Entrepreneur June 2012

BOOM OR BUST: IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE IPO PG 44

STATE SPECIAL: PUNJAB IS OPEN FOR YOUR BUSINESS PG 80

ANIL KUMBLE SPINS IT RIGHT WITH TENVIC PG 40

JUNE 2012  VOLUME 3  ISSUE 10  `100

THE BIG

FOOD ISSUE India’s top restaurateurs tell you their recipes for success PG 54

5 hot startups to watch out for PG 107 Stemade puts the tooth fairy out of work PG 36 UFO Moviez gets digitally disruptive PG 50

SHAUN KENWORTHY Restaurant consultant and chef

TABLE OF CONTENTS INSIGHTS

54 COVER STORY 54 Mega Bites Some of the most successful Indian restaurateurs have advice for those who want to set up their ventures in this lucrative market.

By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

16 The Convergence Myth R. Jagannathan

looks into whether a super product can ever become a reality.

67 In the Fast Lane Take a bite into the burgeoning Indian fast food restaurants business.

By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

68 Steaming Cuppas, Hot Ideas Investing in a coffee shop is a good bet in the Indian market.

By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

18 First Lane Syndrome

Bharat Banka writes about the ‘First Lane Syndrome’ and the hazards related to it.

IN CONVERSATION

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

24 ‘In India, people want to sell out too quickly’

19 The Second Life

Nexus Venture Partners CoFounder Naren Gupta talks about the Indian economic scenario, the entrepreneurship space and a lot more.

Nandini Vaidyanathan explores the reasons why women get diverted from their entrepreneurial journey.

By Sourav Majumdar

28 ‘To be successful, hire people smarter than you’ Jack Canfield, author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Founder and Chairman of Canfield Training Group talks about leadership and entrepreneurship.

20 Raising Money Manish Sabharwal says that the color of money is of utmost importance.

By Ankush Chibber

WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR

32 A Drop to Win Peter Frykman has reinvented drip irrigation through his venture Driptech to help small plot farmers in India and China.

By Shruti Chakraborty

21 Emotional Versus Strategic Decisions

NEW ECONOMY

Should your heart rule your head in business?

Muki Regunathan has some advice.

36 Stems to the Rescue Stemade can help save your life. All they need is your fallen off tooth.

22 Direct Route

By Ankush Chibber

William Pinckney talks about the direct selling market in India.

SPECIAL FEATURE 40 Game Changers

Durva Gandhi is helping Indian artists sell their works to art enthusiasts around the world.

Anil Kumble may have retired from the cricketing world but he hasn’t really hung up his boots.

By Shruti Chakraborty

By Shonali Advani

23 It’s Never Too Late Ganesh Natarajan busts the myths about getting into technology entrepreneurship 6 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

30 For a Global Palette

IN FOCUS

80 STATE SCAN: PUNJAB

82 A Time for Renewal 44 Locked In The once lucrative IPO market has mostly dried up, leaving investors looking for an alternative exit and promoters looking for other ways to raise money.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

SUCCESS INC

Punjab has enough options for entrepreneurs, but a lot more needs to be done if it is to compete effectively with other states for investments.

TECH DEPARTMENT

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

86 ‘Terrorism in Punjab lasted way too long’ Puneet Vatsayan, President of TiE Punjab and Chandigarh says that Punjab missed out on opportunities earlier but now the future looks bright.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

88 'We must build a bottom-up movement in Punjab' Rakesh Verma, Managing Director, Punjab Infotech talks about projecting the state as one of the most investor-friendly IT hubs in the country.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

90 IT Works Information Technology is flourishing in Punjab for more than two decades, where a number of ventures have successfully established themselves.

The HTC One X is by far the best Android mobile device out there. Find out why.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

By Ankush Chibber

93 At The Crossroads

100 Ultra X

50 A Script for Success Sanjay Gaikwad is leading the charge in the digital movie distribution business with his venture UFO Moviez.

By Shruti Chakraborty

GO FRANCHISE 70 8 Traits of Successful Franchisees Eight traits that are common to most successful franchise owners. Check if franchising is right for you.

98 Behold the One

Punjab’s auto ancillary sector held a competitive edge for long, but terrorism, government apathy, and the cost of energy haven’t helped. Can it bounce back?

