Bioentrepreneurship: The road less traveled
Dr. Krishna M. Ella
Dream. And everything in this universe will conspire to make it happen. This profound line from Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is of great relevance to a bioentrepreneur.
This decade, which is all set to see a biotechnology boom will belong to those who have the power to convert their dreams into reality. In other words, it will see the rise of the bioentrepreneur. The ones who will move away from the safe waters of the laboratory and convert a patentable/testable research dream into a viable business proposition. The success mantra: willingness to change perspectives when faced with new ideas or situations and the ability to adapt.
Bioentrepreneurship in India
The concept of bioentrepreneurship is still new in India. Scientists in our country follow the road lined with obvious well-defined rules and symbols.
While the need for academic excellence is understandable, the world out there is waiting for safe, affordable, healthcare solutions that can affect millions of lives. It is biotechnology that can come up with answers.
Every would-be entrepreneur, scientist or a professor in India must understand the need to find a market for his research dream. While continuing the basic research, he must develop products/solutions that could immediately translate into use for the consumer.xxxx
The efforts of global biotechnology community are setting an example. Much of the efforts today are focused on treating, detecting and preventing human disease. Top research areas include cancer, AIDS, neurological disorders, heart disease and diabetes among others.
With newfound information such as mapping of several genomes, novel therapeutic and diagnostic breakthroughs are emerging.
Every bioentrepreneur must thoroughly understand the grassroots of biotechnology sector such as research, collaboration, infrastructure, technology and commercialization capital and come up with an alternative business model to achieve success.
Alternative business model
Curiosity is often what attracts a potential bioentrepreneur to the laboratory in the first place and may be the key motivator behind his or her foray into business. It is curiosity that keeps work productive and refreshing but bioentrepreneurs need to back up that curiosity with creativity.
Entrepreneurs complain that even when they are prepared to make the break with established conventions, they cannot find the necessary business talent to help them turn ideas and intellectual property into a growing concern.
Unlike in the US, where people who are on their second or third company already and who have gained the business experience they need to deal with venture capitalists and potential customers, the biotechnology industry in India is still too young to have those kinds of resources to draw on.
Model for success
Understand the basic technology you propose to adapt
Align with a partner to enhance core potential
Take regulatory framework into consideration
Enter into proper legal documentation before commencing the work
Be prepared to adapt changed strategy while during the development process
In this scenario, would-be entrepreneurs must create their own business model to suit their bioventures. The clue is to work closely with Financial Institutions (FI)/Venture Capitalists (VC), the marketing team and the research team to develop a workable model.
To ensure that perspectives are shared, one entrepreneur used a roundtable to ensure that everyone understood the game plan. It doesn’t matter if those chosen are not involved in the company in the long run, but they provide valuable sounding boards and insights. For example, can a FI/VC grasp the technical concept in the first place and will a marketing expert see what makes the product unique? Working with others in different fields will answer difficult questions and provide insights into new ones.
Once the basic planning is done, the second most important thing to do is to devise a phased plan for investment. The first three years for a start-up biotech company are the most difficult years. Entrepreneurs are forced to invest in appropriate technologies to get the project off the ground. It is in this phase that money-management becomes crucial. It is also in this stage that a budding entrepreneur must be willing to change perspectives. He must creatively chalk out a novel approach that would help maximize the returns on his investment.
Collaborate
Collaboration and effective sharing of knowledge are key attributes of the biotechnology industry. Every bioentrepreneur must understand this attribute and use it wisely.
With specific reference to India, would-be entrepreneurs can take advantage of the vast knowledge pool created by scientific institutions. Demonstrate the principle/patent of the academic institute and create an active liaison for sharing of expertise. Or take academic work to pre-clinical and clinical trials to check the efficacy of the said principle.
While collaborations take on many different forms that range from the traditional multi-party efforts, to virtual networks of computer technologies linked together, to universities establishing joint venture research facilities, to university-industry partnerships, choose the one that suits your bioventure.
Despite vast improvement in technology and communications that allow truly global collaborations to take place, the more traditional platform based on physical proximity remains the key component of the development of biotechnological activity.
Bharat Biotech for instance, works with collaborators such as Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta (USA), National Institute of Health, Washington DC (USA), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India), Department of Science and Technology, GoI and a host of others in its quest for path-breaking technologies that ensure a disease-free future.
Become a biomover
Every bioentrepreneur, especially if he happens to be a scientist, must make a conscious effort to make the transition. Academic degrees and publications are valuable, but more intangible attributes win in business—adaptability, emotional intelligence, confidence, ambition, persistence, risk-taking, humility, flexibility and patience are some of the many attributes essential for coping in highly complex, ambiguous situations.
Would-be entrepreneurs need to "turn the tables" and attend conferences that specifically address the elements of entrepreneurship as a "nonexpert"—often an unsettling experience. This would help assimilate what is expected from the scientist to satisfy marketing, business and other agencies. Though frightening at first, the process becomes more familiar and can be fine-tuned with experience.
Confidence is a particularly important element of success. Bioentrepreneurs often reflect on how they coped with challenges in the past to build confidence in the future. In particular, they must be able to handle criticism and the many stressors involved in business life.
Remember that bioentre-preneurship is not just about having good scientific/research ideas, but also about obtaining funding, developing a prototype and marketing the final product. This requires convincing others of your idea and involving them in your vision. One bioentrepreneur says, "Believing in the product and self is what counts ... finding others to share in those same beliefs is what success is."
Build lasting relationships
Building relationships is probably the most difficult task facing most scientists who aspire to be bioentrepreneurs. For many, the element of fear is associated with the factor of dealing with others from unfamiliar backgrounds. This can be overcome by accepting the need to change. There is considerable overlap and therefore common ground in the disciplines of science, business, and marketing; those setting out in this area would do well to recognise this, but this realisation requires a shift in perspectives.
Successful bioentrepreneurs must develop good communication skills. They must write, speak clearly and confidently and they must be persuasive and creative. They must also develop excellent social skills. As a manager and leader of a medical biotech company, a bioentrepreneur may have to play many roles, becoming "cheerleader", "coach", "devil’s advocate" and "lawyer" in order to create a cohesive team. The ability to build and foster relationships both inside and outside the company is essential.
The road less taken
And finally, vision. The road from concept to conquest can be tough and scattered with pitfalls. What may have been an accidental discovery may or may not become a marketable product. Many a time, it is the belief in the concept that can become the driving force behind its success.
(Dr. Krishna M. Ella is the chairman and managing director of Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL),
Jan 14, 2008
Jan 13, 2008
Ideal Bioentrepreneur
The ideal bioentrepreneur
I have put together the six dominant features that I consider necessary for all successful bioentrepreneurs as a final checklist against which to measure yourself.
1. You are a charismatic individual who articulate plans well.
Without charisma, it is unlikely that the entrepreneur can attract attention and financing. Articulating the plan of the company is key, and eventually the individual may have to stand. Too much charisma can be a dangerous thing!
2. You are a skillful manager.
We all know of the brilliant entrepreneur/ investor who builds a mediocre team because no–one will challenge him or her or, conversely, a brilliant team of unmanageable people. Obviously, "people interactive" skills rank high. We have turned down investing in many companies because the ego of the founder was overwhelming.
3. You possess technical knowledge of the area.
This is one of my favorite parameters. Whereas it is relatively easy to change management in the company, it is not generally easy to change the technology base. Thus, these days the best managers generally have a good technical background and a grasp of the company's technology. Having said that, there have been some very clever changes in strategy, generally involving older companies that have discovered that their share price increases if they include "genomics" in the title or description, or if they drop "antisense" or "monoclonal" from their major thrust.
