3RD ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
SEPTEMBER 2012 VOLUME 4 ISSUE 1 `100
EXCLUSIVE
THE
BOSS WILL SEE YOU NOW Shah Rukh Khan has built a formidable business group around entertainment and sports. The inside story
INDIA’S TOP BUSINESS LEADERS ON VISION 2015 Kumar Mangalam Birla w Adi Godrej w NR Narayana Murthy w K Anji Reddy Malvinder Singh w Harsh Goenka w Venugopal Dhoot w Meher Pudumjee Sulajja Firodia Motwani w Sanjeev Bikhchandani w Sachin Bansal w Rana Kapoor
TABLE OF CONTENTS INSIGHTS
COVER STORY
38
20 The Social Effect
Manish Sabharwal says it’s unfair to differentiate between entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship
22 Disaggregate to Grow
R. Jagannathan builds a case for why conglomerates should break up
24 Seven Secrets Revealed Alok Kejriwal discloses some of the best kept secrets of entrepreneurs
26 Keep it Simple
Bharat Banka comments on how effective prioritizing can smoothen the disinvestment process
28 Spot the Opportunity Ravi Kiran reveals how you can identify a good business opportunity
30 The Second Innings
Anurag Batra looks closely at what happens when one entrepreneur works for another
38 Boardroom Baadshah
50 ‘I prefer to see the bigger picture’
Shah Rukh Khan has self funded a business group that covers films, sports and entertainment. There are important lessons to be learnt from his business philosophy. He shares how he takes failures in the right spirit and learns from them and how he believes that one never wins the silver, one loses the gold By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
In an exclusive interview, Shah Rukh Khan shares why he dons the hat of an entrepreneur only when the arclights go off. He talks about being the owner of a cricket franchise, his business philosophy and how he believes that he is one of God's chosen children who has become successful because of the kindness of people around him By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
MY STORY
IN CONVERSATION
32 Catalyst for Progress Tara Thiagarajan says that the microfinance industry is learning lessons the hard way 8 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
18 Twelve years and counting
34 ‘This turmoil is also an opportunity’
Faisal Farooqui, Founder and CEO of leading consumer review social network MouthShut.com shares memories from his first three years in business and talks about how he relied on instinct
Kaushik Basu, India’s first chief economic advisor talks about his experience at the finance ministry, dealing with inflation and challenges facing the country. By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: HOPE FLOATS 54 The top bosses of
India Inc predict how the economy will fare in the next three years and how the challenges can be tackled
54
56 Baptism by fire Kumar Mangalam Birla
58 Our greatest challenge is inaction Adi Godrej
60 We are our own worst enemy NR Narayana Murthy
62 Grab the opportunity when it comes K Anji Reddy
64 Businesses with large capital requirements will slow down a bit Malvinder Mohan Singh
66 Inflationary pressures will build globally Harsh Goenka
68 A positive growth story, despite challenges Venugopal Dhoot
70 Focus on today for a resurgent 2015 Meher Pudumjee
72 Time to wake up, fix our problems Sulajja Firodia Motwani
74 The value proposition of the net will only increase Sanjeev Bikhchandani
81 Internet newbies will drive e-commerce in the days ahead Sachin Bansal
82 India is now more ‘emerged’ than ‘emerging’ Rana Kapoor
10 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PHOTO FEATURE 106 Flash Back
106
Entrepreneur turns back pages, to look up some of the best work done by our team of photographers and some of the most creative brushstrokes that have come from our senior illustrator's drawing board
WATCH OUT 84 ‘Passion is important to start a company’
WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR
OFFBEAT
Sasha Mirchandani, Vineet Rai and Sushma Kaushik talk to Smriti Mudgal about why they are investing in health, education and the social sector
104 Anatomy Lessons What makes some people more competitive than others? We try to decipher that using Facebook Co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg as our lab rat By Jennifer Wang
REGULARS 13 FEEDBACK 14 RESOURCES 16 ASK ENTREPRENEUR 136 BACKSTAGE
86 Stronger and Higher Entrepreneur revisits three businesswomen from varied sectors who have built notable ventures in their fields; ventures that have raised the bar higher and are inspiring others to follow suit
TECH DEPARTMENT
By Bindi Shah
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR 114 Tech Trio A look at the three devices that have changed the way the world communicates for the better By Ankush Chibber
COVER CREDITS
STARTUPS 118 Three’s Company 92 A Time for the Righteous The social enterprise sector is growing exponentially. We take a re-look at the most promising social ventures we have featured in the last three years By Shonali Advani & Shruti Chakraborty
COVER DESIGN
The last three years have changed the game for a number of startups. While some grew rapidly in scale, others grew in terms of lessons learnt By Shonali Advani
SPEND IT 128 Three New Dining Options
Arko Provo Mukherjee
NEXT GENERATION
COVER IMAGE
We list out three of the best restaurants in Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi that you can't miss
98 Third in Line
By Sriya Ray Chaudhuri
Three sisters forming part of the third generation of the business family behind the Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts are holding up the values of a group that’s going into an expansion overdrive
132 Blast from the Past
Getty Images
By Ankush Chibber 12 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
From all the cars we have reviewed in the last three years we take a drive in the best three, once again By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
FEED BACK
Inspiring Insights I became a regular subscriber of Entrepreneur ever since I returned from overseas 18 months ago. Every topic found in the magazine is interesting and it has been inspiring me to start my own business in Coimbatore. I am waiting for the right time and people. The article ‘Two Suits Walk into a Bar’ in the issue last month made for an entertaining read. - Sethuraman Vetrivel Via e-mail
0O UIF 3JHIU 5SBDL I have been reading this magazine for the last four-five months. It has helped me immensely to improve my business. It would be great if the ‘Startups’ section could cover more stories apart from Internet-based businesses. The ‘In Conversation’ section and the column by Shruti Kohli made for an interesting read. Wishing you all the success in the future. - Shubham Agrawal Via e-mail
