always true. Remember, you’ are not the CEO of the company forever—you are the ‘Startup CEO’. Bottom line? Running a startup is gruelling, heartbreaking, and yes, occasionally exhilarating. Every myth has an element of truth, but you will still have to face some hard facts to make success a reality. As the ‘3-percenters’ will tell you, it may even involve a little luck. Good luck!