Tl;dr Summary;
Started a business at 19 with minimal experience and initial capital from my mother. Faced skepticism about my experience, so I treated the business as a 10-year 'internship' for hands-on learning. This mindset helped me transform failures into learning opportunities. Grew the business from the ground up, now employing 100+ people, operating in 5 countries, and exporting to 40+. As I near the end of this decade-long journey, I'm ready to share my experiences and lessons to inspire others in business and entrepreneurship.
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When I started the Business almost a decade ago, at the age of 19; I only had 14 months worth of (Internship) Experience. While my mother did give the initial start up capital (of 300,000 LKR / <$1000), one main thing I heard (everyday for almost 2 years, until I started hiring) was “Sahan, what experience do you have doing this? Work somewhere, get experience and think about business later”.
Being a first generation ‘teen’ entrepreneur coupled with the fact that I was reminded daily of the fact that I didnt have any experience, I decided to consider the ‘Business’ an Internship on its own. However, not a 3, 6 or 12 month internship, but a 10-year long internship as the learnings from month to month, year to year have been completely different. The wealth of experience gained just in the last year alone has been greater than the previous 8 years combined.
From bootstrapping a company from the ground up to employing over 100 people, expanding operations across five countries, and exporting to more than 40 countries, I'm now in the final stretch of my 10-year 'internship'. The experiences have been rich, diverse, and immensely rewarding.
As I approach this milestone, I feel it's the right time to start sharing the wealth of knowledge and insights I've gained. My aim is to inspire, engage, and contribute to conversations around business, entrepreneurship, and the invaluable lessons learned along the way.
Personally for me, reframing this experience as the 'Internship in Business' has been a (growth) 'mindset' which has enabled me to accept failure & losses, turn wrong decisions to 'right' decisions through the countless learnings & experiences they offer.
#EntrepreneurshipJourney #BusinessLessons #StartupLife#GlobalBusiness #LearningThroughDoing #GrowthMindset