Why 2018 is the Right Time to Start a Startup

What do Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Balmer have in common? They were all around 21 years of age when Popular Electronics magazine announced the dawn of the age of personal computers. Had they been any older, they would have been techies at IBM. Conversely, any younger and they would still be in college.

They were at the right place, at the right time and grabbed the opportunity which came their way. Malcolm Gladwell explains this phenomenon in his book Outliers. Gladwell is of the belief that circumstances play a critical role in helping people become successful. 

He demonstrates this by explaining how 14 of the richest 200 people in history were born between 1830 and 1840. Mind you, this list consists of names such as Cleopatra and Akbar. These 14 individuals had the opportunity of witnessing the industrialization of the United States and used it to their advantage to amass vast riches. Some names on the list are, John Rockefeller (1839), Andrew Carnegie (1835), J.P. Morgan (1837), Frederick Weyerhaeuser (1834) and George Baker (1840)

How Does Technology Aid In Getting Rich

A most recent example would be the internet boom of the 90's. The economy was conducive to creating an incredible number of millionaires. But the economy of the 90's cannot even be compared to the present day scenario. The sheer number of opportunities today is simply mind-boggling.

Moore's law has kept up with the times and today you can program a spaceship with the computing power of your smartphone. Or you could use a cloud platform to build a wide array of applications ranging from AR/VR to IOT and AI use cases.

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Furthermore, it is not just tech-related companies which are set to gain. The emergence of the startup culture has created a cascade of events which has reduced the barriers to entry to other businesses and industries as well.

You can register a company, hire employees, find suppliers and manufacturers, get legal and accounting help, build your website complete with payment gateways and digital marketing services, all without even leaving your sofa.

Why India is An Apt Country for Startups

Being in the right place is as important as being present at the right time. India is currently riding high on the boom with a lot of factors culminating in making it one of the best places in the world for a startup.

1. Economy growth: The economy of India is growing at a rate of 7.1% which is much higher than the world average of 3.1%.

2. Foreign Direct Investment: India raced ahead of China and the US in terms of attracting the maximum FDI 

3. Startup schemes: The government is aggressively pushing the Make in India campaigns and certain startup-specific schemes with an aim to boost the startup environment in the country and encourage entrepreneurship.

4. Digitization of India: Majority of the Indian population have been largely living under a rock till now. But with the advent of startups like Paytm and the mobile broadband revolution brought in by Jio, a whole new world of opportunities have been opened up for the Indian entrepreneur.

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Strike While The Iron is Hot

This is probably the greatest time to be alive in and even more so for entrepreneurs. This is because entrepreneurs look or problems and try to figure out solutions while at the same time making a few big bucks of their own. And today, there is no dearth of problems to be solved while the tools needed for them already do exist.

Don’t lose the opportunity. It is 2018. Get. Set. Startup.

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