Dell has mostly got it right with its first ultrabook.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

By Ankush Chibber

95 Incubators Inc Want to start up in Punjab? Help is not far away.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

By Jeff Elgin

OFF BEAT

SPECIAL REPORTS

96 Lie No Further

72 The Gap-Map-Tap Formula

Getting resumes full of tall claims? Find out how you can know if they are lies.

Successful entrepreneurs gave words of advice to the entrepreneurs at a recent event in Nashik.

By Brian Patrick Eha

By Shruti Chakraborty

STRATEGY

79 No Coats, Ties or Suits Please

97 Present Like Steve Jobs

Startups engaged with other startups, and picked up some business lessons at a two day event in Mumbai.

There are some key communication lessons to learn from the way Steve Jobs presented his products.

By Shruti Chakraborty

By Mikal E. Belicove

103 Keep This Bug Read about what you can do if you don’t dig headphones and still want a decent audio experience, but without disturbing those around you.

By Ankush Chibber

Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MONEY

STARTUPS

HOW TO 120 Manage Your Online Reputation Bad reviews on the internet by disgruntled customers can hurt your reputation.

By Harshil Karia

124 Hire a Company Secretary Find out when you will need a full-time company secretary and how to find one.

By Shruti Chakraborty

104 ‘There are a lot of question marks on PE in India’ Jayanta Banerjee, Managing Partner of ASK Pravi, a new private equity player managing the `900 crore ASK Pravi Private Equity Opportunities Fund and an investor in lower mid-market companies talks about markets and entrepreneurs.

108 Kards on the Table Entrepreneurs Karam Lakshman and Shubhendu Sharma’s venture RationKard brings loyalty programs on mobiles and wants to build a host of services around it.

By Shonali Advani

110 A Sports Star and More Most children now spend more time on an Xbox than a football field. A few entrepreneurs are trying to change that scenario.

By Shruti Chakraborty

By Sourav Majumdar

125 Spot a Misfit Employee Learn how to identify a misfit employee and ensure that you don't let him sabotage your growth.

By Ramanujam Sridhar

126 Remote Control Your Employees Keeping a watch on your employees keeping you tied to your office? Find out what you can do to remote control them when you take some time off.

By Shonali Advani

SPEND IT

114 Sell Easy

REGULARS 10 FEEDBACK 11 RESOURCES 12 SME DOCTOR 14 CAPSULE 134 BACKSTAGE

The Jobanputra brothers have built a venture that could be of help to your online business.

By Bindi Shah

116 Finding Pawan Super driver Pawan goes missing. Ram Badrinathan then leads his trainees on a journey to bring him back.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

127 Lager Land Lagerbay in suburban Mumbai is a place you may want to head to after a hectic workday

COVER CREDITS

By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

130 Work Out @ the Spa ITC Grand Central, Mumbai is offering entrepreneurs a luxurious set of business benefits.

By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri

132 An Eye for Features COVER DESIGN

Arko Provo Mukherjee

COVER IMAGE Bmaximage

8 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

118 Go With the Floh Floh helps single people meet without the pressure of conventional parameters.

By Shonali Advani

The new i20 is a bold offering with stylish looks and new unique features.

By Pranbihanga Borpuzari

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Frederick DeLuca

on how his $17 billion SUBWAY redefined fast food PG 26

MAY 2012  VOLUME 3  ISSUE 9  `100

ALSO

5 Hot Startups PG 97

BUDGET ANALYSIS 41 PG

The Business of Graphic Novels Pg 70

The Impact of Leadership PG 84

Sanjiv Goenka's second coming

APRIL 2012  VOLUME 3  ISSUE 8  ` 100

SANJIV GOENKA’S SECOND INNINGS  THE BUSINESS OF GYMS

EXCLUSIVE

The Marico boss launches a mega mentoring project PG 56

ALSO

FIVE HOT STARTUPS TO WATCH Pg 99

A more aggressive gameplan has changed him as a leader PG 52 THE FIRST DAUGHTERS CLUB  THE ERIC MORSE CODE

