Tag: business reality

Your Core Team Is Not Who You Think It Is


Most people say this confidently:

“My core team is my partners.”

Fair enough.
Good partners are gold.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth I learned the hard way:

👉 Many businesses die even with partners.
👉 Many businesses survive and grow without partners.

The difference is not partnership.
The difference is the core team.

Let me say this plainly

A core team is not about equity.
It is about who shows up when things go wrong.

The people who:

  • Pick up calls when something breaks
  • Know your business better than your SOPs
  • Fix problems without drama
  • Think, “If this fails, I fail too”

They may be employees.
They may be vendors.
They may not have a fancy title.

But without them, the business slows down or collapses.

That’s the real test.

Why founders misunderstand “core team”

Because startup culture romanticised this idea:

“Find a co-founder. Everything will be solved.”

Reality check:

  • Partners give direction
  • Teams give movement

A car with only a steering wheel won’t move.
You need an engine, wheels, fuel, and a driver who knows the road.

That’s your core team.

What a core team actually does (in real life)

Not theory. Real life.

They:

  • Remember why decisions were taken 3 years ago
  • Handle customers when you are sick, stuck, or burnt out
  • Prevent small issues from becoming public disasters
  • Keep the business breathing during bad phases

Most founders don’t fail suddenly.
They bleed slowly due to weak execution.

A strong core team stops that bleeding.

Some uncomfortable examples

Apple didn’t scale because Steve Jobs had partners.
It scaled because people like Tim Cook ran operations like a machine.

D-Mart didn’t grow because of flashy leadership.
It grew because store managers, buyers, and vendors stayed for decades.

Zoho didn’t win because of funding or hype.
It won because employees stayed long enough to care deeply.

Closer home?

Every successful small business has:

  • That one accountant who “knows everything”
  • That one operations person who holds the chaos together
  • That one vendor who never fails you

They don’t own shares.
But they own responsibility.

Vendors: the most ignored core team

Let’s talk about this honestly.

That vendor who:

  • Delivers even during strikes
  • Adjusts credit when cash flow is tight
  • Saves you from embarrassing customer issues

If they walk away, your business feels it immediately.

They are external employees in spirit.

Treat them like price-only suppliers and you lose them.
Treat them with respect and continuity, they become your shield.

Want to know who your real core team is?

Simple test. No theory.

Ask yourself:

  • If this person leaves tomorrow, will my business struggle?
  • Do they know things I never documented?
  • Do I trust them when money, reputation, or deadlines are at risk?

If the answer is yes — congratulations.
That’s your core team.

Whether HR agrees or not.

The hard truth most founders learn late

A business with partners but no core team is fragile.
A business with a strong core team can survive almost anything.

Partners multiply vision.
Core teams protect continuity.

If you’re building a business, don’t chase only co-founders and equity splits.

Build:

  • Trust
  • Respect
  • Long-term relationships

That’s what quietly builds durable businesses.

When You’re Judged Only by Results: The Unwritten Rule of Our Times


I was that kid who never copied in exams. Even when I knew I’d fail and get caned by teachers, scolded by parents, and laughed at by friends, I stood my ground. I believed honesty would eventually get me somewhere.

But life outside those dusty classroom benches? Oh, it plays by a very different rulebook.

Out here, no one cares how many nights you stayed up studying or how honestly you wrote every word. They don’t applaud your discipline or your quiet sacrifices. They only ask one thing: Did you pass? The world doesn’t celebrate effort — it only worships results. The process is forgotten; only the scoreboard shines.

I saw people who copied, cheated, and manipulated — and they didn’t just pass; they got medals, got applause, and even got the spotlight. And me? I was left clapping for them from the sidelines, still holding on to my moral certificate like it was a VIP pass to success.

Truth is, history remembers the winners, not how the game was played. We remember who won the trophy, not who played fair. In business too, people are judged by how big their bank balance is, not by the sleepless nights or the fair deals they kept refusing.

Somewhere along the way, I realized: society doesn’t run on sincerity certificates. It runs on headlines. And as long as you don’t get caught, no one questions your methods. It’s a harsh truth, but it’s the truth nonetheless.

But in today’s world, everything is fair in love, war, and the race for success. Marksheets don’t show how many nights you cried, balance sheets don’t list your sacrifices, and award speeches never thank the honest failures. Merits are judged only by results — the headlines, the trophies, the follower counts. It’s a jungle out there, and no one asks if you hunted fair — they only admire the kill.

In a world obsessed with results, playing it straight is not just rare — it’s almost rebellious.