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good. I will be happy if you could cover more stories from the south. There are interesting ventures here. You have changed the image of Entrepreneur. Wonderful work. All the very best! - Chackochen Mathai Via e-mail
5BLJOH /PUJDF The article ‘Packed with a Punch’ was one of my favorite reads in this month’s issue. Alok Kejriwal’s and Tara Thiagarajan’s columns were to the point and very well put. I’m looking forward to reading more stories from them. - Satish Gupta Via e-mail
$IBOHF JT (PPE The ‘How-to’ and the ‘Startups’ section in the August issue were interesting, as usual. This issue proved to be of great help to me. As a business-student aspiring to become an entrepreneur, this magazine is replete with useful information and useful knowledge that I can put to use when I build my own business. It is also a good thing to notice social entrepreneurs getting their due, since these classes of entrepreneurs are normally not spoken about much. Also, the ‘Backstage’ story made for a clever read, and keeps the humor quotient high. In fact, I must admit that I read that first. All the best! - Abhishek Sanghvi Bengaluru
CONTACT INFO t 8SJUF MFUUFST UP Entrepreneur Network 18 Publishing 2nd Floor, ‘A’ Wing, Ruby House, J.K. Sawant Marg, Dadar (W) Mumbai - 400028 ..................................................... t F NBJM editor.entrepreneur@ network18publishing.com ..................................................... t 5P 4VCTDSJCF SMS IE to 51818 Call 91-22-3003 4631/33, or Log on to http://eshop.infomediaindia. com ..................................................... t 'PS TVCTDSJQUJPO RVFSJFT customercare@ network18publishing.com Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.
To read more, grab the September Intelligent 2012 Entrepreneur issue of Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012 13 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
COVER STORY
38 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012
When 46-year-old
SHAH RUKH KHAN
is not facing the cameras for film shoots, he is busy attending board meetings for his cricket franchise, calling late evening impromptu meetings with his senior staff at Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. or getting on stage to promote one of the several brands he endorses. Entrepreneur takes a close look at the empire he has self-funded and built to an enviable level. There are lessons to be learnt from his business philosophy and the sharp intuitiveness of a mind that always works on overdrive ď Ž Sriya Ray Chaudhuri ENTREPRENEUR EXCLUSIVE
BOARDROOM
BAADSHAH Photo Neha Mithbawkar
Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012 39
COVER STORY
IN
interfering.” Keitan Yadav, the Chief Operating Officer/VFX Producer of Red Chillies VFX explains, “He is not here for daily work reports. He lets us do our work and gives us the liberty to execute our duties to the best of our abilities.” Khan’s hands-off approach has proven to be successful with all his ventures, especially his cricket franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), which won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 2012, after a thorough makeover which included inducting a fulltime CEO to run the company. Says Venky Mysore, the CEO and MD of Knight Riders Sports Pvt. Ltd., “He has a remarkably sharp business brain that can quickly grasp the intricacies of a business move. He has no ego issues and is open to suggestions and does not hesitate to ask for explanations if he doesn’t follow something.” the relative quiet of early afternoon at one of subWhen Entrepreneur caught up with Khan, he was urban Mumbai’s side lanes, we reach the impressive busy promoting one of the many brands that he gates of the Red Chillies office. We ask a cabbie endorses, Videocon. Dressed in a fitted grey teestanding there, ‘Is this…?’ Almost immediately, shirt, torn jeans and trademark sunglasses firmly around 40 youth materialize out of thin air and in place, he took time out of his busy schedule to share his entrepreneurial journey with us. (See full surround us. ‘Is he coming?’ they ask in unison. interview on page 50) Bemused, we can only shake our heads. The crowd In between sipping cups of black coffee, a quick disperses. But as we leave the office after quite a few look at the mirror to check if his appearance is okay hours, that same crowd surrounds us again, ‘Did and obliging the photographer by taking off his sunyou not meet him? Please tell us, is he coming glasses, Khan speaks in detail about his business out now?’ The questions continue till we manage to empire. When asked about his entrepreneurial side, make our getaway. If a man can create such mass hysteria with his he cuts in with a quick, “But I am an entertainer first absence, it is little wonder that Shah Rukh Khan’s and last. Whatever I have achieved in my business is very presence seems to work like magic in his chothanks to my acting career. Businesses have sprung sen area of work. He is a megastar but, as it turns up from the font of my career as an actor. I am here out, he is equally a suave and savvy businessman to entertain the masses, to make them laugh with who has built a veritable entrepreneurial empire me, cry with me, sing and dance with me.” through his grit, determination and perseverance. How does he look at his role as a sports and enterHe has diversified his business into various chantainment entrepreneur? Says Khan, “After a numnels, hired some of the best ber of years dedicated solely to talent to run these different acting, I found other different branches—all this without any channels to expand into. But external funding at any time. each of these has its roots in Little surprise, then, that he the same source. At the end is now called a veritable brand of the day, I understand enterunto himself today. tainment best but that passion In the process of evolving can only take you so far in a into an actor-entrepreneur, business. For the rest, I have a Shah Rukh Khan has emerged number of capable and reliable GROSS REVENUE FOR with all the main traits which people in place.” would define a successful man Quiz him on the fact that he FY2012 OF RED CHILLIES of business, as is vouchsafed by has achieved big successes in ENTERTAINMENTS PVT. LTD. his core team. Blesson Oommen, these endeavors already and (BOTH RA.ONE AND ALWAYS who heads the finance team at he says with his trademark KABHI KABHI RELEASED Red Chillies Entertainments lopsided grin, “That’s because I DURING THE AFORESAID Pvt. Ltd. says, “He gives us a believe in the saying: You don’t FINANCIAL YEAR)* free hand always and is nonwin the silver, you lose the gold.