BUDGET 2012 IMPACT

Harsh Mariwala Wants You to Scale Up

MARCH 2012  VOLUME 3  ISSUE 7  Rs 100

On the road less travelled Pg 40

5 HOT STARTUPS PG 99 LESSONS FROM THE TOP 10 U.S. BRANDS PG 46 INSIDE

38

Don Ward on the Business of Comedy PG 66

FRANCHISING: THE 70 BUSINESS OF GYMS PGMEHER PUDUMJEE of Thermax

The ultimate how-to guide

POOJA JAIN of Luxor SULAJJA FIRODIA MOTWANI of Kinetic

PG 112

A NURSERY FOR YOUR NEW VENTURE PG 40

Avoiding Titanic mistakes PG 84

MAKING A SUCCESSFUL IT PRODUCT PG 80

PG

Back to Books with Hippocampus

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Steven Smith's Tea Story SCHAUNA CHAUHAN SALUJA of Parle Agro

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To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

IN CONVERSATION

‘In India, people want to sell out too quickly’

{

Nexus Venture Partners, with offices in Silicon Valley and India, is one of the country’s best-known venture funds, having invested in names like Netmagic, Gluster, Snapdeal, Craftsvilla.com and several others.

The size of Nexus’s holdings goes up to $10 million in early to early-growth stage companies.

{

Nexus Co-Founder Naren Gupta speaks to Sourav Majumdar on the Indian economic scenario, the Indian entrepreneurship space and a whole lot more.

24 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

Q: How do you see the economic environment in India of late?

A: I think India is, to some extent, at a crossroads right now. The growth we have had in the last five years is clearly coming down in a major way. I hope the growth doesn’t fall below something like 6 percent, because in my view, that is the breaking point. The reason is simple. The population is growing at something like 1-1.5 percent, and productivity at 4-5 percent. At 6 percent growth, you’re talking about the unemployment or underemployment rate basically not changing. So, we are at a point where it can be very problematic. Once these things cross the line you don’t know where it ends. We are a democracy, which is good, but it can also be a very big problem.

India is at a difficult point. The fall of the rupee is also a problem. We are also in a very difficult global environment. China’s growth is going to clearly come down, possibly significantly, US growth isn’t going up significantly, people are projecting about 2 percent.

So something has to happen.

Photos© Neha Mithbawkar

Q: Talking of India, you’ve had successes in your investee companies.

What at this point are the sectors which you think are exciting stories from your point of view?

A: India is a very broad-based story.

Where India is unique is in technology.

Our belief is that some of the greatest technology companies of the future are going to come out of India. There is no reason for them not to. If you look at Silicon Valley, the number of startups with Indian founders, the number of companies like Intel where half the engineers are of Indian origin… so I think it’s a very unique situation for India. No other country has really done that outside the US, except, maybe, for Israel to a certain extent. China hasn’t done that. China hasn’t built global companies. Apart from that, everything else is really open as well: e-commerce, communication and cleantech.

Consumer-centric businesses as well.

Opportunities are across the board.

Another area which is very interesting is the whole rural and agri area.

The productivity in Indian farming

is about 70 percent lower than in the US. So there’s a huge opportunity for improvement there. But the policies drive that to a great extent. Farm sizes are small and getting smaller. People can’t create big, 1000-acre farms here.

But every problem has an opportunity under it. So I’d think how do you make smaller farms more productive? How do you bring mechanization to those farms? You can cooperate and do a lot.

Q: So your radar is really scanning for investees across the board…

A: Yes, but there are areas where we are not investing, like real estate, which is very capital-intensive and involves too much dealing with the government.

Q: But real estate had seen a lot of private equity players and others coming in.

A: It will continue to see that, but it’s really a different kind of investor who would do that. Infrastructure is another area like that. We try to avoid dealing with the government as far as possible.

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012 25 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR

[ DRIPPING POINT ]

A DR P TO WIN Peter Frykman is helping small-plot farmers by reinventing drip irrigation SHRUTI CHAKRABORTY

P

eter Frykman travelled to Ethiopia in April 2008. The rains had failed in the country that year and Ethiopia was experiencing a severe drought. For irrigation, farmers either were entirely dependent on the rains or when there was enough water, they used on the age old method of flood irrigation.

