Maconza july 2010 by MAÇON

July 2010

ACONZ

Page

In This Issue

Editors’ Take Dear readers

Entrepreneur Amongst Us

Checkered Attack

Naming Your Business

We welcome you to IBS- Hyderabad and wish you luck for the coming year. We promise regular updates about entrepreneurship and Macon through Maconza. The sections on writing a B Plan, ‘entrepreneur amongst us’ and ‘path less travelled’ will be a regular feature of the magazine.

The Story Of Lijjat Pappad 11 The Food Business

The Fear Factor

Crazy Noodles

About M.E GANG

This issue of Maconza explores the opportunities in the food industry, sighting the story of Ashish Chand, who chose to be a restaurateur, in spite of inheriting a well established business and an account of the success of ‘Lijjat’. Subsequent issues will focus upon one industry each and try to chart out the scope for an entrepreneur in that sector. As promised in the last issue, the story of Mr. Rohanth Thotha has been covered and the column ‘Getting Started’, which is a regular column in the magazine, highlights the significance of naming a business. We also introduce you to the concept of M.E. Gang and present a report on the orientation and recruitment process for the batch of 2012.

Meenakshi Aggarwal

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Enjoy Reading

MACON

The Entrepreneurship Cell

“Macon” means ‘to Create or to Build’. The objective of the cell is to provide the common platform to those who aspire to be an entrepreneur and want to bring change in the society in a different way. These people can come together, express their views, show their passion, share their ideas, and nurture their dreams to see them turning into reality with the help of Macon. Through Macon’s initiative, we try to bring out the entrepreneurial skills and provide with the vital support system that a budding entrepreneur demands.

The Vision “MACON is a conglomerate of individuals with a vision, a dream which surely can come true. It is a place for all those who want to create their own path and leave behind the trails of success. The Cell aims at nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and tremendous energy among individual to a level where they can bring about a positive change in the society…a change that we all aspire for. MACON believes an entrepreneurial mind is a mind of original ideas and aspires to extend all possible support to it’s student and alumni members, in association with it’s strategic partner, NEN, and enable them to realize their dreams.”

The Mission “To ignite the spark of entrepreneurship amongst students from IBS and other institutes and provide a common platform for individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit to develop, nurture, share and grow their ideas.” Establishing a new enterprise requires skills that have to be nurtured from a very early stage. The huge potential and skills of management graduate of India needs to be tapped and each and every college has to take up initiatives of creating not just job seekers but also job providers. However motivation and information at the right stage could lead to birth and nurturing of future entrepreneurs at the graduate level. Even for those who do not aim to start an enterprise immediately, the cell will help in providing them the platform to demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills. Page 3

“ Talent Hits a

Target

one else can

Hit.”

“But a Genius Hits a

Target no The Entrepreneur amongst us, A man who thought two steps ahead of what we normal people thought. The backbone of the marketing team of MACON,

ROHANTH THOTA.

one else can

See.”

This article dwells into the ventures of Rohanth, who doesn't wait for opportunity to knock the doors, but creates his own. Page 4

- By Prajnay Garg

EMBRYO, ECHO & ENTREPRENEURSHIP Conviction dribbles from his ideas like sweat after toiling. Rohanth Thota, a man with faith in himself, obsession for work, positivity in approach, gleam in eyes, suavity in demeanor, someone for whom adjectives will fall short of their competence in describing his disposition. This 23 year old Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer is already the holder of a patent and has the experience of running two businesses. It would be apt to say that he is tastedall-spices sorts. Rohanth was the Marketing head of MACON (Entrepreneurship Cell at IBS-Hyderabad) prior to leaving for IBS-Gurgaon because of personal reasons. At IBS, he was known for his out-of-the-box ideas, wittiness, logical thought process and ability to convince people. Rohanth had the knack of getting work done from his peers without touching their ego, a talent only few can boast of. I always had this conjecture— Rohanth has some creato-innovo gland that secretes juices providing him the added edge, he always had the freshest ideas for events or marketing the same, coupled with his eagerness to implement them. He is a visionary with meticulously planned ideas. His ability to understand the psyche of people made his ideas very effective. What surprised us even more was the fact that he never had to work too hard, it all came naturally to him. Rohanth’s tryst with entrepreneurship started at the age of 15 and still goes on. A school competition gave him an idea and opportunity to start his foremost venture. He set up a Bread Omelet stall at school with a meager investment of Rs 500. That evening Rohanth not only made some quick bucks but also learnt his first lessons in Business –pricing and packaging according to the customers tastes and preferences lessons that few have a chance to discern at such a young age. After his 10th class exams, Rohanth extended this scheme to set up Embryo Omelets, a stall at the park near his home. Embryo Omelets was a runaway success and did good business for almost a month. Classes resumed at school and he had to exit Embryo Omelets. He sold the entire set-up to the Page 5

