-RICHARD BRANSON
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.Editor’s Note II 2. President’s Note
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4. Beginning of New Era after Independence 5. What an Idea Sir-jee !!! 6. How Richard Found His Virgin-ity!!
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7. What Makes a Person to be an Entrepreneur?
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8. Go the LEAN way.
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9.Interview with Mr. Vivek Anand, Founder & CEO, IncLabs. 18 10.Inspiration from InCampus Venture.21
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THE EDITORIAL TEAM
Anup Yeolekar Nikita Kiran Yukti Taneja Crystal D ‘Souza
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Rishab Nigam Rahul Bongoni
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EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, A warm welcome to the batch of 2014-15 from Maçon – the Entrepreneurship Cell of IBS Hyderabad and L’Entrepreneur the editorial team. This is the most exciting time of the year partly because of the new friendships being forged and the fond memories being created along the way. The contagious cheer and excitement brought by the new junior batch reminds us all of the memorable past. But the most prominent activity that takes place during this period every year is the change of guard from old to the new. We at L’Entrepreneur too have decided to change with the time by bringing new flairs to our magazine and present our readers with new enriching content. Our focus still remains to act as mouthpiece of Maçon and promote entrepreneurship but at the same time add value and give a quality read. This issue presents an article on the dynamics of new government taking charge and the change in environment for entrepreneurs in India. This issues cover story is on Sir Richard Branson, to understand the lessons and key take-a-ways from his entrepreneurial journey. We also have included an article written on Lean Startup Methodology devised by Eric Ries for creating sustainable ventures. In another article we have tried to throw light on Intrapreneurship. We have also covered an interview with Mr. Vivek Anand, founder and CEO at Inc Labs. To inspire entrepreneurship in students we have covered the story of a venture being successfully run inside campus. We at the Editorial team hope that the hard work we have put in publishing this issue meets its objectives and not only adds value but inspires our readers for entrepreneurship. Happy Reading !!! Regards, Anup Yeolekar Chief Editor, L’Entrepreneur II
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PRESIDENT’S NOTE A warm welcome to the readers of L’Entrepreneur magazine from the Maçon, the entrepreneurship-cell of IBS Hyderabad. It feels just like yesterday that a bunch of us cleared the recruitment round to be part of the esteemed Maçon family, united and brought together by our dream of Entrepreneurship. Thanks to the Maçon family, this year has been particularly eventful and useful. Our seniors molded us to work like professionals and very well transferred the culture and vision of Maçon to its next gen. This year we strive to do the same and live up to the expectations of our dexterous seniors. Year 2013 commenced with a workshop on “business plan making” by our InCube heads. The seniors made sure we hone all the facets of business management skills by giving us the freedom to work across verticals. ME gang, the invaluable program organized by Maçon encompasses complete analysis of different industries and comprehending business opportunities in that sector/industry. The Entrepreneurship India 2013, a week dedicated to the indomitable spirit of Entrepreneurship, was a colossal leap towards our dream of becoming an Entrepreneur. It was during this week that we truly learnt what it takes to organize an event of such stature on a national level. The occasion was graced by eminent and revered Experts in the field of Entrepreneurship including Mr. Satish Khanna, Founder, LAZORR, Miss Ulrike Reinhard, A German Publisher, Author and Futurist and Ms. Reena Ramchandran, Member, Dept. of Performance Management, Government of India. To top it all we all were fortunate to witness and go through a rigorous workshop by our sterling Mentor, Prof. Jojo Mathew George who helped us take our business ideas to the next level. We were fortunate enough to present our plans to the well acclaimed Venture Capitalist Mr. Sateesh Andra. The New Year brings with it new hope and enthusiasm to take Maçon to the next level. Maçon’s mission this year is to create an impact in our own lives, impact on society and to leave its impression beyond IBS Hyderabad. With the arrival of a new batch of creative and aspiring entrepreneurs we just don’t want to take Maçon to the next level but give true value addition to each member of this cell. III