4. You are energetic to the point of being "driven."
I think we all admire the "can do" person who works 100 hours per week, jogs five miles at lunch, and whose energy and enthusiasm are pervasive. These are clearly desirable traits in entrepreneurs and managers. Sometimes, such individuals are put under incredible pressure by investors or, at least, imagine such pressure. And under the guise of such pressures we have seen peculiar things happen, including "adjustment of scientific data" and the selling of product to empty warehouses. More than one entrepreneur/manager has ended up at a minimum security facility for trying too hard.
5. You possess the ability to lead.
It is very difficult to define leadership skills, and we all know of different styles. Perhaps one definition of entrepreneur, that of impresario, is appropriate in this sense. There are, of course, many styles, ranging from autocratic to consensual to passive. In personal interviews it is not easy to pick up leadership qualities.They were often impressive during interviews, mainly because they told me what I wanted to hear, but they were lousy at operations.
6. You have an appropriate track record.
Previous success does not automatically lead to future success, but at least it is a useful parameter—particularly if one has worked with the individual before. One thing to note is that a good track record in one sector does not necessarily translate into success in another. One of the biggest factors concerning track record is that the successful individual rarely has difficulty attracting capital.
So if you have what it takes, by all means, live your dream.
I have put together the six dominant features that I consider necessary for all successful bioentrepreneurs as a final checklist against which to measure yourself.
1. You are a charismatic individual who articulate plans well.
Without charisma, it is unlikely that the entrepreneur can attract attention and financing. Articulating the plan of the company is key, and eventually the individual may have to stand. Too much charisma can be a dangerous thing!
2. You are a skillful manager.
We all know of the brilliant entrepreneur/ investor who builds a mediocre team because no–one will challenge him or her or, conversely, a brilliant team of unmanageable people. Obviously, "people interactive" skills rank high. We have turned down investing in many companies because the ego of the founder was overwhelming.
3. You possess technical knowledge of the area.
This is one of my favorite parameters. Whereas it is relatively easy to change management in the company, it is not generally easy to change the technology base. Thus, these days the best managers generally have a good technical background and a grasp of the company's technology. Having said that, there have been some very clever changes in strategy, generally involving older companies that have discovered that their share price increases if they include "genomics" in the title or description, or if they drop "antisense" or "monoclonal" from their major thrust.
4. You are energetic to the point of being "driven."
I think we all admire the "can do" person who works 100 hours per week, jogs five miles at lunch, and whose energy and enthusiasm are pervasive. These are clearly desirable traits in entrepreneurs and managers. Sometimes, such individuals are put under incredible pressure by investors or, at least, imagine such pressure. And under the guise of such pressures we have seen peculiar things happen, including "adjustment of scientific data" and the selling of product to empty warehouses. More than one entrepreneur/manager has ended up at a minimum security facility for trying too hard.
5. You possess the ability to lead.
It is very difficult to define leadership skills, and we all know of different styles. Perhaps one definition of entrepreneur, that of impresario, is appropriate in this sense. There are, of course, many styles, ranging from autocratic to consensual to passive. In personal interviews it is not easy to pick up leadership qualities.They were often impressive during interviews, mainly because they told me what I wanted to hear, but they were lousy at operations.
6. You have an appropriate track record.
Previous success does not automatically lead to future success, but at least it is a useful parameter—particularly if one has worked with the individual before. One thing to note is that a good track record in one sector does not necessarily translate into success in another. One of the biggest factors concerning track record is that the successful individual rarely has difficulty attracting capital.
So if you have what it takes, by all means, live your dream.
Jan 12, 2008
Why Entrepreneurship
Why entrepreneurship is important:
“We believe entrepreneurship transforms ideas into ventures that create value, and it moves concepts forward to benefit mankind. We measure success as someone’s return on impact, instead of simply return on investment. In entrepreneurship, our job is to have you create something new, not just optimize what already exists.”
“We believe entrepreneurship transforms ideas into ventures that create value, and it moves concepts forward to benefit mankind. We measure success as someone’s return on impact, instead of simply return on investment. In entrepreneurship, our job is to have you create something new, not just optimize what already exists.”
Nov 21, 2007
What is Social Entrepreneurship - by Vineet Rai
Social entrepreneurship, as a concept, combines the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination. Despite the novelty of the term, the world has always had social entrepreneurs, even if we did not call them that. The new name is important, however, in that it implies a blurring of sector boundaries. In addition to innovative not-for-profit ventures, social entrepreneurship can include social purpose business ventures, and hybrid organizations mixing not-for-profit and for-profit elements. What can be said to hold true for all such incarnations is that social entrepreneurs look for the most effective methods of serving their social missions.
What defines a “Social Entrepreneur”?
The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, provides the following analogy: “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
By and large social entrepreneurs can be said to affect change by :
Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value)
Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.
For the most part, all social sector leaders exemplify these characteristics in various ways and to different degrees. The closer a person gets to satisfying all these conditions, the more that person fits the model of a social entrepreneur.
Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Vinoba Bhave (India) - Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless. Mahatma Gandhi described him as his mentor
Mary Montessori (Italy) - Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education
Florence Nightingale (U.K.) - Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions
Jean Monnet (France) - Responsible for the reconstruction and modernization of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were Monnet's mechanisms to integrate Europe and were direct precursors of the European Union, which have shaped the course of European history and global international affairs.
Some Present Day Social Entrepreneurs (see also the more detailed bios provided below)
Dr. Verghese Kurien (India) - Founder of the AMUL Dairy Project which has revolutionized the dairy industry through the production chain of milk, small producers, consumer products and health benefits
Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - Founder of microcredit and the Grameen Bank
What is the Difference between Business Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs?
For social entrepreneurs, the social mission/impact is explicit and central, whereas wealth creation becomes a means to an end. On the other hand, an entrepreneur’s ability to attract resources in a competitive marketplace is a reasonably good indication that the venture represents a more productive use of these resources than the alternatives it is competing against. The logic is simple. The profit that a venture generates is a reasonably good indicator of the value it has created. If an entrepreneur cannot convince a sufficient number of customers to pay an adequate price to generate a profit, this is a strong indication that insufficient value is being created to justify this use of resources.
Markets, however do not work as well for social entrepreneurs as they do for business entrepreneurs. In particular, markets do not do a good job of valuing social improvements, public goods and harms, and benefits for people who cannot afford to pay. As a result, it is much harder to determine whether a social entrepreneur is creating sufficient social value to justify the resources used in creating that value. Even when improvements can be measured, it is often difficult to attribute them to a specific intervention. Even when improvements can attributed to a given intervention, social entrepreneurs often cannot capture the value they have created in an economic form. To offset this value-capture problem, social entrepreneurs often rely on subsidies, donations, and volunteers, but this further muddies the waters of market discipline. The ability to attract these philanthropic resources may provide some indication of value creation in the eyes of the resource providers, but it is not a very reliable indicator.
What is the Status of Social Entrepreneurship in the India?
Although there has been rapid growth in the number of citizen sector organizations in India, more still could be done for facilitating the application of entrepreneurial energy for the benefit of the social half of Indian society. The Government departments and Public Sector Corporations (e.g., Housing Development Corporation, Agro-Industries Corporation, Irrigation Development Corporation, etc.) still handle most of the social sector programs in India. Due to the sheer size of resources needed for the social sector and also due to political factors, this picture is not likely to change much in the near future. Some large businesses are gradually showing interest in the social sector. Their intervention is needed, not only because they can inject financial resources into the social sector, but also because they can provide sophisticated technologies and creative solutions for this sector. As an example, the ‘e-choupal’ initiative of ITC Ltd. is likely to generate large social impact in several rural areas.
