1
L’Entrepreneur
table of Contents Title
Page number
1.Editor’s Note
3
2. Mentor’s Note: The Changing Entrepreneur
4
3. Entrepreneurship India - 2013
9
4. Mission ImpossibleRising of AAP
22
5. E-Waste RecyclersModern Day Gold Diggers
32
2
Title
L’Entrepreneur Page number
6. Dear Husband, My turn!
41
7. A Sparkling Ray
49
8. The Bookshelf of an Entrepreneur
55
3
L’Entrepreneur
Editor’s Note Dear Readers, The Editorial team would like to wish all its readers a very happy New Year. Trishna, our annual inter-college fest, has arrived along with this new year. We hope this year its bigger and better. This issue of L’Entrepreneur is a very special one as our mentor, Prof. Jojo Mathew George, has contributed and written about ‘The Changing Entrepreneur.’ This issue covers all about the ‘Entrepreneurship Week 2013’ which was held from November 11-16 2013. Also it has articles ranging from Political Entrepreneurship to the ERecycling Industry. We had fun making this issue. Happy Reading !! Regards, Neha Agarwal (Editor)
4
L’Entrepreneur
Mentor’s Note: The Changing Entrepreneur BY PROF. JOJO MATHEW GEORGE Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, reasoning and acting that is opportunity obsessed, holistic in approach, and leadership balanced’ is how Stephen Spinelli Jr’s modern definition of entrepreneurship goes. What is most exciting about entrepreneurship is that it results in the creation
of value and wealth, not just for the entrepreneurs, but for all stakeholders. All of us are better off because some are entrepreneurs. Think about it! Whatever be the manifestations of the problems you see, at some level, all of it is because of relative scarcity of resources. We all want
to do so many things, but often don’t because we don’t have enough time or enough resources. Entrepreneurs face the same difficulty too. In fact, since most of them are attempting what are considered difficult by many others, the resource constraints are, probably, even more
5 L’Entrepreneur acutely felt by them. Yet, typically, entrepreneurs come up with smarter strategies to marshal whatever limited resources they have. Solutions, which are inefficient, will fail in the marketplace, but the ones which succeed will then become the new normal. In that sense, entrepreneurs are the ones who help us optimally utilize the resources we collectively have. It also means that, as more and more entrepreneurs succeed, we are likely to utilize our limited resources better and grow them. If all of our problems arise from scarcity, then promotion of entrepreneurship appears to be almost like a magic wand from a policy perspective . Spinelli’s definition shows how our own understanding of entrepreneurship has moved away from the classic notion. Traditionally, successful entrepreneurship was understood as the story of raw start-up firms with some innovative ideas eventually developing into giant corporations. Today, the concept encompasses all stages of the business of life, in firms that are established and new, small,
big; in the private, nongovernmental and governmental sectors, and in all stages of a nation’s development, including politics. Leaders – well, even teachers – with entrepreneurial instincts are sought after. They inject imagination and motivation, commitment and passion to excel, and vision to organizations they are part of. A decade or two ago, the mantra of success was ‘best management pra-
6 -ctices.” Essentially, what that meant was that in order to be successful, you do what others have done and succeeded with. Or, do what has worked for you in the past. Unfortunately, to a great extent, management education even today is about ‘best practices’. However, the world
L’Entrepreneur outside has changed. Today, employees don’t want to be managed, they want to be led. Students don’t want to be taught, they want to be mentored. Shareholders want leaders who can sniff opportunity at a distance and do something about tapping those new opportunities. Every stake holder wants someone who can anticipate the changes and be there in time. So much so, today, there is a word commonly used for employees at all levels who take ownership, exercise leadership and are constantly looking out for opportunities to create value: Intrapreneurs! It might come as a surprise to some who seek credentials over skills, ability and adaptability, but the truth is that the corporate world is,actually, looking for intrapren-
7 -eurs or employees who practice entrepreneurship in the firms they work for. Remember, your CGPA cannot add value to a company or solve problems for a client, but you can! IBS was always ahead of the curve in introducing innovations to management education. This institute was the first to introduce an entirely casestudy driven pedagogy in management education in India. In that tradition, IBS is today continuing to innovate and now, actively trying to move the focus of business school education from merely creating managers to creating leaders and entrepreneurs. We may not be pioneers in this, but the celebration of an entire week as
L’Entrepreneur Entrepreneurship Week should be seen in this context. “The greatest crisis of our lives is neither economic, intellectual, nor even what we usually call, religious. It is a crisis of imagination. We get stuck on our paths because we are unable to reimagine our lives differently from what they are right now. We hold on desperately to the status quo, afraid that if we let go, we will be swept away by the torrential undercurrents of our emptiness.” - Marc Gafni, The Mystery of Love It is difficult for many of us to let go of status quo. It is difficult to imagine leaving the comforts of a 9-to–6 job. It is
8
L’Entrepreneur difficult to let go of what worked in the past. But, we need more entrepreneurs. We need more leaders who can think beyond the obvious. We need problem-solvers who make a difference. We need change. We need catalysts too. The creation of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development of the IFHE University, the efforts of Maçon – the Entrepreneurship Cell and programs like Entrepreneurship India 2013should all act as catalysts for this necessary change. “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” - Mahatma Gandhi, as quoted in Ethical Religion
The first step to initiate change, therefore, is to start thinking about it. If the Centre and Maçon can popularize entrepreneurial thought, then that in itself would be a good beginning. The workshops, competitions, show-case and invited lectures, which are part of the week-long program of Entrepreneurship India 2013 are all meant to make a differ-
ence in that sense. Maçon has long held as its core belief what is conveyed in that wonderful quote often attributed to Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see”. The efforts that members of the cell are taking towards the cell to newer heights is evident. May many success stories emerge as fruits of their labor and toil!
