From scratch to success

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Vineet Bajpai, in his late 20s, is a satisfied man indeed. And why not? At this early age, as the CEO of Magnon Solutions Pvt Ltd, a web solutions firm that he floated in 2000, he is doing well.

Last fiscal his firm did business worth Rs 60 lakh; this year it is looking at touching the Rs 1 crore mark. Last week in New Delhi, Bajpai released his Build From Scratch, a handbook of sorts to help budding entrepreneurs realise their dreams.

"All my B-school friends wanted to be entrepreneurs but didn't know how to go about it," he says.

"When I started Magnon, it was with Rs 50,000 as investment and really no one as a guide. What I've put down in the book is what I've learnt through my experiences."

Bajpai lists some of the basic steps to become an entrepreneur:

Idea generation: be clear in what you want to do and of your business module.Shut yourself in a room and complete your business plan. Putting it down on paper helps you structure your plan.

Moreover, it is easier and more professional to approach investors with a written plan than to talk to them about your dreams of starting a business

Raise capital: try self-financing; today very few investors want to put money in start-ups; a better way is to get your business running and then approach high-networth individuals to invest in your venture.

Keep costs low: start with just the basic amenities that you need to run a business; you don't need a swank office with lots of gizmos to make money.

The toughest challenge is to build a team; you need the talent but neither do you have money nor a brand; but try roping in people who would want to share your dream .

Train your team; roll out your sales team; start networking to get business; your first few projects is most likely to come from friends, relatives or acquaintances.

The next stage is what's called the "staying alive" period; most start-ups tend to fold within the first few months; try to get a small but regular cash flow that will meet your expenses; you need to stay the course to make it big Stretch yourself: push the sales; try to be a bigger player Once your business has settled, it is time to come out with a vision: build your organisation for the next 100 years, concentrate on customer relationships, HR initiatives and brand building. This is the period when your start-up will slowly change into an enterprise.

So how does one know what business to get into? "It's basically a gut feeling," says Bajpai and goes on to add, "it's also keeping your ears and eyes open. I started my firm when the dotcom bubble had burst. But I knew that the web was here to stay and would be an integral part of our life in the years to come."

Bajpai is about to start work on his second book The Barbarian Managerwhere he posits that grit, determination and aggression are the keys to success.

Vineet Bajpai, CEO, Magnon Solutions Pvt Ltd, A 11, Lajpat Nagar-II, New Delhi "" 110024. Phones: 011-51720279, 51720059, 51720259, 29833453