A New Year, but will be be Happy

The first day of the year brings symbolic "new beginnings," but in reality, it's just another date on the calendar. Unlike the winter solstice, January 1st lacks any astronomical or religious significance. Across major cultures, there are at least five different New Year dates. This one owes its existence to a Roman-era calendar, corrected in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII when the Julian calendar had accumulated 10 extra days.

Interestingly, the Orthodox New Year celebrated by believers of the Orthodox Church in Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Balkans and Ethiopia which is also known as the Old New Year, according to the Julian calendar is on January 14 in the Gregorian calendar. A festival that coincides with the Hindu Makar Sankranti festival in North India, Pongal in the South and Bihu in Assam in India's north-east.

Astrologically and astronomically, it is the day the Sun moves to Capricorn to Sagittarius and thus heralding mid winter and the oncoming spring, in essence a new year. The Romans celebrated it as the festival of Janus, the two-faced god and the Christians later adopted the same date for a new year as well. So Pope Gregory XIII was not only poor in math buts bereft of any astronomical learning as well.

For most startups, January 1st is business as usual—or rather, no business, as usual. Aggregators might see some revenue, but burn rates dwarf it. Brick-and-mortar businesses that call themselves Startups fare slightly better, but Tech Developers have it the worst: no clients, investors or income. Most founders spend their time scrounging for grants and attending training programs of various incubators, hoping for tips to break the stalemate and win clients, or an investor's ear (with an elevator pitch, first perfected in their local language).

Not surprisingly, in India with her gorgon's knot of red tape and the bottomless pit of graft, the fiscal New Year aptly starts on April Fool's Day.

The only people with relatively safe jobs seem to be the Incubator staff—organizing workshops, hand-holding startups, and recruiting "success stories" faster than a cult leader gains followers. While some programs offer value, many are repetitive or led by individuals with little entrepreneurial or sector-relevant experience. Many real-life issues are rarely addressed, for example: how can founders cope with or assist ageing and often sick parents living in other towns, pompous ignoramus bullies in the jury in pitching sessions, potential investors treating you like dirt, shameless friends and relatives asking for loans the moment you get a grant, or Chartered accountants who bungle compliance and saddle you with the hefty fines, or worse, demand higher fees than earlier agreed or waylay you with surprise bills when any funds trickle into your account. I won't even start on predatory existing businesses waiting to tear you to shreds as a newcomer, or the antipathy of the government machinery.

For most startups, January 1st is just another day of struggle. The only difference? The hangover makes it worse.