In recent years, micro-credit, micro-enterprises and self-help groups have emerged as major tools for development of poor communities. Such initiatives have also infused some degree of business discipline, leadership and entrepreneurship among the participating sub-stratas of the poor as well as among the NGOs. Many leading social entrepreneurs are working in these fields.
Several NGOs have made major contributions and innovations in implementing natural resource management projects such as watershed management, wasteland development, and participatory irrigation management. Implementation of these projects has included strategies for empowerment of poor people in rural areas and for encouraging them to set up micro-enterprises. In general, the quality of people’s participation in development programs has improved significantly in India during the last two decades. Here again the credit for this achievement goes to social entrepreneurs in NGO sector.
Finally, another field where NGOs like MSSRF, BAIF etc. have made significant impact is promotion of rural eco-entrepreneurship. Many international organizations (e.g., Ford Foundation and Ashoka Foundation) have made important contributions by supporting innovative endeavors.
A Few of India’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Vijay Mahajan
Vijay Mahajan is the Managing Director of BASIX and serves on the Boards of both the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) and the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), as well as on the Advisory Council of the Centre for Management of Agriculture at IIM-Ahmedabad. Committed from the outset of his career to promoting livelihoods for the rural poor, he first established PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action) in 1982. Subsequently, in his work as an independent consultant from 1991-95, Mahajan carried out various assignments for the World Bank and NABARD, ultimately conceptualizing BASIX, which he set up in mid 1996. Till March 2005, BASIX had helped support the livelihoods of over 150,000 poor households in the agriculture, allied, and non-farm sectors by extending micro-credit worth over Rs. 350 Crores and providing a range of livelihood promotion services. In 1996, Mahajan also co-authored the book “The Forgotten Sector: Non-Farm Employment and Enterprises in Rural India” and, in 2002, was selected as one of the Schwab Foundation’s 60 most “Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs”. Mr. Mahajan is a graduate of IIT-Delhi (1975), IIM-Ahmedabad (1981) and was a mid-career fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public International Affairs (1989), where he studied economic development policy.
William Bissell
William Bissell is Managing Director of Fabindia Ltd., Managing Trustee of the Bhadurajun Artisan Trust, and both Trustee and Treasurer for the Center for Science and Environment, an environmental group in New Delhi. With respect to Fabindia, Bissell’s mission has been to continue his parents’ work with village-based artisans, employing their regional textile skills and competencies and thereby also preserving the traditional crafts of India in the process. Bissell and his father also co-founded the Bhadurajun Artisan Trust in 1992, inspired to create a prototype school that would empower poor rural youths to shape their own lives and transform the state of Rajasthan. From its inception, the Fabindia School has been committed to educational opportunities for girls, even subsidizing their tuition. The school also stresses environmental education, exposing students to issues of the larger world through workshops conducted by expert visitors. With the 250-student `core school’ in Bali now well established, the plan is to open more Fabindia schools elsewhere in Rajasthan. Bissell received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1988.
Devi Shetty
Dr. Devi Shetty is credited with many firsts, among others, being the first heart surgeon in India to venture into neo-natal open-heart surgery, the first surgeon in the world to close a hole in the heart with the help of a microchip camera, and the first Indian doctor to have used an artificial heart. He is also responsible for introducing the concept of assembly line heart surgery, which aims at both reducing costs and achieving zero mortality. Throughout his practice, Dr. Shetty has shown a commitment to working with children; He operates free for kids under twelve, and of his 13,000 career operations, over 5000 operations were on children. Born in south India, Dr. Shetty studied General Surgery at the Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore (1982) and trained and operated in the Cardiac Surgery unit for 6 years at Guy’s Hospital in London (1983-89). When he returned to India in 1989, he joined the Birla Heart Research Foundation and co-founded the Asia Heart Foundation (AHF), a 140-bed hospital Research Institute in Calcutta. AHF in turn started the Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI) of Cardiac Sciences which became the largest heart hospital in East India by 2004. In 1997 he and his team set up the Manipal Heart Foundation, a 450-bed heart operation facility, and in 2001, he founded Narayan Hridiyalay in Bangalore. Between 2001 and 2004, the original building for the latter was expanded to 6 stories with 500 beds. Dr Shetty’s ongoing mission is to make cardiac surgery affordable by creating a chain of heart hospitals in every state in India.
Vineet Rai
Vineet Rai is CEO and co-founder of both Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund and Intellectual Capital Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd (a.k.a. Intellecap). He is a serial social entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience in developing innovative rural financing mechanisms. Having served at age 26 as the first Chief Executive of GIAN, a business incubation fund based in Ahmedabad, Rai then went on to co-found the Rural Innovation Network (RIN) in 2000. Rai is an Ashoka Fellow and has been bestowed honorary membership to the Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI) Alumni Association, a premier management institute in India. Both awards were made in recognition of his contributions to the field of social entrepreneurship. He serves on the board of Cashpor Micro Credit (the largest microfinance institution in North India) and is also an Advisory Board member of L-RAMP at IIT-Chennai, as well as the Joint Task Force of the Government of Uttranchal on issues of social venture capital formation. In 2006, Aavishkaar was selected for the World Business Award, jointly awarded by the UNDP, the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, and the International Chambers of Commerce, in recognition of its leading contribution to the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals.
Tips for Entrepreneur –
Tips for Entrepreneurs - by KB Chandrashekhar
Do’s:
1. Take Risks – Be willing to fail and apply learnings
2. Your passion for the concept is what brings everyone together
3. Communicate openly – both good and bad news
4. Stay focused on the core theme but adapt to market and technology changes
5. Your success is based on making your customer successful
Don’t:
1. Win one battle at a time – do not open too many fronts on market segments, technology
2. Do not overspend till you know the concept works and you are ready to scale the business
3. Do not create bureaucracy – start up is about small teams working together
4. Do not neglect face time with employees, customers and partners
5. Do not neglect family; make sure they are partners in this journey
Managing Cross - Border Teams
Often, in the effort of being closer to the customer, companies tend to have their management/founding teams across two geographies. While in growth stage companies the pains and challenges of cross-border resource management would be handled through time-tested processes, early stage entrepreneurs need to be aware of the following aspects while dealing with cross-border teams :
Be sure that operating in two geographies will impact your social life : Conference calls at odd times, working in each others time zones, etc. will definitely reduce the flexibility in your personal life. It can often get strenuous and you and your family have to be prepared for that.
Chats, e-mails, web-conferences, etc. cannot replace in-person interactions : Physical meetings are necessary and you need to plan for them as appropriate. Often, issues can get resolved better or faster during in-person meetings.
Do not make the mistake of splitting responsibility by location : Location must be made irrelevant and the person should assume responsibility for that function across a seamless team and not for a particular geography. When you split function by geography, you would spend more time in resolving conflicts and blame share between two geographies.
Be excessive and not moderate while using cc function on mail : When in doubt, copy. Do not exclude someone from mail exchanges as you may not be sure if he/she, especially if senior, needs to know that particular detail. That protocol works when the teams are in the same location but when in different time zones, restricted cc may cause time delays.
Make presentations and decisions inclusive : E.g. if a customer presentation or proposal is to be prepared, create a framework for people across geographies to contribute as it not only leads to a more diverse set of views to be included but the feeling of inclusion strengthens the team spirit.
If the teams are multi-cultural, it is best to identify a common work culture that all understand and adhere to : E.g. the US culture of openness, assertiveness, allowing room for views to be expressed and defended across rank works well in most cases.
Resolve issues well : It is best to do a content based issue resolution and not individual based.
Jerry Rao, Chairman Mphasis
Living a Successful Life - by Chanda Kochhar
”If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves” - Thomas Edison
I believe each one of us has the potential to achieve extraordinary success in life. Thoughts that I am sharing with you are not just ideas but are the principles that I have applied to my life day in and day out. Applicability of these success principles is not a function of what your current status is or what goal you cherish in your heart but these are timeless principles used by many successful people in history.