workers whom he had hired for running the business. Although the business enterprise was short lived, it gave Rohanth a lot of poise and knowledge, not to forget the funds he generated. Rohanth’s second business took flight during engineering. The education sector was booming and there were a large number of schools that had come-up in the recent past. Some of these schools had excellent Infrastructure but the number of enrollments in these schools had been dismal. At the same time the existing schools enjoyed the advantage of being an incumbent player. Rohanth figured a gap here –the fact that these new schools were not marketing themselves. To take advantage of this gap, Echo Publicity Designers came into existence. The company approached a few schools and presented the idea of distributing brochures and promoting the school through a video on the local cable channels. The schools were averse to spending money. After more than a few meetings he offered to do it for gratis. Now who would say no to free marketing and they agreed with good grace. Rohanth engaged an assistant who had the know-how of using Photoshop and other back-end jobs. He would shoot the videos and the photographs and his assistant would do the designing. Echo Publicity Designers’ efforts were well rewarded, the school recorded a significant increase in the admissions and it also opened a window for Echo Publicity Designers. The company’s clients grew from zilch to 15 in no time. The company was able to break-even as its customer base touched three. Echo Publicity Designers did well for three years before Rohanth had to join IBS-Hyderabad. On one side Rohanth was running Echo Publicity Designers and on the other his brain was galloping. At his college, he was on a product innovation spree, he devised four products. It was the words of his senior Ravi Teja that inspired him, “Rohanth, being an engineer it is our duty to contribute to the improvement of life of ordinary man. There are many products that are here to destroy the nature

and human health. So, START WORKING !!! Create a product that would help to improve life of people.” His first innovation was a system that would direct the drivers to drive at speeds that would ensure smooth traffic flow without stopping at the Signals. Another was a Black Box for vehicles so that they could be identified and this could help track missing vehicles and improve law and order. Next was a device that would keep track of the number of cigarettes smoked by a person and how much impact it had had on his/her health. After all these, Rohanth was pretty much satisfied and decided that he would submit any of these products as his Final Year Project. But his best was yet to come. One day, at his dad’s clinic, Rohanth saw a girl who had come there for a physiotherapy session, her hands were swollen. After enquiring, he discovered that the reason behind her disorder was excessive video-game playing. Further research revealed that this was a muscular-skeletal disorder which was on a rise among IT professionals due to excessive use of key-boards. The cure for this disorder was a surgery but it could be prevented easily if people were warned about it. This incident moved Rohanth and he decided to design a device that would calculate the stress levels on a persons hand while using a keyboard. It was five months of rigorous hard work that brought him success, ‘Cavere Keyboard’, a device that would not just caution a person when the stress levels touch the threshold but also disable the keyboard so as to prevent the user from working for a brief period. Rohanth applied for a patent for ‘Cavere Keyboard’ and got the same earlier this year. He plans to launch it as a computer accessory in the near future. He believes that the product can be sold for somewhere close to Rs 30 and is looking for VCs to fund this idea. At IBS- Gurgaon, Rohanth is currently working on more entrepreneurial ideas, trying to set up an E-cell, mentoring people and the list could probably go on. To budding entrepreneurs, Rohanth says “The competitive environment is challenging our wisdom and strengths. But it in turn provides wonderful opportunities. The greatest inspiration for an entrepreneur is to take on the impossible. It takes running with consistent efforts to stay at the same place as yesterday; if you want to go forward you must run at least twice as fast. Keep going, keep learning, keep moving forward, care for your customers and serve those around you. This wonderful world will respond to the genuine efforts of entrepreneurs with grace, gratitude and good fortune.”