9
L’Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship India—2013 Compiled by Neha Agarwal Maçon, The Entrepreneurship Cell organized its flagship event ‘Entrepreneurship India 2013’ for the 2nd consecutive year from November 11-November 16 2013. It was organized to infuse the spirit of entrepreneurship among the students of IBS. The event kick-started on the 11th of November 2013 with the opening ceremony guest lecture done by one of the most distinct entrepreneurs the country has ever seen, Mr. Satish Khanna along with the Vice-Chancellor of Icfai Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE). Mr. Satish Khanna is a retired President of Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He currently heads an association
10
L’Entrepreneur of major pharmaceutical companies of India named LAZORR, which aims to improve the cost and operation efficiency and also to share the best practices of the industry. The inaugural ceremony commenced with a light lamping ceremony by the guest followed by an address by the Vice Chancellor of IFHE. The guest then took over and spoke about his vast and rich experience which he gathered during the past 37 years of his industry experience. He also took a few excerpts from his book “The Rising Indiapreneur” and highlighted few important areas in personal as well as professional life which individuals needed to take care of, when they aspired to chase their entrepreneurial dream. On the second day, the event was marked by the presence of Mr. Krishna Pendyala, a Ted Talker and a life coach. .He is a Chartered Member of Tie, the world's largest entrepreneurial
11 L’Entrepreneur network; a National Member of the National Association for Self-Esteem; the organizer of Pittsburgh NOW, a learning community devoted to attaining peace through presence; and the founder of Discover YOU, a group focused on raising inner levels of awareness.
Mr. Krishna Pendyala, through his experience, tried to infuse and motivate, among students, the spirit of determination and confidence tagging along-with the ways to deal with failures and ego. He drew a thin line between Courage and Confidence
12 L’Entrepreneur with Confidence being stated as “reasonably sure of what you are attempting to do” and Courage as “taking a chance irrespective of the outcome.” An author of one of the renowned books, “Beyond the PIG and the APE: Realizing Success and True Happiness”, he very meticulously talked about living and valuing the worth of “NOW”, thereby eliminating the fears and accepting the changes without letting the “monkeys” take a toll on our minds; after all at the end it’s YOU who takes the action, it’s YOU who makes the choice. The evening was concluded by the words of wisdom shared by him: Life is all about juggling balls and we need to take care of the glass balls else they will create a mess. The third day of Entrepreneurship Week 2013 was prominent for the budding entrepreneurs; the day’s events began with Entrepreneurship Showcase pertaining to interactions of startups with Mr. Sateesh Andra: Venture Capitalist & Managing Partner of Ventureast Tenet.
13 L’Entrepreneur Post the interaction, he shared his knowledge and experiences on entrepreneurial opportunities and varied parameters to be successful and persistent in it. He also mentioned that the entrepreneurs have to be extraordinary sales person and at the same time be focused and consistent in their efforts. Further, the event was embellished by Mr. Dipesh Dipu, Founder & Partner of Jen i ssi Management. He spoke about different dimensions of being an entrepreneur and also at the same time managing your personal life. He continued by saying that a beginner should treat the first few customers with high significance and should justify every aspect to it. He concluded the event by saying talent, passion and need to fill the gap are three important keys an entrepreneur should be seeking.
