Source: The Economic Times.
Enticing salaries and zealous recruiters couldn’t distract them much. Last year, six IIM(L) students (including the batch toper) opted out of campus placements to turn entrepreneur. Five of them joined hands to launch two start-ups — a consultancy firm IndigoEdge and a health-tourism firm UniAxess.
Incorporated in May last year, they have received seed funding of Rs 16 lakh, landed six global projects and have tied up with hospital chains like Apollo.“These are early days, but for me it’s a dream come true,” says Anoop Radhakrishnan, one of the co-founders.
A decade back this would have been a professional harakiri. Leaving behind a high-profile well-paying job to start a company was the last thing on anyone’s mind. But easy availability of a good jobs, rising salaries and start-up funding is firing up dreams of bright Indians and also altering the risk-averse Indian mindset.
K Thyagrajan, CEO, Nirmalabs, incubator of Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF), says that unlike 15 years ago, sustenance isn’t the most important issue now. “Easy accessibility to capital coupled with a booming economy have instilled a positive mindset in people,” he says. The trend is most visible among the high-profiled corporate executives who are quitting their jobs at the peak of their career to start on their own. But students, fresh out of college, too are joining in.
IITian Satish Meena, after winning IIT Bombay’s business plan competition in 2005, has set up a start-up, Convis Technologies. Meena’s service-class parents initially did resist but eventually gave in. From IITs to IIMs — educational institutions are setting up e-cells, organising business plan contests and becoming hubs for bringing together entrepreneurs, angel investors. NERF of Nirma University has set up Nirma Labs as an incubator to spawn high tech knowledge based wealth generation ventures.
Then & Now
SOME of the biggest hindrances to starting business are no longer as daunting. Licence permit, the only way to start a business pre-1991, is long gone. Access to finance, a critical factor, that allowed only family-owned businesses to flourish has become more democratised. But the most important shift has been the trickle-down effect of the economic growth. “I know that a job awaits me even if my business doesn’t work and I can join them thereafter,” comments a young entrepreneur.
Headhunters seem to agree. Says K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International, “it is now considered an experience and not a drawback.” Talking about easy availability of capital, Ajay Kumar Kapur, CEO, Sidbi Venture, says that venture capitalists (VCs) entered the market when banks began to feel the heat of lending start-ups which was basically post-liberalisation. There has also been a change in the mindset now. It’s the idea of losing control and sharing business. “Earlier businesses were created for generations to follow but nowadays with the growing mergers and acquisitions people are willing to sell off their business which is important for a VC,” he says.
Start-up Ecosystem
Institutional support is also coming in. Colleges are introducing subjects on entrepreneurship or providing a platform for the students to live their dreams. Since its inception in 2005, FMS Delhi has funded eight entrepreneurs. Its International Entrepreneurship Challenge (IEC) received 373 entries this year including international entries from the US, Singapore, Nepal and Pakistan. IIM-Lucknow’s annual business plan contest, ‘Nirvaan’, has seen some enterprising students turn entrepreneurs.
Prakash Mundhra, winner of 2005 Nirvaan, launched his company called Sacred Moments that produces puja kits called ‘Blessingz’ in 2006 and the company sold products worth Rs 34 lakh in Diwali the same year. “I refined and re-refined the idea to reach the final stage,” says Mundhra who gave up a Rs 7 lakh job from ICICI Prudential to start his venture.
Patrick Turner, affiliate professor of entrepreneurship and director, Insead is upbeat on entrepreneurship in India: “The enthusiasm level I see among Indian children is phenomenal compared to the west especially Europe.” Institutes are setting up incubators on the campus to help students. IIT Mumbai has 15 such incubators running 12 fresh businesses. “Be it infrastructural support or professional expertise, an incubator is a great support system for any business in is nascent stage,” an IIT student said. But women entrepreneurs still lag far behind.
“The base of women entrepreneurs to men was so small that eventual increase looks insignificant when compared,” says Vani Kola, managing director, Nea-IndoUS Ventures. Purvi Sheth, VP, Shilputsi says that a majority of women have turned into entrepreneurs mostly by default rather than design. But it may change in future. For women, looking for flexibility of time and workspace, start-up has been the best way to pursue a career. In countries like the US, women have led the start-up movement.
What Lies Ahead
Kapur of Sidbi Ventures says that on quality of business ideas, Indian entrepreneurs have a long way to go. “They may be putting the existing technologies to use differently but new innovative ideas are what we need,” he explains. Sheth has a different take on that. She diagnoses the problem as being paradoxical. On one end, entrepreneurs find it difficult to state the final objectives—-it doesn’t mean that they should leap milestones but they should have the ability to think global, she says.
While entrepreneurship may be turning into a fashion statement like in the Silicon Valley but the fact remains that India has a long way to go. “While so far technology has been the thrust area, the future of entrepreneurship is in services,” says V Chandrasekar, executive director, Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
No matter how enabling the ecosystem at the end it’s gumption, passion and determination that holds the key to business. A VC recalled that his company was initially wary of financing a 55-year old executive’s project. Once they invested, they realised that it was his courage that made it a success. “Within a year we exited with 2.5 times the invested sum,” he said.
Govindbhai Kakadia, chairman, Sheetal group, owner of the Kiah line of jewellery is a living example. As a 10-year-old boy, who couldn’t read and write, got inspired from the Bollywood flick — Waqt to make his mark in this big bad world and live life away from rural Gujarat. Starting from working 14 hours a day in a diamond factory, he now owns Rs 1,000-crore Sheetal group — and yes the man we are talking about started his business in the pre-reforms era.
