I have had a few very shocking revelations across the last 2 months – a period where I have not posted too much here…. but have been spending time “meeting young people”….
Young People = Girls and Boys around the age of 18 to 22 – (Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Dhanbad, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Varanasi)
They have QUESTIONS – which they have not been voicing…
Some Pertinent, Some Relevant, Some complete Rubbish… but they have not been ASKING…
So here goes a list of the top 10 – QUESTIONS…. and some are just my observations:
- What is a Start Up? Why is the Government putting up so many “POSTERS” all over about Start Ups?
- Yeh ENTER – PRE – NOOR -SHIP kya hai? Itna halla kyun hai? (What is Entrepreneurship?)
- Why does Rahul Gandhi look so “Pareshaan” (harassed)? (completely weird query – considering we were discussing Start Ups and how the Govt is trying to promote Start Ups)
- How can I use Twitter like Modi? (this one caught me by surprise – as I had assumed that someone from that age group would know Twitter. I also had a eureka moment – most young people in India aren’t on twitter)
- “So like the Govt will give me money to Start Something?” (high 5 moment and a small dance – and then a lot of excitement ranging from food to photography – where the Govt would GIVE them money!)
- Why do I need to “earn” mom and dad are earning na…? The funny part being that this came from a middle class family kid NOT a rich kid as you would expect…This was post a small group discussion on WHY youngsters should start YOUNG
- Why are you trying to get me to open a company? This was followed by giggling from the gang – and then he “dude” was like – ‘I shall have to work baba…’.
- “I got it! BUT I cant tell others – so I shall GET them here – and you tell them again! You remember all this S**t right?” It was obvious that whatever had been said – “leaked out”. So he was making doubly sure that I remembered it! And he did get a bunch of other friends for a gyaan session…
- Why are you here? This was the ultimate one – considering that I had been invited as a speaker on Entrepreneurship… 😉 (and the GOOD part – after the session the asker has joined my “gang of crusaders”)
- Why spend so much time on THIS? Why can’t I just get a job?
Now, these questions did manage to put me off my A-game for a few minutes… BUT they also made me realise that it would be all the more imperative for ALL of us in the space of Entrepreneurship and Education/Training – to help the YOUNG learn and understand Entrepreneurship.
Note – the Avg Indian age today is 26 yrs – and this avg shall continue to fall…the time is right to start jumping in and helping the YOUNG people get on board this boat…