14 L’Entrepreneur On the fourth day of the event, Mr. Rohit Kauntia, CEO & Managing Director Vidyut Insulations Pvt. Ltd was invited for a guest lecture. They specialize in manufacturing Gauntlets, a critical product used in Lead acid batteries. They have their plants in Jamshedpur & Hyderabad. He discussed about his journey of entrepreneurship and also about the various areas he’s been involved in i.e. Confederation of Indian Industries “Young Indians” initiatives. Mr. Rohit also discussed the problems that a beginner faces while setting up his own venture. Further he threw light on the importance of having qualities like Patience & Perseverance. He also clarified that it is not necessary to have a radical innovation in your venture but the will to overcome the hurdles and convert the venture to reality. The fifth day saw a German wind of change when Ms. Ulrike Reinhard came to our campus. The institute proudly welcomed the German author, publisher and a futurist. Ms. Ulrike Reinhard is also a social entrepreneur and a feminist, who could muster the courage of giving away the responsibility of G2 Summit for a very noble cause: to impart learning in all. She is a lady who firmly believes that giving education is a
15 L’Entrepreneur because all that matters in the end is what you learn.
When asked, how the message of women empowerment and child education can be spread in India, she puts forth a truth that was blinded since dusk, in spite of the awareness campaign by the Government of India or the CSR initiatives by private firms. The truth of shuddering the responsibility to only Government doesn’t leave us with the title of “responsible citizens”, ”, it only conveys the lack of taking initiatives. To be as motivating as to know when a foreigner invests her time and hard-work in a country, which is not her own, with the interest
16 L’Entrepreneur Of imparting “learning”, gives the adrenaline rush to the citizens of that country. Same was the scenario in IBS Hyderabad when Ms. Ulrike Reinhard told the students about her small school initiative in Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, “WE”. It inspired everyone in the audience to contribute towards evading
illiteracy. She also believes that for such initiatives, a person doesn’t have to be a millionaire first, but can contribute a portion of what he earns little by little because a “tiny input leads to huge output”. On the same day in the evening, we had an event called INCEPTION which was organized by a club called GRAY MATTERS in which the participants were given an entrepreneur .
17 L’Entrepreneur The participants were asked to learn their business model as well as the personality of the entrepreneur given to them and based on a thorough understanding of all of that, they had to design a business for that very entrepreneur 100 years ago and 100 years hence. We were happy to see active participation in that event too. On November 16, 2013 the journey of Entrepreneurship India 2013 came to an end leaving with us the thought that "Entrepreneurs are not 'born' ... rather they 'become' through the experiences of their lives."The valedictory ceremony began with Mr. Nishant Gopalakrishnan, the Secretary General of Maçon network, highlighting the events designed to build public awareness and support for entrepreneurship, bringing public attention on today's biggest
18 L’Entrepreneur opportunities and encouraging participants to reflect on their role as leaders and innovators. “Make your own way to success” is what Dr Reena Ramachandran, the first ever woman Chief Executive of a PSU – the former CMD of Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd, told
in her address at the Valedictory ceremony of the Entrepreneurship week . She is the Member of Ad Hoc Task Force, Department of Performance Management, Cabinet Secretariat. Talking about her own experience, she said she always prioritised her tasks and never regretted them later. She also talked about
19 L’Entrepreneur how difficult it gets for females to adjust according to the situations and suggested them to never leave focus and be decisive in life. According to her, the mantras to success are efficient networking, the ability to manage time, regular reading habit, managing relationships, prioritising work and home, socialising, only if adds to your wealth, investing in health, working on career options, taking time for decision making, enjoying your work and the most important one being “Speak less, listen more.” The mentor of Maçon, Professor Jojo Mathew George, who took a workshop on how to convert your business plans into start-ups in the morning, informed about the wide network of colleges working associated with Maçon, which includes the e-cell of NIT Trichy, NMIMS Hyderabad, IBS Mumbai and IBS Pune. He
20 L’Entrepreneur even made an announcement regarding the formation of Macon, Alumni Network in the presence of former members of the cell. Mrs Shobha Rani Yasaswy, President of the ICFAI Society, felicitated the winners and participants of various events conducted throughout the e-week and awarded them with prizes and certificates. Ms.Shradha Aima, President of Maçon, gave her vote of thanks to all the guest speakers, Dean, Vice Chancellor, Faculty, varied clubs and the students of IBS, Hyderabad, declaring the week close. In the coming years, Macon will be committed to help more bright and innovative young minds to realize their entrepreneurial dreams and contribute to the social and economic success of our country.