“Stand up, be bold… be Strong Strength is life, weakness is death” -- Swami Vivekananda Page 6

checkered Attack

By Gayatri Bose & Manohar S It was all fun and frolic at Chinese Checkers, an event organized by Macon for Bohemia 2010. As children, everybody must have played Chinese Checkers and the same experience brought back an equal level of excitement on Sunday, July 4th 2010. Those who thought that it was just another game were in for a pleasant surprise even before the event started when they saw a life sized checker board spanning all over the dome area to encompass the “live” marbles (the participants themselves). The rules were simple and on the lines of the traditional form of the game. The turnout was good with the points allotted for cheering adding up spice to the game. Needless to say all the “clan” members were roaring their slogans and were having a gala time. The participants, all of whom were first year students were briefed about the rules and regulations of the game by Maconites who were brimming with enthusiasm. Each team consisted of 6 members and a few strategists. The rounds commenced with a question on business and current affairs being put to each of the teams. Then, they were given a minute and a half’s time to make their move which was carefully planned and thought of by the strategists. As the game proceeded the scene could not be less comparable to a match from the ongoing FIFA cup with the strategists, like the coaches shouting and throwing up their arms as the players moved around the grid attempting to reach their goal. Though halfway through the game almost all the members on the grid were cluttered at the centre, blurring the differentiation of teams but the hullabaloo kept the spirit going. As the game proceeded towards the end, the environment around became slightly more competitive as all the teams tried frantically to save their ships. The “Tribals” with their excellent strategy and moves won the first position followed by the “Ninjas”, who got the second position.. The game not only tested the team spirit that united the teams but also displayed the co ordination skills and the skill and competence with which the future managers handled sudden developments and situations. It also proved that keeping one’s cool in situations often helps in combating sudden adverse developments in business just as it helped the strategists as well as the team members on the grid move towards their goal, inspite of the severe competition they faced. Overall, the participants enjoyed the game and felt that they were able to learn a lot about managerial skills from the game in addition to winning points for their respective clans and securing positions in the final round. It certainly wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the Chinese Checkers event was one of the most enjoyable events in Bohemian 2010. Page 7

Getting Started : Naming your Business

“Naming Nuances” By Gargi Majumdar Now that we understand and appreciate the importance of naming a business when ‘getting started’, in this issue we can try and understand the nuances and legalities involved in the naming process. Ideally, your name should convey the expertise, value and uniqueness of the product or service you've developed. It’s on you to decide if you want the name to be an abstract one and build an image around it or an informative one, which self talks about the product concept. As a smart entrepreneur, you'll put as much effort into naming your business as you did into coming up with your idea or writing your business plan.

Consulting a Naming Expert Especially if you're in a field in which your company name will be visible and may influence the success of your business, it is advisable to seek professional help. Naming firms have elaborate systems for creating new names, and they know their way around the trademark laws. They have the expertise to advise you against bad name choices and explain why others are good. However the downside is cost associated with it. If as a start-up entrepreneur, you can shell out this money for the naming of your business, it will cut down your costs in the long run. It would also help you avoid legal hassles with trademarks and registration --problems that can cost you plenty if you end up choosing a name that already belongs to someone else. And such professionals are also familiar with design elements, such as how a potential name might work on a sign or stationery.

Doing it Yourself This would indeed need you to put more time and effort but surely would save on cash, a critical input for any start-up. The idea is to brainstorm and work out as many business names as possible. Dictionaries, books and magazines can aid in generating ideas. Few things to keep in mind while doing it yourself:



Your name should be easy to pronounce, especially if you plan to rely heavily on print ads or signs. And nothing could be more counterproductive to a young company than to strangle its potential for word-of-mouth advertising.



If you're thinking about marketing your business globally or if you're located in a multilingual area, you should make sure that your new name has no negative connotations in other languages. Make sure that your name is in no way embarrassing.



Take a close look at their competition. Your name should help you distinguish your business from others. Page 8

Making up a Name At a time when almost every existing word in the language has been trademarked, the option of coining a name is becoming more popular. Some examples are Acura, a division of Honda Motor Co. Although it has no dictionary definition, it actually suggests precision engineering, just as the company intended. How can that be? "Acu," a word segment means "precise" in many languages. By working with meaningful word segments (what linguists call morphemes) like "acu," new words can be coined that are both meaningful and unique.

