Truth

Actually, it is not. Most people who begin the process fail to get one up and running. Seven years after beginning, only one-third of entrepreneurs have a new company with positive cash flow greater than salary and expenses of the owner for more than three consecutive months.

Truth

The typical start-up only requires about Rs. 1,50,000 to get going. Successful entrepreneurs design businesses to work with little cash. Example: Infosys was started with only Rs. 10,000.

Truth

Debt is more common than equity. Many entrepreneurs use debt rather than equity. However, the composition of debt and equity must be worked upon.

Truth

This is a myth. Banks and various government schemes have been implemented with the idea of providing finance to budding entrepreneurs.

Truth

Most entrepreneurs head right for different industries for start-ups. The correlation between entrepreneurs starting and companies failing in an industry is 0.77 — most pick industries where they are most likely to fail. Example: Mahima Mehra started Hathi Chaap — making handmade paper from elephant dung.

Truth

Not true. The industry an entrepreneur chooses has a huge effect on the odds of growth. Example: Various dotcom companies mushroomed worldwide during the Y2K problem in 2000.

Truth

Also a myth. Entrepreneurship creates a lot of wealth, but it is very unevenly distributed. The typical profit of an owner-managed business is Rs. 2,40,000 per year. Only the top ten percent of entrepreneurs earn more money than employees.