3 Reasons Why " Start Up" Literally Means "Stand Up'

Entrepreneurship has since become an interesting affair for many millennials seeking to create employment rather than look for one. Although different people have different reasons for going into creating start ups and small businesses, the underlying objective is to be one's own boss and be able to earn an income without necessarily getting employed. Truth be told, neither way is smooth. Just the other day I was telling my colleagues, who were arguing about whether one who enjoys their job finds it painful. Well, my answer was, anything that does not involve sitting down doing nothing all day, all month and waiting for a salary or income is painful, whether enjoyed or not.

Having a start up is one of the most prestigious things in the world today (my own evaluation), more so if it seems to be making it against all odds. Speaking of odds, start ups face so many challenges that prevent their growth, and I am not going to talk about them now. I would like to establish a close link between Start Up success and "Standing Up."

1. Stand up to see opportunities

Start ups are meant to solve specific societal needs, fill demand/supply gaps, or create new products or services that the market needs but no one has realized yet. In fact, at some point, one may have to prove to people that they need something they didn't know they needed. All these are opportunities. Having a start up means lifting your eyes up to spot these opportunities and doing something about them, that is creating solutions, products and services to fill the market gaps. James A Martin highlighted the 10 biggest opportunities that start ups could take advantage of in CIO like consumer privacy protection, counter-terrorism mechanisms, financial technologies in emerging markets among others. You may want to take a look at them to identify where you fall.

2. Stand up to see what the future holds.

Market forecasting is one known way of preparing a product or an organization for the future. For instance, people may not need umbrellas now, but they will two months down the line when there will be heavy rains. Seeing into the future helps start ups to strategically place themselves at the receiving point of the advantage that comes with market demand variations. As an example, the rate of cell phone ownership in the Sub-Saharan Africa has grown almost exponentially since 2012 according to Pew Research Center with up to 65% in Ugandan, 73% Tanzanian, 82% Kenyan, 83% Ghanian, and 89% South African adults owning cell phones in 2014. Start ups targeting the mobile industry can see their expected trajectory from these statistics and strategically develop products that would take advantage of this trend.

3. Stand up from your comfort zone.

Believe me, anyone out there who has tried it will tell you that creating and managing start ups is a hot seat. You cannot work in a start up "sitting down." It is not all rosy, and demands so much from an entrepreneur. Start ups demand more than just getting embedded in a continuous routine of doing things. Lisa Evans in a bid to explain why you need to step out of your comfort zone says being an entrepreneur means taking on new challenges, trying out new things that may not work. She adds a statement from Dr. Elizabeth Lombardo, therapist and author of Better Than Perfect, who says “Breaking your own mold can only make you stronger and more confident to reach higher levels in your professional and personal life.”

Being an tech-preneur myself, I have learnt so many lessons since I got to it 4 years ago, and I do not expect to stop learning any soon. Every day comes with new challenges, new opportunities, all which need variable strategies to deal with.

One of the biggest opportunities for start ups is in innovation. I believe that innovation can come from any part of the world, as long as it is treated with the seriousness it deserves.

#BrianNyagol #College