150 crore+
40 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
STAR PITCHES SHAH RUKH KHAN HAS HIS FINGERS IN MANY PIES, DIVERSIFYING HIS BUSINESS INTO VARIOUS NEW VERTICALS OVER THE YEARS
Target for FY’13: GZY 8]^aa^Zh \dZh dc i]Z Òddgh l^i] V XdjeaZ d[ Ñab egd_ZXih ^cXajY^c\ Chennai Express, Y^gZXiZY Wn Gd]^i H]Ziin VcY Happy New Year! Y^gZXiZY Wn ;VgV] @]Vc! l]^X] l^aa release in FY’13-’140 i]Z gZkZcjZh d[ l]^X] l^aa WZ gZÒZXiZY ^c ;NÉ&("É&)#
>c i]Z aVhi ÑkZ nZVgh! i]Z Red Chillies VFX h]VgZ d[ gZkZcjZh ^c Red Chillies ]Vh kVg^ZY [gdb 2% to 32% of the total turnover. I]Z Wjh^cZhh d[ K;M Y^k^h^dc ]VY WZZc ha^\]ian ZggVi^X Wji ^h ZmeZXiZY id hiVW^a^oZ dkZg i]Z cZmi [Zl nZVgh# The Red Chillies office is significantly devoid of star memorabilia. I]ZgZ VgZ cd dhiZciVi^djh e]didh d[ H]V] Gj`] @]Vc! not even posters of his films on the floors lZ k^h^iZY# Dcan dcZ gZXZei^dc VgZV Y^heaVnh igde]^Zh dc hdbZ WVX` h]ZakZh! l]^aZ the Ra.One figure occupies table space in the rooms of some of the top brass. This, too, is a small figure VcY `Zei dc i]Z h^YZh! cdi Vh egdb^cZci Y^heaVn# TEAM WORK: (l. to r.) Juhi Chawla, Shah Rukh Khan, Jay Mehta and Venky Mysore take centerstage during the KKR new logo unveiling in February 2012 * Source: Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd
I have always given more than 100 percent in my efforts and, Inshallah, I have got good returns.” That, in fact, is an understatement. Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. raked in gross revenues of `150 crore for FY’11-’12, while he is estimated to be worth over `2,000 crore, according to unconfirmed reports and industry sources. Though Khan did not arrive in the Hindi film industry with the blessings of a godfather, he did strike it big pretty quickly. His television serial Fauji (1988) made him a TV star, and once he had struck gold with films like Deewana (1992), Baazigar (1993), Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), Dil Toh Pagal Hai (1997) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), there was no looking back for the star. He and wife Gauri began Red Chillies Entertainments Pvt. Ltd. as a production house in 2002, but this has since moved into various spheres of production. Earlier Khan, with his co-star Juhi Chawla and filmmaker Aziz Mirza, had formed Dreamz Unlimited, a production company, in 1999. It had some hits to its credit, including the Mirzadirected Chalte Chalte (2003). But later, both Chawla and Mirza opted out of the business and it was integrated with Red Chillies. It took till December 2011 for the final integration to take place. Today, Dreamz Unlimited no longer exists.