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This will be achieved an improved In-cube program that will not just involve mentoring from the faculty but also from industry experts. Also series of workshop by our very own mentor, Prof. Jojo Mathew George, will be organized. Me Gang is already on the go. We this year plan to leverage the network of colleges our seniors have managed to build for us. We have been attending startup Saturday sessions, which gives us true exposure and opportunity to network with the Hyderabad startup ecosystem. We plan to start with an “executive internship program” through which the juniors will get the chance to work for actual startups in Hyderabad. Before signing off, I would like to thank our seniors once again for guiding us and instilling within us the confidence to continue the legacy of Maçon. On behalf of the entire team, we wish them all the best for their future endeavors. Saloni Anand President, MAÇON, The Entrepreneurship Cell, IBS Hyderabad
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‘Beginning of a New Era After Independence- A Positive Hope for Entrepreneurship in shining India’-Nikita Kiran The art of using unfathomable dreams in stretching limited resources is Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are the new freedom fighters for achieving National Prosperity and have the ability to uplift the hunchbacked India out of the burden of poverty. But India is a riddle. On real time analysis, within today’s India, there seemingly exists four India:
Thanks to it, it became a rage rather a trend, if you may, to voice your opinion. But that could be a myopic generalization. The larger picture however could be the rampant usage of social media as a platform to raise any and every issue related to the “system” of the country. The result of this is the spawning of a single dream of the “acche” India converging from the million miniscule yet optimistic dreams of the multitude.
•The India of the restless laden with poverty and living in inhuman conditions; But can hope and renewed enthusiasm and •The gradually rising middle class; non cynism be enough to bring about the change? •The India of con men, fixers and politicians and Perhaps Entrepreneurship is the answer. •The new synergised Entrepreneurial nation. The Entrepreneurial India is capable of fuelling & propelling this Country to the well being we incessantly hope for and shall perhaps solve and mitigate some of the problems regarding the impoverished and the scamsters. The impoverished and unemployed constitute the majority of Indian population. That day will not be far when they resort to arms to demand their rightful rights. And then vengeance will be rampant, hopelessness and hatred in plethora. The literate middle class remained a mock-up until recently. The reason of the re discovered humanity can be attributed perhaps to the Anna Hazare led Anti Corruption movement.
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Perhaps that is the only entity that can help convert hope into reality and build the India we wish for. A grave and wise Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi has all the wanted qualities & capabilities that can foster this by spurring the system and promoting autonomy. Needless to say he has used reforms in both judicial and administrative areas to bring about the needed change.
Some of the strategic economic reforms that were set in motion by the Narasimha Rao Government accelerated & put on the ground as shinning India by the Vajpayee Government engendered a new, invigorated and revived India. It dismantled the old aristocracy and cemented on the left overs a stronger economy. Almost all major sectors have had the benefit of entrepreneurial infusion. These sectors include Banking, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, IT, Automobiles and Mobile Telephony. It is worth mentioning that E-Commerce in particular has seen an upsurge in entrepreneurial activity, examples being- big players like Flipkart, Snapdeal and Start- Ups like App Virality, Servesy etc.
Their foray into different sectors with much ease acts as a catalyst for their growth. Entrepreneurs always bring something new to the table, challenging and defying orthodox laws. They create wealth in recess, they make new markets and new demands. They utilize the resources in a different, unimaginative way possible making it These reforms are exactly what shall help available in a unique unexpected fashion to their the Entrepreneurial India take the step up a notch. target customers. History stands witness to the success stories of many developed countries like America and many Self-respect, self-trust and determination European Nations and the leading cause behind it is the much needed impetus that Narendra Modi is Entrepreneurship in those countries. The Entre- has helped Indians discover in them, especially preneurial Economy built and destroyed feudal- the youth and filled them with aspirations and ism. India shall learn and follow the footprints of dreams. The new government’s move in entering those successful. the social networks alone drives many a mind.