21
L’Entrepreneur
Mission Impossible : Rising of AAP BY SREENY VALLABH
2013 was clearly the year of change. In every sphere it could be said that change was inevitable. We saw Raghuram Rajan taking over as the gov-
ernor and Sachin Tendulkar retiring as the greatest legend of cricket. Politically also it can be said that there was a paradigm shift in the thoughts of the common man. While the congress lost its ground nationally, the chant for Narendra Modi aka Namo as the next Prime Minister grew manifolds The common man was fed up with the scams and the rising prices and the indecisiveness of the ruling government. The
22 L’Entrepreneur state elections in five states of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Mizoram were the test grounds of the main Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2014. While BJP had a clean sweep in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, there was a completely different ball game in Delhi. Delhi witnessed what can be called as creating history in itself. Aam Aadmi Party which originated just 2 years after the na-
tionwide fast taken by Anna Hazare at the Ramlila Maidan for the Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed. . No one would have ever imagined that 2 years hence they would witness Arvind
23 Kejriwal to be sworn as the next CM of Delhi. The Beginning The origin of Aam Aadmi Party could be traced back to the anti-corruption movement for the Jan Lokpal bill triggered by Anna Hazare in the year
2011. Arvind Kejriwal was the supporter of the ideology of a Jan Lokpal bill as he himself had faced the brunt of government’s corruption and bureaucracy. The difference of opinion between him and Anna
L’Entrepreneur Hazare on following neutral grounds for the Jan Lokpal bill led to the exit of Arvind Kejriwal from the movement and the inception of Aam Aadmi Party which was formally established on 26th November 2012 after
24
L’Entrepreneur
a social network survey indicated of politicizing the Anti corruption organization. The core ideology behind AAP was the change needed in the political environment of India and especially Delhi. From the day of its inception AAP had been voicing against the rising prices of electricity and water in Delhi. It also emphasized on the Right to Information Act and a stronger Anti-Rape Law. Aam Aadmi Party which itself stands for common man’s voice said that the Indian Politics always neglected the common man and supported it only when it needed the favor from them. The time had come when the change had beco-
25 -me inevitable as the common man had evolved and justice needed to be ensured to him. AAP was established with a national council consisting of 320 members and an executive body comprising of 23 members which was registered as a political party under the Election Commission of India. The Essence of AAP AAP believes in keeping the promise of equality and justice that forms the constitution of India. It claims that the common people of India always remain unheard and unseen except when the politician chooses to consider them. It wants to reverse the ac-
L’Entrepreneur countability of government operation and has taken on
the Gandhian concept of Swaraj. Through Swaraj the government will be directly accountable to the people instead of the chosen few representatives of the government. The Swaraj model lays stress on commu-
26
L’Entrepreneur
-nity building and decentralization. AAP refuses to be guided by any ideologies and it ventured into politics to change the system. Arvind Kejriwal says "We are common people and if we find our solution in the left we are happy to borrow it from there and if we find our solution in the right, we will be happy to borrow it from there.� The Soldiers of AAP Some of its key members are Arvind Kejriwal - an average Indian with a soft demeanor. Arvind Kejriwal was born in Siwani, Haryana on August 16, 1968. He began his career with Tata Steel after graduating from IIT, Kharagpur, in 1989 and shifted gears to become a part of the Indian Revenue Services in New Delhi's income tax department. However, he gave up the job to take up social causes such as fighting corruption and establishing a strong central RTI system and a
27 clean public distribution sy stem (PDS). He then started an NGO named Parivartan at Kaushambi for the same purpose. He was awarded the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay award for Emerging Leadership in 2006 for his initiatives and received recognition through other awards. Many of its members of the executive body are leaders in their own right. Many of them had even par-
ticipated in the fasts along with Anna Hazare and lent their support to AAP. These key m e m b e r s were Manish Sisodia - a reputed TV journalist, along with Prashant Bhushan - a lawyer who had often filed PILs taking up causes of human rights and environment issues. Again there was Gopal Raihas, who had been a student leader with All India Students Association and
L’Entrepreneur also was associated with the Indian Students Union as its President participated in Janlokpal Bill movement. Sanjay Singh had actively pursued social welfare programs related to students' rights, destitute and slum dwellers rights. Pankaj Gupta, who is a professional engineer began to teach economically backward children and had joined the movement. Dr. Kumar Vishwas, a well-known poet
28
L’Entrepreneur
amongst the youth also joined the movement. Naveen Jaihind, who had begun the RTI act and Swaraj movement in Haryana and also organized blood and organ donation camps, too joined the movement. Dinesh Waghela, an active social and spiritual worker lend support to the movement. Other members included Professor Ajit Jha, a Delhi University professor, who was associated with the 'Lok Rajniti Manch' and also been working on the "Panchayati Raj" system for a long time; Christina Samy is again an active member in Karur district of Tamil Nadu where she had successfully galvanized people from Tamil Nadu against the sand
29
L’Entrepreneur
mafia prevalent there. She also formed a women's political party under the name of 'Women's Front'. The party had fought in Parliament, state legislature assembly and panchayat elections successfully. P rofesso r An and Kumar, who is a professor of sociology in the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, had taught in several universities all over the world besides JNU and BHU and also had worked with the students' movement on various socio-political and democratic issues. Habung Pyang was an information commissioner in Arunachal Pradesh and is counted amongst the most strict and adept information officers in the country. He passed strict orders against the officers who were not providing information and his contributions in the field of social work had strengthened political awareness in the North East states. Shazia Ilmi
30 is again a social activist who began her career as a TV journalist and played an active role in the Janlokpal movement. Yogesh Dhahiya is a well-known farmer leader in Western Uttar Pradesh. He fought a long battle, both on the land and law, in order to get competitive prices for sugarcane farmers. Krishnakant Sevada is a highly qualified financial administrator from Rajasthan and is a strong supporter of both financial and moral honesty. Mayank Gandhi is an active social worker and has contributed largely in formulating many useful laws like the Right to Information in
L’Entrepreneur Maharashtra which is a law relating to the transfer of Government employees and also a law relating to the Nagar Raj Bill. Professor Rakesh Sinha is a ceramic engineer by profession and had worked with TATA at Rourkela. He had taught at prestigious institutions like I.I.T and B.H.U and is known as a social and political thinker. Prem Singh Pahari, who had joined many political parties realized that these parties had no agenda for the welfare of the country and saw no future in politics. After having seen resurgence in the sentiment of welfare with the AAP, which promises to change the
31 L’Entrepreneur political system of the country, he decided to rejoin politics. The symbol of AAP is a broom which clearly signifies their task of cleaning up the political system of India. Clearly AAP won almost 28 seats out of the 70 seats in Delhi making it the second strong contender in Delhi after BJP. Its coalition with the Congress helped in forming majority and today Arvind Kejriwal is the youngest CM of Delhi and also has the newest cabinet in the nation. The swearing function at Ramlila maidan in Delhi was almost a scene from a movie as no one ever had imagined that the faith of India could make a common man the decision maker of entire state. The question now lies whether AAP will prove what it had initially promised. The whole nation is now waiting to witness the political entrepreneurial change from AAP’s end.
