Very well enunciated. Most Indian startups, especially the prominent ones, are not technology companies. They are retailers or service providers or some such. But they are run by engineers, and filled choc-a-block with engineers.
Often people accost me with the question, "why aren't you doing what startup X is doing?". Or, "domain Y is so hot. Why don't you pursue that?". Here is what I tell such people:
1. I'm an entrepreneur because I want to do what I want to do. If I wanted to do what others were doing, I'd be an investment banker by now (and be bad at it and miserable in life).
2. I see problems and I want to solve them. I see new problems all the time. (Some of you, I've bugged regularly with new product ideas). I don't see retail or technology services or AI as good problems for me to solve.
3. Which brings me to the most important point. What do I bring to the table when starting to solve the problem? The only thing I'm really good at is building embedded systems.
For example, I'd love to 'solve' rural healthcare. But do I understand healthcare? No. Disease? No. Cure? No. Maybe I can build some good remote diagnostics devices. But that isn't solving healthcare by a long margin.
Today's startups completely underrate the value of domain knowledge. Without decades of understanding of retail or healthcare or finance, how do you waltz in and shake things up? Especially when all you're armed with is code.
Often people accost me with the question, "why aren't you doing what startup X is doing?". Or, "domain Y is so hot. Why don't you pursue that?". Here is what I tell such people:
1. I'm an entrepreneur because I want to do what I want to do. If I wanted to do what others were doing, I'd be an investment banker by now (and be bad at it and miserable in life).
2. I see problems and I want to solve them. I see new problems all the time. (Some of you, I've bugged regularly with new product ideas). I don't see retail or technology services or AI as good problems for me to solve.
3. Which brings me to the most important point. What do I bring to the table when starting to solve the problem? The only thing I'm really good at is building embedded systems.
For example, I'd love to 'solve' rural healthcare. But do I understand healthcare? No. Disease? No. Cure? No. Maybe I can build some good remote diagnostics devices. But that isn't solving healthcare by a long margin.
Today's startups completely underrate the value of domain knowledge. Without decades of understanding of retail or healthcare or finance, how do you waltz in and shake things up? Especially when all you're armed with is code.