Lessons to be learnt from ‘perfect entrepreneurs' – Part II

The second and concluding part of the excerpts from the speech of Mr Subroto Bagchi, Vice-Chairman and Gardener, MindTree Ltd.

Understanding the 70:30 principle

The sixth great entrepreneur is Dr Devi Shetty. He saw opportunity at the bottom of the pyramid. People think you can build a great business if you sell a Mercedes or start a five-star hotel. Nothing can be farthest from the truth. The economic power is shifting to the poor because they may be individually poor but collectively they are rich. So Dr Devi Shetty started his hospital. He drew inspiration from Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy who started the Arvind Eye Hospital.

The hospital model was that 30 per cent of the paying customers took care of the 70 per cent of free customers. This number is huge because last year 2.4 million people were seen and 3 lakh people operated upon; 70 per cent operations were free. The same principle applies in Narayana Hridalaya. If you are a child below three, irrespective of your country of origin, you are operated free. In addition, Dr Shetty got the Karnataka Government to start an insurance scheme called Yeshaswini whereby every farmer in the State can get insurance for Rs 5 a month. You can get an open heart surgery done if you have a heart condition. In the US, it costs you Rs 40 lakh. In India a few lakhs. Here, it is for Rs 5 a month. It happens because of the principle of the bottom of the pyramid. When millions of farmers pay Rs 5 a month that pays for the cost of the surgery. Dr Shetty understood the principle of the 70:30.

Feelings

The seventh is of feelings. Nobody understands that better than Mr Harish Hande who founded Selco. It is a social enterprise, a profitable company. Mr Harish got his Ph.D from Boston University. When he was doing PhD, a chance visit to South America made him realise that there's a connection between poverty and darkness. Poor people do not have electrical connections. Forty per cent of Indians do not have connection to a grid, not electricity, but to a grid. They remain poor because they cannot do business in the dark. He came back and decided his whole life should be devoted to bringing solar energy.

To really understand what it is to live in darkness, he felt he must go to a country where he does not understand the language and must stay with villagers to see through their actions and not words what it is like to live in darkness. He went to Sri Lanka and realised that what they needed most was solar energy not for cooking or lighting but to keep the elephants at bay because every evening the elephants would come and devastate the villages.

He came back to India and has made this his life-long desire. He creates solar solutions for vegetable vendors, cobblers and small farmers in the remotest parts. His principle is nobody should buy his solutions with their revenues or profits but should buy it in such a way that it extends their business so that additional business is for the price of the solar solution. If you are a vegetable vendor, don't take away from your savings. Mr Harish brings the solutions and if you sell for eight hours instead of six, the additional two hours of business will pay for the solutions. If we have a future Nobel prize winner, it's Mr Harish for you. His starting point was not capital, nor was it was technological brilliance, but feeling. It was for people who lived in darkness.

Love and competence

The next thing to be a successful entrepreneur is you need to find the love and intersect that with competence and find your own path. Ms Anita Shah, who started Hibiscus, was a homemaker till her 40s. Her passion was gardening. She started attending trade shows when she was in the US. There she started Hibiscus. She found that lot of people would go to trade shows and buy ceramic urns. On her own, she went to source the ceramic pots in Thailand and Indonesia. She established contacts and made friends with local suppliers. Today, she is the most important destination for people who love gardening and other gardening artefacts. Because she loved something she went the extra mile and because the path was not available to her, she went to find her own path.

Customer service

Two other entrepreneurs, I chanced across – Printo, a place for doing photocopying, for putting photos on mugs and Tee-shirts. It is also a good quality place for documentation and spiral binding. Here I was talking to the sales person that I need so many copies and he said it would cost Rs 18,000. Since I was doing this for a school, I asked for a better deal. Who is your owner? I asked. He said it was started by two people. One is a lady called Ms Lalana Zaveri. He gave me the number and I had no hope that this number would get picked up. But she did and I explained to her in two minutes what I was looking for. She said if I could send that material by mail, she would call me back. At 10 she called up and said this is the best deal we can do for you. At 11 in the night she has given me a solution that works.

Integrity

The 10th idea is not finding a lot of currency in the world today. And that is integrity. Mr Azim Premji's father started an oil business in Maharashtra in 1947. Mr Premji was forced to come back to India. After the oil mill business was stabilised, he felt he must get into an engineering business where the input-output ratio is better and went into the software business. The rest is history.

At this time he needed to get out of Maharashtra as he did not want to have all the eggs in the same basket. He started an oil plant near Tumkur in Karnataka. The plant was all set to go into production, but the electricity authorities would not give the connection unless he parted with some money.