32
L’Entrepreneur
E-Waste Recyclers: Modern Day Gold diggers BY ANUP YEOLEKAR War has a great quality of bringing the best out of man both qualitatively & technologically. And believe it or not every day with companies competing to launch new techsavvy products, it is a war. But there is another side to this story. We as voracious consumer of technology never think twice of what happens to the discarded old technological products. Have we ever thought of where our old television set might be today,
where our first video game might be, or for the youth where our first mobile handset might be? There is no doubt that we loved those products in that time but today we have forgotten them as though they never existed. But the good news is there life after death even for these electronic items, though most of us are unaware of it. There is an industry dedicated for the restoration and resurrection of these goods. The question is
33
L’Entrepreneur why, what & how it is done? But let us first understand what constitutes E-waste. The discarded and end-of-life electronics products ranging from computers, equipment used in Information and Communication Technology (ICT),
home appliances, audio and video products and all of their peripherals are popularly known as Electronic waste (Ewaste). In simpler terms E-waste is those equipment’s or appliances which have become obsolete due to advancement in technology and changes in fashion. Why re-cycle? There are many reasons to do so. After all “Waste for one man, Fortune for another”. Consider this that if this scrap is “Managed” properly it can be a secondary source of raw material. There are other benefits associated like Environmental benefits by natural resources conse-
34 -rvation and reduction in environmental pollution. Also consider the Economic benefits from this processed waste. Private Companies like Attero Recycling in India are working on this front. The society as a whole
too benefits through the employment generated. Consider the statistics from the website of Earth Sense on electronic waste from developed countries around the world. E-waste is the largest source of lead
L’Entrepreneur in solid waste. It is estimated that 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from e-waste. Almost 99% of the components that make up a PC can be recycled. By recycling we can avoid serious toxins, chemicals and
35
L’Entrepreneur
It’s energy efficient to rebuild old computers, but only about 2% of PCs ever find their way to a second user. About 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide a month and only 10% are recycled. If we recycled just a million cell phones, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 1,368 cars off the road for a year. All new steel products contain a minimum of 25% recycled content. Every ton of steel recycled makes the following savings - 40% of the Water required in production, 75% of the energy needed to make steel from virgin material, Reduction of Air emissions and water pollution by 86% and 76% respectively. The energy saved by the steel industry through the use of recycled materials saves enough energy to power 18 million homes for a year. Using scrap aluminum to make new cans consumes 95% less energy than making them from raw bauxite ore. Recycling
36 one ton of aluminum cans saves the equivalent of 1,665 gallons of gasoline. Aluminum can be recycled infi-
nitely without losing quality and the value it provides generally covers the cost required to collect and recycle it. Every ton of Aluminum recycled makes the following savings - 6 tons of Bauxite, 4 tons of Chemical Product and 14MWh of Electricity.
L’Entrepreneur Large amounts of e-waste have been sent to countries such as China, India and Kenya, where lower environmental standards and working conditions make processing e-waste more profitable. Around 80 % of the e-waste in the U.S. is exported to Asia. Guiyu in China is the largest e-waste site on earth with an estimated 150,000 ewaste workers. The average
37
L’Entrepreneur
workday is 16 hours and the workers make about $1.50 per day by recovering valuable metals and parts from the waste. What can be recycled? Metal 100% Recyclable: Non-ferrous metals, mainly aluminum and copper can all be re-smelted and re-manufactured. Ferrous metals such as steel and iron can be also be re-used.
Glass 99% Recyclable: The best option is "glass to glass ", where shards are processed to make material for new tubes. Plastic 100% Recyclable: Computers generally contain polypropylene, or ABS plastic or a blended res in such as ABS/ polycarbonate or polystyrene, which can be re-used as packaging, textiles , etc.
