Have FIRE in the BELLY? Go! DARE!!

I came across a very good magazine a few days back. Itself a start up, it deals with the issue of entrepreneurship. The magazine is aptly named DARE, with 'R' in color Red, which interestingly refers to fire, Red in color, which burns in the belly of the entrepreneur.

A visit to their website (which is still dysfunctional, except the home page) proclaims out rather loudly “NOT SUITABLE FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO PLAY SAFE.” Rightly so, being an entrepreneur is a very risky thing, and although there is very different kind of excitement in creating something new, from the scratch, not many people risk to trade in this rather rarely traveled path.

However, I feel that the magazine is very rightly timed, and if you follow it over a period of few months, you come to know that it has already established its following, which continues to grow with each new issue of it.

With the opening up of the economy the urge to take risks has increased manifold, and there are Indians today who are not content with their nine to five job, and would love to soil their hands and make something new from the scratch. There are many who have brilliant ideas with huge potentials, but are not that well known as of now. And we find them going solo in fields as diverse as pharmaceuticals, auto parts, solar energy (SELCO is a rather new and innovative player in this field), microfinance and automobile services. So while suddenly there was this news a few days back of a rather unknown Maneesh Pharma acquiring 51% stake in US-based Synovics Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed amount, the facts that close to 97% of the parts used in Nano have been made by Indian firms is not a secret anymore.

However, while there are opportunities all around for anyone who is innovative and original, there are problems aplenty as well. Starting from the unchartered territory of large number of confusing and probably unwanted laws, there are problems of procuring funds in order to grow one’s business and make it profitable as well. Besides, initial years can be very disappointing and lonely, and it is at such times that one would find the need to communicate with people who are either on the same path as themselves or have been through the same already.

DARE, I find, is a magazine handmade for these very circumstances. Not only does it provide highly needed exposure to start-ups, it also comes up every month with report about exiting opportunities in fields as diverse as waste management and urban mass transportation. Moreover, it provides information as to how and where to look for venture capitalists and angel investors who may be interested in investing in one’s business, apart from dedicating two sections “FEEDBACK” and "EXPRESSION" which act as platforms for readers to interact and share their problems and knowledge with each other.

Although employed as of now, I myself cherish ambitions of starting my own business a few years down the line. No doubt, I have become a regular reader of DARE myself, and recommend it sincerely to those who have that hot, red Fire burning in their belly.