Can I change the stereotype that startups are not for a specific stream? Today, I am asking this question to myself. This is because, somehow, I am unable to change this myth.
I am trying to deliver my best to my state, but don’t guarantee that everything will be perfect. Bihar is a political state wherein three year old children talk about politics. Boy, that’s surprising! Now, just imagine what the condition in the government organisations is where you try to bring about a positive change.
I am not the first one in Bihar, nor alone, who is trying to bring that positive change in the state; there have been too many in the past and too many now. But, the condition is the same in the state due to internal politics in the entire institution and the hierarchical structure of the system.
Those who are smart enough to leave Bihar and settle in other cities or countries on account of their laborious nature, they end up holding good positions professionally. But, those who reside in Bihar are at the same place due to their rigid nature to fight with the system and to change it.
Nowadays, I see that institutions are using words like startups, innovation, entrepreneurship as a fashionable statement just for the sake of attracting students to take admission in college. I am unable to understand that if there is no proper Entrepreneurship Cell which is fully operated by the students, how do these institutions plan to give their students the platform that they are claiming. Every single institution is just putting these words in every course, but the bitter truth is that they are ultimately not providing anything to the students.
They don’t have an idea about startup culture or anyone’s entrepreneurship journey- which is why they think it’s okay to put it everywhere rather than developing and working on it properly.
Startup and entrepreneurship are not about the course or curriculum; it’s all about your experiment with your experience, execution of your idea into reality, and validating your thought process. You can’t make anyone an entrepreneur, until or unless they have guts to keep their patience high, and are ready to fail numerous times.
Secondly, I had a word with students of Magadh Mahila College and Patna Women’s College regarding startup related workshops and seminars which were organised on their campuses. Each time students shocked me. They directly told me that the principal had restricted them from attend it because he felt that startups are only for B.A Economics Students and BBA Students.
I witnessed this incident at Magadh Mahila College myself, while I was invited as a speaker for addressing the students. They didn’t allow them to join the program and as a result around more than 50 girls were waiting outside of the college campus to meet me. Later, many more connected on social media with me to discuss their startup ideas.
Now, I have questions for the principals of these two colleges: Why do they feel the need to discourage students from other streams streams to grow and enter in the field of startups. There are too many live examples in Bihar which indicate that entrepreneurship is for each and every stream. For example, Sukriti Roy Yadav and Yashi Malviya- founder of Bihar Bytes- are from mass communication graduates from Patna Women’s college; Rambha Jha of Hand World who is from J.D. Women’s College, and Namita Priya from Hastnupam who drafted the first proposal of Patna University Incubation Hub with me, have done Masters in Arts from TISS.