Trade marking Even the smallest businesses should consider having their business names registered because you can unknowingly infringe on someone’s trademark. Not only will your name be rendered unusable but you might also land up in a legal battle that has the potential to lead your company to bankruptcy.. Trademarks and service marks are filed under a specific class or classes. There are 45 classes to choose from when filing for a trademark or service mark. Companies can file under one class or multiple classes depending on the nature of their product or service.

Final Call Some entrepreneurs go with their gut or use personal reasons for choosing one name over another. Others are more scientific. Some companies do consumer research or testing with focus groups to see how the names are perceived. Others might decide that their name is going to be most important seen on the back of a truck, so they have a graphic designer to turn the various names into logos to see which works best as a design element.

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Filing a DBA Filing a DBA (Doing Business As) allows business owners to legally accept payments, open bank accounts, and advertise under their chosen fictitious names. Having an assumed name can also avoid fraud since doing business using a name other than your legal name without proper documents is against the law. By now all our readers must be well aware of the importance and ways of naming a business. In the next issue, we will try and explore other aspects that need to be taken care of when you ‘get started’!

“ IT’S NOT WHAT

YOU SAY IT IS, IT’S WHAT THEY SAY IT IS ” -Marty Neumeier-The Brand Gap

Page 10

By Kaushal Kumar No Indian meal is complete without papad. Be it a north Indian thali or a south Indian one; papad is a compulsory constituent of it. ‘Lijjat’ is one of the leading papad brands in India. It is one of the finest examples of a ‘rags to riches story’. A small venture started just to make the most out of spare time and earn some money, became a mammoth organization later on. The Beginning The show began on 15th March 1959, when seven women of an old residential building in Girgaum (a thickly populated area in South Bombay) came together on the terrace of the building to do some part time work to earn extra income. The result was production of four packets of papad and an inspiration to continue the same. ‘Lijjat’ (Gujarati for ‘tasty’) came into existence in 1961. By the end of three years, the size of the family grew from seven to three hundred. As days went by, the institution began to grow. The early days were not easy. . The faith and patience of the members were put to test on several occasions. Self-reliance was the policy and no monetary help was sought (not even voluntarily offered donations). Today, Lijjat is more than just a household name for 'papad'. Started with a modest loan of Rs 80, the coop

erative now has annual sales exceeding Rs 520 crore, including Rs. 24 crore worth of exports. Organizational Structure Lijjat believes in collective ownership and the concept of Sarvodaya . There are no employers or employees in the organization. The members are coowners of the organization and fondly referred to as ‘bens’ or sisters. Only women are allowed to become members of the organization. The main purpose is to empower women by helping them earn extra income. The working process of Lijjat makes sure that the members have a good balance of work and family life. The member sisters work as per their capacity and availability of free time. The payment is made on daily basis to assist ‘bens’ in becoming self dependent and maintain transparency in the organization. The entire organization is decentralized and managed by a committee of 21 members. All the members of the committee have veto power and this ensures that decisions are based on consensus. A woman aged 18 years or above can join the organization and become a co-owner if she has firm belief in the values of the organization. Today, Lijjat has 61 branches all over India. Each branch is managed by a Branch Sanchalika.

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The branches are not only responsible for production but also marketing & distribution in their respective areas. The profit or loss is shared at the branch level. Apart from papad, Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad(SMGULP) also manufactures Khakra, Appalam, Masala, detergent powder and cake, wheat flour etc. Work Culture @ Lijjat No kind of work is considered inferior or superior at Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad. Every job is given equal importance and the member sisters are free to choose the work they like, rolling papads, or packing, or preparing the dough. Leaving the organization is voluntary. There is no fixed retirement age at Lijjat as the emphasis is on earning one’s bread through daily work, all through one’s life. Although it will make sense for Lijjat to adapt to modern technologies of mass production; but Lijjat has stuck to its age old production process because the modern technology may defeat the very purpose of the existence of Lijjat.

duplication of their product, which could occur if this process was outsourced. The product reaches the market through various distributors. The distributor selection process is simple and competitive. The distributors are required to have good storage facility and must be able to pay on delivery. For exports also, Lijjat has appointed recognized professional merchants. Presently 30-35% of total production is exported to countries like United States, United Kingdom, Middle East, Singapore, Hong Kong and Holland. The road ahead SMGULP is a model attempt to make women economically independent, thus paving the way for their concurrent empowerment in other facets of their lives. It symbolizes the beginning of a slow but steady process of women playing an active role in their own lives and that of the society around them.

