Innovator To Entrepreneur: Journey From Being Tesla To Being Elon Musk

History and common lore are full of stories of brilliant minds that did not make too much money. Over the centuries, conditions have improved a lot and we have many successful stories of inventors turned billionaires. 

The inventor-billionaire combination is glorified now what with Ironman and his supposed real-life counterpart Elon Musk. However, the journey from inventor to entrepreneur is still not easy and has many hurdles that range from business realities to the emotional shifts needed to being an entrepreneur.

However, the noise too has increased quite a bit in the ecosystem with many alternatives to funding, incubation and acceleration. Many real and fake mentors with various thumb rules often contradict each other. A statement such as “Persistence is the Key to Success” in one minute is immediately preceded by “Fail fast, Fail often” – leaving the novices completely confused and sometimes leading them down wrong paths.

To top this, the media often projects a very incorrect picture of ground realities. They often lionise the entrepreneurs and paint them as lone warriors fighting risky battles. The reality is very different and the story varies hugely from person to person.

iKen is a bootcamp focussed on addressing these confusions and providing a clear understanding of entrepreneurship. It is meant for early entrepreneurs and novice entrepreneurs and provides clarity on the following points:

• The distinction between an invention and a product?
• Am I ready to be an entrepreneur? Can I be an entrepreneur ?
• Which path of entrepreneurship is suited for me?
• How/why/when to get funding?
• How do I decide when I don’t have enough information about the market?
• Emotional skills needed for an entrepreneur.
• Tools and techniques to understand the business and business plans.
• Recognising the real stakeholders.

We have customised the session for participants of Innofest Bengaluru-based, with a special focus on inventors, makers, ideation, and tinkerers. Please sign up here to www.innofest.in/iken

About the Author

Manjula Sridhar is a volunteer at iSPIRT and Founder of Argbyte