The Business Book

62

I F Y O U B E L I E V E I N

S O M E T H I N G , W O R K

N I G H T S A N D W E E K E N D S —

I T W O N ’ T F E E L L I K E W O R K

THE WEIGHTLESS START-UP

S

tarting a business requires

almost boundless energy,

unwavering commitment,

and the resilience to deal with risk.

But increasingly, the commercial

potential of the Internet is allowing

a growing number of “weightless”

start-ups to take flight. These

ventures are low on financial

resources, but high on individual

skill and the investment of time

to bring an idea to fruition.

Personal passion is an essential

ingredient in a successful start-up.

As Kevin Rose, founder of Internet

start-ups Digg, Revision3, and Milk,

put it: “If you believe in something,

work nights and weekends—it

won’t feel like work.” Even global

greats such as Nestlé foods and

Siemens electronics grew from the

dreams and aspirations of a small

group of people. These entrepreneurs

faced the risk of a new business

because they deeply believed in

something, and were driven to

realize their dream, despite long

hours, stress, and, often, a string

of failures large or small. These are

quickly forgotten when people are

doing something they love.

Traditionally, the main barriers

to enterprise were time and capital.

Entrepreneurs from nonwealthy

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Start-ups

KEY DATES

1923 Walt Disney starts

making professional cartoons

in his uncle Robert’s garage.

1976 The first 50 Apple

computers are built in the

spare room of Steve Jobs’s

parents’ house. A few months

later Apple moved “upscale”

to his parents’ garage.

1978 Indian master brewer

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founds

biotechnology company,

Biocon, in the garage of her

rented house in Bangalore,

India.

2004 Kevin Rose quits his

television job to found Digg, a

news aggregator website that

attracts 38 million users a

month during its peak. The

“office” is his bedroom.

Many start-ups require skill,

not capital outlay.

In a weightless start-up,

the risk is time,

not money.

The work can be done

initially on weekends and

evenings, but...

...if you believe in

what you’re doing,

it won’t feel

like work.