A Good Team Khan is quick to point out that his business runs on well-oiled wheels thanks to the core team, many of whom have been hand-picked by Khan himself. “I believe in delegating work. Each of the departments functions with its own head, who shares my vision and knows where I want his department to be. I don’t interfere on a daily basis because I don’t need to. A good businessman knows what his business is and what’s not,” says Khan. One of those who holds a key position in the company is Oommen. The qualified chartered accountant, who joined the company back in 2000, recalls, “I joined Shah Rukh when he needed someone who understood and could handle the finance function. This was just one week before Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani [directed by Aziz Mirza] released. There was another company called Arclights [headed by Juhi and Khan] which had made the film Asoka in 2001. Red Chillies came into being around 2002, with films like Chalte Chalte and then Main Hoon Na.” Chawla sold her shares when she stepped out of the constant limelight and got busy with her family. Red Chillies took over those holdings and Dreamz Unlimited became a part of Red Chillies. “It has taken till December 2011 for the entire amalgamation to
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 41 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
COVER STORY
I prefer to see the bigger picture In a freewheeling interview, Shah Rukh Khan tells Sriya Ray Chaudhuri what makes him a successful entrepreneur, that he is not good at business, there’s poetry in being disorganized and that he can act during the day, but wear the businessman's hat only at night
50 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012
Q: How would you describe Shah Rukh Khan the entrepreneur?
A.
You know, I don't understand many of the tags attributed to me. I have been working for almost 21 years and I still check my dictionary sometimes to figure out if I fit into some of the categories ascribed to me. Some terms are fantastically good, some are derogatory. My basic high of working on the products I am associated with—whether it’s films or a brand I work with but don't create, just endorse—is that these are big responsibilities, because so many people work in these companies or for these films, and there's millions of dollars involved. The brands I endorse take my face and say that I stand for the product. So, in a way, people will feel I support the company's beliefs and outlook too. The same applies to my cricket team, if you can call a cricket team a product. The bottomline in how you deal with the issue stems from your experience of the product, from using it or seeing it. Whatever you do should, in the long run, make you feel a little happy and satisfied. It may show a tangible return, like money. My business ideals are not really formed from what the accounts books say. People think I am being cagey when I talk about how my mind works or how I do business, and I say all this. But the people who work with me and do business with me, they would say the same to you.
Q. They tell us that you are a great guy to work with. A. Yes, they'll tell you he's a sweet guy, a nice boss. The thing is that I leave individual people to their expertise and specialization. I don't have a vision and ambition statement for my ventures, it is as simple as that. I just say, make people happy and have fun.
Photo Neha Mithbawkar
Q. So, do you have a particular philosophy or mantra as an entrepreneur? A. When you ask me this, I find it a little awkward because I don't see myself as an entrepreneur. People say that I do marketing, but I say no, I just feel a lot of good ownership with what I produce and what I do. It's like going doorto-door and asking people, listen, would you like to just taste this, say, new sweet dish I've made? If more people like it, nice. If they don't, do not get bogged down by the negation. Just apologize to them from your heart and tell yourself to try harder the next time.
Q. But you have achieved a fair measure of success despite having no rules for it? A. I don't know how to describe this. Would it be oversimplifying things to say most of the stuff I tried doing turned out well—as an actor and producer? Of course, I don't have a truly 100 percent success rate, of the touchinggold kind. I made two huge flops, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka, but I made them from my heart. Then there have been so many successes too. So, everything goes up and down, that's life.
Q. And what about your cricket franchise? A. My team was bogged down with the expectations of being part of a filmstar's team—with no proper reasons. So for four years, KKR struggled. Though many other IPL teams faced problems too, we came in for a lot of flak. The lesson I learned from this is that you don't have to look good if you are not delivering. Of course, I am a movie star, so I have to look good whether I am delivering or not. But I must say that KKR is like any other IPL team and it is trying very hard to do better and better every season.
Q. Do you have a rulebook to follow here as the franchise co-owner? A. I believe if you stick to something long enough—as an entrepreneur, an actor, a producer, or as a believer—it will stick back to you. It will hold on strong with you. You know, people tell me you should not think of hope as just a four-letter word, it is as beautiful a four-letter word as love. You need to keep the hope alive and believe that you will get it right. I don't always know what are the exact right things that need to be done. So, I always listen to what people around me tell me and take on from there. I sit down with a lot of people and they tell me lot of things, about organizations, systems and processes... But, I am like, just tell me the bottomline... So, when it comes to KKR, I just ask Venky [Mysore, CEO and MD of KKR] whether we are going to win or not. I tell him, give me the bigger picture here. Don't tell me the middle line, though that is important too. We have a legacy from the West in how we are all very organized.
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 51 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
VISION
2015
floats Hope
Kumar Mangalam Birla Adi Godrej NR Narayana Murthy K Anji Reddy Malvinder Mohan Singh Harsh Goenka Venugopal Dhoot Meher Pudumjee Sulajja Firodia Motwani Sanjeev Bikhchandani Sachin Bansal Rana Kapoor
India Inc. shows the way ahead for the economy over the next three years Illustrations by Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur
54 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
VISION
2015
Baptism by fire We need to get the next generation of reforms going to become a resurgent economy all over again Kumar Mangalam Birla
IT
is clear that the 2008 Lehman crisis will cast a long shadow on the North Atlantic economies. While we may not witness a prolonged depression like the 1930s, the growth in these economies will remain tepid in the foreseeable future. The sharp, V-shaped recovery of 2009 and 2010 was possible due to a coordinated fiscal and monetary stimuli across the world. In India, too, we had consecutive years of 8.5 percent growth after the initial dip of 2008-’09. That led to considerable optimism, which was short-lived. From mid-2011, the fissures in the economic edifice of the world started becoming evident. We don’t have enough fiscal ammunition any more in 2012. Long-term structural global problems, such as fiscal and trade imbalances, widening income inequalities, ageing societies and unsustainable social security, loom. In Europe, the crisis of sovereign debts is upsetting. The EU was formed on the basis of a mutual promise, which forbade excess deficits and debts. But almost every EU country breached that promise. Added to this are the poor growth prospects and high unemployment levels, making fast fiscal recovery improbable. The structural fault revealed with the EU crisis is that you cannot have a monetary union without a fiscal union. Hence, the path to an economic recovery in the EU will involve some ‘mutualization’ of sovereign debts. This, of course, is a political process, so the outcome is a tad uncertain. But the direction is inevitable. As far as the EU is concerned, the next three years will be marked by continuous negotiations and occasional brinkmanship, leading to an acceptable solution.
