My Entrepreneurial Journey


Posted July 30, 2018 by ErinJFlores

My Startup was accepted into Microsoft Bizspark Startup Program and got funded with thousands of dollars of Software, Azure credits and resources which further helped me scale my startup.

 
I belong to a small town of Bokaro Steel City, Jharkhand. I was in Std. 4, when my mom passed away. This made me wonder, what I can do to change lives of women, since they are the pillars of the society.

In Std. 8, I understood that I can create a great team which thinks of unique ideas to support my vision and work on that. That team was named Silverspark. However, that team failed to work due to lack of coordination. But, that experience definitely taught me how to step up, start thinking big and get out of my comfort zone.

Soon after that in Std. 9, I went to cyber cafés to build their websites which I recently learned at school using HTML at that time. I told them, if my website doesn’t pay them back, there is no requirement of paying me anything. They agreed and trusted the confidence in the young boy. I started working day and night on their websites – and with no money in hand. I didn’t possess any computer also, since I was in std. 9 and was supposed to focus on study. I used to plan my time and strategy at home and then used to go to cyber café to apply that strategy. I used free tools like Webs, Weebly, Wix and my basic knowledge of HTML to build their websites. But, I was not knowing how their websites will be monetized. By the time it was already 4 months passed. People started thinking like it was not going to work for them.

Since their websites were homepage for Cyber Café PCs, the websites attracted good traffic. While searching the web, I found Google AdSense Program in which I can place Google Ads in my website and earn money. I immediately applied for the program. But, my application was rejected many times. I need to work harder on the websites, improve their google indexing, SEO friendliness and much more, before they were accepted into Google AdSense program. The first website which was ever accepted from my portfolio in Google AdSense Program was ComputerGK.com and since then there was no looking back. Websites grew the ladders of success and Cyber Cafes too.

Soon I realized that I should start doing Freelancing and I started my career in Digital Marketing when I was in +2.

After, I passing +2, I joined IIM Bangalore’s IIMBx MicroMasters Program in Entrepreneurship. This course taught me a lot about Entrepreneurship, all the professors taught me a lot about Entrepreneurship including Prof. Suresh Bhagavatula, Prof. Ashis Mishra and Prof. Vasanthi Srinivasan. I am in the final stage of the course, but this course skyrocketed my Entrepreneurial Journey.

My Startup was accepted into Microsoft Bizspark Startup Program and got funded with thousands of dollars of Software, Azure credits and resources which further helped me scale my startup. And, now I have my own Pvt. Ltd. Company, Silverspark, the same one incepted 6 years ago.

I established the company as Digital Marketing company after my freelancing career. I am 20 now, and I look forward for expanding my company towards my vision.

One thing I want to highlight in my story – when I started doing all this – there were many demoralizing experiences like – people will say A teenager can’t do this, or you don’t have mom, you don’t have experience, you are alone so you can’t, friends also didn’t trust me.

But today, after running a successful company which allows me to sustain a good life in Bangalore, I will say that its your will which makes you a successful entrepreneur. There are two types of criticism – helpful and unhelpful. Go for helpful one and ignore the unhelpful one.

One of my biggest appreciation which I ever got was from Prof. Saras Sarasvathy when she was on visit last year in IIM Bangalore at an NSRCEL Event on Effectuation. And this was because her concept of Affordable Loss in Effectuation, proves true in my case – I am living example which used the concept of Affordable Loss without actually knowing about it.

Today, people come to me for taking advice on their startups and I really feel proud that I am able to help them.

My will to follow my dream, brought me here. Dreams are like Sparks in darkness. When they become fire in your eyes, only then you can realize them and see the real beauty of sunlight out of darkness.
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Issued By ErinJFlores
Country India
Categories Business
Last Updated July 30, 2018