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The biggest impediment to our Entrepreneurs today is our policies, archaic norms and regulations and layers of bureaucracy that have strangled growth and innovation, inviting more and more corruption.
proposed to be set up. Further the finance minister has set a higher capital ceiling for tagging an enterprise as MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises). What is interesting however is the proposal for easy exit of SMEs through establishment of an entrepreneur friendly legal bankruptcy framework. Besides a “District level District level Incubation and Accelerator Program” will be set up for incubation of new ideas. This and the “Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Program” for fostering rural youth entrepreneurship have been a noteworthy contribution to the Start-Up ecosystem.
But now with the new Iron Man of India, It is relatively easier to clear large-scale industrial projects and expedite clearances, cases and orders waiting for approval. Gujarat stands tall as an exemplary of Modi’s governance but that remains to be seen for India at large. His master stroke of “More Governance and Less Government” is a godsend for Entrepreneurs. For this shall enable them to soar high above the ground without any strings attached and without any inhibitions from the “Good Governance” and its laws.
All this and more signify the boost the new government is trying to give to the entrepreneurial community for its take off and sustainment. However the success of the initiatives suggested shall only come to the fore post their implementation to realize the after The Union Budget, 2014 can be called in to math of the Union Budget and Modi’s thought waves support the argument around Modi’s intentions on the Start-Up community. for a better life for Entrepreneurs. After realizing that the bane of many ill comforts to the Entrepre§ § neurial community is finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, The Finance Minister of India, resonating with Modi’s intentions has proposed various funds for fostering the growth of the subject in point. The Funds of funds (corpus 10,000 crore) has been proposed to be set up for providing them the much needed capital via venture capital funds, Soft loans, Quasi Equity etc. Another fund namely the Technology Development Fund with a corpus of 100 crore has been
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WHAT AN IDEA, SIRJJEE..!! :)
-Yukti Taneja
The world of most entrepreneurial, tech-savvy and self-educated generation; the world of Start-up; this is an inherent characteristic of a Millennial. With the daily digital lives, this cohort strives for a better work life balance. With an every second domed and humped essentials-for-living around, it bounds to invite tycoon-bees to meet the undying needs. The underlying principle of economics says, “Needs are unlimited, Resources are limited!”, and to wane off this demand-supply gap, the But if not entrepreneurship, then what! era of movers-and-shakers is extremely needed. Well, companies know how to ooze out the best While it’s beyond the bounds of possibility from the rest! Coca-Cola’s, “Come home on Deepto yank at the glories in a limited time-frame in awali” ad campaign reflects entirely the work of certain sectors (for e.g. power industry, attributing a management trainee who created and branded the reasons to heavy investments, legal policies, that advertisement all by himself. competitors and much more), technology and digThis is called as Intrapreneurship, wherein ital bytes are, in fact, incessant road to revolutions and improvisations, for such can be seen through an employed person takes up the responsibility of these days virally spread across online social com- turning an idea into a profitable product, takes initiatives and risks, and contributes largely towards munities like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. the company’s growth. He is the one who is usual And the amazing fact is that these commu- ly said to have possessed the traits of an entreprenities were not even heard some 10 years ago and neur. there even have been social platforms which were Intrapreneurship is also about new vena hit for a few years but then vanished all of a sud- tures of the parent brand that can bring in more den like for e.g. hi5, Orkut, etc. ! trade. MNCs these days are widely using this con This is predominantly because the road to cept to engage Gen Y by increasing their particitechnology is bumpy and short-lived! And to gain pation and are working towards their career-prosuch accreditation, the venture should be in an gression, thereby increasing employee retention. untapped segment (which is, now, no longer un- To have economies of scale, it’s important to have tapped!) as done by Mark Zuckerberg, Sachin and more customers and to enjoy that dominant position, in-house idea labs are rewarded. Binny Bansal, etc.
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Orkut was an initiative by a Google employee, Orkut Buyukkokten, which increased Google’s cash inflow and carved a niche in the social community. Intrapreneurship has led to an encyclopedia on wines worldwide with wine tasting events and stores. This wine-community venture, Bottlenotes.com, is a subsidiary of a digital marketing company, Regalix, which now delivers a new portfolio for valuation of the company. Google lets its employees to use 20% of their work time so that their monkeys-in-the-head are never put to rest.