AMERICAN DREAMS On the American continent, the economic prospects look better, although there are structural challenges too. These arise from unresolved and insolvent mortgages, and the high unemployment rate. Household consumption spending—the main engine of growth—is subdued. But the dynamism of the economy, exemplified by the success of innovative companies like Apple, gives assurance that American growth will come back sooner than later. Once we get past this year’s fiercely 56 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
divisive US Presidential elections, we should see bipartisan progress on fiscal and tax reforms.
CHINESE CHECKERS The year 2012 will be a watershed one for China in many ways. Its growth may fall below 8 percent, which has never happened in recent memory. Its trade surplus is shrinking. This takes off the pressure on its currency, which was artificially kept weak. Workers’ wages in China have been rising, which reduces its low-cost advantage. Hence, China itself may encourage low-wage jobs to migrate to other countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. China’s reliance on exports will give way to increased focus on domestic consumption. China is seeing financial sector liberalization including internationalization of its currency. Most importantly, this year will signal the change of political leadership. The consensus view of China is that we will see change with continuity, but an unprecedented slowdown in growth.
INDIAN OUTLOOK For India, the economic prospects are affected more by domestic factors. Its domestic consumption still accounts for almost 70 percent of its GDP, which grew at around 8 percent for most of this past decade. Hence, this $1.8 trillion economy depends more on domestic levers. To keep consumer spending growing at around 7-8 percent annually, without causing inflation, we need to focus on capacity creation. The policy challenge is to create conditions that are conducive. This productive capacity is created both by public and private sectors. The former requires a strong fiscal balance and discipline, and the latter requires “animal spirits,” as the Prime Minister has aptly described. After two consecutive years of 8.5 percent growth, the sharply lower 6.5 percent figure was both disappointing and unexpected. The slowdown in private investment spending was because of several factors, like global slowdown, demand sluggishness, high interest rates, slow government approvals and clearances, and the gloomy sentiment. But we must not forget that during 2011-’12, India recorded its highest-ever
AT A GLANCE The Aditya Birla Group is a $40 billion conglomerate 53% of its revenues come from overseas operations Global leader in viscose staple fibre, carbon black Key global player in insulators, acrylic fiber and cement exports, highest inbound FDI ($48 billion) and highest agricultural production. This should give pause to all those who are negative on the economy. The rating agencies’ warning was much more about fiscal balance than about growth prospects. India’s current challenge is high food inflation, made worse by the current drought. But I believe that high food-grain stocks, combined with softening global oil and commodity prices, can stem the inflation to an extent and create conditions for lower interest rates. With reorientation of fiscal spending from subsidies to more productive infrastructure spending, we can get back to 7.5 percent growth next year. India has withstood multiple macro shocks in recent years without a catastrophic drop in growth. This resilience is largely due to the accumulated impact of reforms in the economy. We must ensure that the reform momentum is maintained. In the wake of the 2008 crisis, the shift of the economic center of gravity from west to east has accelerated. China will become the largest economy in the world sooner, perhaps in the next 10 years. More than half of all incremental growth is already coming from developing economies. New growth opportunities are in Africa and Latin America, Indonesia and Turkey, and even in nascent economies like Myanmar and Vietnam. In India, we are truly at an inflection point. I believe, by 2015, India is slated to surpass Japan as the world’s third-largest economy. India’s growth prospects due
to its young demography are well known. If we crack the present challenges of inflation, the fiscal deficit, the investment sentiment, and get the next generation of reforms going, we can become a resurgent economy again. It will be, of course, a baptism by fire. Insofar as our group is concerned, over the years, we have come to be in this position of being the ‘Last Man Standing’ across each of our businesses. When we do face a downturn today from our position of strength, the last man standing has the best chance at being the first man forward—the first to consolidate market positions, to show superior business performance and to get ahead of the competition. The next three years are sure to test our mettle as well.
Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of Aditya Birla Group
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 57 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR
[ LADIES OF NOTE ]
STRONGER
HIGHER AND
Women entrepreneurs are raising the bar and setting roadmaps for more to follow in their paths BINDI SHAH
F
or an Indian woman, who has to play multiple roles in her life and walk the fine line between managing her home and the work front, entrepreneurship is often the path that gives her this balance. In fact, according to a new study commissioned by Dell earlier this year, the ideal country to be in if you’re a woman starting a business in 2012 could well be India. As a part of the survey, when asked about expectations for business growth, women entrepreneurs in India anticipate an average of 90 percent over the next five years. Dell announced the final results of its study in June 2012. What came out was this: 71 percent of women entrepreneurs in India say their business is very successful, and eight in 10 of them say they are hiring; 74 percent of them say their technology needs are getting more complex; 90 percent started their business while maintaining their day job; and finally, 85 percent of Indian women entrepreneurs believe it is very important that their business has a social impact. Hina Shah, a pioneer in the space of women entrepreneurship in the country for more than three decades and Founder of the International Center 86 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (ICECD), says, “Currently, the overall environment for women entrepreneurship in India is conducive and a series of initiatives has been taken up to encourage it. However, from a macro policy point of view, women entrepreneurship development has been a residual category.” Shah says that policies have been formulated for industry as a whole and have been further broken down into sector-wise policies. “The government’s policy for women employment and enterprise development needs to change from a piecemeal approach to a comprehensive one, treating this emerging sector with the importance it deserves.” At Entrepreneur, we re-visit three women featured in our past issues, who have evolved in multi-fold ways to change their business model, expand it, or reinvigorate it.
Acting proactively We can’t imagine having a discussion about Mumbai's cultural landmark —Prithvi Theatre—and not associating it with Sanjna Kapoor. Kapoor breathed life into everything that Prithvi stands for today. Really, Sanjna Kapoor was
Prithvi. However, her dreams were larger. Kapoor told us in April 2010 itself that she would love to be associated with a larger theater movement in the country. Her belief that access to theater should be more widely available is evident from her statement, “There should be many theater homes across India and not just one.” Circa April 2012. Kapoor finally decided to bring this larger dream of hers to life. She stepped down from the directorship of Prithvi Theater in Mumbai and stepped into the shoes of Co-Founder and Director of Junoon, a pan-India platform for theater that is founded on the belief that the arts and theater have to be seeded and nurtured across the country and are integral to the existence of a healthy society. Kapoor teamed up with Sameera Iyengar (who has worked closely with her at Prithvi for over ten years) in the second half of 2011 to conceptualize the programmes for Junoon. Iyengar is today Kapoor’s Co-Founder at Junoon. Talking about her new venture, Kapoor says, “This was an inevitable process that was going to happen. At Prithvi, I was tearing at the seams and wanting to get out and fly. I think I had exhausted my imagination of what I
SCALING NEW HEIGHTS
CONQUERING THE WORLD: Sanjna Kapoor of Junoon
could physically do with Prithvi and I felt one needed to connect in a greater way with the ecosystem around,” says a very excited Kapoor. In retrospect, Kapoor feels it would have been nice if she could have taken a year-and-a-half off to plan Junoon’s modules and activities. However, the luxury of waiting is something Kapoor Photo Amit Kumar
The Big Leap: Rolled out pan-India theater venture Junoon - Strengths: Experience, passion, legacy - Challenges: Financial viability, execution, sustainability
could not afford. Among the four main focus areas of Junoon is its youth connect programme that aims to reach out to youth and children and get them involved to experience the fun, joy and rigor of theatre. “Summertime with Prithvi has been around for over 21 years now. It has grown from three workshops in its first year [1991] to 42
across five locations in Mumbai. I had promised the parents that it would happen this year too and it fell under Junoon's banner,” says Kapoor. Among the other three areas, Kapoor plans to make Junoon an enabling platform making theater access possible for audiences in smaller towns and cities; bringing traveling theater groups from abroad into India and vice versa; and putting together a great theater experience for both performing groups and the audience. As a part of this initiative, Junoon will showcase international and national theater like Motley’s Shaw Festival and Arpana’s Stories in a Song. It will also work toward increasing the number of theater spaces in the country while Kapoor and Iyengar also plan to offer an advisory and consultancy service to other theater and art groups or venues. Clearly, Junoon is a much broader application of the experience and wisdom that Kapoor and Iyengar have gathered from their years at Prithvi. As Deepa Punjani, Editor, MumbaiTheatreGuide. com, says, “At Prithvi, Sanjna encouraged some good initiatives. Some of these continue, some not. Her skills as a manager have been honed at Prithvi. But Junoon will naturally present her its own set of challenges.” One of Kapoor’s main challenges will be financial viability and sustenance. She is clear that Junoon will not be only sponsorship driven. Personal contributions from citizens and theater lovers are a big part of her scheme as she believes strongly that like-minded people have to come together and pitch in for the cause of theater and other performing arts. “The other aspect is that every single thing we do would be based on partnerships. No activity will
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 87 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR
[ THE GOOD CIRCLE ]
A Time for the Righteous
India’s social business sector is finally coming of age as all the cogs in the wheel fall into place SHONALI A DVANI & SHRUTI CHAKRABORTY