38 Circuit Boards could be recycled: Generally made from layered plastic with copper inlays, these are hazardous. They contain materials such as Gold, silver and palladium, which can be recovered and re- used. In most cases the plastic can't be recycled because the particles are reduced to too small size dur-
L’Entrepreneur -ing refining. Now let us look at the how recycling is done part. The recycling process is mainly divided into the following major parts Collect, Transport, Segregate, Dismantle and Recycle. For the collection part many companies employ a system where citizens need to call a toll free num-
-ber to request for e-waste pick up, which is done at free of cost. A report from the Guardian states the following findings. The Indian city of Bangalore produces some 20,000 tons of e -waste per year, according to a report by Assocham, the Association of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India. This figure is rising at a rate of 20% per year and the report's authors forecast the amount of computer waste across the country could increase by nearly 500% by 2020. But all recycling technologies have been designed with large western recycling plants in mind. There is almost no equipm-
39 -ent that is affordable enough for the informal recycling sector because no single recycler deals with enough waste to afford these large machines. Currently the informal recycler breaks up waste, sells the copper to one guy, the plastic to another, the circuit boards to another etc. These guys amass their material and sell it to anexporter who then flogs it to a recycling plant often
L’Entrepreneur located in China. Countries such as Singapore, Belgium and Japan have smelting
units that extract precious metals like Gold & Palladium that even the human eye can't see.In India there are roughly around one and a
half dozen companies working in this area. Naming a few like GreenScape Eco, Eparisara Pvt. Ltd., Earth Sense Recycle Pvt. Ltd., A2Z Group, Attero Recycling and many more. A detailed list is available from website of Energy Alternatives India (EAI). It is a fact that what is brand new today will be old tomorrow, and gradually waste later. And the consumption patterns
40
L’Entrepreneur
show no signs of decline. So, there is a huge fortune waiting to be unearthed from this heap of E-waste for the real Gold Diggers amongst us. Happy Digging !!!
41
L’Entrepreneur
Dear Husband, My turn !! BY NIKITA KIRAN “How about you take ‘em to school for a change?” Flabbergasted! The orthodox husband does nothing but gulp the insult. Alas! The shattered glass of ego isn’t an easy poison to swallow. At the door, school bags in hand, he turns, managing a meek “why?” A surprisingly firm voice echoes “Because it’s my turn” Scenario of a normal house; Kids are studying. Father is working and mom is cooking. Very safely is it assumed that the least knowledgeable, the least capable is the lady of the house. But and there is a but, It may surprise the more knowledgeable ones that all moms are entrepreneurs. They are raising children, managing the household. These moms aren’t just cooking baby meals in their kitchen table. They are also
42 launching their own consultancy firms, their own law firms and their own financial firms. And before they realise it they are mompreneurs. Right from the moment a child is born a mom is an entrepreneur. It is
L’Entrepreneur inherent in her and more evident than anyone else. Why wouldn’t they be. They are expert multitaskers. Research says, Men have more difficulty in multitasking. If you run a business, and you ha-
-ve a child on the way, you are multitasking. By nature women are more sensitive. Fact. They have more emotional intelligence than men. Women by nature are more sensitive to others feeling. This is one of the
43
L’Entrepreneur
essential traits of an entrepreneur. They need to be sensitive to their work environment. They need to understand their employees and manage them, a trait inherent in the fairer gender. This might be strange but a woman as we know it “talks”. While men make colleagues, women make friends for life. Entrepreneurship is all about Luck, timing, connections . Start-ups do better with limitations, with constraints. A new baby for instance is a good enough constraint. “My son keeps me from working 80 hours a week. He slows me down, but he also makes me more effective. He helps me understand my user (a busy, overwhelmed pregnant woman) far better than any focus group or user survey.”,Says the Delhi based female entrepreneur with 2 kids. This gives them an intense empathy for the users that is supposed to be incessant. Thus, being a mom and raising a family is not a disadvantage when starting a business. It's just a different constraint.
44 With the advent of technology, it is now possible to sit at home, in the backyard and in a different time zone. The internet has helped make our life easier in so many ways, one of them being growing our business .