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It’s important to be a growth hacker in today’s cut-throat competitive world, for now the one who gets his thinking cap along is the one who resides by the throne. Global board director of SAP once quoted, “We are either innovating or dying. We must always have entrepreneurial mind set”. After all its survival of the fittest.
Microsoft encourages avant-garde through a physical space known as, “The Garage”. Dell is promoting entrepreneur-in-residence by pushing special projects thereby saving its investment on R&D.
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‘HOW RICHARD FOUND HIS VIRGIN-ity!!’-Anup Yeolekar His father was a barrister and grandfather a Judge. He lives with his mother Eve Branson, wife Joan Templeman, a daughter and a son. For his entrepreneurial success he found his mentor in Sir Freddie Laker.He was honoured with Knighthood for his services to the field of Entrepreneurship in the year 2000. Personality
The life of Sir Richard Branson is a constant source of inspiration to many aspiring entrepreneurs all around the world. His name has become synonymous with Virgin Group and entrepreneurship. The story of his life is not only about the success he had with the Virgin Group but also the adventures and failures he had experienced while creating it. This article is an attempt to share the life story of Sir Richard as a person and the learnings from his entrepreneurial journey that led to the creation of today’s Virgin Empire. This article intends to peek into the mind of successful entrepreneurs to understand the thought process that successful entrepreneurs go through while creating their ventures.
Richard completed his schooling till the age of thirteen from Scaitcliffe School and later attended Stowe School till the age of sixteen. Richard was not particularly a bright student in his studies. Dyslexia was one of the problems, he faced as a child. But he always took leadership roles in sports. He had a particular liking towards swimming. His school principal had once said to him “..You are either going to be a millionaire or you are going to prison, but I am not sure which..” He is also famous for the adventures that he loves to undertake. They range from hot air ballooning (which almost got him killed) to serving as air hostess on his friends airline after losing a bet. He has the risk taking abilities that every entrepreneurs needs. Be it launching multiple companies even after some failed terribly or entering the field of space tourism, he has done it all. He even owns British Virgin Islands.
Fact File
His ability to live life to its fullest can be well summed in the following incident. “Coffee, Richard Charles Nicholas Branson was Tea or Me?” is what Sir Richard Branson the ownborn in Blackheath London, UK on 18th July 1950. er of Virgin Atlantic Airways found himself sayHe is the eldest amongst the four siblings. ing, in a red flight attendant uniform to passengers on a competitor’s flight when he lost a bet to a friend in the airline industry. 10
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List of companies
Message for Entrepreneurs:
He has tried his hand at creating a whopping 300+ companies, though only few survived but he hasn’t given up. He started his entrepreneurial journey when he tried his hands at growing and selling Christmas trees and budgerigars. But his first successful venture was ‘Student’ a youth-culture Magazine in January 1968, while he was just a teenager. The real success streak began with the music records business named “Virgin” as suggested by one of his early employees as they were new in the business. He began with selling records by mail orders, then opened a records store, opened a recording studio and then in 1973 launched Virgin Records Label. He is also known to initiate large scale discounting in recorded music.
The below is a compilation of valuable insights delivered by Richard Branson over the years to entrepreneurs in his own words.
He made his first million from the Records business and the first billion came from his Virgin Atlantic airways in 1984, when he took on British Airways for competition. He also has tried his hands at few of the businesses like broadcasting, video games, satellite music stations, manufacturing condoms, book publishing, train services, clothing line, cell phone service, car dealerships, health club chain and the most recent space tourism company “Virgin Galactic”. Books by Richard He has authored multiple books as follows. Losing My Virginity, Screw It Lets Do It, Business Stripped Bare, Reach For The Skies, Screw Business As Usual, Like A Virgin and The Virgin Way.
Enjoy What You Are Doing. Starting a business is a huge amount of hard work, requiring a great deal of time, you had better enjoy it. I did not set out to build a business empire. I set out to create something I enjoyed that would pay the bills. There was no great plan or strategy. Building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that’s going to make a real difference to other people’s lives. The business is never finished. It constantly evolves. Create Something That Stands Out. You’ve got to do something radically different to make a mark today. Microsoft, Google or Apple, for example, shook up a sector by doing something that hadn’t ever been done and by continually innovating. Create Something That Everybody Who Works for You is Really Proud of. Businesses generally consist of a group of people, and they are your biggest assets. You want to create something you’re proud of. This has always been my philosophy of business. I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off not doing it.’