For me living a successful life means to balance one’s goals in each of our life’s quadrant: Work, Family, Friends and Self. And here is my recipe of living a successful life:
Accept responsibility for your own work and life resultsAs rightly said by Anthony Robins, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” Choose to accept 100% responsibility of whatever that is or is not happening to you.
PrioritizePrioritisation is the key to successfully handle multiple tasks when time is a constraint. You need to prioritise not only your goals but also all activities of your everyday. On a given day one may be required to concentrate on work and home related activities take a back-seat and may happen vise-versa on some other day.
Time ManagementNeed of the hour is to
Stay focused on things that are urgent and important as well as not urgent but important
Dedicate quality time to each quadrant of your life
Use support systemsDon’t be shy to ask for help from all the possible support system that is available to you, which maybe in terms of your husband, in-laws, colleagues, friends or relatives. Change your mindsetIf nobody pats you on the back, pat yourself on the back and also help others to do the same. You need to establish yourself as a person who not only gets things done, but also enjoys doing it. At work, because of the enthusiasm that you will radiate, people will want you in their team and they will wish to be in your team.
Remember, these principles work for you only if you work on these principles. If you apply these principles diligently you will achieve your dreams, but it won’t happen overnight. Success requires time, perseverance, hard work and patience. In the end, it is our passion for excellence that shapes our future because - thoughts lead to acts, acts lead to habits, habits build our character and our character will determine our destiny…!
Top 5 things Investors look for in early-stage business plans by Gopal Krishna (Band of Angels)
In general, sophisticated early stage investors do not expect a robust business plan/model. The plan takes more concrete shape as the business evolves. What they do expect is preparation that enables them to bet on an entrepreneur. Here are the top 5 things they look for :
1. Entrepreneur
Is it a passion or hobby? Is there “fire-in-the-belly” to make it a success against all odds?
Does the entrepreneur inspire confidence? Can he/she build a team?
Can the entrepreneur learn, think and execute. Has he/she demonstrated high achievement orientation in the past?
Is there a very high level of integrity and ethical standards?
Does the entrepreneur understand his/her domain?
If there is a team: Can the team work together? Does the team have relevant knowledge/expertise?
2. Market size and competition
How large is the target market? How rapidly is it expected to grow?
What are the gaps in competitor strategies?
What are the critical success factors?
3. Customer need
Working on painkillers or vitamins, in other words, solving a true customer pain or creating a nice-to-have solution?
Which company or companies does the entrepreneur want to emulate?
4. Scale - start small and grow big?
Can the business get traction with a small amount of capital and does it have the potential to scale?
Are there some critical elements that the entrepreneur gets and others do not?
5. Chemistry
Can the entrepreneur and investors work together?
Follow your instincts - by Arjun Malhotra
What makes a person a successful entrepreneur? I have often been asked this question. My answer, at the cost of sounding clichéd, is: an unquenchable zeal to act on your passions, and sustained belief in yourself.
Thirty years ago, when there was hardly any sign of the burgeoning growth of the IT industry in this country, six of us took a decision that most of our friends and relatives termed as “brave, but not necessarily intelligent”. We left an organization that was doing exceptionally well, and plunged into the uncertain world of adventure and entrepreneurship.
In the ‘70s, the decision to leave a company like DCM and start a company from a roof-top barsati (equivalent to the Silicon Valley garages) was “brave”, by all means. The capital deployed was a mere Rs 175,000, or $ 4,000 at current exchange rates. But the seeds we sowed have become the dynamic HCL Group, a 40,000 strong, $ 3.7 billion group with a presence in almost all continents.
Mere statistics can’t begin to tell the entire story – of industry creation, market creation, and market expansion. Of technology change, of technology acquisition and product development. Of cannibalizing successful products and businesses, of repeatedly gutting a powerful delivery organization and rebuilding it for emerging opportunities. Of seeing rare skills become obsolete, and proactively re-skilling highly intelligent persons to address new challenges. Of new paradigm recognition, creation, development and refinement, separately for the Indian and global environments.
Case studies have been written about HCL’s transitions, including one by HBS when software outsourcing began, way back in 1996. The pioneering, the strategisation, the rapid reinvention are still fresh in our minds. The successes and failures are the elements of de-risking for future endeavours. After my tryst with HCL for more than 20 years, I started TechSpan in late 1998 with funding from Goldman Sachs and Walden International. TechSpan was later merged with Headstrong in November 2003.
It was tough to leave an organization, particularly one you have started and have grown. It also involved the risk of starting things from scratch. But I decided to follow my instincts once again.
Success in a venture, however, demands things other than your instinctive ideas. It requires extensive research, meticulous planning and thorough implementation.
Therefore, before taking a conclusive decision you must find answers, honest and unbiased, to the following questions:
1. How much faith do you have in yourself?
2. Do you have a vision in life?
3. How much risk can you take?
Three steps I suggest to budding entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses are:
1. Get some experience: It always helps. Experience helps get clarity of thought and in finding the right direction.
2. Find a passion: You will be happy only when you are passionate with your work and enjoy it.
3. Build a team: A well-knit team is crucial for the growth and development of an organization. Two minds work better and faster than one, as they say.
Fundamentals for success for any entrepreneur, I would summarise as the answers to a few basic questions; get these right and success will be yours:
1. Why will someone buy your product? What benefit are you going to deliver to him?
2. Who will be your stakeholders? What value are you going to deliver to each one of them?
3. What value are you personally going to deliver to the entire enterprise? How will you justify your continued inclusion in it?
And the most important one to you personally: does this picture generate passion in you… the passion to continue with it through thick and thin, persisting through adversity to find the answers and come out on top?
The final ingredients of success are, however, commitment and dedication. Unless you have unwavering focus on your goals and you work hard (I mean hard), your passion will fall flat on the ground.
Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Traits - by Kanwal Rekhi
Entrepreneurs, Modern Revolutionaries:
Entrepreneurs can revolutionize societies by adding economic dynamism, setting them on way to increasing prosperities. They are also the only source of new wealth and productive jobs in the society. It only takes a small part of the population to become successful entrepreneurs to pull the whole society along. India is going through such a transformation now and it is a matter of time that the crushing poverty that India has been known for will be history. It seems to have finally unleashed its entrepreneurs genius and is well on its way to assuming its rightful place on the global stage.
I have mentored thousands of young aspiring entrepreneurs over last dozen years. I have come to believe that entrepreneurs are born and not made; but on the other hand the entrepreneurial genes, if there are any, seem to be randomly distributed. One does not necessarily inherit them from his parents.
Entrepreneurial journey is a lonely journey though. Only 1 to 2% of the general population is endowed with the right stuff. The burden is on the entrepreneur to prove that he has the right stuff as it is an easy bet to place them in the larger pool. An initial opt-in to become an entrepreneur improves odds by a factor five over the general population. These odds further improve as one is not deterred by failures. In any case, outside factors play a major role and one can never be certain about the success. Odds may be low but for those who persist and succeed the rewards, financial and spiritual, are more than worth it.
Entrepreneurial Traits
No one set of values or traits defines entrepreneurs. Rather it is a combination of traits that gives them an edge. One trait that seems to be necessary (but not sufficient) is leadership. Entrepreneurs must at minimum, be skilled enough to assemble teams, provide vision, and inspire confidence. In addition, entrepreneurs are, per necessity, intelligent, hard-working and street smart. They are also fast learners. Some other traits, in no particular order are:
Intellectually honest. Intellectual honesty is a hallmark of entrepreneurs. They constantly reassess their assumptions and discarding the ones that can no longer be defended. They have very realistic awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are their own harshest critics.