“Drip irrigation had been around for over 50 years and was known to save water and improve yield so I wondered why the farmers weren’t using drip irrigation,” says Frykman. He admits however that at the time, he did not know much about either agriculture or irrigation.

Social impact At that time, Frykman was taking a course at Stanford, called 32 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability, alongside his PhD in mechanical engineering. The former was a course that focused on creating products and entrepreneurial ventures that could help customers at the bottom of the pyramid. He had worked on developing low-cost medical devices, but he soon learnt that it took much longer to get a medical device out in the market and the social impact too wasn’t direct or quick enough.

Frykman then studied the problems Ethiopian farmers faced and understood the drip irrigation systems firsthand, in order to help create a social impact via a different route.

After understanding the drawbacks of the existing drip irrigation systems that were keeping small-scale farmers from using the technology, Frykman

went back to Stanford and developed a low-cost drip irrigation technology that could help small-plot farmers.

He then set up Driptech towards the end of 2008 in the US to help farmers in developing countries. The company currently works with farmers in China and India and has offices in all three countries. Frykman spends most of his time in India now, to help grow Driptech’s business here.

Precision point The conventional drip irrigation technology was suited for farmers who had large farms, access to electricity, large pumps and other infrastructure that owners of small plots of farmland didn’t have, Frykman found. The system that was present used something called a ‘tortuous pathway emitter’,

FARMERS NOT ONLY BENEFIT IN TERMS OF IMPROVED YIELD AND SAVE WATER THROUGH DRIPTECH’S TECHNOLOGY, IT ALSO CUTS DOWN THEIR COSTS OF MANPOWER.

STANDING TALL: Peter Frykman Photo© Mexy Xavier

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

33

SPECIAL FEATURE

PITCH IT RIGHT: (l. to r.)

Diinesh Kumble, Anil Kumble, and Vasanth Bharadwaj 40 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ June 2012

[ RIGHT SPIN ]

GAME CHANGERS Anil Kumble has not really hung up his boots. With TENVIC, he and his partners seek to use sports to transform the way Indians approach life SHONALI A DVANI

A

lot of people have a lot to say about the state of sports in India. But only a rare few put their foot where their mouth is. That is why it is commendable that instead of arm-chair critiquing the dismal state of sports and the gaps therein, three of the arena’s own have come together to do something about it.

Launched in June 2011 by former Indian cricket captain Anil Kumble, 41; ex-table tennis champion Vasanth Bharadwaj, 43; and sports entrepreneur Diinesh Kumble, 45; TENVIC’s basic idea is to develop grassroots sports in a structured format. In the process, three business verticals, each with a distinct focus area catering to all segments of the sports education ecosystem, have emerged.

“WE DON’T WANT TO GIVE PARENTS THE IDEA THAT EVERY CHILD CAN BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL STAR. WE WILL GIVE THEM REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.” — ANIL KUMBLE, CO-FOUNDER, TENVIC

Photo© Maximage

Young learnings Grassroots Sport inculcates children with sports at the school level. For starters, it has identified the disciplines of badminton, chess, table tennis and cricket around which scientificallydeveloped program modules, including cognitive video-based manuals, are offered to teach sports.

“As far as India’s sports future is concerned, the bottom of the pyramid model is going to be relevant.

Our firm belief is that it is essential to have a fair amount of structure and technological, innovative and creative methods to teach children sports,” says a soft-spoken Bharadwaj, Chief Evangelist-Sport, TENVIC. The firm’s programs are subcategorized as beginner modules (for eight-year-olds), intermediate and advanced. These are complete packages which include not just skill enhancement but other physical and mental elements including basic life skills. “We don’t want to give parents the idea that every child can become an international star. We will give them realistic expectations,” confirms Kumble, Co-Founder, TENVIC.