PPP (Papad production process) The manufacturing process starts everyday at 5 am. The sister members are picked up from their houses to respective production centers, in the company owned vehicles. These sisters who arrive at 5:00 a.m. are responsible for kneading the papad dough. After 7:00 a.m. the rest of the sisters come in and dough is distributed to each one of them in ‘dabbas’. Sisters take this dough to their respective homes and roll them into papads in their free time. It is extremely essential that the papad once rolled gets a sufficient number of hours to dry in the sun and that is why the entire process is initiated at 5:00 a.m. Every morning when the sisters come to work, they bring with them the rolled out papad and collect dough for the next day. The raw material- mung and urad flour is supplied from the central branch, in order to maintain the standards of quality. Also, the production process is mostly manual. The packing bags are manufactured at Lijjat itself, so as to maintain uniformity. This is also done to prevent Page 12

"An Entrepreneur tends to Bite off a little more than he can Chew hoping he'll quickly Learn how to Chew it.” - Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries

The

Food, The Foodie & The Food

By Tapan Patel

Business

Indian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. The current food habits are a blend of our own culture and western influences. The scenario has changed considerably with the expansion of buying power and the increasing exposure. There were days when home-made food was preferred, and restaurants, hotels and dhabas were considered to be next to a taboo and days when parents were far more skeptical about the Page 13

hygiene issue. Today, the nuclear families-- with

However, this can be made easier and simpler by

both the parents working -- are highly dependent

using advanced food processing technologies.

on packed and canned food, ready-to-eat food and

Value delivery has been an integral part of any

food from restaurants, dhabas and fast food outlets.

business, and food business is no exception.

Over the years, not only the hotels and restaurants

Quality, hygiene and customer satisfaction are

but also the road-side chat-walas and other street-

some of the parameters by various food-chains in

food vendors have improved a lot upon the quality

India.

of the food and the services provided, which is a

growing and MNCs are entering into the Indian

result of the varied dynamics of the food business –

subcontinent, cultures have spread across the

competition, customer expectations of hygiene,

state borders resulting in increase in demand for

food quality and expected tests. Though Indian

haute cuisine. According to a study, “No one

food chains are in nascent stage of growth, as

restaurant has a universal appeal. It is impossible to

compared to foreign food chains, yet they stand

grab hold of the full 100% of the market.

good opportunity to bang on the business. Today,

Attempting such a mammoth goal will only result to

Café Coffee Day has 884 outlets, Nirula’s has

failure. The market’s taste and preference is as

around 65 outlets, whereas Sankalp has 40 outlets

diverse as it is wide. Realistically speaking, a

across India. At the same time, foreign players

restaurateur can only tap around five to ten percent

hold a substantial share of the pie, be it Pizza Hut,

of the total consumer population pie.”

Domino’s, Burger King, Subway or Barista. In order

Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (STP) are

to establish strong foot-hold in the burgeoning

of prime importance for tapping customers and

$120Bn Indian fast-food market, one requires very

addressing

astute strategies from the very stage of inception of

preparation and delivery chain is the most vital

the business.

factor one must address in this business. Which

The Business Cave

food to be served, in which area it is to be served,

Food industry offers numerous variants, and therefore, raises consumers’ expectations. Today the sector is highly fragmented in terms of culture, geographical locations, areas (within same region) and local consumers. It is difficult to standardize a food product and make it available throughout due to wide cultural spectrum as almost all of the Indian cuisines cover typical dishes like curry, chatni, sambhar, gravy, etc. – which vary in taste from region to region.

The

way

their

business

needs.

opportunities

Innovation

are

food

by what means it is to be served, and what all technologies to be employed – are the basic strategic decisions. Study of various cultures (Punjabi, Bengali, South Indian etc.) can provide an insight into the basic consumption pattern of different communities. Ultimately this will support in marketing plan, advertisement and promotion. In order to know the variety and adaptability, conducting a market research is important. Here, there is also an option to tie-up with some existing food-chain. But it requires strongly backed business idea, in terms of innovation, market research Page 14

and finance as business involves synchronizing other

point of differentiation, competing with the existing

firm’s value delivery system with that of one’s own. Of

players and formulating counter-strategies against

course, it will share the business risk and investments

the new entrants – are required to be addressed

required; and ensure expansion at rapid pace.

properly to make the model more investment attrac-

Once basic product features are designed, it requires

tive.

making operations’ strategies – the way business

In later course, company may even plan to diversify

requires

flow,

or backward/forward integrate with the business. Be

ingredients,

it organic food, brewed coffee, bakery products,

customer service criteria, quality standards and prod-

South Indian dishes, or parathas – unless blend of in-

uct standardization techniques. In food business,

novation, hygiene and quality is served , foodies will

especially in the inception stage, business passes

not feed the food business.

through different dynamics of sales and expenditure.