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Learn To Delegate
Get Up and Try Again
One of the early things you have to do as an entrepreneur is learn the art of delegation. Find people who are better than you to run the companies on a day-to-day basis, freeing yourself up to think about the bigger picture..
Your full concentration has to be on surviving.Obviously, if you don’t survive, just remember that most businesses fail and the best lessons are usually learned from failure. You must not get too dispirited. Just get back up and try again. And remember “Business opportunities are like buses there is always another one coming.”
As entrepreneur my mind is always thinking ahead and wanting to create new things.I just think once I’ve set something up, its better if someone else runs it. I can dive in and out and be a pain occasionally, but the day-today business is better for somebody else to do. Be a good leader As a leader you have to be a really good listener. No one has a monopoly on good ideas or good advice. Get out there, listen to people, draw people out and learn from them. As a leader you’ve also got to be extremely good at praising people. Never openly criticize people; never lose your temper, and always lavish praise on your colleagues for a job well done. People flourish if they’re praised. Be Visible. A good leader does not get stuck behind a desk. Get out and about, meeting people. It seems I am traveling all the time but I always have a notebook in my back pocket to jot down questions, concerns or good ideas. By writing them down, I remember all of them.
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‘What Makes a Person to be an Entrepreneur?’
- Doing what the majority isn’t doing is nature of Entrepreneurship” -Gopinath G.
Is Entrepreneurship a born quality? The absolute answer is “No”. To be an Entrepreneur all that needs is to be apparent, focussed and must have a little bit of differential thinking.
E – Eager N – New Ideas T – Team player R – Rationale E –Efficacy P – Passionate R –Realistic Can Entrepreneur be a follower? E – Energetic N – Needful Yes, obviously, but a real entrepreneur E – Emotional Intelligence should not follow/imitate the person from whom U –Ultramodern in ideas he/she has been inspired otherwise it might lead R – Risk Taker to losing the essence of innovation. An Entrepreneur can follow a few things, but in a different style, and implement them in a way which ignites An ordinary human can become an Entrepreneur the creative thinking and blooms out the innova- when his / her vision leads to creative and fotion. Thus innovative thinking helps in creativity cussed thoughts. This can result in finding a good and results increation of a sparking ‘IDEA’ which solution for social/human needs and betterment glows up your passion and Entrepreneurial skills. for the existing solutions, which is then proves the true outcome of an ‘Entrepreneurial Thinking’. Should an Entrepreneur think wide? An Entrepreneur must always think out of the box and beyond the possibilities, there is no limit for thinking. Once the thoughts grow above the practical then a real innovation born in the mind that will be the fuel to glow as an Entrepreneur, which will in-turn makes impossible things possible. A good Entrepreneur must always think socially and must strive to explore the world, to know and understand the needs and wants of living beings, at the same time he /she must be aware of economic environment to create a profitable ideas and plans to cater those identified needs and wants through his/ her Entrepreneurial skills.‘ENTREPRENEUR’ is not just a word but it has enclosed with several qualities and thoughts in it, according to me those skills and qualities can be defined as below,
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GO THE LEAN WAY: All that you needed to know about Lean Startup Methodology.
-Anup Yeolekar
What is Lean Startup Methodology? Lean startup is a methodology devised by Eric Ries for developing businesses and products with which startups can shorten their Product Development Cycles by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, called “Validated Learning”.
The lean startups popularity has spread throughout the world, in large part due to the success of Ries’ bestselling book, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses.
Inspiration for Lean Startup Methodology.
If startups invest their time into iteratively building products or services to meet the needs of early customers, they can reduce the market risks and sidestep the need for large amounts of initial project funding and expensive product launches and failures. The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is a key lean startup concept. The basic idea is to maximize validated learning for the least amount of effort. After all, why waste efforts building out a product without first testing if it’s worth it.