This is a boon to the mompreneurs. She can work where and when she wants. She does not have to follow the 9 to
L’Entrepreneur fake lives, fake smiles routine. She can use every tad of time she has, regardless of where she is. “With my handy smartphone, I can move through an amazing
amount of work just sitting in my car waiting for my children’s school dismissal bell or for the piano lesson to end. And I’m doing more than just processing email. I’m using some amazing tools that increase my productivity and help me run
45
L’Entrepreneur
my business on the go.” confesses another successful mom entrepreneur from New Jersey. Being a mom, whether single or not, you always find yourself in dearth of time, energy a n d sometimes m o n e y. But necessity is t h e mother of inventions. It makes you all t h e more efficient, and resourceful. You start to think creative and find probable means to achieve the ends when it comes to exploring business opportunities that will not interfere with being a mom. “When would i find time?”, “who will nurture my son while i work?” or “where will i get the extra money for my self proposed business”. But come to think of it, you are not alone. This is ubiquitous with every mompreneur. What should you do? For starters, Start Small. Whatever be your business idea, start small. You know you have the responsibility of the house on
46 your shoulder but there is only enough that it can bare. Its ok to set aside some time per day for the venture. May be 2/3 hours dispersed in different sittings as the case may be. What is important, and this is where most fail, is maintaining the routine – consistency if you may. Mom Time: Have you been awake early before each family member and made breakfast for them and forgotten
L’Entrepreneur you have a stomach to fill too? Have you realized you forgot to take care of your backache and are still cleaning the sofa? Congratulations! You make a successful mother but to make an equally successful entrepreneur this habit has got to go. You need to start living your life and not be symbiotic for others 24/7. May be being selfish isn’t always bad. They are your family
because they understand. Working on your business will allow you to focus on yourself and your goals. And who knows may be you are “smarter than the 10th grader” after all! One would still argue, would moms understand the work, mom, stress juggle? But think about it — who understands the juggle better than an o th er mo m business owner? A brilliant example one could eas-
47
L’Entrepreneur
-ily identify with is that of Miss Srividya raghavan, ex Professor, IBS Hyderabad who started off an extremely significant venture that proved to be a blessing for all those moms waiting for an opportunity to be independent inside the four walls of their home. She employs women from several walks of life, each with different skill sets and leverages them to bigger companies. And
that otherwise unused talent is now being pooled into something magnificent. Their unexploited talent is now being optimally utilized. The gold was always there. Its just that nobody looked in that direction. But Miss Raghavan has done exactly that.
48
So next time you hear someone say you are subservient to the other gender, remember that in the U.S., women control 73 percent of household spending; that there are 1.5 million new moms every year in America; and they're about to spend, on average, more than $15,500 per year on their child for the next 17 years
L’Entrepreneur So, Maybe she's just made for cooking, grooming her kids and running daily household errands. Or maybe she is better than you thought and her company is about to eat your lunch!
49
L’Entrepreneur
A Sparkling Ray! BY YUKTI TANEJA “No gold digging for me… I take diamonds! We may be off the gold standard someday.” Diamond: A precious stone which is transparent and is a crystalline form of pure carbon. It’s renowned for its superlative physical qualities. Because of high refractive index, diamonds sparkle due to a phenomenon called Total Internal Reflection, which, in layman terms, is the reflection of the light when it travels from dense to a lesser dense medium. Being the hardest known substance, it’s usually quoted as, “Wit must be followed by wit, cut a diamond with a diamond.”
50 High dispersion qualities enable the light entering into the diamond to split into its spectrum, thereby producing colours. They have been known in India for more than 3000 years when the sediments of the stone were first observed along the rivers Krishna and Godavari. Contributing to the religious perception, diamonds, in India, are treated no less than the auspicious gemstones. “Diamond” origi-
nated from a Greek word, Adams which means something that is untamed. The necessary conditions for the formation of diamonds are met at the centre of Earth when the centre of our planet is subjected to very high pressure and temperature. These high atmospheric conditions caused the deposits of carbon to crystallize at the core of Earth and eventually when the surface cooled, the streams
L’Entrepreneur of magna from the volcanic eruption carried along with it the crystals of diamond. Subsequent eruptions washed away some diamond crystals into rivers and were observed as sediments along rivers Krishna and Godavari. There are many types of prevailing diamonds in the world, such as: \ 1. Pink diamond: World’s rarest and the most valuable stone. 2. White diamond: It’s produced all
51 L’Entrepreneur over the world in various shapes and sizes. It’s also considered as the world’s most beautiful stone. 3. White with secondary pink colour: It’s usually priced higher than all as it displays flashes of pink when viewed vertically. 4.
Champagne diamond: These are naturally coloured and are produced in various range of colours.
5.
Yellow diamonds: Theses are fancy yellow stones that come in range of light yellow to canary colour. 6. Blue diamond: Similarly these also come in shades of blue. 7. Green diamond: Available in shades of green. The different purposes associated with diamonds give them a different name and attributing to it we’ve 2 types of diamond industry: 1. Gem diamond: These types of stones have colour and are suitable for jewellery and investment.
52 2. Industrial diamond : They are used mostly for industrial purposes such as cutting, grinding, grilling etc.