"When you reach an obstacle, turn it into an opportunity. You have the choice. You can overcome and be a winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours and yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failures refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure."

supply-chain,

run,

the

preparation

raw of

material

basic

Food being perishable, it also requires a meticulous planning ensuring minimum wastage without causing any shortfall. Food preservation and re-use, without diluting quality also requires to be scheduled very well. By and large, in restaurants, more than 90% of the staff is associated with everyday operations and more than half of them are in direct contact with the customers. In case of delivery services, same proportion of staff is involved in food preparing. So, staff requires to be well trained as far as etiquettes and professionalism is concerned. The challenges mentioned above will lead towards the financial planning about raising money, funding the business operation and chart expansion tactics. Bringing investors not only requires attractiveness of the business model, but also the scale of operations. Cost of furniture, interior decoration - are one-time expenditures; whereas staff salary and raw material are recurring expenses. Generally space being costly in the urban area, it’s advisable to begin the business on leased space, that will reduce initial investment required and so does the associated business risk. Soaring real-estate prices, is also one of the main concerns as far as scalability is concerned. Creating a

Page 15

- Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

We have finally learned, at far too great a cost, that if, the most powerful weapons ever created are unleashed, they would be fired not in anger, but in

Fear. - From the movie “Sum of all Fears”

The Fear Factor By Rohan Sharma Have you ever realized what you fear the most? Imagine standing on the top of a mountain, where you see nothing but the contours of clouds above, away from the shackles of daily lives where its only you, the beauty, the adventure and the nature; and think about all the things you fear in life, you leave behind, what exactly do you come up with, God; the unknown, fire, water, the heights, time or yourself…… what?? Mom and dad had come to the station to drop me, though I am old enough now. The minor instructions feel like a child’s play, but still she gave them, after all she’s a mother. In the train, the upper berth, all are silent, their eyes closed yet in their senses they feel someone unknown around. A small glimpse and a decision made, some check their belong‐ ings while others check the stranger, the clothes, and then the outlook and again a decision is made. Each one through his own perception builds an image and then closes his eyes; they sleep with keeping the senses of touch and sound at caution, yet after some time they doze off not realiz‐ ing that their belongings may be as vulnerable as their own lives. All they see is the outside of a stranger and everyone fears what might be going inside his head, each one fears the unknown. When travelling for the first time, mom gave at least a dozen of instruc‐ tions surrounding the word “stranger”, but was it the stranger who caused all the trouble of giving and taking instructions? I thought again, it was the Fear! When am I scared the most, when I invest in fear, fear of losing money, losing job, losing kids, losing life, fear of just losing and fear of what I have created for myself‐ my boundaries, the comfort zones. When I don’t feel like talking to anybody I give in to my headphones and mp3 player not to be disturbed in my own world, like a peace treaty with someone unknown, somewhere close to me;”You don’t inflict my space and I wont inflict yours” and the days when I don’t have it, I choose to look outside the window and think about life and its colors, again playing safe and listening to myself not knowing what the stranger might have in his kitty. Page 16