He would not give money and it became a tug of war. The plant was losing money every day as the capacity was not being utilised, the people were hired and there was no production as Mr Premji would not pay a single paise. This went on for one full year. Then one day out of sheer disgust the electricity guys said that this fellow will not pay any money, they came and connected the electricity.

The people who take bribes see if you are willing to give bribes and people who take bribes test out like beggars at the intersection. I'm deliberately making the comparison. They will not waste time if you don't seem like one who will give money. Bribe takers are highly optimised. Rather than waste time, they will take the next victim. This was a game of nerves. And Mr Premji was willing to play it. When we don't walk the path of integrity we think we should have a special red carpet welcome.

Actually you will get a welcome on a bed of thorns. But when you take two steps on the bed of thorns, a whole new world will open up before you. The same Mr Premji in a day and age that criticised the government was also given the Padma Vibhushan award. People like Mr Narayana Murthy and Mr Premji actually tell you even in this corrupt society if you stand by your own principles, the same people will also stand up and respect you.

It takes vision, displacement, self confidence, you need to find your passion, and your passion will not find success, you have to find other ways by which your passion can bloom into success, capacity to postpone gratification, look into the future, connect the dots, the future does not come in stereophonic sound, but in low whispers and only some people can hear the whispers of the future.

The whole world is changing and the man who can do business with the poor can be a rich man, but for that you must have feelings. Mr Premji says being good in business is not for charity. It makes good business sense if you are good because good people will work for you, good customers seek you out in a world where good people are becoming scarce.

(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated February 28, 2011)

Lessons to be learnt from ‘perfect entrepreneurs' – Part I

Mr Subroto Bagchi, Vice-Chairman and Gardener, MindTree Ltd, speaks about lessons from 10 entrepreneurs of Bangalore. These people offer different facets to entrepreneurship, he says during the course of his speech at an event organised recently by Business Line in Bangalore. This first part covers the first five entrepreneurs and the lessons learnt from them.

Excerpts from his speech:

Vision

First and foremost, I think entrepreneurship is about vision and every vision creates displacement. It is best exemplified by Mr V.G. Siddartha, who started the Café Coffee Day chain. He departed from the family business of growing coffee and went to Mumbai to learn what investment banking is all about. His father gave him Rs 5 lakh and said “May you do well and if you don't do well, you can come back.” He did not invest the money in the stock market. Instead, he bought a piece of land for Rs 3 lakh and put aside Rs 2 lakh because he felt that the money given to him by his father should not be invested in an area that is uncertain.

The key thing is you should not do things that you do not understand. He took a bus to Mumbai and hired a room with a shared toilet to understand the world of investment. He understood that coffee growing was not the most lucrative of businesses and for its true value to be unlocked it is important to get into retailing. When he wanted to get into it, people wondered who will pay Rs 40 for a cup of coffee. When he insisted, his marketing team said that it's your money and maybe the whole of Bangalore needs three Café Coffee Days. Now there are more than 1,000 all over the world and 300 in Bangalore. Mr Siddartha represents the spirit of vision.

A lot of people may have wonderful ideas. What they don't have is the preparedness to displace themselves. When he went to Mumbai in search of knowledge he was entering a place he did not know. He was far more comfortable in Karnataka but he necessarily displaced himself. All great entrepreneurs have vision and pay a price for vision by embracing displacement.

Self-confidence

The second entrepreneur from this city who's a great example is Ms Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Vision is not enough. You have to have self-confidence. She wanted to study medicine but she could not make it because she fell short a couple of marks in the merit seat. She went to her father and said she would at least study medicine by paying donation. Her father did not support the idea. She said, look if I was your son, you would have given the money. He said this argument will not cut ice with him. Then she came again and said you will get me married and you will give me money and gifts. Instead give me money to study medicine. This didn't work.

Ms Kiran then studied zoology and then brewing in Australia and became the first brewmaster of the country. When she came back she was completely shattered as nobody offered her a job as the country was not ready for a female brewmaster in a male-dominated field. She didn't get a job. While waiting, somebody offered her a proposition to grow enzymes from papayas and that's how Biocon started. Now, when I ask Ms Kiran what is the secret of her success, she says it's about the ‘can-do' attitude and self-confidence. She needed to prove to the world that had rejected her for being a woman that a woman entrepreneur can not only build great business that women are as good as men. She's the biotech queen of the country today.

Passion

The third quality is about following your own passion. Mr Narayan Manepalli is a man who started Bangalore's first micro brewery. I know this is a wrong example to give in an educational institution. Mr Manepalli found his partner in Standard 4. Sometimes you find business partners as early as that. They graduated together and both of them studied engineering in two different places.

When he was in the West Coast, he stumbled upon micro-brewing. When he came back to India, he met his old friend and decided to start. Here's the catch. You may find your passion and the world may not be interested to support it. You could make beer but cannot get into micro-brewing. They did not give up. They exported the formula to Belgium, got the product made there and imported it. The law said they cannot start micro brewery in the country, but it did not say that you cannot import beer.

It meant that when you pay the customs duty, a beer that costs you Rs 40 costs you Rs 400. Both of them thought that it is important to establish the brand. It is called Geist. Mr Manepalli found his passion and it is the capacity to hang in there that makes you a successful entrepreneur.

Postpone gratification

The next important quality is the capacity to postpone the gratification. These individuals who can postpone their desire are successful. Infosys will soon be 30 years old, TCS 40 years old and Wipro was established in 1947. It is not possible to build a sustainable high performance enterprise in 5-10 or 15 years. It takes at least 25 years to build a company that will not fade away after the founder has gone. There are great examples of postponed gratification, sometimes for 25-30 years.

Work has to be done, the results will come later. A man who symbolises that best is Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy. If Mr Murthy had thought of making money, buying an apartment, buying a second apartment when he started Infosys, he would not have been able to build one of the most memorable companies, an institution that is globally respected. The important requirement to build a great organisation is the capacity to postpone gratification.

Connecting the dots

The other great entrepreneur is Capt G.R. Gopinath. His capacity was in terms of connecting the dots as he looked into the future. The future does not present itself as a clear picture. It presents itself at best as a pattern and you have to have the capacity to connect the dots in the pattern and certainly the pattern emerges and you see something that others do not.

Capt Gopinath was an organic farmer. In Bangalore, he met his old friend Sam who was an ex-army pilot. They used to play squash together. Sam did not have a job after retirement. Helicopter pilots do not get jobs that easily after they retire. One day he told Capt Gopinath that he found a job as a regional manager in a courier company. Capt Gopinath was shattered. He thought, we really need airlines and pilots and here was a pilot joining a courier company. Shortly after that Capt Gopinath went to China. He read a newspaper report on a Vietnamese woman who was returning to Vietnam. On seeing her country, she started crying. “Oh my God, my country is shattered. What can I do to rebuild that country.” Maybe I should start a helicopter company.

Capt Gopinath was in China and suddenly he had the capacity to connect the dots. If Vietnam needed a helicopter company, India needed it 10 times over. With liberalisation, the country will need air connectivity. He put the two things together and said I'll start a helicopter company. When he started it, he did not even know the price of a helicopter.

He said thank God for that, because if I knew, I would have never gone into the business. One day when he was flying to Goa, he saw every village had a dish antenna. Then it occurred to him that this is a not a country to be subsidized and fed. This is a country where a billion people can fly. He saw how the dots connected into the future and that's how he started the first low-cost airline of the country. He had the capacity to connect the dots.

…to be continued

Source: This article was published in Business Line, Feb 13^th 2011.

A Day with Prof Sunil Handa, an Entrepreneur Evangelist

We hear about so called Evangelist, in different fields. There are umpteen numbers of such folks. But there are few people who redefine Evangelism itself. They live, eat , breathe and preach what they love. You meet them once and it changes your life in a unique way. I have had the fortune to meet few such people. One such person who had come down to our campus is Mr. Sunil Handa, Professor at IIM Ahmedabad who takes LEM (Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Motivation) in IIM-A. When I saw the workshop invitation from IIM-Lucknow’s E-cell wing, I assumed it to just to be another so called workshop sessions. Except that this mail stated that he is not only a seasoned entrepreneur, he has inspired and motivated many of his students to take the untrodden path and become entrepreneurs themselves. I have been playing with this thought for sometime about taking the path of entrepreneur and making my mark, yet there has been this ‘What If” scenario in my mind. What if I fail, What if I don’t succeed… So I thought why not go and listen to a wise man and hear it from the horse’s mouth itself – what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.



Prof.Sunil Handa started the workshop with the question why have you people come for this workshop. Few said they had come to listen to him. Someone said that he had been having an idea in his mind for a long time and that he wanted to hear his speech to be inspired. Prof Handa called it the “Kick in the Ass” requirement.

And then he started sharing about his experience as an entrepreneur. One thing which stood out of his speech is the fact that the guy is passionately passionate about ‘Entrepreneurship”. Every word and every action of his would make you think and consider Entrepreneurship as your career option. The workshop he took was of three sessions of two hour duration. I can’t put down all that he shared with us (mainly coz I don’t remember all that was shared), yet Iam sharing the important highlights which he said about entrepreneurship.

Foremost, the point he said was that it’s best to become an entrepreneur as soon as you can. Few of the people had asked if it’s better to work for few years (2-3 years) , save some money, build network and then try out the waters. For which Prof. Handa said that the two years at this time of our life is equivalent to 20 years of his time. The energy, madness, passion and enthu which we have at this moment will fade as time goes on. Not to mention, the additional responsibilities which we would be having. Hence, this is the best time ! About the money saving/network, he said that at this time, the money we would end saving would be miniscule which can be arranged anyhow. And the contacts aim to make, would be of our similar profile, to be of any major help. Overall, his message was that the two years not is the GOLDEN period of your life. Leverage it!!!

Another important message which he had shared was the fact that whichever business you want to start on, make sure you are the KING in that business. Nobody in this world should be more knowledgeable than you in that field. Know the in and outs of the business, its working, your competitors etc. The moment you are qualified to that extent, you will be the best in your business too.

Then he told us the importance of Partnership. Partnership is the most important thing while starting out, hence choose your partner wisely. He advised that Partners should have complementary skills, instead of having someone you like, or someone you gel well with. He said that Partnership is a deep and meaningful bond which one has to share. So choose carefully and in a wise manner.

He also said the two commonly repeated phrases which a Entrepreneur hears often. First, is whenever you suggest to do something in new way, people will give you one answer – “we cant do it that way – Coz people have never done it that way!” Secondly, most of the time things will go on as they have been going on. Be it be any process to manufacture something, or way of ordering things etc. unless you question it, it wouldn’t change. And questioning is what every entrepreneur should do. Because, most often, we can find new ways of doing things much better. The standard reply people will give when you ask them why weren’t you told that this could be done before is – “You never asked me”

I will end up by saying the one thing he said which stood out in his workshop. You all would have heard about it, yet it’s the ‘Elixir’ for an Entrepreneur. It is “Never give up”. In the business and in life, you will face many situations when obstacles seems insurmountable, you don’t find answers to your problems, and nothing seems to be happening. At those moments, remember this – NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP ! Some thing would definitely happen., if you keep persisting, the problem is gonna yield sometime. But just ensure that you NEVER YIELD to the PROBLEM.

Thus ended the wonderful six hour session workshop by Prof.Sunil Handa. Just want to convey my sincere thanks to him and hopefully one day will give my Guru Dakshana to him by charting along the same path and making my mark. He is one hell of an Evangelist !!!

Perfect Show With Rajan Narayanan - A Passionate Enterpriser !!

The PS Show is Back !!

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius said it right,

"A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions."

In this edition of PERFECT show, we have a person who symbolizes and has lived his life based on the strength of his ambitions., It gives me great pleasure to have Mr. Rajan Narayanan, in the PERFECT show. Rajan is a former Vice Chairman & COO, Linc Software and presently the Senior Vice-president, MindTree Ltd.


He did his engineering at REC,Trichy, and joined AV Thomas Software Research, as a Hardware Engineer, after which he switched on to Software to work with Advent Computer Services Ltd for 4 years, and then went on to establish Linc Software with two friends in 1988. He was the CEO at Advent, when he decided to be an entrepreneur and founded Linc Software.Rajan Narayanan is also an active member of RECAL Alumni Bangalore Chapter and is currently the President of RECAL Bangalore Chapter.

Now its over to the Show.

Guest: Mr. Rajan Narayanan : RN
Host: Prashant Sree : PS

PS: Hi Rajan, I on behalf of my readers Welcome you to the PERFECT SHOW. Its a honour to have you in the Show.
RN: Thanks Prashant, Its my pleasure to be in the Show.

PS: Sir,What are you passionate about in Life ?
RN: Iam passionate about Entrepreneurship.

Rajan's favorite topic is Entrepreneurship’ and he likes to speak for hours and also has an affinity for the word ‘passion’. His faith and love for IT industry clearly splashes when he quotes Narayan Murthy many times for saying “For the first time in 400 years is India being respected for something” (referring to software industry in India).

PS: What have you learnt in your life( other than academics), which you would like to share with others ?
RN: I have learnt that there is a need to learn, unlearn and relearn continuously. Learning is a continuous journey.


PS:Yes Sir, That's a perpetual truth.,. Now, the next question.
If you are given a wish to change one thing in world, what would you change ?
RN: Poverty

PS: Who is your Favorite Mythological Hero and why ?
RN:My favorite Mythological hero is Krishna …. Because he was the greatest Management Guru ..

PS: Thats an interesting view,Sir. What would you like to stand for in your life ?
RN: Simplicity.

PS: What do you consider your charm ?
RN: My Down to earth nature and character


PS: Iam sure many of the people who have interacted with you will vouch for that., :) What is your Thumb Rule to be successful and happy in Life ?
RN:To be contented at all times, with what you have.,

PS: Sir, now few more questions apart from the regular PERFECT questions. Since you have been in the software industry for a considerable amount of time, What do you think about the Outsourcing phenomenon which is slowly changing in India. How flexible will we be when compared to countries like China,Malaysia who are gearing up for a market share ?
RN:We are clearly the preferred choice as an outsourcing destination today and that trend will continue going forward. We will however face challenges from increased competition but I am confident that our premier position is here to stay.

PS: How do you see the IT industry 5 years from now. How long the IT bubble boom( which has been on consistent for the past 4 years) will remain so...?
RN: I see the IT industry growing over the next 5 years and becoming a formidable force in changing and contributing to the society of this country. The bubble has now become a permanent balloon. We are and will continue to be seen as the best off-shoring destination. Domestic IT industry needs to grow a lot more and that will most likely happen in the next 5 years.

PS: How do you see to what extent Money plays a role of motivating people. Does it hold true as we began to earn more ?
RN: Money does contribute significantly to motivation especially at lower levels. The impact does diminish as one moves up the ladder.

PS: Who have been your role models and for what reasons ?
RN: My parents for their sacrifice, sincerity, simplicity, compassion, and hard work.

PS: Since you have been an entrepreneur, What do you think are the things which the entrepreneur has to be careful of, before launching his own startup..
RN: The answer is simple.,. All that is needed is just an idea, the passion to execute it and the ability to think big.

PS: What are the 3 most important lessons, which you learnt in your first 3 years of Job ?
RN: My learning's have been many, yet the 3 most prominent one's are:

• The first and most important lesson was that learning had just begun with the first job whilst we mostly think that learning ends when we graduate from university.

• That the “Customer is always right “ and therefore Customer comes first as the major stakeholder

• Importance of understanding Customer’s business / need to enhance domain knowledge

PS: What are your favorite quotes and your favorite books till date ? –
RN: Favorite quote is “THINK” by Thomas J Watson, Jr (IBM). and book – the one I had just began writing ..



PS: Thats amazing Sir. I didnt know till now that you are writing a book., Looking forward to your book. And, we have come to the end of the PERFECT Show. I thank you for spending your precious time with us and for answering the questions. On behalf my readers, I wish you and your family a Successful Happy Life.
RN: Thanks Prashant. Wish you All the Best.

“If you trust the winner within you, you will win.

If you can keep your courage, you will go so far.

If you follow your ambitions, your course will guide you toward a ladder that you can climb to your stars.”

I hope you enjoyed this edition of PERFECT Show, and also learnt something. I had taken some excerpts from "http://meetyourbuddy.blogspot.com/", a blog which Anurag and Arpit had initiated.,.

Take Control !

A Day with an Entrepreneur !! - First Edition of "PERFECT" show

Watch, listen, and learn. You can't know it all yourself..
Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.

- Donald Trump

This is the main idea behind the PERFECT show. To learn from others and grow ourself. I invite you to the first episode of the PERFECT show. We have as our guest, Mr.Ravinder Gujral, Director of Business Development in Dexcel Electronics Designs*.

A little background about Ravi. Ravi did his engineering from NIT, Surathkal & completed International Business from IIM, Calcutta. He has worked in Murugappa Group Company & Unified Technologies , before starting on his own by launching MindShell Software along with his collegues. After the merger of MindShell Software with Dexcel Electronics Designs, he now heads the Business Development Group in Dexcel Electronics Designs*.

THE "PERFECT" SHOW:

Guest - RG: Ravinder Gujral
Host - ME: Prashant Sree

ME: Hi Ravi, Thanks for being a guest in the first edition of the PERFECT show.
R.G: It's my pleasure.

ME: Here we start with a bouncer ? ;) What are u passionate about in Life & why ?
RG: Prashant one thing i would like to tell you that some of the answers might be Philosophical :-(. But anyway let me try to tell you what i know or what i think.

