A few days ago, I was talking to a friend from ISB..

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend from ISB. He expressed a passion that he has been 'thinking' about starting before our ISB days.

I asked him, so what's stopping you?

He said, "You know I don't have money issues. But you do know how hectic corporate life is. There's hardly any time."

As someone who has clocked 14 hours every day for work post my ISB MBA, I could totally empathize with him.

But it isn't necessarily the most logical answer if you want to startup. Here is why-

1. It is a 'myth' that you need to quit your corporate job to startup.

You have weekends and nights. There is a reason it's called 'passion'.

I was told by alums on ISB campus that you can't startup during 1 year ISB MBA if you want a decent job. I not only cracked Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and pursued exchange semester at Harvard. Infact, I leveraged these ecosystem to startup my venture. My HBS professor helped me in further refining the business model.

Post-graduation, I clocked hours during weekends.

2. Call it a 'passion project' than a startup.

It will sound less intimidating and doable. Nomenclatures we tell our minds are important. I called GGI my passion project for the 1st year of operation. It reduced a lot of stress.

3. Start small.

Create a prototype. Share it with your network (family, friends, school) and get feedback. I had shared GGI's idea within my ISB network to check the problem's reality and willingness to pay.

Time is the most valued asset as we grow. If you want to do something more than ordinary (starting a venture), you do have the 'time'. You need to learn to prioritize well.

While not everything is glory while running a venture, it does definitely bring more purpose to your work. Human beings are biologically evolved to create, and not work 8-11 (modern-day's version of 9-5).

You always have the time. Working well is hunting like a lion not grazing like a cow. Lions rest until they see an opportunity and then, suddenly, they attack with a tremendous ferocity (Source- My favorite modern philosopher, Naval Ravikant)

A good degree from IIT/HBS/ISB is like a cushion. It is supported to safeguard you shall you fail.

But you need to 'try first' to fail!

If you are interested in learning about GGI's MBA Scholar program, you can learn here.

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Author- Shatakshi Sharma, Cofounder Global Governance Initiative, Ex- BCG, Advisor, Tony Blair Institute