What exactly am I doing? In the pursuit of overcoming one big fear I give rise to so many other fears! I travel and I travel for a purpose, some reason some fear , if I don’t travel I might loose something, the reasons may be many, in the journey I keep myself to the boundaries I created or which my elders created for me. All the time when I am alone in that boundary it’s safe, but as soon as someone tries to come close, inflicts my area, the antennas get alert, caution prevails in the mind and I concentrate hard not to scare myself. Being bold and put‐ ting up a good face are all on the surface, whereas the truth being that the insides of me shake as much as the in‐ sides of the other person. Fear and my natural instinct of protectiveness travel along through the journey, I travel in the same two emotions, “fear and caution”; from whom? “My own kind”. Its like being in the jungle. As soon as some animal comes into your territory, you become cautious and given a chance you go for a kill, else the animal might kill you, it’s the rule of the jungle and we are living in a jungle where we are the animals or as we always say we have made ourselves one. Can some one point out a difference? Do I have wrong intentions when I enter someone’s comfort zone? Why are they afraid of me? Coz they can’t read what is there in my mind, what I can do and what I won’t do, do they fear me or they fear the unknown or may be the loss of their own existence…. Is this about humanity, the human nature or the human mind? Is it about respect of our own entities or the respect of our own fears, or as most of believe, respect for ourselves? Is it us who has created a world where one thing which we fear the most is our existence amongst species like us or is it the respect of the fear that insecures the being of human beings. ”If I don’t get this he’ll get it, so I try hard to avoid the fear, the fear of defeat. It has to be me first and then him”, that’s us in the real world. Sometimes it’s the stranger travelling in the train and sometimes it is someone known to me, close to me who creates the fear in its various forms sometimes mutual and mostly individual and makes me take my decisions and direct my actions, and determining the place where I would stand in the end. It ain't the bold decisions; it is the decisions bolder than the Fears that determine the destiny and the paths we choose. Where we land up in life is only a consequence of the fears which we always try to overcome sometimes intentionally and sometimes in the subconscious minds. Who am I? I am you, each one of you, who in the bottom of the hearts have some fear, fear that we dread the most yet we think of the external factors which might scare us. Here I am not glorifying fear, I am just trying to tell myself that today if I stop writing in this space there will be some one who would take my place, who might prove to be better than me and I shall loose the space given to me to express myself to the little world of ours, if I don’t write this to‐ day, tomorrow I might loose it and the whole jungle of words I create, would never exist and no one shall give it a thought. I fight for my space, for the fact that my existence is known to the world through this. I, who is no one but you, all of you, fight to seize my fears of being lost, of being hurt by a stranger in the train, of being out of the race of achievements, of being looked down upon by my own fellow beings. I am not glorifying fear; I am just accepting that my deeds are a consequence of my fears, still on the last pages of my life I would not wish to write that the whole book was the victim of my fears. Food for thought: A man, who is free, is the one who is free from all fears. ‐ “V for Vendetta”

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The title of this article suggests that this article must be about something crazy and in fact, the title itself appears to be some imagination of a crazy writer. It is really very difficult to imagine what crazy noodles are and if at all they exist, why are they being called so. Similar doubts must have arisen in the minds of everyone who heard about Crazy Noodles and people would have definitely felt compelled to try them at least once. May be this is what worked wonders for Mr. Ashish Chand, the owner of Page 18

Crazy Noodles.

Crazy Noodles By Meenakshi Aggarwal Crazy Noodles is a chain of casual restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines having six outlets in Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Haldwani and Noida/ NCR and there are plans to start fifteen more. Mr. Chand wants to expand as soon as possible and therefore, keeps looking for sites for a new outlet of Crazy Noodles. The range of products offered is priced at Rs. 200 onwards and the chain of restaurants lies somewhere in the Pizza Hut category. In the beginning, master franchisee license was obtained from Mark Pi, who had systematic processes being followed and indulged into mass production. Therefore, American Chinese food was served under the name of Mark Pi. But, it did not work as the Indian customer could not identify with the brand name and was not ready to accept a foreign brand. Then, Mr. Chand did an in depth study of Indian customer’s tastes and preferences and acted upon it. Indian Chineese dishes were added to the menu and they are a hot favorite amongst the Indian youth. Japanese and Thai cuisines were also added to the menu and a new name given to the business. The name Crazy Noodles presented an altogether new image of the brand and the name of the outlets itself signifies something crazy, lively, youthful and spicy.

