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Entrepreneurship is recognized as a panacea to many economic issues that arise in the Indian context. Having realized that, the government has facilitation of business establishment and empowerment of entrepreneurs on the top of its development agenda. While there is optimism building towards creating new businesses, World Bank has recorded that India is one of the most difficult countries in the world to start a business. It takes approximately 30 days for someone to start a business in India versus one day in New Zealand.

Apart from rigid structure and bureaucracy that exists in starting their business startup entrepreneurs face several challenges and hurdles along the path to growth. But thankfully, the situation is never completely void of hope.

Some challenges that an entrepreneur needs to be prepared for and address during their journey are listed as below.

Capital Deficiency

Startup ecosystem is considered to be in its early stage and so is the investor response. Business plans in the newer and foreign industries are not easily sought after by investors in the Indian context. Finding the right amount and kind of investment in a new sector is an increasing challenge for entrepreneurs.

Government and private sector investors have set aside funds through investment channels, but they are not available for all forms of business. As much as access to capital is an impediment so is the maturity if investors. Enough amounts of capital needs to be of the highest priority for the ecosystem and institutions facilitating entrepreneurship.

Team Competence

Having said that the startup ecosystem in India is nascent, teams fall back when they have to face crisis. Co-founders complementing each other, is a rare reality and this reflects in the number of successful startups that come up alive. A company is only as strong as its team. In order for a company to thrive in its field, it needs to be built and be supported by a dedicated group of individuals who can focus on their goal and at the same time drive the business to fruition.

A team’s talent, knowledge and competence are what result in the progress of any enterprise. While it is admirable to let novices prove themselves, an entrepreneur must continue to look out for the advancement of their enterprise. A single bad player crumbles the effort behind building an enterprise.

Lack of Reliable Mentors

Mentors prepare young entrepreneurs to fight on the edge and also smoothen their trail of navigating through the right network. Successful entrepreneurs who have learnt a great deal from their failures provide proven insights to the budding ones. The human capital required to nurture entrepreneurs are yet to be seasoned in India. Though business networks offer access to some big names, people with specialized skill sets would always add value.

The Art of Learning from Mistakes

No matter how hard one tries, there is no way of avoiding setbacks and mistakes. Boldness and courage definitely are commendable traits of successful entrepreneurs, but blunders have a way of sneaking up on even the most prepared individual. Inadequate research leading to bad decisions with drastic cutbacks on funds could inadvertently lead to the loss of time, money and the client’s trust.

A resourceful entrepreneur would figure out his/her mistakes, get the help they need to get back on their feet and be prepared for future challenges of similar nature.

Though these challenges daunt entrepreneurs during their arduous journey of building an enterprise, the inherent value of perseverance perpetuates them to pursue their dream and vision. Helping hands and kind words add a great degree of enthusiasm to their efforts and loneliness.

Though lonely, entrepreneurship also dwells into solving each other’s problems, finding solutions, co-existing and winning.