Confident. Entrepreneurs are very confident -but not arrogant- people. They bring a winning attitude to everything they take on.
Results oriented. Entrepreneurs are obsessed with producing measurable results. They have no respect for the mindless processes.
Value oriented. Entrepreneurs are instinctively value oriented. They are financial thinkers and notions of costs, expenses, value-added, margins, and profits are ingrained in them.
Innovative. They are “out of the box” thinkers. They question the conventional wisdom and think of newer and better ways of doing things. They thrive when they are out of their elements.
Generalist. Entrepreneurs are by and large generalist and not specialists. They must understand and manage every aspect of business and not favor their own area of expertise.
Risk taking. Entrepreneurs are action oriented and risk takers, but are smart and calculating in their approach and don’t take foolish risks. They are also looking at ways to eliminate risks they may have assumed.
Persistent. Entrepreneurs are very persistent and not easily discouraged. They usually outlast the competition.
Efficient. Efficient use of resources is at the heart of successful entrepreneurship.
Knowledgeable. Entrepreneurs are very knowledgeable about their environment. They make it their business to know all about their markets, competition and technologies.
Fair. Entrepreneurs bring a strong sense of fair play to the table. They are very aware of the contributions of others. They also have a win-win mindset with respect to fellow workers and customers.
Competitive. Entrepreneurs are very competitive and constantly benchmark themselves against the best in the industry.
Opportunistic. Entrepreneurs are very opportunistic in their approach and become very tactical when it suits them while maintaining their strategic vision.
Inward looking. Entrepreneurs internalize problems rather than externalize them. They do not blame others for their failures. They also do not need outside validation to feel confident.
Rebellious. Entrepreneurs have no respect for an established order. Indeed, they typically benefit when the established order is upset.
Self-motivated. Entrepreneurs draw their strength from deep inside them. They by and large do not need much help from others. A simple spark or inspiration is enough to get them started.
Not all these traits are necessarily present in every successful entrepreneur. A healthy combination of these traits, however, is present in most successful entrepreneurs.
Branding Dos and Don'ts - by Rama Bijapurkar
Do
Remember that a brand is not about a colourful logo and a clever tag line or slogan. It is a shorthand easy to communicate way for your customers to know what is so special about your company or product.
Focus on having a very clear brand proposition or better still a very clear rivalry proposition. It is the answer to the customer question ”why should I buy you and not your competitor”?
Ensure that the answer to “why buy me” is not about how wonderful your product or company attributes are; but is about what benefits the customer gets from using you.
Respect the fact that the way customers process value and what they feel about importance of benefits may be different from the way you feel. Customers are always logical. It’s called “customer logic”. It helps to understand that, before trying to change it. May be they have a point!
Know that brands are like people. How saleable a person is depends on his / her Functional Competence, Personality and Relationship with the other. When two people have the same level of functional competence then the choice is made on who has the better personality and / or relationship skills.
A winning brand is superior on all 3 counts
Don't
Have brand talk that your business does not walk. It is the fastest way to suicide.
Be incoherent in your branding – every customer touch point must sins off the same hymn sheet. Think “orchestra”. The different elements play differently but the overall music reflects the composer.
Forget that customer perceived value is based on how they perceive cost. And cost is more than price. It is total cost of acquisition and usage.
Forget that in service businesses, HR plays the most important brand building function – every individual has to live the brand.
Forget that brands reflect the stakeholders’ passions and beliefs. That’s what gives them authenticity. Evolved brands have evolved souls. Just like people!
What I look for in an entrepreneur – by Pravin Gandhi
Ten things I look for in an entrepreneur
1. Passion - Passion to create a difference and the ability to stick thru the ups & downs can only be there if there is that passion.2. Patience - Sift them many ideas, validate & then launch. Understands that this is not about spreadsheets, but real revenue & real benefits.3. Be a good listener - Ability to listen and willingness to accept another point of view provides flexibility. A good listener is always alert towards getting insights from those who may have a more experienced view about the topic under discussion.4. Be a good team member - Understand that you need a team, by yourself you'd be stretched to execute.5. Leadership - Must be a good leader, understand people issues and is able to manage them thru the difficult journey. Especially managing a peer group is a serious challenge.6. Share- Be generous about sharing ownership of the company with others who take the risk with you. Team must stay intact thru thick & thin including your investors.7. Value, not valuation - Must be focussed on creating value & not a valuation. If one creates value, valuation will automatically follow. Remember this is not & should not be a short journey.8. Inclusive - In growing companies, people need to be empowered to keep them motivated to deliver. Delegation and, more importantly, inclusion in the growth strategy is a great motivator.9. Flexible and not stuck on his idea only - Entrepreneurs who recognize that things do and can go wrong are more likely to succeed. Though this seems obvious, this often is the toughest aspect of entrepreneurship if not imbibed at the incubation stage itself.10. Understand that success is not dependent only on a great idea. Execution is equally if not more important.
Entrepreneurial tips from Anand Mahindra
Going Global
1. Do believe in yourself
2. Don't be afraid of failure - if you fail, "fail forward"
3. Do take risks for things you believe in
4. Do aim for true competitiveness - not just low cost advantage
5. Do think big
Innovation
1. Leverage Indianness - we, in India, have a talent for using innovation to better our lives.
2. India's competitive advantage lies in our ability to provide high quality innovation at the lowest cost per unit of innovation.
3. Don't penalize people for trying to innovate - reward them for effort and risk taking.
4. Build respect for innovation within the organisation by promoting IPR and sharing the gains of innovation.
5. Innovation is everywhere including our villages - look for it and help it blossom.
Social entrepreneurship, as a concept, combines the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination. Despite the novelty of the term, the world has always had social entrepreneurs, even if we did not call them that. The new name is important, however, in that it implies a blurring of sector boundaries. In addition to innovative not-for-profit ventures, social entrepreneurship can include social purpose business ventures, and hybrid organizations mixing not-for-profit and for-profit elements. What can be said to hold true for all such incarnations is that social entrepreneurs look for the most effective methods of serving their social missions.
What defines a “Social Entrepreneur”?
The job of a social entrepreneur is to recognize when a part of society is stuck and to provide new ways to get it unstuck. He or she finds what is not working and solves the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka, provides the following analogy: “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
By and large social entrepreneurs can be said to affect change by :
Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value)
Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.
For the most part, all social sector leaders exemplify these characteristics in various ways and to different degrees. The closer a person gets to satisfying all these conditions, the more that person fits the model of a social entrepreneur.
Historical Examples of Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Vinoba Bhave (India) - Founder and leader of the Land Gift Movement, he caused the redistribution of more than 7,000,000 acres of land to aid India's untouchables and landless. Mahatma Gandhi described him as his mentor
Mary Montessori (Italy) - Developed the Montessori approach to early childhood education
Florence Nightingale (U.K.) - Founder of modern nursing, she established the first school for nurses and fought to improve hospital conditions
Jean Monnet (France) - Responsible for the reconstruction and modernization of the French economy following World War II, including the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC and the European Common Market were Monnet's mechanisms to integrate Europe and were direct precursors of the European Union, which have shaped the course of European history and global international affairs.
Some Present Day Social Entrepreneurs (see also the more detailed bios provided below)
Dr. Verghese Kurien (India) - Founder of the AMUL Dairy Project which has revolutionized the dairy industry through the production chain of milk, small producers, consumer products and health benefits
Muhammad Yunus (Bangladesh) - Founder of microcredit and the Grameen Bank
What is the Difference between Business Entrepreneurs and Social Entrepreneurs?
