Uncover The Entrepreneurs’ Paradox | Lessons Learnt From a Startup Mistake
Most founders start their journey with the fire, the passion, believing that their business ideas will work. A strong belief is definitely important for entrepreneurs to have. However, this belief can be “counter-productive” when they assume that they are doing the right thing, but in fact, they are far away from that.
Aspiring entrepreneurs only take action because they believe they have a real opportunity, but their belief can lead them to fail. These strong beliefs and taking action upon them reinforces their initial belief — which is usually only an assumption, a guess. It is what we call “The entrepreneur’s paradox”.
Today, we have interviewed the Director and CEO, Islam Abdullah to share his back story of Ylemer. Hear his real painful experiences while starting the new company, he has made the most common mistakes that most founders made. So hopefully, this can help you to avoid falling into similar pitfalls.
What made you consider venturing out on your entrepreneurial journey?
Having been fortunate to work in big organizations for over a decade, I started to realize that there’s something missing in achieving my full potential. I have always been keen to create something meaningful and impactful and that’s when I started thinking about evolving a business to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem.
How and what did you learn about running a business?
Like many other entrepreneurs, I self-learnt how to do business planning and creating related strategies, business processes, managing finance, finding the right team, etc. There’s really a lot to learn. It took me almost 2 years to understand how to build a startup after I made tons of mistakes and burnt much of my own investments.
How do you utilize what you have learnt in the process?
I am determined to empower other early-stage entrepreneurs who started like me without any support through Ylemer. So that they can avoid necessary pitfalls that I had to go through and be able to build a successful business out of it.
What would you like to say to your younger self?
Research. Research. Research. I cannot emphasize more on the power of finding key market insights in a systematic manner. This will not only make you more aware of the on-going trends about product development but also connect you better with your target market. And don’t forget to find yourself a great mentor. Believe me, I missed out on this and really classify it as “MUST”.
What message would you like to give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Entrepreneurship is the best personal development kit that you can work with. It is a journey that is way longer than you think. So, don’t let haste kill the thrill, enjoy its strides as you explore many of its opportunities. Don’t work with assumptions and keep pivoting unless you are completely sure that this is it!
This is why we plan on providing Accelerator Workshops in partnership with some of the most experienced mentors from all over the world. The workshops will offer the most essential knowledge specially designed for founders of different start-up stages. So, I highly recommend everyone to check these out, and also give us your feedback.
In the end, I would like to give my best wishes to all those who are striving to make a difference through their business in any part of the world. You will reach where you’re destined to be. Hang in there!
About Ylemer
Ylemer is an Entrepreneurship Acceleration Marketplace where founders and mentors connect to build successful businesses that drive impact.
Join our growing Slack community so you can learn more about our latest updates, and our upcoming events.
Visit www.ylemer.io for more information.
Written By:
Sandy Wong
Co-Founder @ Ylemer
