Want to start up? How to tell your loved ones

Tech in Asia collates insights on convincing family and friends that one wants to start up

Many of us here are different, whether it comes to tackling problems that irk us or working on various markets. We adopt different methodologies to grow our respective startups.

But of course, we have a lot in common and more often than not, it’s about convincing your partner, friends, family that you want to start up.

Here are some insights through articles written by our community contributors.

Fresh out of school

You caught the startup bug during your final year in school. You went for an entrepreneurial program in college. You found a pain point to address with a reasonable market size and it’s now or never.

And then your family disapproved.

Christopher Quek recounted his pro-bono mentoring days at Angels Gate Advisory (AGA) where he met Joe (not his real name), a graduate of a local Singapore university back then who was starting up. He mentioned, “when speaking with parents or loved ones, it is always important to focus on keeping it simple and addressing their fears.” 

Leaving your stable job

Cheryl Liew was bombarded with questions from her relatives when they knew she resigned from her stable job to start her own business.

Her friends often asked her in curiosity what she was up to, since they couldn’t understand that being in a startup was just like any ordinary career where you… work. 

Selling your home or spending your savings

Sometimes, it’s more than just convincing your loved ones that you want to start up. You might need to take a part of your combined savings away or sell the house you and your partner lived in to bootstrap your startup. 

 

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.