The lean startup philosophy is based on lean manufacturing, the streamlined production philosophy developed in the 1980s by Japanese auto manufacturers. The lean manufacturing system considers as waste the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer, and thus a target for elimination. Immediate quality control checkpoints can identify mistakes or imperfections during assembly as early as possible to ensure that the least amount of time is expended developing a faulty product. Another primary focus of the lean management system is to maintain close connections with suppliers in order to understand their customers’ desires.
Who started it?
What Lean Startup means?
In September 2008, Eric Ries first coined the term on his blog, “Startup Lessons Learned”, in a post called “The lean startup.” Ries took the advice of his mentors like Steven G. Blank (well known for “Customer Development Methodology” & author of bestseller “Four Steps to Epiphany”) and developed the idea for the lean startup, using his personal experiences adapting lean management principles to the high-tech startup world.
Lean Startup method was devised with high-tech companies in mind, to eliminate the waste of resources that companies make in developing products or services for the first time.
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PRINCIPLES OF LSM:
Terms used in Lean:
1.Entrepreneurs are Everywhere: You don’t have to work in a garage to be in a startup.
•Minimum viable product
2.Entrepreneurship is Management. A startup is an institution, not just a product, so it requires management, a new kind of management specifically geared to its context. 3.Validated Learning. Startups exist not to make stuff, make money, or serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated scientifically, by running experiments that allow us to test each element of our vision. 4.Innovation Accounting.
A minimum viable product (MVP) is the “version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.” The goal of a MVP is to test fundamental business hypotheses (or leap-of-faith assumptions) and to help entrepreneurs begin the learning process as quickly as possible.
•Continuous Deployment Continuous deployment is a process “whereby all code that is written for an application is immediately deployed into production,” which results in a reduction of cycle times.
To improve entrepreneurial outcomes, and to hold entrepreneurs accountable, we need to focus on the boring stuff: how to measure progress, how to setup milestones, how to prioritize work. This requires a new kind of accounting, specific to startups. 5.Build-Measure-Learn. The fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful startup processes should be geared to accelerate that feedback loop.
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•Split Testing A split or A/B test is an experiment in which “different versions of a product are offered to customers at the same time.” The goal of a split test is to observe differences in behaviour between the two groups and to measure the impact of each version on an actionable metric.
A team or company’s effectiveness is determined by its ability to ideate, quickly build a Minimum Viable Product of that idea, measure its effectiveness in the market, and learn from that experiment.This rapid iteration allows teams to determine the most feasible path towards Product/market fit.
•Actionable Metrics Actionable metrics can lead to informed business decisions and subsequent action.
•Pivot A pivot is a “structured course correction designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, strategy, and engine of growth.”
•Validated Learning It is a process in which one learns by trying out an initial idea and then measuring it to validate the effect. •Business Model Canvas •Innovation Accounting This topic focuses on how entrepreneurs can maintain accountability and maximize outcomes by measuring progress, planning milestones, and prioritizing.
The Business Model Canvas is a strategic management and lean startup template for developing new or documenting existing business models. It is a visual chart with elements describing a firm’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. It assists firms in aligning their activities by illustrating potential trade-offs.
•Build-Measure-Learn The Build-Measure-Learn loop emphasizes speed as a critical ingredient to product development. 16
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•Lean Canvas The Lean Canvas is a lean startup adaptation of the Business Model Canvas. The lean canvas focuses on addressing broad customer problems and solutions and delivering them to customer segments through a unique value proposition.
What’s in it for me? If you are an entrepreneur looking for a startup in the field of technology or even otherwise, then Lean Startup Methodology could potentially save valuable monetary resources for you, which could be used elsewhere freeing your venture of locked resources.
Why should I use it? To reduce the unnecessary resources being spent on developing a new product or service which don’t add value to the customer, thus increasing the success rate and sustainability of the new product with which you plan to launch your venture. This is a philosophy that is not just restricted to tech startups but can be expanded to apply to any individual, team, or company looking to introduce new products or services into the market.
