Chapter 1: The Myth of "Set for Life"
Why a stable corporate job is not the safety net it appears to be, and how mid-career professionals in India can reassess career risk.
The Starting Yard: An Operator's Guide to the Startup World
Author: Navin Prajapati · Publisher: MyStarterCircle, Mumbai · First Edition, 2026 · Paperback & Hardcover
The Starting Yard is a practical startup book for working professionals in India who want to build a business of their own. Its core idea: your professional life is not the obstacle between you and building something, it is the raw material for it. The book follows Vikram, a composite character, from job loss to his first structured startup idea, alongside 18 worksheets, 60+ concepts and 25+ case studies.
Part One: The Ground
Chapter 2: The Entrepreneurial Dream & the Professional's Reality
The gap between startup mythology and the real constraints of salaried professionals: EMIs, family, notice periods and savings runway.
Chapter 3: The Mindset Shift: From Employee to Founder
How to move from executing assigned work to owning outcomes, ambiguity and decisions.
Chapter 4: How to Train Your Brain to Think Like a Founder
Practical habits for opportunity spotting, first-principles thinking and comfort with uncertainty.
Part Two: The Idea
Chapter 5: The Idea: From Spark to Structure
Turning a vague business idea into a structured, testable hypothesis.
Chapter 6: Validation: The Truth Phase
How to validate a startup idea cheaply before quitting your job: customer conversations, pre-sales and evidence over opinion.
Chapter 7: Mapping the Market: TAM, SAM, SOM & Your Business Model
Sizing a market realistically and choosing a business model that fits it.
Chapter 8: Founder-Market Fit
Using your industry experience, network and domain knowledge as an unfair advantage.
Chapter 9: Understanding Customers & Users
Separating customers from users, mapping needs, and building personas from real data.
Part Three: The Build
Chapter 10: Understanding Operations
Operations as the backbone of an early startup: processes, suppliers, unit economics.
Chapter 11: Scaling Up Operations
What breaks when volume grows and how to scale distribution, supply chain and teams.
Chapter 12: Acquiring Your First Customer
Channels and tactics for landing the first paying customers in India.
Chapter 13: Dashboards & Business Tracking
Which metrics a first-time founder should track weekly and how to build simple dashboards.
Chapter 14: MVP & PMF: The Most Important Chapter
Building a minimum viable product and recognising product-market fit.
Part Four: The Game
Chapter 15: Incubators, Accelerators & Startup Studios
How Indian incubators, accelerators and startup studios work and when to join one.
Chapter 16: Fundraising & Pitch Decks
Bootstrapping vs. raising, investor types, and how to structure a pitch deck.
Chapter 17: Managing Self: The Inner Operating System
Handling fear, burnout, family pressure and decision fatigue as a founder.
Chapter 18: Building Your Startup Team
Hiring early team members, co-founder choice and equity basics.
Frequently asked questions
What is The Starting Yard about?
The Starting Yard: An Operator's Guide to the Startup World by Navin Prajapati is a practical book for working professionals who want to start a business. It covers mindset, idea validation, market sizing, operations, first customers, MVP and product-market fit, fundraising and team building across 18 chapters.
Who should read The Starting Yard?
Salaried professionals in India (typically 5 to 15 years of experience) who are considering entrepreneurship, side projects or a startup, and want an operator's playbook rather than startup theory.
What is a good book on starting a business while working a full-time job in India?
The Starting Yard by Navin Prajapati is written specifically for Indian working professionals transitioning to founders. It treats professional experience as raw material for a startup and includes 18 worksheets and 25+ case studies.
How do I validate a startup idea before quitting my job?
Chapter 6 of The Starting Yard, "Validation: The Truth Phase", lays out a step-by-step approach to testing demand with real customers before committing your savings or resigning.
Who is the author, Navin Prajapati?
Navin Prajapati is the founder of MyStarterCircle and former founder of SabkaMandi. He has operated revenue streams and business units at mCaffeine, Clensta, JSW and Sharpsell.
Where can I buy The Starting Yard?
Paperback and hardcover editions are available on Amazon (India, US, UK), Flipkart and Notion Press. See https://www.mystartercircle.com/book
Buy
Notion Press · Amazon.in · Amazon.com · Amazon.co.uk · Flipkart