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Are you a budding entrepreneur? Here are 9 books that every aspiring entrepreneur should read, written by Indian authors!
Are you a budding entrepreneur? Here are 9 books that every aspiring entrepreneur should read, written by Indian authors for the Indian reader!
Entrepreneurship has witnessed its rise as one of the most explored lines in recent times. It gives one financial freedom, and respect, and brings to life the ideas that they might have been harbouring in their mind for quite some time.
Yet, there are times when an individual hesitates to take that big leap into starting something of their own. Despite having the resources, they may be looking forward to some form of assistance or guidance from people with experience. This is where the books come in.
Books are a powerhouse of knowledge, and the best mentors in times of need. We have curated a list of 9 books by Indian authors that will inspire the entrepreneur within you.
In a profession, relatability is the most important. As a layman, you can look at entrepreneurship and wonder if you are fit for it. Hence, we begin our list with a book that narrates 20 stories of entrepreneurs who made it big without having a traditional MBA degree.
Each of them is set against a different background, yet they are bound by the passion they harboured towards their venture, and how they helped it grow from rags to riches.
Textbook knowledge isn’t everything, right?
Kulkarni, who has been an investor, and mentor to several start-ups, uses his experience to bring about this book that can be considered as a complete guidebook for angel investors. For the uninitiated, angel investors are those who invest money or provide capital to small start-ups that have the potential to grow big, in exchange for some equity in the company.
This book talks about the strategies, and the tools, that would make one a successful angel investor. Right from identifying the start-up potential, to pitfalls, to the estimates, it is a read that makes entrepreneurship look luring to everyone.
This book maps out in detail the 10 stages of a start-up venture that successful entrepreneurs have discussed via lectures as part of the IIM Ahmedabad series of “How to Start a Start-up”. Sharing personal anecdotes, they have imparted their hard-learnt lessons so that mistakes are not repeated.
Through 15 interviews, it aims to educate the young entrepreneurs about the importance of passion as a driving force, convenient opportunities to be grabbed, lurking dangers, and challenges that are unique to the start-up setting in India.
The biggest name in the world of Steel, Lakshmi Mittal’s journey is an inspirational story of rags to riches. Lakshmi Mittal is a name that is vastly respected in the business world. He is the CEO of the Arcelor Mittal, the biggest steel company in the world.
This biography entails his education, his first setting up of the industrial steel plant in Indonesia, to the acquisition of his biggest rival Arcelor. But the book is not all about his upward journey. It also charts the trying times that were lurking upon his business and his family. It is a book, that is humbly grounded and real, that inspires.
Consider this as an angel guidance to the entrepreneurial energy within you. It breaks down in simple language what being a high-performing entrepreneur means. It maps out meticulously the do’s-and don’t’s, right from the start of the business to the initial level IPO offering.
The book not just focuses on individual passion for a start-up, but also teaches its readers the importance of an entrepreneur that makes money for everyone associated with his company. In simpler terms, it lays down how as an entrepreneur you can help not just yourself but your entire team.
What comes as a bonus is an additional chapter that brings to spotlight the various strategies that IT companies have adopted that make them a global success.
Via this book, the author exploits the idea of youngsters being the future of tomorrow. The Indian start-up scenario is witnessing a boom in recent times, and that is expected to continue for quite some time. In fact, the New Education Policy also encourage young entrepreneurial minds to launch their start-up. Hence, reading this book can be the first step towards it.
Bhaag covers the journeys of 11 highly motivated entrepreneurs who hail from different backgrounds, have faced different challenges and shortcomings, yet have emerged victorious in their establishment. And guess what? They are all students. Not from IIMs or IITs.
Point is, if they can, you can too.
Till now, we have been dealing with starting a business, but an equally crucial aspect of entrepreneurship is to transfer ownership when things are no longer working in your favour. There would be times when everything goes wrong despite trying out every possible strategy.
An exit need not always be a sad one. It just requires a good sight, a dual understanding- not just of the business aspects of finding the right partners, timing, finances, decision-making, or executions; but also, the emotional games of preparedness to transfer their brainchild to someone else before it sinks.
Bansal narrates the journeys of 25 IIM Ahmedabad who left their lucrative corporate jobs to venture into the entrepreneurial journey. Despite understanding the risks, challenges, and possible setbacks involved in such a journey, these young entrepreneurs chased their ambitions and worked on their dreams.
It urges young graduates to look beyond the comfortable life of corporate salaries to stride to create something of their own. These entrepreneurs were chosen meticulously by Bansal. Despite their IIM background, it tells stories that are unconventional, inspiring her readers to do the same.
The book is best summarized by its subtitle- Six Practices to Thrive at Work. Written from years of experience as a teacher and mentor to young entrepreneurs, the authors answer questions that every curious reader would have on their mind before they begin their career.
It is not just a layman read, but also provides an insight to young entrepreneurs on how to create a productive environment where each member their shares of contributions. It provides a perspective from the workforce’s point of view, which is equally essential to make a start-up turn into a successful business.
Given that running a business needs abilities that are concrete in nature, these books prove that abstract concepts like imagination, and creativity are also what makes a business unique. In case you are not into business, they still make interesting reads that you can pick up during your leisurely hours.
The 9 books that every aspiring entrepreneur should read, written by Indian authors, are available in both paperback and ebook format.
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The author is a Gen-Z kid who resorts to writing to vent out about the problematic ways of the world. Having majored in Theatre, English, and Psychology, I take a guilty pleasure in complex read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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