When Bhavish Aggarwal, the co-founder of Ola Cabs, was asked what made him become an entrepreneur, he narrated a personal experience as the genesis of his venture. Apparently, when he was travelling by a rented cab once, he had a very poor experience. It then struck him that it was a huge pain point for cab commuters and it became his passion for solving it. His passion drove him into entrepreneurship.
The reasons for taking the entrepreneurial plunge vary from one person to another. Here are some of them:
Be Your Own Boss
Some people are not carved for traditional corporate jobs. They are easily bored. Hence they seek continuous challenges and creative freedom. They always itch to do something that makes them their own boss. They want to be in control of the business and call all shots.
Idea
Vijay Shekhar, the founder of Paytm, knew that he had a great business idea in his mind. The e-wallet technology could change the way businesses happened, and transactions were done in India. Even though he did not receive any financial backing from the investors, he was eager to transform his idea into reality. He invested his savings in launching Paytm. The rest, as we know, is history! And, we also have examples of the likes of Steve Jobs (Apple), Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbai and Nathan Blecharczyk (Airbnb) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).
When a person has ideas that are innovative, unconventional and disruptive, it pushes them into entrepreneurship.
Money
It is a fact that the money you can spin-off from a successful venture is many times more than what you would earn as a salaried professional. The lure to make lots of moolah is another motivation for people to test the waters of entrepreneurship. While the probability of failure and success is equal, entrepreneurs do not fear the consequences. They know that if their business becomes successful, the money will start flowing in eventually.
Social Objectives
You must have heard of social entrepreneurs. These are a breed of entrepreneurs whose core objective is to address the social causes of the society and make the lives of people better. The money is not their prime focus; rather doing good for the community is what matters to them. Take, for example, Shaheen Mistry who launched Teach for India to reduce education inequality in India and reach out to underprivileged children through a network of college and working professionals acting as teachers.
Family Business
At times, entrepreneurship is not a choice, but a compulsion to take over if it is a family business. The responsibility to carry the legacy forward becomes a reason to become an entrepreneur.
Whatever your motivation may be, it is recommended that you enrol in online entrepreneurship courses to learn the tricks of new business and develop necessary skills.