Will Lack Of Talent Cause Bust 2.0?
(Rate this article)
Loading ...Email It!
I’ve been wanting to write about the sheer dearth of talent in the WAT (web, advertising & Technology) space since quite sometime now. But I guess with clear signs of a US slowdown and IT companies laying off people in India it couldn’t have been a better time to write about this.
Ive been a keen observer, blogger, analyst, coder (not professionally), employee and now entrepreneur in the WAT space for almost 3 years now. Since the last whole year I have been recruiting, interviewing, evangelising and in some cases pleading people to join my young startup! Over time Ive realised two very evident things from all my interactions in trying to hire quality people for a internet or a mobile startup and those are.. You dont find knowledgeable or skilled staff.. If you do find them they are obscenely expensive and think that because you are a startup in internet/mobile space you would be making millions! I guess the latter impression is created by the facebook, google, youtube’s of the world!
Luckily or due to hard work (whichever you believe in) I have been able to self fund (more like revenue fund) and raise my staff size from 3 people to when I started over a year ago to about 11 people by end of this financial year. But when I do look back and even look ahead I see the lack of quality, motivated, entrepreneurial management staff being the no.1 hindrance to the growth of any startup in this space. I meet a lot of final year students and even 20 something mba’s/iits/iims who are so confident about their plan and keep blaming lack of funds as the only thing stopping them from becoming millionaires.
I sometimes just smile because its great to be at that stage when you have just a piece of paper and nothing else to count on or be accountable for. I guess the tough part arises when you want real people to invest their time (and not money) into that piece of paper to start a business. The toughest part arises when you realise that everyone around you somehow seems to lack all the ‘drive’ that you possess and the biggest challenge becomes finding someone with even 10% of your drive and 10% of the knowledge of the space. Even if you find someone like that it boils down to constantly selling your company to them and hoping that a similar larger funded player doesn’t poach talent from you.
But its not only about drive.. Its drive + skill + attitude that make a great startup team. Im one of the lucky few who after 1 year of intense selling has found a team that I believe has all of the above but still as growth continues the struggle to find the above kind of staff continues. And after 3 years of observing, analysing and being a part of this space I can surely say that lack of talent (which includes drive, skill & attitude) will cause bust 2.0 and not the US slowdown or Lack of money. Great prospective entrepreneurs and ideas will fail due to the lack of a great team.
Will bust 2.0 be as big as 1.0 in India?No! But it will surely create a deadpool of companies and failed entrepreneurs which is in the overall sense great for the Indian ecosystem which is still to create a silicon valley where failure is a norm and not looked down upon.
Being an key technology-follower and an aspiring entrepreneur myself (www.opensourcedeal.com), I dare say, I completely identify with your woes.
However, I really do not think there is a lack of motivational minds out there. I think it’s more or over-ambitiousness (is this even a word?). Why shouldn’t these actual-brains-behind-the-company dream about big fat sals and a cool office-space when most of their counterpart, friends (social-network or real) are actually living this life.
If you observe the start-ups in silicon valley, thats exactly how life out there is.
I think the real challenge for us (ok ok you), is to meet such demands head-on. If we want a great staff we are going to have to pay the price for it. It’s like cribbing about how expensive the Macs are
Thanks for your comment raseel. Id suggest you read a book called TopGrading. As a startup it will kind of really bring clarity on how to bring A Class people on board (incase you ever face that problem). Also Im sorry if my post came across as cribbing that wasn’t the intention. Its just that I set really high standards of who joins my company. Even an evaluation of drive + skill + attitude is relative from business to business and person to person. But the point I was trying to make that given the situation if there will be a bust 2.0 (in whatever small way) it will be due to lack of quality of manpower rather than any other reason.
I didn’t see the asfaq episode will trigger a full blog post here
But even you would agree that if you pay peanuts you will get monkey!
A reasonable point of view from one side of the table…. and partially agree to raseel but more on the lines of ‘opportunity costs’ for the potential employee, coz even if there’s drive and passion to do good work, he remains a professional, and is bound by the definition of that term. More importantly, i have also sensed reluctance on the part of the employer to invest in a person who’s not a ’skilled staff’ in a very sharply defined space. I believe the latter is a bigger problem, because it puts off people wishing and willing to be in the broad internet/mobile space.
