Tips for an aspiring start-up

I see so many young faces with a glint of excitement in their eyes, eagerly waiting to know what the future holds for them.

The aspirations are high and so is the spirit and I'm so glad to see that.

I could go on and on with words that inspire, but I am here today to tell you about the lessons I've learnt from the time I stood in conferences to standing here on this stage today, talking to all of you.

Youngsters these days are attracted by the ability to start a business, having heard success stories from the media about companies like Facebook, where there is everything a 21-year-old could possibly wish for - money, fame, a thousand people working for you and what not.

While all of it seems like a fascinating movie on the screen, the off-screen reality is very different.

Getting straight to the point, it's not a movie. To be an entrepreneur is to choose an alternate pathway of being on your own journey.

It forces you to internally re-invent and change your perception of yourself - change the way one looks at oneself socially, economically and, in many ways, even how one relates to fellow beings.

If your body is your hardware and your mind is your software, you've got to reprogram your software in order to be a real entrepreneur.

It takes this reshaping of the mindscape and much preparation to be able to pitch and play with the best in civilisation.

And that is just the start of the journey.

When we talk about start-ups, they come in different types and sizes.

You could have a local ambition but a global idea, or vice versa.

But one thing we must be aware of is the fact that the world is flat.

With forms of connectivity like the Internet and airplanes, everything is next door.

Having said that, you've got to remember you get only two or three chances in a lifetime. Make a decision about when you want to shoot the golden bullet and then aim well.

So, before one launches on this journey, look beyond the borders of your country.

Look at the human tsunami of intellectuals from developing economies that are ready and well-armed to take on this journey.

Acting "on-time, real time" is the only way you can be in this game.

Along the way, understand this: the idea is only a part of the real innovation, the real success.

If you are blinded by your idea and don't share it, it will never evolve, it will never grow.

To grow as a business, you must collaborate, you must share.

And share not just the work, but also the success.

Having a big heart, taking people along and sharing the ups and downs of business are some of the ways successful entrepreneurs have built successful businesses.

I've seen a lot of start-ups see early success and then die within months after that.

And the entrepreneurs then come looking for answers. I tell them: good marketing, sales, and economics are some of the elements that will fetch you early success.

But you've got to take that early success and run with it.

It's not a race, it's a marathon! This means your speed and strategy count.

It's never-ending and the landscape of competition is always changing.

You've heard this often and it will always hold true: "Change is the only constant."

Being "on time and real time" is the only personal strategy that works. My advice to you would be to have the ability to deal with disappointment and turn off the gene for shame. Don't take no for an answer. Because why you do business will never change, it's how you do it that changes.

Borderless hunger

I often travel to different countries in the region.

I see one common thing in each of these countries that make them so similar in spirit and action - borderless hunger. A hunger for knowledge, hunger for money, hunger for success.

It's the intelligence of the new collective world and this hunger that drives them.

I have been a preacher of street learning, despite having made an academic pursuit of being a lawyer.

That's the way I learnt and that's the way I've made my journey so far.

Having a life where everything is managed for you is not the most fertile ground for innovators and entrepreneurs.

You have to get out of the comfort of Singapore and challenge yourself.

Think of it this way: take risks; if you win, you'll be happy; if you lose, you'll be wise.

Ravindran Govindan, founder and executive chairman of Mercatus Capital, delivered this speech at the ideas.inc StartingUp Conference organised by the Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre of Nanyang Technological University last Saturday

If your body is your hardware and your mind is your software, you've got to reprogram your software in order to be a real entrepreneur.

It takes this reshaping of the mindscape and much preparation to be able to pitch and play with the best in civilisation.