Moreover, the expectations one has from Crazy Noodles on just hearing the name, are fulfilled to a great extent. The way the restaurants are designed is very different from the mundane. Games, quizzes, loud colors and funky cutlery are used in the restaurant and it is a constant effort of the team to innovate and keep changing with the times. It is interesting to know that the whole idea behind Crazy Noodles is crazy. The idea comes from the owner, Mr. Ashish Chand who sold his call centre business to enter into the food industry in 2005. According to him, “Crazy is our whole brand philosophy” Later, he also got angel investment from Mr. Ashish Gupta of Helion Venture Partners and Mr. Sunil Slough of US based Informance. Thus, everything from the origin to the interiors of the restaurants seems to be crazy but it does not mean that things are taken lightly or happen haphazardly at Crazy Noodles. In fact, a lot of importance is given to customer feedback and efforts made to act upon it as soon as possible. Also, the company has some future plans like opening outlets in various cities, adding aperitifs in some of the restaurants and catering to the customer demand in terms of food as well as prices. In addition to this, growing number of working women and Indians’ growing preference for haute cuisine ensures the success of Crazy Noodles and it has miles to go. Page 19

The first event organized my M.E.

The teams came out with many innovative

Gang was 5 idiots, which was organ‐

ideas, not only about the uses of products

ized on June 11, 2010. It was a fun

but also their presentation. One of the crazi‐

event, in order to know the juniors

est ideas that came in was the use of a volley

and introduce them to the idea of

ball as a fake tummy.

entrepreneurship, the easy way. The

5 Idiots was real entertainment and fun for

The MACON ENTREPRENEURSHIP

participants came in teams of 3‐4

all the twenty six teams who participated

GANG is an informal league of the E‐

members. Each team was given a

and also the Maconites. Apart from fun, this

Cell at IBS Hyderabad, where the

prop and asked to think about an al‐

game also had a message to give. The com‐

members of the E‐CELL aim to inter‐

ternative use of the same. The props

plete idea behind this game was idea gen‐

act with a large chunk of the crowd

were very common things, like a sin‐

eration as it is the most important and the

informally, laying the emphasis on

gle

o f

first step towards being an entrepreneur.

giving trailers of and about Entrepre‐

bangles and a volley ball, from daily

This game was all about generating ideas

neurship. In the past, the events con‐

life.

with very ordinary thing at any time of the

ducted by Macon have been formal,

After the props were given, the

day.

where the interaction has been lim‐

teams had ten minutes to think and

ited to a pool of fresh minds in every

write their ideas on the sheets of pa‐

event, but with ME Gang in perspec‐

per provided to them, which were

tive the aim is to target a larger audi‐

taken back after ten minutes were

ence and motivate them towards

over. Then the teams presented one

Entrepreneurship.

best idea on stage within five minutes

M.E. Gang won’t fade out with one event but will be present as an informal league with Macon. Also, a data base of all those participating in the activities of M.E. Gang will be maintained which will be referred to at the time anything happens in Macon, whether it is a guest lecture or a competi‐ tion or anything.

Trailing off the from the inhibitions of formal suits, professional jargons and business strategies of the true forms M.E Gang aims at changing the view o f w h a t w e c a l l a s “ Entrepreneurship”.

shoe,

Page 20

set

Orientation and Recruitment wards joining Macon. The filled in forms were screened by the core team and a short list of students was put up on all the notice boards on the very next day.

Macon conducted an orientation program for the batch of 2012 on Thursday, June 17, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium. The orientation went on for one hour and forty five minutes, which comprised of an address to the audience by the president, the vice president and all the departments heads. Also, Mr. Shivam Aggarwal, the former president of Macon was present for the occasion and addressed the audience.

The second stage of the recruitment process consisted of a round of personal interviews conducted by the respective team members on the subsequent weekend. The interviews were conducted by the members of respective teams and some students were selected by each team. There was one more step in recruitment for the editorial board. The students shortlisted after the interview were asked to write a small piece on a given topic within fifteen minutes. The final list of students was prepared after discussion among all

Everyone interested in joining Macon, was asked to fill a form which contained some details about the applicant, her interests and the reason for joining this cell, which was the first step to-

Page 21

the senior members across departments and put up on the notice boards. The final strength of the junior team is thirty nine and all the members are equally talented and ready to explore the realms of entrepreneurship.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching â&#x20AC;? - Mooie

DISCLAIMER: The writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; views in the articles have been influenced by various writers

and sources. Thus, readers are expected to crosscheck the facts before

relying upon them. Much care has been taken to present the facts without

error. Still if errors creep in, necessary feedbacks will always be welcomed.

The magazine is not meant for sale and hence, no part of the magazine should be used without the prior permission of MACONâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; E Cell of IBS Hyderabad.

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