For social entrepreneurs, the social mission/impact is explicit and central, whereas wealth creation becomes a means to an end. On the other hand, an entrepreneur’s ability to attract resources in a competitive marketplace is a reasonably good indication that the venture represents a more productive use of these resources than the alternatives it is competing against. The logic is simple. The profit that a venture generates is a reasonably good indicator of the value it has created. If an entrepreneur cannot convince a sufficient number of customers to pay an adequate price to generate a profit, this is a strong indication that insufficient value is being created to justify this use of resources.
Markets, however do not work as well for social entrepreneurs as they do for business entrepreneurs. In particular, markets do not do a good job of valuing social improvements, public goods and harms, and benefits for people who cannot afford to pay. As a result, it is much harder to determine whether a social entrepreneur is creating sufficient social value to justify the resources used in creating that value. Even when improvements can be measured, it is often difficult to attribute them to a specific intervention. Even when improvements can attributed to a given intervention, social entrepreneurs often cannot capture the value they have created in an economic form. To offset this value-capture problem, social entrepreneurs often rely on subsidies, donations, and volunteers, but this further muddies the waters of market discipline. The ability to attract these philanthropic resources may provide some indication of value creation in the eyes of the resource providers, but it is not a very reliable indicator.
What is the Status of Social Entrepreneurship in the India?
Although there has been rapid growth in the number of citizen sector organizations in India, more still could be done for facilitating the application of entrepreneurial energy for the benefit of the social half of Indian society. The Government departments and Public Sector Corporations (e.g., Housing Development Corporation, Agro-Industries Corporation, Irrigation Development Corporation, etc.) still handle most of the social sector programs in India. Due to the sheer size of resources needed for the social sector and also due to political factors, this picture is not likely to change much in the near future. Some large businesses are gradually showing interest in the social sector. Their intervention is needed, not only because they can inject financial resources into the social sector, but also because they can provide sophisticated technologies and creative solutions for this sector. As an example, the ‘e-choupal’ initiative of ITC Ltd. is likely to generate large social impact in several rural areas.
In recent years, micro-credit, micro-enterprises and self-help groups have emerged as major tools for development of poor communities. Such initiatives have also infused some degree of business discipline, leadership and entrepreneurship among the participating sub-stratas of the poor as well as among the NGOs. Many leading social entrepreneurs are working in these fields.
Several NGOs have made major contributions and innovations in implementing natural resource management projects such as watershed management, wasteland development, and participatory irrigation management. Implementation of these projects has included strategies for empowerment of poor people in rural areas and for encouraging them to set up micro-enterprises. In general, the quality of people’s participation in development programs has improved significantly in India during the last two decades. Here again the credit for this achievement goes to social entrepreneurs in NGO sector.
Finally, another field where NGOs like MSSRF, BAIF etc. have made significant impact is promotion of rural eco-entrepreneurship. Many international organizations (e.g., Ford Foundation and Ashoka Foundation) have made important contributions by supporting innovative endeavors.
A Few of India’s Leading Social Entrepreneurs
Vijay Mahajan
Vijay Mahajan is the Managing Director of BASIX and serves on the Boards of both the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) and the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), as well as on the Advisory Council of the Centre for Management of Agriculture at IIM-Ahmedabad. Committed from the outset of his career to promoting livelihoods for the rural poor, he first established PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action) in 1982. Subsequently, in his work as an independent consultant from 1991-95, Mahajan carried out various assignments for the World Bank and NABARD, ultimately conceptualizing BASIX, which he set up in mid 1996. Till March 2005, BASIX had helped support the livelihoods of over 150,000 poor households in the agriculture, allied, and non-farm sectors by extending micro-credit worth over Rs. 350 Crores and providing a range of livelihood promotion services. In 1996, Mahajan also co-authored the book “The Forgotten Sector: Non-Farm Employment and Enterprises in Rural India” and, in 2002, was selected as one of the Schwab Foundation’s 60 most “Outstanding Social Entrepreneurs”. Mr. Mahajan is a graduate of IIT-Delhi (1975), IIM-Ahmedabad (1981) and was a mid-career fellow at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public International Affairs (1989), where he studied economic development policy.
William Bissell
William Bissell is Managing Director of Fabindia Ltd., Managing Trustee of the Bhadurajun Artisan Trust, and both Trustee and Treasurer for the Center for Science and Environment, an environmental group in New Delhi. With respect to Fabindia, Bissell’s mission has been to continue his parents’ work with village-based artisans, employing their regional textile skills and competencies and thereby also preserving the traditional crafts of India in the process. Bissell and his father also co-founded the Bhadurajun Artisan Trust in 1992, inspired to create a prototype school that would empower poor rural youths to shape their own lives and transform the state of Rajasthan. From its inception, the Fabindia School has been committed to educational opportunities for girls, even subsidizing their tuition. The school also stresses environmental education, exposing students to issues of the larger world through workshops conducted by expert visitors. With the 250-student `core school’ in Bali now well established, the plan is to open more Fabindia schools elsewhere in Rajasthan. Bissell received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1988.
Devi Shetty
Dr. Devi Shetty is credited with many firsts, among others, being the first heart surgeon in India to venture into neo-natal open-heart surgery, the first surgeon in the world to close a hole in the heart with the help of a microchip camera, and the first Indian doctor to have used an artificial heart. He is also responsible for introducing the concept of assembly line heart surgery, which aims at both reducing costs and achieving zero mortality. Throughout his practice, Dr. Shetty has shown a commitment to working with children; He operates free for kids under twelve, and of his 13,000 career operations, over 5000 operations were on children. Born in south India, Dr. Shetty studied General Surgery at the Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore (1982) and trained and operated in the Cardiac Surgery unit for 6 years at Guy’s Hospital in London (1983-89). When he returned to India in 1989, he joined the Birla Heart Research Foundation and co-founded the Asia Heart Foundation (AHF), a 140-bed hospital Research Institute in Calcutta. AHF in turn started the Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI) of Cardiac Sciences which became the largest heart hospital in East India by 2004. In 1997 he and his team set up the Manipal Heart Foundation, a 450-bed heart operation facility, and in 2001, he founded Narayan Hridiyalay in Bangalore. Between 2001 and 2004, the original building for the latter was expanded to 6 stories with 500 beds. Dr Shetty’s ongoing mission is to make cardiac surgery affordable by creating a chain of heart hospitals in every state in India.
Vineet Rai
Vineet Rai is CEO and co-founder of both Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund and Intellectual Capital Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd (a.k.a. Intellecap). He is a serial social entrepreneur with more than 10 years of experience in developing innovative rural financing mechanisms. Having served at age 26 as the first Chief Executive of GIAN, a business incubation fund based in Ahmedabad, Rai then went on to co-found the Rural Innovation Network (RIN) in 2000. Rai is an Ashoka Fellow and has been bestowed honorary membership to the Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI) Alumni Association, a premier management institute in India. Both awards were made in recognition of his contributions to the field of social entrepreneurship. He serves on the board of Cashpor Micro Credit (the largest microfinance institution in North India) and is also an Advisory Board member of L-RAMP at IIT-Chennai, as well as the Joint Task Force of the Government of Uttranchal on issues of social venture capital formation. In 2006, Aavishkaar was selected for the World Business Award, jointly awarded by the UNDP, the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, and the International Chambers of Commerce, in recognition of its leading contribution to the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals.