A large trade takes place in gem diamond industry and there’s a considerable mark up in the retail sale. D i a mond cutting and polishing takes place at few locations with India catering to 92% of the world’s production in 2003 in Surat. A South Afri-
L’Entrepreneur can company, De Beers, founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888, dominated the entire diamond sector, till the second half of 20th century, with a market share of 90%. Its dominancy started declining
when it couldn’t control the prices with the advancement of technology in the mining sector and thereby marking an end to its monopoly. in 2001. Relating to the diamo-
53
L’Entrepreneur
-nd mines in India, many years ago it was known for some very famous diamonds like Kohinoor. Today, there are no diamond mines in India, but has contributed a lot to the cutting and polishing of the world’s diamonds, with centres in Surat, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur, with an international market share of more than 60%. In the global market, at present, nine out of ten diamonds for jewellery are exported from India. India is also one of the founding members of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), which states that, “no import or export of rough diamonds shall be permitted unless the shipment is accompanied by KPC”. This scheme was first started by South Africa in 1998 and was later on passed as a resolution by UN in 2003 avoid any rebel movements by the purchase of diamonds. The Govern-
54
L’Entrepreneur
-ment of India has created Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Export Promotion Zones (EPZ) for import and export of the gemstones and accessories. Because of the rising demand of diamonds, the diamond manufacturing industry is at boom all over the world leaving wide entrepreneurship opportunities for ventures and a balanced market for the next 4 years.
55
L’Entrepreneur
The Bookshelf of an Entrepreneur BY ANUP YEOLEKAR “A man only learns in two ways, one by reading, and the other by association with smarter people.” - Will Rogers The latter is highly circumstantial, so the simplest way to learn is to make friends with books. This is an attempt to create a list which an aspiring entrepreneur must read. I agree that this cannot be a comprehensive compilation as the list can be customized from person to person at various
56
L’Entrepreneur stages of his life but essentially these are the books that people all around the world have recommended as must read. So what’s the harm in giving it a try? After all, the lessons learnt from a good book might shave years off your learning curve, and save thousands of bucks from avoidable mistakes. Also the list is not set in order so you might want to pick up any of these books the next time you see, please don’t think twice to read. You are highly encouraged to create your own list and share with others.
1. First Things First By Stephen R Covey As wannabe entrepreneurs,
we already know our most valuable asset is time, but not every entrepreneur knows how to properly use that time. At first glance, First Things First may seem like just another productivity book but, as you'll learn, true productivity is not abo-
57
L’Entrepreneur
-ut getting more things done in less time but rather doing things that matter with the time you have. While many people will recognize Covey for his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, this writing focuses on the most important habit: putting "first things first." Anyone who implements even a fraction of this would see a dramatic shift in his or her life. 2. Enchantment By Guy Kawasaki What’s the difference between spending your money on something that immediately gives you buyer’s remorse and the angels-are -singing delight that comes with a real treasure? Enchantment.Guy Kawasaki unpacks this concept in a way that leaves you nodding
58 along with his suggestions. As an entrepreneur, you’ll find more than a few gems in this to get you thinking about how to really take care of your customers. As a customer, you’ll be looking for businesses that employ this kind of caretaking so you can support them further. Kawasaki redefined competition and market share for me. As he puts it, “There are two kinds of people and organizations in the world: eaters and bakers. Eaters want a bigger slice of an existing pie; bakers want to make a bigger pie.” In a world where entrepreneu
L’Entrepreneur -rs sometimes look around and think, “but it’s all been done before”, this statement makes you rethink the limits you’re setting on yourself and your business. 3. The 4-Hour Workweek By Timothy Ferriss Hard work and long hours are the key to success, right ? Well, maybe not. In this widely praised and criticized book, author Timoty Ferriss asks you to rethink the concept of work, revealing the sad truth that 90% of what you are doing may be not just unnecessary but actually detrimental to achieving the life you desire.
59
L’Entrepreneur
4. The lean startup By Eric Ries Key learning: Reading “the Lean Startup” is a real eye-opener. It forces you to reevaluate a lot of things we already know and how we are looking at starting a company. Any takeaway from the book? Most people solve issues by taking a guess at what caused the issues. But by asking “Why?” 5 times you will get to the root of any problem and feel where the real pain is.
5. The Effective Executive By Peter F. Drucker Forty years after its first publication, this book, like good wine, it has aged well. If you are going to read only one book, this should be it. Even if you are only contemplating
60 to be an entrepreneur, you should read this. You’ll do better in any role with this one. But remember that “Reading only makes a man, while writing makes a complete man.” So don’t forget to write something of your own as well. Happy Reading!!!
L’Entrepreneur
L’Entrepreneur
Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies/ views of L'Entrepreneur, Maçon, IBS HYDERABAD or NEN. While reasonable care is taken to ensure that articles and other information are up-to-date and accurate at the time of publication, L’Entrepreneur takes no responsibility for any outcome or decisions based on the content presented herein. No part of this magazine or its contents may be copied, stored OR published, in any form or format, without prior permission of Maçon - The E Cell of IBS Hyderabad. For comments, suggestion and feedback, please get in touch with us at : lemagazine@gmail.com