7+7 = 14

by | Feb 12, 2013

Contributed by: Akshai Abraham
Dated: 10th February, 2013

7 months. 7 partners. 14 thoughts to share on the crazy ride of entrepreneurship – from the security of a full-time, well-paying job to the daily dose of questions in self-belief, self-esteem and whether I’m making good choices with my life

    1. From the frustration of having to change the name (twice) and address while registering the Society; to the (hollow?) victory of registering without paying a bribe
    2. From total disappointment trying to get funds to start (with just a concept); to the joy of starting with own funds and part-time coordinators
    3. From zero funds; to enough funds to hire full-time team members with salaries secured for a year
  1. From wading through 200+ CVs, wondering where to find good people; to having two full-time coordinators and a host of interns/ part-timers/ volunteers all eager working together towards a better future for the children
  2. From two months of running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to organize an event; to the (tired) satisfaction of having organized one of the best events in the city (and actually managing to have raised funds at the end of it!)
  3. From randomly doing stuff in the first few sessions; to carefully planned and documented sessions with sports and life-skills components.
  4. From the not-so-enthusiastic and sometimes skeptical family; to the super-enthu and supportive family – without whom half of this would never have happened.
  5. From working from home and coffee shops; to working from a tiny office we can call our own (thanks to a generous supporter who gave us space)
  6. From the continued disappointment of trying to raise funds from big corporates and funders; to so many bits of encouragement from each of the small contributions of our supporters, each like on facebook, each appreciative comment
  7. From the doubting thomases (“you left your job and are going to do… what?”, “what will you do with no income?”); to the doubting thomases (“you work with 500 children each week?”, “your tiny team does so much?”)
  8. From the lows of “Am I actually making a difference?”; to the highs of awards and competition successes.
  9. From the many challenges of working with freshers in their first jobs; to the privilege of working with a young team of people whose hearts are in the right place.
  10. From the introverted I-prefer-being-with-dogs-more-than-people-person; to the (still reluctant) promoter, presenter and shameless-fund-seeker for the cause.
  11. From the crazy 14+ hour workdays looking after operations, HR, admin, finance, fund raising, evaluation, PR and fighting new fires each day; to the smiling faces at our sessions that makes all of it worthwhile