As architects we are forever starting-up, building green field projects from scratch or brownfield ones staggering up something with what have in our midst but in the real start-up world, what is built is sometimes physical, sometimes non-tangible and at the most digital, tech-oriented and thats what grows exponentially. While most start-ups intend to build a product, a service and then sell to the bigger companies, exiting at the right time and of course making millions, there are those that are built to last, well the Tatas and Birlas were at one time a start-up. So finally after 9 years of living in the Start-up Capital of India, I managed to find myself at a start-up conclave, where 11 people presented their ideas, that have been in the running for 6 months or more and showed their projections for the future.
As an architect I am not trained to read balance sheets, future growth projections, but then learning this aspect seemed so much fun, and it also is apparently what the world runs on. We do enjoy the products of the world and are deeply reliant on them. Watching how ideas come to life, is exactly what an architect envisions in every project, yet these ideas impact not just the few who use the building or see them but influence the economics of a place too. The brands that caught my fancy are of Debelle Cosmetix, a breathabale and cruelty free nail paint company, Naarica period underwear, who’s pitch was nothing short of stellar, the Moggu studio for fancy, feminine shirts, the healthy bowl compay Urban Fork founded by two very enthusiastic twin sisters educated in Boston and finally the Pink Earth, the girl who makes stunning jackets and skirts. With the fun round up I couldnt stop but wonder what product I would have like to start a company on! Just when I zeroed in to nails, walked in Ashwini the founder of Debelle!!
Well that just meant that I would have to think some more but the whole experience of seeing these entrepreneurs being mentored and firing up their ideas to execution was a high point. The josh as they say is always high in the start up circle and what better than to have the idea outlive you. The idea of making lives better, of owning the creative cycle of the idea, seeing it taking a course of its own is a lot like being an author or architect all the same, yet the risk and the rewards could at times be incomparable. From what I see in the start-up space the start-up could be either service oriented or product-oriented and apart from the intellectual property it has to be worked on from the team to the actualisation.
For once being in the start-up capital I felt enlivened by the feels of this space and I know whats going to be on my mind for the next few days! A start-up idea ofcourse!!
Vedasri Siddamsetty 