Sports @ school Averaging at 60-80 hours per module ( `1,500-`1,800 per month, per student), it is currently a voluntary

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue Intelligent of Entrepreneur Entrepreneur  June 2012 41 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

IN FOCUS

[ NO EXIT ]

Locked In As markets around the world fell and the global economy took a beating, the once lucrative IPO market dried up. The result: investors are stuck in companies without an exit and promoters looking for funds are left with little or no choice PRANBIHANGA BORPUZARI

44 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ June 2012

C

apital markets are seldom known to be rational, despite being called a barometer of the economy. But yet, it is here that the best and the mightiest entrepreneurs are put to the test: to find out whether the general investor community agrees with their ideas and growth plans, and is ready to put their money behind them.Unfortunately, a number of entrepreneurs may never face that test now, given the enormous uncertainty which has gripped India’s capital markets. This continuing uncertainty has been impacting the initial public offer (IPO) market severely. The negative sentiment and the yo-yoing witnessed in the capital markets led 25 companies to call-off their IPOs during the 2011 calendar year.

The amount that these 25 companies were planning to raise was about `32,200 crore. At the time of writing this story, the year 2012 has already seen as many as 17 IPOs being called off as markets remain choppy and few want to bet on the bourses. The estimated amount that these 17 IPOs were planning to raise is an aggregate of about `6,000 crore.

No light in sight All these companies had valid SEBI approvals in hand for their IPOs. Despite that, they could not launch their issues within the validity period of one year from the date of the SEBI approval as the markets gave them little comfort. What is worse, several investors who put in money into these companies, hoping for an exit via the IPO route, are now stranded without an exit option.

Of the companies which are waiting to tap the IPO route, many are real estate and power firms. Other major companies include Reliance Infratel, Glenmark Generics, Gujarat State Petro Corp., and One97 Communications.

This choppiness in the markets has dealt a severe blow to the Indian investment community, especially venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds, as they are unable to exit the investments they made in unlisted Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

THE GLORY YEARS: IPOs since 1996-97 YEAR

NO. OF IPOs

ISSUE AMOUNT ( `CRORE )

1996-1997

660

4,082.24

1997-1998

51

882.90

1998-1999

18

379.30

1999-2000

51

2,587.16

2000-2001

109

2,374.87

2001-2002

6

1,012.55

2002-2003

6

1,038.68

2003-2004

19

3,191.10

2004-2005

23

14,662.32

2005-2006

76

10,797.88

2006-2007

76

23,706.16

2007-2008

84

41,323.45

2008-2009

21

2,033.99

2009-2010

39

24,948.31

2010-2011

52

33,097.77

2011-2012

34

5,892.92 Source : PRIME Database

THE YEAR 2012 HAS ALREADY SEEN AS MANY AS 17 IPOS BEING CALLED OFF AS MARKETS REMAIN CHOPPY.

companies in the hope of exiting through IPOs. Among such companies are Lavasa Corporation (the investors were Axis Bank and ICICI Bank), BPTP Limited (the investor was JP Morgan through Harbour Victoria Investment), One97 Communications (SAIF Partners, Intel Capita, Silicon Valley Bank, SAP Ventures), Micromax (TA Associates, Sequoia Capital India, Sandstone Capital, Madison India Capital), You Broadband (CVC), Avantha Power (KKR) and IND Barath Power (the investors were CVC, Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, UTI Ventures).

IPO fix “Whatever enthusiasm we are seeing is only in the secondary market and probably the money coming in is hot money. For IPO markets to take off, you need the secondary market to stay strong and secondly, stable money has to come in to enable IPOs to take place,” says Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Strategist & Head of Research, SMC Global Securities Ltd. Thunuguntla points out that the primary market is dependent on the secondary market and will always follow it very closely. In 2011, the secondary market put up a disastrous showing and, understandably, primary markets followed the same pattern. “Equity markets started 2012 on a positive note and I hope it will continue to do well. If this takes place, the IPO market should also do well,” says he.

But Thunuguntla’s optimism is not shared by too many. Many in the 2011 list are shying away from the markets even in 2012. There are

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012 45 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

COVER STORY

VITHAL KAMAT executive chairman and managing director, kamat hotels (india) ltd.

ANJAN CHATTERJEE

founder and managing director, speciality restaurants ltd.

