|
|
Total Number of Subscribers: 962 |
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: 14TH February 2010 |
Compiled by: M Sathya Kumar <= /span> |
|
|
SUCCESS STORY
– REDIFF.COM What was your family background like? W=
as
it entrepreneurial? My father is a doctor and so was my grandfather. They had
private practices of their own, but you cannot call ours a business famil=
y.
In fact, I did not know the word entrepreneurial till much later, but I w=
as
always into starting college magazines and things like that. When I gradu=
ated
in 1971, it was a grim period in We were going through crisis after crisis. My friends at the
time were joining the Levers and the Tatas. But when I asked myself, is t=
hat
what I wanted to be, I couldn’t say yes. I did not want to be a cog=
in
a big wheel. I wanted to do something with media, communication, technolo=
gy.
I joined an ad agency. The technology companies had not started at that t=
ime.
If you look back, technology and media have always been my areas of inter=
est.
I worked for about ten months there and then Arun Nanda and I left to sta=
rt
our own creative ad agency. What prompted you to leave your first j=
ob
after just ten months and start on your own? We thought we knew better (laughs). The folly of youth. Arun=
was
several years my senior and had been in Levers before joining the agency.=
We
were partners for six or seven months and understood each other. At that
time, there was very little creativity in ads and people used to imitate =
ads
from abroad. We thought we could do better, start a ‘creative’=
; ad
agency, and do original things. And I don’t think we were very wron=
g.
By the 12th month, we had won all the awards at that time. Some of our ad=
s,
like ‘whenever you see colour, think of us’ became big hits.<=
/span> How did you start Rediff.com? Rediff.com was started in 1995, when I was 42. I was always =
in
the technology, media and communication space. I had been associated with
technology companies, so I could read code as easily I could read an arti=
cle.
So I told Arun, you run it (Rediffusion), I will start something else. It=
was
easier then because I had personal cheques to write.
How much did you invest in Rediff.com? I wrote cheques for Rs two crores and had zero revenue for t=
hree
years. What do you think is the role of a
professional investor (VC or angel) in a startup? When should an entrepre=
neur
look for funding? Depends on which type of investor it is. The first role is f=
or
an angel investor. This is typically someone who has a job or is a
businessman, but keeps investing five or ten lakhs now and then in
businesses. They are the ones who have the time to go deep [into your com=
pany
and plans]. That allows the entrepreneur to build his mousetrap [the
product]. It’s a concept risk. This stage can be seen through with =
an
angel or savings. Angels can also be very valuable in other ways. You can=
get
a lawyer or an ad agency through them. They can give you informal advice =
on
how to structure the company. But the problem in Once you have made the mousetrap, it is the stage of the ear=
ly
market risk, when an investor should look for an early stage VC. We have
around 20 or so in If the choice is between relatives and =
an
outside investment, in the early stage, which one should an investor choo=
se? Taking funds from a relative is not a good idea. At an early
stage, the entrepreneur needs someone to push him to get early results, b=
ut
at the same time, not hurt you too much. Relatives tend not to have the
expertise and understanding [to do this]. In Do you interact a lot with young wannab=
e or
actual entrepreneurs these days? If yes, are they very different from the=
ir
compatriots one or two decades ago? I do. I keep an open door. Every week, I meet three or four
young entrepreneurs. They just call and sit and chat. I also often go to =
the
functions where entrepreneurs congregate. Fundamentally, today’s ki=
ds
are far brighter than they were in the 60s or 70s or 80s. They are a
different class and style of entrepreneurs. Are you saying Indians have become smar=
ter
in two decades? No. The type who would have gone to research or gone abroad,=
who
would not have considered entrepreneurship as a viable career option 20 y=
ears
ago, are today looking at it as acceptable. Society and the system too is
saying it’s the right thing to do. The culture of the times is to
lionize successful entrepreneurs. Earlier, [the bright people] would have
gone for safe jobs. The second factor is that you are seeing a lot of
technologically oriented people [in entrepreneurial ventures]. In the 21st
century, the success of a new business would have technology at the cente=
r of
it. In the 60s, it was largely your ability to get licenses or scarce
resources. Now it’s much less asset or license based. Young technol=
ogy
entrepreneurs today have a chance. So, you can see a different quality of
entrepreneurs who are coming in. What have you noticed to be the innate
characteristics of a successful entrepreneur? Are they different from nor=
mal
people? Definitely. They are very self-reliant. They take on a probl=
em
and assume personal responsibility to solve it. They take the job and see=
it
through. They are relatively less daunted by adversity. I often go to the=
se
entrepreneurial functions and sometimes I am asked “What should I d=
o if
I fail?” That person is not going to make a good entrepreneur. A tr=
ue
entrepreneur knows he may fail, but that is not part of his primary focus=
. He
is always thinking of what happens if he succeeds. Is this
quality taught or inborn? What percentage of the general population would=
you
categorize as entrepreneurial – 5% ? Self-reli=
ance
is taught at a very early age. It is part of the way your parents brought=
you
up. It is culturally acquired. In Does a
formal education, especially business degrees such as MBA determine
one’s success as an entrepreneur? Did your MBA from IIM It
doesn’t make a difference one way or the other. However, most ventu=
res
today are technology based. So the important ones come out of technology
institutions. In addition, within a product’s lifecycle, there are
different stages offering chances for different kinds of people. Early on=
in
the lifecycle, it is the product or technology. Later, it becomes more the
style of business. For example, early on, the PC market was dominated by
players like Apple, and later you have players like Dell, which are based
more on the efficiency of the business model. So, while an MBA is not
necessary, a technology degree helps in having a better understanding of =
your
business, like when you have to think about scaling up. Of course, if you=
are
from one of the premier IIMs, your peers and investors will tend to view =
you
differently. In that sense, you have greater access to talent and a netwo=
rk
to tap into. In my own case, I used a lot of what I learnt at IIMC. But if
you ask me if I would not have become an entrepreneur if I hadn’t g=
one
to the IIM, I can’t answer! Article appeared in Dare - A Magaz=
ine
for daring entrepreneur |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
R=
ewards
waiting for feedback at |
||
|
|
||
|
Disclaimer: We believe that the information contained in this e-zine is true. If you do = not wish to receive Smart Trainee please click here. |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
![3D"http://www.primeacademy.com/smartlogo4.gif"](3D"http://www.primeacademy.com/smartlogo4.gif")
![](3D"file:///C:\AE0A8250\sun_14_2_10_files\image001.jpg")
![](3D"file:///C:\AE0A8250\sun_14_2_10_files\image002.jpg")