I know you were not cribbing , in the true sense of the term, but no other popped in my head at that time. Well, bringing in A class people is something most entrepreneurs strive for and I won’t be an exception. But what I’m saying is when we are looking for a person with drive + skill + attitude, we need to understand that he’s gonna expect cool place to work + hefty sal + exponential career development.
Ok, I know I might be exaggerating a wee li’l bit here, but the point is the bust 2.0 will be more due to “clone” innovations rather than lack of right manpower
Agree with you Manu but I guess the point is if its not skilled staff then he or she should come with a attitude of learning and growing both in terms of work and money aspect.
But the call centre culture and various other high paying jobs just kill the startup culture and attitude required in people.
Startups require self starter entrepreneurial staff and unfortunately if there are people like that they are either on their own or are paid to well to have the guts to join a startup.
Just an insight. Most brilliant people ive met are not looking at money and are infact looking at their role and what value they bring in and how they can change the course of the company. A cool company is one which enhances you to being a better professional a more knowledgeable person and ofcourse in a startup you become rich in due course time as well. But best teams are formed when the focus is not on whether the ac works in office or whether how fat my pay check is.. its how do we make a difference. How can we work together to build the next big thing. This unfortunately is a state of mind few people have.
The brilliant people you mention no doubt exist, but this segment is VERY small amongst freshers and people with less than 5 years of experience, who have graduated from average institutions and employed in a services based company fixing Bugs. The majority of this specimen is an IITian or someone similar. In this case, since he is aware of his brilliantness (apologies for impromptu word creations ), demands more money.
Again, the majority of the aforementioned young IT professionals (the bulk of whom are the targets under consideration in this argument), would prefer a working AC more so because of the comparison with his peers.
Again, in an ideal world, I’d love to recruit the person you have described. But in 2008, I’ll have to employ an average joe and carve him into your ideal employee
Well said raseel. Partly what Ive done with my company as well. But such people do exist and can be groomed in colleges as well. At the end of the day its about being clear about your vision and attracting people who breathe the same passion and enthusiasm that you do but bring in different skill sets. All of this though idealistic is what makes great companies which as a term is idealistic too. The bust will be a function of clones made by mediocore staff (who do only whats told to them and dont use their brains!) because innovative staff was either unavailable or just too expensive.
I agree. The entrepreneur has to be an idealist. Leave the pragmatism to the CTO
I repect your views on this topic more so than mine, since I still have to take the plunge. My arguments , I might confess, were with myself more than with you. I’m just preparing for the real world.
Well…as a professional working in the like field I would rather differ a little from you both.
I mean I would like to mention that I myself have left quite a secured job to be with a start up…that is in reference to what Rajiv has said. But then again I doubt whether I would have really joined this company if I was not so sure of the success that it will achieve working with some innovative 2.0 concepts…so I somehow agree a bit to Raseel.
Well, the point is those who are hiring have to be unique in some way or the other so that people get the confidence and take the risk of facing an uncertainty by joining them ! (what do you say about it Raseel?) I mean either it has to be a good salary or an exceptional business idea that will draw the present generation professionals towards it.
On the other hand, as Rajiv said, there are people who are ready to take the plunge just for the sake of bringing a change. But I’m afraid Rajiv,…now a days from early childhood we are taught to compete (with everyone irrespective of friends and relatives). This poses a long term effect on the professionals (apparently brilliant)always wanting to be a step up than their fellows and people around in terms of money and position.
So, I don’t think it’s about the lack of talent but it is, I feel, how people’s approach to ‘SUCCESS’ and ‘CAREER’ has changed.
You can go through some interesting study on 2.0 concepts at the following link…
http://maketicklive.com/blogs/
Innovation can be a MAJOR incentive. In some cases, more than money. But the minds that understand concepts above that of money, are scarce. And Seemantini, can you really blame people for having such grand delusions of SUCCESS and CAREER. Today, even an average computer engineer or BCA will get picked by resource-hungry MNC for a fat salary, international trips, international working environment, etc. Why would such people (again, this is the VAST majority) want to risk all this after spending a below-average lifestyle all their lives ?
@ Raseel & Seematini - I guess we need the people who understand concepts above money (Concepts like co creation of longterm value.). Its those people who make great companies who understand value better than money. Hiring in a startup is a challenge because its all about finding highly talented, flexible and cost effective people who absorb and the atmosphere and then tranform the organisation with their talent, inputs and ability to play multiple roles with equal ease. Such people join a startup not because they have air in their heads its because they are very clear of what they want to learn and hence join a startup to add those skills. I joined a startup to head their digital marketing division for 6 months. In six months from one person i took it 6 people and 10 clients through cold calling initially myself. No one told me what to do. I did it coz it made sense to me. I was being paid 18,000 rupees per month. When i said i wanna leave the Founder offered me equity. I left nonetheless because I had done what i wanted to do and learned what i wanted to. Its then when I started WATBlog. Now the least I want for my own company is people with the attitude I had when I worked. So even if they work for 6 months they have helped taking my startup to a new level. Hope that puts my post into perspective
@All,
Just to make the discussion li’l bit lighter, Picture says more than a 1000 words…
First of all I would like to congratulate you for your success. I really appreciate entrepreneurs, who are ready to take up the risk in the market. India doesn’t lack talent but the problem is people are not ready for challenges. Definitely your article is going to motivate many such upcoming entrepreneurs. Thanks for writing this post. I will wait for your nest post.
I truly realise this problem as a huge barrier while taking off but another problem which deserves attention is the Employee turnover which from my experience is rather a bigger problem than the talent dearth we are discussing..If ever we manage to find a good talent , in no time their hunt for new job takes off..
agree with seemantini, if an employee takes a considered risk, and thereby shrinks his o.costs to a minimum, he would be willing to wager on current income to cash in later when the business is succesful… i think it boils down to a very subjective definition of ’success’, but thats something thats shaped by society, peers, background etc, and i can honestly say that even a decade back, the path of entrepreneurship (from a social perspective) was not exactly conducive, and hence maybe the reluctance from an older bunch of people to reduce their salary etc, and jump in for the sake of passion… Thankfully i see a change happening, and quite fast too…
Hey Rajiv,
Cant help but strongly identify with the article written…would recommend that you’ll hear the podcasts with Ashish Gupta of Helion on Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital in India on the Kamala Bhatt Show…would definitely help in gaining a few insights into the situation
http://kamlabhattshow.com/blog/2008/01/11/interview-ashish-gupta-of-helion-on-entrepreneurship-and-venture-capital-in-india/
Rajiv, I went thru your post. It is an interesting article. Many of the commenters have already hinted the solution. I am just reiterating it. If you can’t find talented associates for your company train them. Just arrange a brain storming session with your current associates and find how they could improve their levels. Invest some time and money in training. Devise some strategy for training for the next quarter. By training I did not mean expensive external training. You could devise training materials of your own.(Just as everyone know this is what our MNCs do). I would be glad to chat over this with you over gtalk. Drop me a line. (Nope, you do not have to pay me.)
Thanks Avinash for sharing the link. I shall surely hear it.
Dear Rajiv,
I think the efforts and time that you have put in choosing the right set of people, even if it has come at the cost of growth, would ultimately pay up. Had you compromised with your choices, attrition would have backfired.
In joining a startup, people should not think of number ACs in office, Grade of Cabs they are traveling in, Cost of Team Dinners etc. Instead, they should derive satisfaction from the magnanimity of what they are trying to create or achieve. That will be a true and sustainable motivation, that will carry a person through thick and thins of a startup.
Expensive cabs and swanky dinner will automatically follow.
BTW, I had subscribed to sms alerts of WAT but never received one.
Hi Rajiv,
Your article is appreciable; I was looking for some tips for entrepreneurs and came across SiliconIndia, this site really provides good stuff. I would want you to check this site too. http://www.siliconindia.com/register.php?id=Kq7U13RE
Do let me know, your thoughts on this site and probably if you do find it useful, I can recommend it to others.