54 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ June 2012

Bites Mega

Dig into this lucrative market, but ensure that you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Some of the most successful Indian restaurateurs, Anjan Chatterjee, AD Singh, Vithal Kamat, Ketan Kadam and others, tell you how you can also become a force to reckon with SRIYA R AY CHAUDHURI

AD SINGH

managing director, olive bar and kitchen

SHAUN KENWORTHY restaurant consultant and chef

Photo Imaging© Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur

Entrepreneur  June 2012 55 To read more, grab the June 2012 issue ofIntelligent Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

STATE SCAN

BEYOND THE GRAIN India's food bowl is trying to shake off its moniker and attract entrepreneurs from across sectors. Pranbihanga Borpuzari tells us why you could take your business there

80 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ June 2012

PhotoŠ Joshua Navalkar

PUNJAB

HIGH FIVE To scope out what Punjab has to offer to the Indian industry, we travelled to the five locations that have been driving the state's economy in the past and are expected to do so in the future

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ June 2012 81 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

OFF BEAT

for both of you, it's a valuable way to gain insight into the person you're thinking of hiring. And when you interview someone, try to have other managers in the room. It's important to get feedback from colleagues about potential hires. Another manager's gut instinct could save you from making a potentially costly mistake.

2. Do a background check Internet search tools and social networks are good resources for checking on applicants. After all, Thompson's resume offense was caught by a Google search. But it's wise to do a background check on each new hire. Decide first how wide and deep you want to go, and then choose a service that meets your needs. Challenger recommends checking potential employees' criminal records and citizenship status.

3. Seek out employment and character references

[ CHECK LIST ]

LIE NO FURTHER Have a handy and quick lie-detector test for resumes BRIAN PATRICK EHA

T

he furore over new Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson's inaccurate resume is shining a spotlight on inadequate employee vetting.

Thompson, the third Yahoo CEO in the past year, claimed to have a computer science degree, which he doesn't, along with his actual degree in accounting.

If Yahoo, one of the world's largest technology companies, with $1.22 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2012, can be misled, what's to stop your potential hires from lying on their resumes? If your business doesn't have a dedicated humanresources department, you can still 96 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

vet potential employees. What's key is to slow down and think through your choice of applicants, according to John Challenger, CEO of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Sometimes when you're in a hurry to make the decision, you're not thorough," he says. Here's more advice on resume lie-detecting from Challenger:

1. Conduct multiple interviews Interview multiple people for a single position, and call promising candidates back for a second, or even a third, interview. Although this is time-consuming

Challenger advises interviewing candidates who have been recommended by people you trust. But even then, you should still conduct your own background check on the person. With a candidate who doesn't have a personal recommendation, you should search out personal references. Go beyond those listed on his resume. Reach out to former co-workers or others who can verify the applicant's employment history and give you insight into the person's character.

Although it's necessary to take precautions when adding someone to your company, lying on resumes is uncommon, especially in our age of information transparency. "Some people feel their only way to find a job when they've been out of work for a long time is to take action they know is wrong," he said. "But most people— whether it's out of their sense of integrity or fear of being caught—don't take the risk." ©Entrepreneur Inc. All rights reserved.

BRIAN PATRICK EHA is an editorial intern for Entrepreneur.com.

Illustration © Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur

‘PAWAN KO

KAHIN

DEKHA KYA?’ To know the answer turn to  PG 116

Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

To read more, grab the June 2012 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in

START UPS

[ PLAY ON ]

A SPORTS STAR AND MORE Children today are more exposed to technology than sports. A few entrepreneurs are trying to change the scenario by increasing the focus on sports education in schools SHRUTI CHAKRABORTY

C

TRAINING HARD: Shayamal Vallabhjee 110 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

hildren in our country spend a whopping 7.2 hours studying as opposed to 39 minutes in a day playing a sport, a recent government research revealed. A few years ago, entrepreneurs Prabhu Srinivasan and Susir Kumar found that their children were happier spending more time indoors playing a video game than taking time out to play a sport. They weren’t the only ones who saw this problem when they set up KOOH Sports in Mumbai. So did Dev Roy in Bengaluru who set up LeapStart.

There seem to be two key reasons why sports education has become increasingly important. One is India’s failure to rise as a sporting nation so far, which is affected by the minimal SPEED UP exposure to quality training that students receive at a young age.

Startup cost: `4-5 lakh The second reason is the growNumber of students: 4,000 ing number of health problems that arise from a lack of physical Employees: 15 activity in the lives of most children, especially as indoor video Target: To reach out to 1 million games and mobile phone applicachildren in about 3-4 years tions catch their fancy.