Tips for Entrepreneur –
Tips for Entrepreneurs - by KB Chandrashekhar
Do’s:
1. Take Risks – Be willing to fail and apply learnings
2. Your passion for the concept is what brings everyone together
3. Communicate openly – both good and bad news
4. Stay focused on the core theme but adapt to market and technology changes
5. Your success is based on making your customer successful
Don’t:
1. Win one battle at a time – do not open too many fronts on market segments, technology
2. Do not overspend till you know the concept works and you are ready to scale the business
3. Do not create bureaucracy – start up is about small teams working together
4. Do not neglect face time with employees, customers and partners
5. Do not neglect family; make sure they are partners in this journey
Managing Cross - Border Teams
Often, in the effort of being closer to the customer, companies tend to have their management/founding teams across two geographies. While in growth stage companies the pains and challenges of cross-border resource management would be handled through time-tested processes, early stage entrepreneurs need to be aware of the following aspects while dealing with cross-border teams :
Be sure that operating in two geographies will impact your social life : Conference calls at odd times, working in each others time zones, etc. will definitely reduce the flexibility in your personal life. It can often get strenuous and you and your family have to be prepared for that.
Chats, e-mails, web-conferences, etc. cannot replace in-person interactions : Physical meetings are necessary and you need to plan for them as appropriate. Often, issues can get resolved better or faster during in-person meetings.
Do not make the mistake of splitting responsibility by location : Location must be made irrelevant and the person should assume responsibility for that function across a seamless team and not for a particular geography. When you split function by geography, you would spend more time in resolving conflicts and blame share between two geographies.
Be excessive and not moderate while using cc function on mail : When in doubt, copy. Do not exclude someone from mail exchanges as you may not be sure if he/she, especially if senior, needs to know that particular detail. That protocol works when the teams are in the same location but when in different time zones, restricted cc may cause time delays.
Make presentations and decisions inclusive : E.g. if a customer presentation or proposal is to be prepared, create a framework for people across geographies to contribute as it not only leads to a more diverse set of views to be included but the feeling of inclusion strengthens the team spirit.
If the teams are multi-cultural, it is best to identify a common work culture that all understand and adhere to : E.g. the US culture of openness, assertiveness, allowing room for views to be expressed and defended across rank works well in most cases.
Resolve issues well : It is best to do a content based issue resolution and not individual based.
Jerry Rao, Chairman Mphasis
Living a Successful Life - by Chanda Kochhar
”If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves” - Thomas Edison
I believe each one of us has the potential to achieve extraordinary success in life. Thoughts that I am sharing with you are not just ideas but are the principles that I have applied to my life day in and day out. Applicability of these success principles is not a function of what your current status is or what goal you cherish in your heart but these are timeless principles used by many successful people in history.
For me living a successful life means to balance one’s goals in each of our life’s quadrant: Work, Family, Friends and Self. And here is my recipe of living a successful life:
Accept responsibility for your own work and life resultsAs rightly said by Anthony Robins, “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” Choose to accept 100% responsibility of whatever that is or is not happening to you.
PrioritizePrioritisation is the key to successfully handle multiple tasks when time is a constraint. You need to prioritise not only your goals but also all activities of your everyday. On a given day one may be required to concentrate on work and home related activities take a back-seat and may happen vise-versa on some other day.
Time ManagementNeed of the hour is to
Stay focused on things that are urgent and important as well as not urgent but important
Dedicate quality time to each quadrant of your life
Use support systemsDon’t be shy to ask for help from all the possible support system that is available to you, which maybe in terms of your husband, in-laws, colleagues, friends or relatives. Change your mindsetIf nobody pats you on the back, pat yourself on the back and also help others to do the same. You need to establish yourself as a person who not only gets things done, but also enjoys doing it. At work, because of the enthusiasm that you will radiate, people will want you in their team and they will wish to be in your team.
Remember, these principles work for you only if you work on these principles. If you apply these principles diligently you will achieve your dreams, but it won’t happen overnight. Success requires time, perseverance, hard work and patience. In the end, it is our passion for excellence that shapes our future because - thoughts lead to acts, acts lead to habits, habits build our character and our character will determine our destiny…!
Top 5 things Investors look for in early-stage business plans by Gopal Krishna (Band of Angels)
In general, sophisticated early stage investors do not expect a robust business plan/model. The plan takes more concrete shape as the business evolves. What they do expect is preparation that enables them to bet on an entrepreneur. Here are the top 5 things they look for :
1. Entrepreneur
Is it a passion or hobby? Is there “fire-in-the-belly” to make it a success against all odds?
Does the entrepreneur inspire confidence? Can he/she build a team?
Can the entrepreneur learn, think and execute. Has he/she demonstrated high achievement orientation in the past?
Is there a very high level of integrity and ethical standards?
Does the entrepreneur understand his/her domain?
If there is a team: Can the team work together? Does the team have relevant knowledge/expertise?
2. Market size and competition
How large is the target market? How rapidly is it expected to grow?
What are the gaps in competitor strategies?
What are the critical success factors?
3. Customer need
Working on painkillers or vitamins, in other words, solving a true customer pain or creating a nice-to-have solution?
Which company or companies does the entrepreneur want to emulate?
4. Scale - start small and grow big?
Can the business get traction with a small amount of capital and does it have the potential to scale?
Are there some critical elements that the entrepreneur gets and others do not?
5. Chemistry
Can the entrepreneur and investors work together?
Follow your instincts - by Arjun Malhotra
What makes a person a successful entrepreneur? I have often been asked this question. My answer, at the cost of sounding clichéd, is: an unquenchable zeal to act on your passions, and sustained belief in yourself.
Thirty years ago, when there was hardly any sign of the burgeoning growth of the IT industry in this country, six of us took a decision that most of our friends and relatives termed as “brave, but not necessarily intelligent”. We left an organization that was doing exceptionally well, and plunged into the uncertain world of adventure and entrepreneurship.
In the ‘70s, the decision to leave a company like DCM and start a company from a roof-top barsati (equivalent to the Silicon Valley garages) was “brave”, by all means. The capital deployed was a mere Rs 175,000, or $ 4,000 at current exchange rates. But the seeds we sowed have become the dynamic HCL Group, a 40,000 strong, $ 3.7 billion group with a presence in almost all continents.
Mere statistics can’t begin to tell the entire story – of industry creation, market creation, and market expansion. Of technology change, of technology acquisition and product development. Of cannibalizing successful products and businesses, of repeatedly gutting a powerful delivery organization and rebuilding it for emerging opportunities. Of seeing rare skills become obsolete, and proactively re-skilling highly intelligent persons to address new challenges. Of new paradigm recognition, creation, development and refinement, separately for the Indian and global environments.
Case studies have been written about HCL’s transitions, including one by HBS when software outsourcing began, way back in 1996. The pioneering, the strategisation, the rapid reinvention are still fresh in our minds. The successes and failures are the elements of de-risking for future endeavours. After my tryst with HCL for more than 20 years, I started TechSpan in late 1998 with funding from Goldman Sachs and Walden International. TechSpan was later merged with Headstrong in November 2003.
It was tough to leave an organization, particularly one you have started and have grown. It also involved the risk of starting things from scratch. But I decided to follow my instincts once again.
Success in a venture, however, demands things other than your instinctive ideas. It requires extensive research, meticulous planning and thorough implementation.
Therefore, before taking a conclusive decision you must find answers, honest and unbiased, to the following questions:
1. How much faith do you have in yourself?
2. Do you have a vision in life?
3. How much risk can you take?
Three steps I suggest to budding entrepreneurs in starting their own businesses are:
1. Get some experience: It always helps. Experience helps get clarity of thought and in finding the right direction.
2. Find a passion: You will be happy only when you are passionate with your work and enjoy it.
3. Build a team: A well-knit team is crucial for the growth and development of an organization. Two minds work better and faster than one, as they say.
Fundamentals for success for any entrepreneur, I would summarise as the answers to a few basic questions; get these right and success will be yours:
1. Why will someone buy your product? What benefit are you going to deliver to him?
2. Who will be your stakeholders? What value are you going to deliver to each one of them?
3. What value are you personally going to deliver to the entire enterprise? How will you justify your continued inclusion in it?
And the most important one to you personally: does this picture generate passion in you… the passion to continue with it through thick and thin, persisting through adversity to find the answers and come out on top?
The final ingredients of success are, however, commitment and dedication. Unless you have unwavering focus on your goals and you work hard (I mean hard), your passion will fall flat on the ground.
Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurial Traits - by Kanwal Rekhi
Entrepreneurs, Modern Revolutionaries:
Entrepreneurs can revolutionize societies by adding economic dynamism, setting them on way to increasing prosperities. They are also the only source of new wealth and productive jobs in the society. It only takes a small part of the population to become successful entrepreneurs to pull the whole society along. India is going through such a transformation now and it is a matter of time that the crushing poverty that India has been known for will be history. It seems to have finally unleashed its entrepreneurs genius and is well on its way to assuming its rightful place on the global stage.
I have mentored thousands of young aspiring entrepreneurs over last dozen years. I have come to believe that entrepreneurs are born and not made; but on the other hand the entrepreneurial genes, if there are any, seem to be randomly distributed. One does not necessarily inherit them from his parents.
Entrepreneurial journey is a lonely journey though. Only 1 to 2% of the general population is endowed with the right stuff. The burden is on the entrepreneur to prove that he has the right stuff as it is an easy bet to place them in the larger pool. An initial opt-in to become an entrepreneur improves odds by a factor five over the general population. These odds further improve as one is not deterred by failures. In any case, outside factors play a major role and one can never be certain about the success. Odds may be low but for those who persist and succeed the rewards, financial and spiritual, are more than worth it.
Entrepreneurial Traits
No one set of values or traits defines entrepreneurs. Rather it is a combination of traits that gives them an edge. One trait that seems to be necessary (but not sufficient) is leadership. Entrepreneurs must at minimum, be skilled enough to assemble teams, provide vision, and inspire confidence. In addition, entrepreneurs are, per necessity, intelligent, hard-working and street smart. They are also fast learners. Some other traits, in no particular order are:
Intellectually honest. Intellectual honesty is a hallmark of entrepreneurs. They constantly reassess their assumptions and discarding the ones that can no longer be defended. They have very realistic awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses. They are their own harshest critics.
Confident. Entrepreneurs are very confident -but not arrogant- people. They bring a winning attitude to everything they take on.
Results oriented. Entrepreneurs are obsessed with producing measurable results. They have no respect for the mindless processes.
Value oriented. Entrepreneurs are instinctively value oriented. They are financial thinkers and notions of costs, expenses, value-added, margins, and profits are ingrained in them.
Innovative. They are “out of the box” thinkers. They question the conventional wisdom and think of newer and better ways of doing things. They thrive when they are out of their elements.
Generalist. Entrepreneurs are by and large generalist and not specialists. They must understand and manage every aspect of business and not favor their own area of expertise.
Risk taking. Entrepreneurs are action oriented and risk takers, but are smart and calculating in their approach and don’t take foolish risks. They are also looking at ways to eliminate risks they may have assumed.
Persistent. Entrepreneurs are very persistent and not easily discouraged. They usually outlast the competition.
Efficient. Efficient use of resources is at the heart of successful entrepreneurship.
Knowledgeable. Entrepreneurs are very knowledgeable about their environment. They make it their business to know all about their markets, competition and technologies.
Fair. Entrepreneurs bring a strong sense of fair play to the table. They are very aware of the contributions of others. They also have a win-win mindset with respect to fellow workers and customers.
Competitive. Entrepreneurs are very competitive and constantly benchmark themselves against the best in the industry.
Opportunistic. Entrepreneurs are very opportunistic in their approach and become very tactical when it suits them while maintaining their strategic vision.
Inward looking. Entrepreneurs internalize problems rather than externalize them. They do not blame others for their failures. They also do not need outside validation to feel confident.
Rebellious. Entrepreneurs have no respect for an established order. Indeed, they typically benefit when the established order is upset.
Self-motivated. Entrepreneurs draw their strength from deep inside them. They by and large do not need much help from others. A simple spark or inspiration is enough to get them started.
Not all these traits are necessarily present in every successful entrepreneur. A healthy combination of these traits, however, is present in most successful entrepreneurs.
Branding Dos and Don'ts - by Rama Bijapurkar
Do
Remember that a brand is not about a colourful logo and a clever tag line or slogan. It is a shorthand easy to communicate way for your customers to know what is so special about your company or product.
Focus on having a very clear brand proposition or better still a very clear rivalry proposition. It is the answer to the customer question ”why should I buy you and not your competitor”?
Ensure that the answer to “why buy me” is not about how wonderful your product or company attributes are; but is about what benefits the customer gets from using you.
Respect the fact that the way customers process value and what they feel about importance of benefits may be different from the way you feel. Customers are always logical. It’s called “customer logic”. It helps to understand that, before trying to change it. May be they have a point!
Know that brands are like people. How saleable a person is depends on his / her Functional Competence, Personality and Relationship with the other. When two people have the same level of functional competence then the choice is made on who has the better personality and / or relationship skills.
A winning brand is superior on all 3 counts
Don't
Have brand talk that your business does not walk. It is the fastest way to suicide.
Be incoherent in your branding – every customer touch point must sins off the same hymn sheet. Think “orchestra”. The different elements play differently but the overall music reflects the composer.
Forget that customer perceived value is based on how they perceive cost. And cost is more than price. It is total cost of acquisition and usage.
Forget that in service businesses, HR plays the most important brand building function – every individual has to live the brand.
Forget that brands reflect the stakeholders’ passions and beliefs. That’s what gives them authenticity. Evolved brands have evolved souls. Just like people!
What I look for in an entrepreneur – by Pravin Gandhi
Ten things I look for in an entrepreneur
1. Passion - Passion to create a difference and the ability to stick thru the ups & downs can only be there if there is that passion.2. Patience - Sift them many ideas, validate & then launch. Understands that this is not about spreadsheets, but real revenue & real benefits.3. Be a good listener - Ability to listen and willingness to accept another point of view provides flexibility. A good listener is always alert towards getting insights from those who may have a more experienced view about the topic under discussion.4. Be a good team member - Understand that you need a team, by yourself you'd be stretched to execute.5. Leadership - Must be a good leader, understand people issues and is able to manage them thru the difficult journey. Especially managing a peer group is a serious challenge.6. Share- Be generous about sharing ownership of the company with others who take the risk with you. Team must stay intact thru thick & thin including your investors.7. Value, not valuation - Must be focussed on creating value & not a valuation. If one creates value, valuation will automatically follow. Remember this is not & should not be a short journey.8. Inclusive - In growing companies, people need to be empowered to keep them motivated to deliver. Delegation and, more importantly, inclusion in the growth strategy is a great motivator.9. Flexible and not stuck on his idea only - Entrepreneurs who recognize that things do and can go wrong are more likely to succeed. Though this seems obvious, this often is the toughest aspect of entrepreneurship if not imbibed at the incubation stage itself.10. Understand that success is not dependent only on a great idea. Execution is equally if not more important.
Entrepreneurial tips from Anand Mahindra
Going Global
1. Do believe in yourself
2. Don't be afraid of failure - if you fail, "fail forward"
3. Do take risks for things you believe in
4. Do aim for true competitiveness - not just low cost advantage
5. Do think big
Innovation
1. Leverage Indianness - we, in India, have a talent for using innovation to better our lives.
2. India's competitive advantage lies in our ability to provide high quality innovation at the lowest cost per unit of innovation.
3. Don't penalize people for trying to innovate - reward them for effort and risk taking.
4. Build respect for innovation within the organisation by promoting IPR and sharing the gains of innovation.
5. Innovation is everywhere including our villages - look for it and help it blossom.
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