IF
you were debating starting that social business of yours, perhaps now is the time you should heed the angel on your shoulder to do the good deed. According to a study by Intellecap, a social business advisory major that works to bring entrepreneurial solutions to social organizations, social entrepreneurship in India really took off in 2005-06, and has grown exponentially since and will continue to grow at a fast clip. Ganesh Rengaswamy, Partner at Lok Capital, an early stage investor focusing on financial and social inclusion tells us that when looking back on the social entrepreneurship space in the last three years, he can clearly see that things have changed. “Social enterprises are coming of age in various sectors beyond microfinance - whether it is livelihood, education, energy, water, or health. Most of the endeavors are mature. Most of them are building a financially successful model along with a social goal,” he says. The Intellecap report found that energy and agriculture have experienced the greatest growth in terms of the number of new enterprises since 2006. Other sectors that have shown growth in the social entrepreneurship space include health, livelihood development, water and sanitation. Education, on the other hand, is catching up and appears poised for take-off. Other cogs in the wheel are finally and correctly falling in place, especially 92 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
in terms of investor interest. Impact investment funds are working closely with commercial investors to help social ventures get established. The government too is pitching in. The National Innovation Council (NIC) has announced a `5,000 crore fund, which will support innovations in critical goods and services for the population living below the poverty line. The fund will operate as a private fund with a government stake of no more than 20 percent. According to the NIC, the fund will seed earlystage ideas and expand successful ones going forward, trying to plug the large gap in demand for capital and its availability for the sector to fully realize its potential. The fund could maximize its impact and alleviate gaps in the funding landscape by prioritizing investments in pilot-stage and startup enterprises, the government has said in the past. The other biggest challenge social ventures face is being able to hire and retain talented employees. It's not really an attractive work life when you compare it to mainstream careers. A shortage of funds often restricts social ventures from being able to match salaries paid by larger companies. Many social enterprises also work in difficult business terrains. Their business environments are deficient of supply chain and distribution networks, and elaborate physical infrastructure. Jayant Sinha, Managing Director at Omidyar Network India Advisors, says,
“The opportunity for social entrepreneurs is immense in India since there are more than 850 million people surviving on less than $2 a day.” But how has the opportunity unfolded on the ground? To search for that answer, Entrepreneur revisited three of the most promising social businesses featured over the last three years to see whether the winds of change have carried them towards their goals or farther away from them.
A microcosm of innovation We featured Bengaluru-based MicroGraam in February 2011 when the social enterprise was just a year old. A micro-credit venture, MicroGraam has been growing at a steady rate, unlike several ventures in this space, both in terms of impact and milestones. “We have grown about 200 percent with regard to the number of people impacted,” says a proud Rangan Varadan, Co-Founder and CEO, MicroGraam. As of date, it has disbursed loans to 1,300 micro-entrepreneurs and students across 150 Self Help Groups (SHGs), up from 228 across 40-45 SHGs as reported last year, amounting to a grand total of `2.02 crore since they launched in March 2010. Its current loan out-standing stands at `1.36 crore. The most noteworthy development has been an exit—a first for micro-venture capitalists. As reported in February 2011, one of its pilot programs on the micro-venture side
TAKING MICRO TO MACRO: MicroGraam's Rangan Varadan
was in the dairy segment. An SHG in Kolar bought 10 cows on a loan of `3 lakh for a three-year tenure on a profitsharing model. “The investors in the dairy venture exited after two years with a net return on investment of 11 percent per annum,” says Varadan. The total profit for social investors amounted to `66,000. Beginning January this year, MicroGraam has added health and sanitation as new areas of focus, largely avoided by traditional microfinance institutions, as it doesn’t generate income for them. “We think it’s a critical issue which will directly result in income generation for beneficiaries,” he notes. In January, it helped 120 families in Tumkur, Karnataka build home toilets with a loan of `10,000 each, repayable over 18 months and hence created significant awareness around hygiene and health. It has extended this initiative Photo Deepti Desai
PENNY WISE Revenue 2011-'12: `1.2 lakh Revenue 2009-'10: `90,000 Number of loans disbursed till February 2011: 228 across 40-45 SHGs Number of loans disbursed till August 2012: 1300 entrepreneurs and students across 150 SHGs. The Big Leap: 200% growth in terms of number of people impacted to drinking water in North Karnataka. “Ground water in this region has high fluoride content that leads to several ailments,” explains Varadan. MicroGraam has developed a sustainable model to solve this problem in partnership with Gururaj Deshpande Foundation, NGO Sankalpa, and Aqua Safi (the Indian arm of US-based nonprofit organization H2O for Humanity). This month MicroGraam will finish
installing three water purifying units in Karnataka’s Gadak district, funded by social investors and set up by entrepreneurs identified with the help of Gururaj Deshpande Foundation in 50-60 square feet sized community water shops. “Water will be sold at `4 to `5 for a 20 liter can—the average amount required per household for cooking and drinking,” he says. Apart from the investment required, MicroGraam had a bigger challenge here—getting rural folk to pay for water, a basic necessity. “It required a change in mindset as water should be free,” he mentions. It spent two months educating the community through street shows, engaging with gram panchayats and SHGs, highlighting the direct relation between good health and household income. It’s got the backing of six investors who have together invested `6 lakh for three villages.