ME: Sure.,. If I am bowling a bouncer, i do expect it to be hit for a sixer :) so go on.,. So what is ur philosophy of life ?
RG: Let me answer your questions...you can drive yourself in the end :-)

ME: Lol :) I am all ears
RG: I am passionate about working hard to realize my dream come true.... I am passionate about exploring life to learn more from it.. I am passionate about doing what i think i can do....

ME: Thats an Amazing attitude, Ravi.,.
RG: Thanks

ME: Seems i have to go thro the lines more than once to understand the underlying meaning. Ok, my second volley. What have you learnt in ur life till now, which you would like to share with others ?

RG:I have learnt many things and understanding about the things will be different from the different prospective for different person...My real learning started when i left my home after 12th standard to study my Engineering. It was totally different experience... being from a small village from Haryana and coming down to Karnataka (Mangalore)..

When someone ask me this question it always takes me back to my college days...where prof. lectures were a bouncer for me... English was an alien language for me that time... I learnt to accommodate in different environment.....

ME: Oh. that would have been testing times ?
RG: Yes it was. I learnt to understand myself.. That time made me to think..what am i doing? what is my strength, what is my weakness etc etc..

ME: And were u able to discover the real purpose ?
RG: College life taught me to realise my potential. Yes. Upto a certain extent...I learnt that every one is single and unique in his/her life..... Life has to move on whatever odd may come on the way...

ME: Thats a nice thought.,. Ok, my 3rd Q. What one thing would you like to change in world, if you can do anything you want.,.
RG: If God gives me a wish to change one thing is the world then i will ask to remove hunger from the face of world....

ME: A noble thought.,. Any particular reasons for that ?
RG: A man/woman can face any hardship in life but they can not bear the hunger

ME: Yes, i get the point. Do u watch Cartoons or mythological fables ?
RG: Yes, i do.

ME: Then my 4 Q will be easy for you to answer, Which mythological hero do u like most and why ?
RG: I like Krishna

ME: Thought so.,. :) And your reason plz ?
RG: b'cos he stands for truth ness and he is the master of strategy. He has shown all form which makes him perfect.. Starting from childhood...friendship with Sudhama.
Love with Gopikas, and play with street children. His life is full of action... he played a crucial role in Mahabharata. He is the planner...

ME: Gr8 ravi. Now comin to the next Q, what would you like to evangelize for ?
RG: I like to stand for Integrity.

ME: Nice to hear that.,. Iam sure you are following that.,.Now, what do u consider as your charm ? Your charisma ?
RG: Hmmm... My charm is my smile, enthusiasm and attitude towards life....

ME: Nice ones.,. Now coming to your mantra for life ? What is ur mantra for life ?
RG: hummm that's the interesting one :-) here i go...... You will get what you deserve so work hard to make yourself worthy :-)

ME: Simple yet profound truth :). Ok ravi, now u being an entrepreneur, will u share some of your experiences for budding entrepreneurs ?
RG: you can be specific in your question..

ME: Ok what obstacles you faced after startin on ur own and how u overcame them. A small example, will explain matters well

RG: Obstacles are there even since we have started in different shape and size.....so we have accepted the fact that it will be there forever...so nothing much to worry but to face them... We had Obstacles in term of finance...getting a customer, retaining the employee, adding a new employee, growing the business....every where

ME: Yes., and ur strategy to face them ?
RG: it's again depends on the situation and priority at that point of time...No predefined strategy work

you can define a broad level strategy...but drawing board plan and actual plans are different quite often :-)

ME: haha :). Quite a businessman reply ;)
RG: :-)

ME: Thanks a lot Ravi for sharing your insights about life and urself. I am sure readers will find it useful. I thank you on behalf of my readers. I Wish you the Best in your life :)
RG: It has been my pleasure. Thank You,.,

Thats the end of the first episode of the PERFECT show. I hope that it has been useful to you in some way or the other. Please do share your thoughts and views so that it can be a learning to others also.

Keep waiting for the next episode soon.

Thank You.

• Readers, I must also add that Ravi tied the nuptial knot recently. I take this opportunity to wish him a happy and a successful life :)

To know the driving idea behind the "PERFECT SHOW" check out here

* - Dexcel is an electronics designs house having hardware and software technical capability in FPGA Digital Designs, DSP and Embedded Software. Dexcel started its operation in 2000 and ventured funded company by multibillion dollars group Comcraft, Achieva components (Singapore) and Tecnomics Processors (Singapore).