Photo© Neha Mithbawkar

Shayamal Vallabhjee has spent years working with the cricket teams of India and South Africa as an exercise specialist, besides having worked with the Indian tennis team at the Davis Cup level.

He says that often “the only difference between someone who finishes first and second is a very fundamental flaw in biomechanics”. Vallabhjee is a biomechanics specialist who works with children to get the technique of basic sport activities right through his startup, Speed Kids.

In most Indian schools, there is no structured physical education program. The only option for those who are interested in taking up sports seriously is through specialized academies for a certain sport. While things are changing slowly, Vallabhjee says that children in India are told to run and play but not told “how to run or how to get the techniques right”.

One small leap Roy began LeapStart when he came back to India after a 15-year stint outside the country. “When I left, children could still play outdoors and they would do so too. When I came back, I found that I would always need to take my son to the club for any outdoor activity,” he explains.

Roy says that creating play areas in the city was one of the things he thought about, but real estate prices made that unfeasible. This is when he decided to work with schools and created a sports program that schools could outsource for their physical education setup.

Roy’s target has been schools in tier I cities and the LeapStart program has expanded reach to 100 schools in the last two years.

For the curriculum, Roy partnered with SPARK, a physical education program in place in a number of schools in the US. The program is disseminated through coaches who are trained and sent to the schools to deliver the curriculum through a number of activities.

The primary classes focus on movement foundations. Once a child is about six-seven years old, he is introduced Photo© Maximage

HEALTHY OPTION: Dev Roy

GIANT LEAPS Number of schools: 100 Number of sports in which training is provided: 7 Number of trainers: 250 Turnover target: `60-80 crore by 2017

to different sports and after a while specializes in one kind of game. The charge per student for the program is about `150-220 per month that is paid to Leap Start by the school. They have coaches for seven sports in all.

Roy says that India can’t afford an unhealthy population right now. He says wishfully that he is a big Arsenal team supporter and dreams of seeing an Indian play on the team some day.

Up the Tempo Vallabhjee works with students between the ages of three-eight years with his startup Speed Kids that he set up two years ago.

He reveals that the reason he works with children of such a young age group is because they have not learnt all the wrong things yet.

The Speed Kids program is not replacing the physical education setups in schools.

What Vallabhjee does instead is work with children to help them learn the fundamentals of sports that can help them become good sportspersons; no matter what sport they choose.

The program, which helps identify a sport that the children have a natural inclination towards, is delivered over 10 weeks through a center or a school.

Vallabhjee currently works with a team of 15 people and gets the equipment manufactured as well. He has Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012 111

BACK STAGE

THE SECRET SAUCE

If you manage to wade through these people with your resolve intact, running that restaurant would be a cakewalk A NKUSH CHIBBER YOUR DAD It’s not easy coughing up the cash to start a restaurant. He needs to lend you some cash. But he is entirely unhappy with you quitting your medical career. There is some talk of changing the will too. Good luck!

THE BABU Getting the concept up? That’s the easy part. Getting your licenses from the municipality to set it up? Probably as enjoyable as playing Russian Roulette with the Mafiosi while juggling hand grenades on a unicycle.

THE CUSTOMER The final ingredient to your great dish.

You will meet all types. The VIP. The Finger Snapper. The Reviewer for no one in particular. The Hanger On. The Sensitive Flower.

The Always Dutch. The Brady Bunch. And lastly, your ‘friend.’

THE HEALTH INSPECTOR You might not have any drainage problems. You might not have rats. You might not have fungus. You might not even have a smudge of oil. But you should have ‘grease’ if you want to clear a health inspection.

THE CHEF He can be your best friend. Or he can be your worst enemy. Without him, your restaurant is a dud. Sometimes, it is a dud with him too. Really, it’s just like poker. Hope for beginner’s luck.

THE WAITER He is always late. He is mostly on his mobile. He always wants an advance on his salary. His smoke breaks easily surpass the limits of your patience. Just pray he knows how to treat your customer right.

134 Intelligent Entrepreneur  June 2012

Illustration© Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur