Recently, I saw a post by a foreign national on his social media handle where he was marvelling at sheer number of ‘founders’ in his Linkedin connects. That made me check out my contact list and I feel I can give the aforementioned gentleman’s contact list a run for its money.

Jokes aside, this is a welcome development from the time when we depended on a few people to generate employment apart from the government.

Back in our parents’ time, business or entrepreneurship was a forced option on people who couldn’t find a ‘decent’ job unless it was the family business. That might have led to the mindset where to this date, parents are not the most supportive of one’s entrepreneurial pursuits unless you are extremely lucky.

I remember when I left my corporate job and started working with startups and started my venture, my father seemed to have enough. He sat me down and asked me why I was doing it, what was missing in my life that I planned to compensate with these (mis)adventures and why this was a really bad idea. To this day, he blames for putting these ideas in my husband’s, my sister’s head and while I have made peace with it, this has become an uneasy conversation to be had on the dinner table.

2 weeks back, a classmate of mine from college committed suicide. It seems his business of solar energy equipments got stalled due to the current pandemic situation and he couldn’t take it any longer. While I wasn’t friends with him or connected with him but it made me check out his social media profile. Since that day, I cant stop seeing the image of his 2 children when I close my eyes.

I cant stop thinking about his mental state when he took this decision, cant stop wondering what he must have gone through when he thought, this is it.

Did the walls close down on him, did no door open when he knocked or was he too ashamed to knock, did he not find a compassionate ear in any of his friends and family?

The world is a tough place and it has somehow been designed to make all our plans fail. Anyone who makes it work despite this, is hailed as the hero and those who don’t, well, to hell with them because none gives a damn.

While it is great to idolise successful ones, it would make sense to hail the courageous ones who tried but still didn’t succeed. For they are the ones who will have the most valuable lessons from their mistakes and will have the humility to advise.

Most of these defeated warriors go into their own shell, give up or keep struggling until something gives in. It takes grit and the strongest will, mental strength for someone to keep at it and if they succeed, they become tough as nail or brittle as a glass and develop a thick shield around them to hide these insecurities.

For the ones that give up, not because they lacked the strength, but because the external factors didn’t allow them to persevere, what are the options left. Lets see (a) find a traditional employment (b) none

Now these people don’t have the requisite skills to land a job immediately so what awaits them, rejection, frustration and not to forget, mounting debts, bills and societal expectations. Thats when I guess, the options exhaust, the walls close down and the easiest option seems to be, to end it all!

I have been part of journeys on both sides, successful n not so successful and I know what it takes to be by the side or be in those shoes.

Let me tell you, it takes a different level of grit to persevere but let’s not underestimate the ones who walk the path alongside. Our job is equally important because you need to make sure the person doesn’t feel like a lesser mortal just because they don’t contribute to the trappings of normal life as they are trying to get to their purpose in life. Just like any other load, this support wont have been as intense if we had someone specialised and understanding to come in as needed.

A spouse is mostly all rolled into one but if you split these roles, one might need a therapist when you hit a low, a nutritionist when the stress plays havoc on the body and a lender when the bills become too much to pay.

I feel that there is a strong need to create a support group that can give a patient hearing, advice or just a sounding board to anyone who was bold enough to venture out on his own.

The idea is to create a community of wannabe, anyone running a venture/self employed so they can use to vent out what bothers them but will slowly evolve into a support system which gives them advice, help and connects to be more confident in this long and arduous journey.

Happy to hear feedback and ideas that help this initiative in the right direction.

A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ comment might help me formulate this idea and could potentially save lives and sanity of those who should matter.