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Interview with Mr. Vivek Anand, Founder & CEO, IncLabs -Nikita Kiran
Maçon, The Entrepreneurship Cell of IBS Hyderabad had the privilege of hosting the Orientation session for its fresh batch of Wantrepreneurs, 2014-16 in the presence of Mr. Vivek Anand, the Founder and CEO of Inc Labs, a Start-up working on a niche social platform. With a knack for Entrepreneurship, Mr. Anand has already hit the ground running with two of his earlier sterling Start-Ups, Earl Grey Hospitality Network Pvt. Ltd. founded in January 2012 and Arike Electric founded in January 2013. The NIT Calicut Graduate has worn many hats in his career as of yet. The entire gamut includes Convener, IT Analyst, Business Analyst, Consultant, Manager, Marketer, Strategist and Business Evangelist. The Editorial team of Maçon had the opportunity to pick his ingenuous brain before the session began. Here are the excerpts from the interview.
Q. Can you tell us about your association with Entrepreneurship? Mr. Vivek: Officially it began a couple of years back. But before that I was involved in things that can be counted as small ventures. Back in school I and a couple of friends had a Start-Up idea. We started a QSR (Quick service restaurant) concept. Then in 2012 I had Co-Founded a StartUp in the service sector but was missing the network for it to flourish. Unlike Silicon Valley and Bangalore, that is one element missing in Hyderabad. So initially when we started out we would see the same faces over and over again. But as the word spread out we saw more Start-up. related activities around Hyderabad. Also, as the convener of Hyderabad Entrepreneurs Society, we had Workshops, Internship Drives and Recruitment drives for Wantrepreneurs.
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Q. Can you give us a sneak peek into what goes on in the workshops conducted by the Society?
Q. What is the importance of innovation according to you? As laymen we think Entrepreneurship is all about innovation. But how much importance does innovation actually play in Entrepreneurship?
Mr. Vivek: Yes. We have something called Lean Start-Up, Social Entrepreneurship and General Workshop for which there is a dedicated group. One of the workshops is called “StartUp 101”. We make sure it goes on for at least 78 hours. i.e. 4-5 hrs each day. We teach all the aspects about Start-Ups from ideation to product strategy to market research and other related basics, part of which is theoretical and part hands on. However, discussions are encouraged in our workshops. The good thing about this opportunity is that it is not just for Start-Ups but for students and anyone willing to learn. Apart from the afore mentioned we have Smash up workshops and Mobile workshops which do not focus on technology but on the market. Q. What according to you is the importance of having a good team? Mr. Vivek: It is very important. When we expanded we needed people for operations. Then when our operations expanded faster we needed somebody who could focus on such things. Typically you start a Start-Up with friends. But you never know whether your friend is actually good at what he says he is. And you can never ask him either. So one suggestion for people is not to start with friends unless you have friends who are really good at what you want them to be good at and also start with people whom you are professionally connected with.
Mr. Vivek: I think innovation is overrated. At the same time we “need” innovation. However, we don’t really need to have a unique idea for it because innovation cannot just be an idea but also how it is marketed. Take Quora for example. Yahoo answers existed long before we had Quora. So why did Quora outperform the former? There are two things to keep in mind. First, The quality of Quora superseded the former since it had a filtered set of users and the trend of posting quality answers that engendered from experts in Silicon Valley continues till date. And second, we did not have Facebook back when yahooanswers.com was launched. Therefore today you keep seeing someone has answered or up-voted something on Quora via your Facebook news feed. Innovation is not just about the product or idea but about how you make people use it and also about choosing the correct user. Thus, Innovation is important but an innovative idea is not a must. Q. What is the thought process that an Entrepreneur goes through while coming up with a Start-Up? Mr. Vivek: That’s a difficult question. When you start you are excited because you have your own firm and then the fear creeps in. You think you know everything but you don’t. It takes courage to go to the unknown without taking help from anyone. So it is very important to have self motivation, positivity and a great attitude towards life.