Enticing salaries and zealous recruiters couldn’t distract them much. Last year, six IIM(L) students (including the batch toper) opted out of campus placements to turn entrepreneur. Five of them joined hands to launch two start-ups — a consultancy firm IndigoEdge and a health-tourism firm UniAxess.
Incorporated in May last year, they have received seed funding of Rs 16 lakh, landed six global projects and have tied up with hospital chains like Apollo.“These are early days, but for me it’s a dream come true,” says Anoop Radhakrishnan, one of the co-founders.
A decade back this would have been a professional harakiri. Leaving behind a high-profile well-paying job to start a company was the last thing on anyone’s mind. But easy availability of a good jobs, rising salaries and start-up funding is firing up dreams of bright Indians and also altering the risk-averse Indian mindset.
K Thyagrajan, CEO, Nirmalabs, incubator of Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF), says that unlike 15 years ago, sustenance isn’t the most important issue now. “Easy accessibility to capital coupled with a booming economy have instilled a positive mindset in people,” he says. The trend is most visible among the high-profiled corporate executives who are quitting their jobs at the peak of their career to start on their own. But students, fresh out of college, too are joining in.
IITian Satish Meena, after winning IIT Bombay’s business plan competition in 2005, has set up a start-up, Convis Technologies. Meena’s service-class parents initially did resist but eventually gave in. From IITs to IIMs — educational institutions are setting up e-cells, organising business plan contests and becoming hubs for bringing together entrepreneurs, angel investors. NERF of Nirma University has set up Nirma Labs as an incubator to spawn high tech knowledge based wealth generation ventures.
Then & Now
SOME of the biggest hindrances to starting business are no longer as daunting. Licence permit, the only way to start a business pre-1991, is long gone. Access to finance, a critical factor, that allowed only family-owned businesses to flourish has become more democratised. But the most important shift has been the trickle-down effect of the economic growth. “I know that a job awaits me even if my business doesn’t work and I can join them thereafter,” comments a young entrepreneur.
Headhunters seem to agree. Says K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International, “it is now considered an experience and not a drawback.” Talking about easy availability of capital, Ajay Kumar Kapur, CEO, Sidbi Venture, says that venture capitalists (VCs) entered the market when banks began to feel the heat of lending start-ups which was basically post-liberalisation. There has also been a change in the mindset now. It’s the idea of losing control and sharing business. “Earlier businesses were created for generations to follow but nowadays with the growing mergers and acquisitions people are willing to sell off their business which is important for a VC,” he says.
Start-up Ecosystem
Institutional support is also coming in. Colleges are introducing subjects on entrepreneurship or providing a platform for the students to live their dreams. Since its inception in 2005, FMS Delhi has funded eight entrepreneurs. Its International Entrepreneurship Challenge (IEC) received 373 entries this year including international entries from the US, Singapore, Nepal and Pakistan. IIM-Lucknow’s annual business plan contest, ‘Nirvaan’, has seen some enterprising students turn entrepreneurs.
Prakash Mundhra, winner of 2005 Nirvaan, launched his company called Sacred Moments that produces puja kits called ‘Blessingz’ in 2006 and the company sold products worth Rs 34 lakh in Diwali the same year. “I refined and re-refined the idea to reach the final stage,” says Mundhra who gave up a Rs 7 lakh job from ICICI Prudential to start his venture.
Patrick Turner, affiliate professor of entrepreneurship and director, Insead is upbeat on entrepreneurship in India: “The enthusiasm level I see among Indian children is phenomenal compared to the west especially Europe.” Institutes are setting up incubators on the campus to help students. IIT Mumbai has 15 such incubators running 12 fresh businesses. “Be it infrastructural support or professional expertise, an incubator is a great support system for any business in is nascent stage,” an IIT student said. But women entrepreneurs still lag far behind.
“The base of women entrepreneurs to men was so small that eventual increase looks insignificant when compared,” says Vani Kola, managing director, Nea-IndoUS Ventures. Purvi Sheth, VP, Shilputsi says that a majority of women have turned into entrepreneurs mostly by default rather than design. But it may change in future. For women, looking for flexibility of time and workspace, start-up has been the best way to pursue a career. In countries like the US, women have led the start-up movement.
What Lies Ahead
Kapur of Sidbi Ventures says that on quality of business ideas, Indian entrepreneurs have a long way to go. “They may be putting the existing technologies to use differently but new innovative ideas are what we need,” he explains. Sheth has a different take on that. She diagnoses the problem as being paradoxical. On one end, entrepreneurs find it difficult to state the final objectives—-it doesn’t mean that they should leap milestones but they should have the ability to think global, she says.
While entrepreneurship may be turning into a fashion statement like in the Silicon Valley but the fact remains that India has a long way to go. “While so far technology has been the thrust area, the future of entrepreneurship is in services,” says V Chandrasekar, executive director, Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development at the Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.
No matter how enabling the ecosystem at the end it’s gumption, passion and determination that holds the key to business. A VC recalled that his company was initially wary of financing a 55-year old executive’s project. Once they invested, they realised that it was his courage that made it a success. “Within a year we exited with 2.5 times the invested sum,” he said.
Govindbhai Kakadia, chairman, Sheetal group, owner of the Kiah line of jewellery is a living example. As a 10-year-old boy, who couldn’t read and write, got inspired from the Bollywood flick — Waqt to make his mark in this big bad world and live life away from rural Gujarat. Starting from working 14 hours a day in a diamond factory, he now owns Rs 1,000-crore Sheetal group — and yes the man we are talking about started his business in the pre-reforms era.
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