Narayana Murthy shares lessons on building a startup, facing uncertainty

BENGALURU: Startups should have only one, not more than one boss, said Narayana Murthy, founder of tech major Infosys on Saturday, sharing lessons on how to build a startup.

"Every startup company must have only one leader. There cannot be two or three leaders. Just one leader," said Murthy in a candid conversation with his son, Rohan Murthy, Founder of Soroco at Moneycontrol Startup Conclave 2023.

"Once the managerial phase comes in, you invite managers to create systems and processes, establish protocols, invite independent directors, and have a good governance mechanism," Murthy said on devising leadership and organisational structure of a company.

Further, he stated that key attributes of entrepreneurs include "the power of imagination", "innovation" and comfort with "doing something unusual".

"Passion fuels your energy, enthusiasm, and ability to achieve the target, and for this, the leader must have an articulated value system."

When a business is in its nascent steps, hirings should be focussed "on competence," without which, "nothing will happen".

"The second is the value system. In the beginning, everybody has to trust everybody else implicitly. The only thing the employees have are your words. For this, you must be authentic."

He also implores employees to work together "as a team, in unison, there is a high probability of people buying into your vision, and that vision must have something in it for everybody."

Murthy also addressed the feeling of uncertainty and self-doubt among startup founders and advised not to panic and to trust in God.

"You should not panic. During uncertain times, I would crack jokes in the office and talk to them about how other people have gone through such times as well, and how God is with us," he said, sharing his example.

"Sometimes, logic doesn't suffice. There are moments when one must transcend logic, embrace faith, and believe in God."