Get up and walk every time you fall.” That’s probably the best takeaway this book offers. But there’s loads of advice here for budding entrepreneurs. And since it’s from people who have been there and done that, more often the hard way, it’s worth listening to.
Rashmi Bansal’s profile of 25 successful business people, all from IIM Ahmedabad, who tell her how they reached where they have, couldn’t have been better-timed. A liberalised economy is allowing an increasing number of youngsters to give up jobs to be on their own, and they would gratefully appreciate a tip or two.
Bansal, herself an IIM-A alumnus, has met up with an interesting mix of entrepreneurs, among them Sanjiv Bikhchandani of naukri.com, R Subramanian of Subhiksha, Rashesh Shah of Edelweiss, Shantanu Prakash of Educomp, Deepta Rangarajan of Iris and Vinayak Chatterjee of Feedback Ventures. Many of their stories may be well-documented, but it’s nonetheless fascinating to read about how they spent their childhoods, how their college years shaped their personalities, how they struggled to keep their businesses going, and how they brought themselves to make personal sacrifices.
Shantanu Prakash’s first office, for instance, didn’t even have a fan. Vijay Mahajan lived in villages, away from his family, for long stretches of time. As makemytrip.com’s Deep Kalra says, it’s hard when you’ve put in your life’s savings and you don’t draw a salary.
There are plenty of nuggets: try to be early, base your business on deep customer insights, start small and expand after you’ve got the processes right, don’t exaggerate the business plan when trying to raise money. Or suggestions that may seem obvious (Is the business inherently scalable? Is the market opportunity large enough?), but which a budding entrepreneur may nonetheless want to ponder.
There are basic insights on entrepreneurship. Bikhchandani believes that persistence is a must-have. For many, though, it’s passion that’s more important, the urge to do something different and on one’s own. Chatterjee says money is just a by-product; it’s the challenge that counts. He admits to making mistakes—Feedback Ventures was saved from extinction thrice. Also, one should be able to give up control. “Control,” says Cyrus Driver whose Calorie Care serves 600 special meals a day, “is not as important as the brand becoming bigger.”
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One of the more inspiring stories here is Vijay Mahajan’s, who pioneered micro-finance in India and whose BASIX has provided on-the-ground professional and technical assistance to NGOs. Mahajan had always wanted to address issues of inequality and social justice. It wasn’t easy but he persevered and ultimately found success. Thanks to his efforts, money earmarked for backward areas was well-utilised and made a difference to a large number of people in villages.
Venkat Krishnan’s tale of setting up GiveIndia, a philanthropy exchange where donors can hook up with NGOs, is heartwarming. A brilliant student who slept more than he studied at the IIM, and was nicknamed “Fraud”, Krishnan could have earned millions. Instead, he chose to help Sunil Handa start Eklavya, a school with small classrooms and financial assistance for low-income students. Later he set up GiveIndia. Krishnan makes an interesting point about how useful being an IIM graduate is. It allowed him tremendous access to people—they readily let him into their homes when he was trying to get students for the school. The other lesson he learnt is the power of a person-to-person sales pitch, which is unmatched by automation.
The founder of Eklavya, Sunil Handa’s story too is fascinating. Handa whose father started life as a mill mazdoor had a difficult childhood because he couldn’t speak English and was teased and bullied. He overcame this handicap to become a good speaker and student. It turned him into a fighter and he went on to help organise Madhubani painters, all women, into a society so that they could earn more through their work. Later he set up Core Parenterals which became a Rs 600 crore firm. Much later, he set up Eklavya.
The other inspiring tale is that of Vardan Kabra whose Fountainhead School in Surat is partly inspired by Eklavya. Initially plagued by dejection, Kabra finally realised he needed to start small, and cobbled together Rs 13 lakh for the project. Fountainhead has just started its first full-fledged school. Kabra believes you have to start with your head in the clouds; that’s what gives you the courage to take a foolish decision instead of the safe one.
It’s been a long and arduous journey for these entrepreneurs; many are still making losses. Determination matters, but ultimately, so does destiny.
STAY HUNGRY STAY FOOLISH
Rashmi Bansal
Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, IIM-A
Rs 125; 325 pages