iNM Magazine Volume 7 | August 2015
Cover Story
Entrepreneurship is about being happy!
Sandeep Dev
Design Entrepreneur
work their way to secure their tomorrow, and in this process,
sacrifice their present. I believe we should make such decisions
that make us happy today, if we're not happy today, we won't be
happy even after our retirement from work.
Happiness is not something you postpone to seek in future, it is
something you carve into your present.
Personally, I make sure that I take at least two holidays a year. I
strongly feel that taking a break is important, as it helps to
picture a broader view of what we have been doing and what we
should be doing. The idea is to take a year long leave once every
five-six years and do things that don't constraint you. That's the
ultimate goal. This concept is inspired by a TED talk delivered
by Stefan Sagmeister. My efforts are on to make it a reality.
Happiness at work also comes with the space you work out from
and the people you surround yourself with. I am happiest when
the people who work for me feel secure and are happy about the
creative freedom they get. An interesting thing that we would
like to do as an organization is to go on a break with other
entrepreneurs and discuss stuff, which can impact society.
A design entrepreneur, I run a design studio, 17dnorth, in
Hyderabad India. I love each day of my life, but as I look at a lot
of people who are starting up just to make it big and earn a lot of
money, it's been a while that I've been thinking about what
entrepreneurship really means.
As an entrepreneur, it's important to set your finances much
before you start your venture, as that's the only way one can
make bold decisions without many liabilities. I had planned to
quit my job about 9 months in advance, and had started paying
off all my loans to wave myself off from any kind of EMI's. Once
that was done, I realized that we do not need a hefty salary. All
that we need is some basic money that can take care of the dayto-day needs. This induced confidence, motivating me to start a
venture of my own without having the pressure of earning more
to pay my EMI's.
“Happiness is not something you
postpone to seek in future, it is
something you carve into your present.”
We have taken a day long retreat before and have noticed that
our employees open-up to us & work out creative results back at
the office.
I know that
entrepreneurship
means different
things to different
individuals. A friend
of mine started his
business with the sole
aim of getting funded and expanding his team, so that the
business expands to different locations. He succeeded in
achieving every bit of his goal, so much so that, he's busy even
on weekends. This made me wonder about the balance that's
required in life.
I believe that your employees should feel that they are
discussing the ideas to a friend and not to a boss. With 'Boss'
comes 'Fear' and that may impact their creative thinking. I
would like to conclude by quoting Albert Einstein
“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a
man need to be happy?”
When I left my job 3 years ago with the intent of being my own
boss. I wanted to make my own decisions. For me it was about
how I spent quality time, with my family, friends, sparing time
for my hobbies like listening to music or going on a holiday. My
reason was not solely, money. I realized that a majority of people
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