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Q. How is the progress on Inc Labs till date? Mr. Vivek: We are almost ready for our Beta launch. We have a small team as of now each excited about what he/she is working on. There is a lot of enthusiasm in our people. They are constantly trying out new ideas and building a solution to something. Recently, we raised pre-seed funding with TiE Hyderabad and a private investor. So, we are moving fast and I am excited about the whole thing. Q. What are the three most important things that you think aspiring Entrepreneurs should watch out for? Mr. Vivek: First is Network. Without connections you are losing out on a lot. Second is being the Jack of all trades and learning as much as possible about anything. Third is, stop planning and start implementing. §
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INCAMPUS VENTURES: A RENDEZVOUS WITH ‘HOTRIDES’ -Crystal D’Souza Talking to Subheg, an air of confidence and self-assurance included from him. The passion with which he spoke while describing his venture made me want to start one of my own. He had such a clear outlook of what he wanted and how he was going to achieve it. The conversation is as follows: Q. Okay, I know I’m a loyal customer and have known you since you started your business. But, could you describe it to me as if I was hearing about it for the first time? Well I thought of this business just last year. I realized that students had problems going to city mostly on weekends and sometimes during the week. So, I decided to fill the gap by providing people with cars to take out at their convenience. Look at the cab system that’s currently running here, they charge you about 300400 rupees premium above their original cost but I just charge for the running cost of my vehicle i.e. the wear n tear costs, so what “you”, my customers pay is actually the cost you would pay if you actually owned your own vehicle. The price becomes very nominal. And if you carpool it becomes peanuts for them. Q. What did you do when this idea initially struck you? I first thought of how all this would work. I planned my investment. I decided not to take a loan and invested my own money, earned from my internship. My business partner, Sakshi Junjunwala and me, both invested equally and we bought in a car and a bike. We thought it was enough but looking at the demand, we have decided to bring in another car or a bike by the end of the month. So let’s see what happens.
The first thing I planned was the structure of “Hot-rides”. Then, decided on the model to follow. FYI it’s a low cost model. I also had my vision all set before I did anything else. Q. So, what problems did you face in the beginning? And what problems do you face now? The major problem I’m facing currently, is defaulting customers. I have a certain set of rules that are stipulated to the customer even before handing over them the keys. Things like the time limit and the penalty for exceeding the same. Some do not adhere to this and refuse to pay up. Not all, but maybe 2 on 10 do that. This has been my only issue. Rest everything is fine and running smoothly. Q. But what issues did you face in the beginning, when you just started off? Well, I started off on the 23rd of June this year. It’s been a month and as per my forecast, it’s been growing rapidly. In the beginning, I didn’t face any problems and the flow was pleasing. Q. Do you plan on expanding the business? Well, yes. I do plan on expanding it. This is my novelty startup, my first ever venture. So I would want to see how much I earn of it and how well I am able to satisfy my customers.
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Q. Do you plan to pass this on to another student next year? I plan to hire students from IBS who take part in the marketing as well as the operations of hot rides. I will be pay them 2-3% for each booking and if they prove to be good, I might just increase the percentage. So it will even teach them how a real business works and what kind of problems they might face here. When they get placed tomorrow, they may face the same issues. Nevertheless, this will only be in a small scale. And if I do find someone capable I might just hand over the business to him, making him a 30% shareholder. Q.Any Future plans? Well, Hyderabad is a city where transport is a growing concern. Buses are mostly full and autos are a constant nagging fest. In the future I plan to start a business with ‘nano cars’ competing with autos and rickshaws. It will very cheap and extremely affordable. My dream is to have a network of ‘Hot-rides’ in all of India, that’s what my vision is. A vision is very important in life. Q.What message would you like to pass out for future entrepreneurs? Firstly, have a clear vision. Plan today and never procrastinate. You don’t need money to start a business any more. You can even start something up as simple as making something out of paper. Like handicrafts, with a minimum budget, you might just end up earning a lot of profits. All you need is a vision and a lot of hard work. You need to know your market your competitors. Your economics, how it works and the field you wish to get into. You need to know what services others are providing. Set up a model. Accordingly you will be on the right track the entire way. § § 22
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