A law students guide to the galaxy of businesses: Make the best out of a Startup Saturday if you are in one of these six cities

Gul Panag at Startup Saturday, Bombay

What is the best thing about a law student?

If things have been working well in your law school, then it is your ability to look at things from different perspectives as opposed to the 'layman' – as we call them in legal parlance (remember those caselaws?) and think independently that makes you special. All those classroom habits of debunking and stuff come in pretty handy once you are dealing with clients – and competing with others who want your clients. As you enter the world of business as a lawyer, you'd see a lot of people making money, not sure of consequences, hoping they are getting things right, burning their fingers from time to time, but still, making money. As a lawyer you can offer them insight, give them confidence, show them how the system works. They love the lawyers for this and pay well as long as they make money.

Also count that as a lawyer you know some stuff that the rest of the world have no clue about, but most of the world can benefit from the knowledge, or your ability to look up relevant information as long as someone can get that knowledge into their skulls often made thick by false sense of omniscience.

What is the worst thing about a law student?

It is usually a complete lack of knowledge about how businesses work. Most graduating lawyers have no clue about the business aspect of the law – they just don't understand how businessmen think. If you don't understand how a client manages information and makes decision, you are doomed as a lawyer – no matter whether you fly solo or work for a law firm. Of course you can manage to learn things on the long run by observing and burning your hand a few times – but there are much better ways to handle this.

Think of company law – what do you need to know? Is it good enough to know the Comapanies Act? Hardly – for the act mostly tells you what are the things that a company must do, and what are the things that a company can not at all engage in. In between these two extemes is the vast universe of things that company engage in, and the Companies Act, or the books you read like Avtar Singh gives no clue about that world. Are you preparing yourself for that world? Do you know how businesses are run? Do you know how managers think? If your ambition is to be among the best of the best, you must think.

I found a solution in Startup Saturday

Startup Saturday can be your sandbox. You can see businesses being built from scratch, you can meet people who have been in the industry for a while, and you can talk to the people who need legal inputs from time to time – though they may not realise that they need if they are at an early stage. Even if you can't help out anyone with your lawyerly skills or legal knowledge, it is worth networking with early stage entrepreneurs just for the exposure to business and industry at a smaller (of complexity that you can handle) scale. Even for those who are just looking to join a cosy law firm job one of these days. You can see how your knowledge can abe used for benefit in the real world of businesses, you get some insights of how people in that world think, play and work, and gain confidence that any lawyer who understands his position in that world should be having.

What the hell is Startup Saturday?

If you have been reading my blog or keeping an eye on my activities on Facebook, you must have noticed me raving about Startup Saturday. It is a monthly event where entrepreneurs of all colours and hues (successful, struggling and wishful) meet up and discuss stuff. Usually someone who has made a mark in the industry is invited to speak about his experience, some entrepreneurs just present their business model and product and often benefit from the analysis and opinions of the assembled entrepreneurs, some of the rest make five minute lightning pitches (just a little more elaborate than an elevator speech) about an idea that they have, or ask for something that they think someone in the audience may be able to offer, and some just join the discussions during Open House. Everyone gets a chance to speak or ask questions at one point or the other if they desire.

Who do you get to meet and why do they come?

Well, do you think this is why entrepreneurs (and some other people who are not entrepreneurs too) of Bombay, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune assemble (and so can you if you'd like) every month on the second Saturday? I am afraid not. Most people come for the networking opportunity, to look for people who might know someone interested in funding a startup, to find talented people who might be interested in working with a startup or just to find someone who can tell them what is the next step. There is usually a good mix of experienced and unexperienced people, expers and non-experts, so the number of advice seekers and advice givers work out. Also, this is one place you can meet people with different kind of expertise – people who can help you out in various ways. No wonder the networking session at the end is usually extremely hectic.

Another very strong crowd puller I believe is the free flow of ideas and knowledge. I dragged my friend Mathews one of these days along with me, and here's what he has to say about SS:

"I attended start-up saturday for the first time. Like any other newcomer, I had certain apprehensions about the event. At the end of the day, I regretted not attending it earlier! Start-up saturday provides an excellent platform to think in different, interesting ways – ways in which a conventional mind doesn’t usually think of. It is really motivating to listen and discuss such ideas of young enterprising entrepreneurs."


Attending a Startup Saturday is simply inspiring. As you watch people who have succeeded in quitting their regular jobs to make a niche for themselves, you are likely to desire the same for yourself. The display and exchange of ideas is often stunning, and is likley to drive your brain into your own creative frenzy. For months I attended SS just for the kicks, for it helped to refresh my dreams of starting something on my own one day.

You can find a Startup Saturday in Kolkata, Delhi, Bombay, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune on the second Saturday of every month. I have been taking active part in organising the Kolkata version for a while now. I shall be glad to have any of you to help out with growing this phenomenon in Kolkata.