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 93 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
PHOTO FEATURE
Flash Back Some sepia tones, some brightly-lit canvases, some eureka moments—all captured at just that critical time by our team of photographers. As Entrepreneur takes a walk down memory lane, leafing through its images library, we bring to you some of the finest moments captured forever by our shutterbugs SHOT CUTS
Business Ethics & Entrepreneurs
By Anu Aga
to government officials about the same. For example, it could be difficult to get a certain license or permit from the government of a state. Such areas should be identified and negotiated. Collectively, you could have a dialogue with bureaucrats and figure out how you can get rid of this menace. I also think that all of you, individually and collectively, have to decide that you will never extract anything unlawfully from an organization or its stakeholders. This is something entirely within your control. Before you get comfortable about using the system to your advantage, you need to make this commitment. What I find amusing, annoying and disturbing, is that no individual entrepreneur admits that he/she is dishonest and yet we find the country riddled with dishonesty. This reminds me of the famous story of Akbar. The monarch wanted to nourish the poor children in his capital. He directed each household to pour one jar of milk, at night, into the mosque tank, to build up a reservoir of milk. Hundreds of his affluent subjects responded. The next morning the tank was filled, all right—but with water instead of milk! Perplexed, Akbar turned to his Prime Minister, the wise Birbal, for an explanation. “Your Majesty,� Birbal responded, “You have just witnessed a classic case of individual gain and collective loss. Each household dumped a jar of water into the tank, hoping that it would go undetected among the hundreds of gallons of milk brought by the others. But all households had the same idea. The result: a tank full of water instead of milk!� Each business house denies that it is corrupt, and yet we find India riddled with corruption and lack of governance. Each time you think that the problem is so vast and that an individual’s contribution can’t have any significant positive or negative impact, remember the AkbarBirbal story, because if you do not, we will end up as a crippled, corrupt society. I can only repeat Gandhiji’s wise words asking us to be the change that we would like to see around us, so that people living in the dark shadows of India Shining have an equal chance to come up and grow to their full potential.
Besides success at work, I am sure each of you is looking toward a larger cause in life. You also want a good night’s sleep where your conscience doesn’t keep telling you that you’ve taken many shortcuts. I look upon the youth of our nation to help us be free of corruption and build a nation we are all proud of. Going beyond fighting corruption, I would interpret good governance as also developing sensitivity to our environment. As people who will shape our tomorrow, you cannot be self-absorbed and not be bothered about the issues staring down on us. For example, after about 60 years of independence, India still has the largest number of malnourished children in the world. The recent Pratham survey does not speak well about the quality of our education. If you care, you have to reach out. I am advocating this not only because it is the right thing to do, but also out of our enlightened self-interest that clearly says that deprived people are not going to stay quiet and not ask for justice. It is only a matter of time before they break their silence. When that happens, the loss will be as much ours as theirs. To me, business ethics means that you will not shortchange any of the stakeholders in your organization—be it your employees, your customers, your suppliers, or the environment in which you live. If each of you strives to keep the ethical practices that you adopt alive and vibrant, we will build a world that you and your children will be proud of, and all over the world we will gain respect as a nation, too. Many of us might think that we have done our bit by achieving 9 percent GDP growth. However, we have miles to go before we sleep. In Nazi Germany, the holocaust would not have happened without the active connivance of its citizens. Similarly, this state of dismal governance and ethics cannot continue unless each of us remains silent or adds to it. It is time to shake off the silence and take the first step toward being responsible, alert entrepreneurs. That will hold both you and your organization in good stead and also contribute to the nation’s progress in a positive way.
“Be ruthlessly honest with yourself and accept the pitfalls of doing so.�
IT
is a pleasure to reach out through this article to young entrepreneurs. People of my generation, through their greed, passivity and indifference have, in a way, let down the nation. The result is that the newspapers and media tell us of new scams everyday. Conveniently, we point a finger at our bureaucrats and politicians for the corruption and lack of governance. While we do have to condemn this state of affairs, I would expect you, as youngsters, to go beyond the blame game. As budding members of corporate India, you youngsters need to find out what we can do to deal with this disease rather than point a finger at everyone else. In any country, there will be a very small group of people, who will do the right thing irrespective of the environment, and they will stick to their values 100 percent. Gandhiji was such a person. However, as I said,
36 Entrepreneur + March 2011
such people are rare to come by. On the other side of the spectrum, there are the hardcore law breakers who will find ways to manipulate and get their way in any system. Between these extremes, the majority of the people respond to the system in which they operate. Indians who go abroad are not known to be corrupt and they follow local governance norms where they live. However, in India, the system makes it difficult to follow the straight path. I wonder how many of you have already experienced corruption in the system, and how many resisted it and how many gave in. As entrepreneurs, if you want to tackle the issue of widespread corruption in India, you have to be ruthlessly honest with yourself and accept the pitfalls of doing so. You need to create a forum where you can talk about the areas where it’s been very difficult to be honest and insist on talking
Entrepreneur + March 2011 37
WISE AND ELEGANT Anu Aga, ex-chairperson of Thermax, believes it is the duty of every entrepreneur in this country to follow a set standard of business ethics. Looking poised in this B&W photo, she told us in March 2011 that the only way forward for the Indian economy is to have altruism as one of its principal pillars.
IMAGE BY NEHA MITHBAWKAR
106 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012
WIZARD OF OZ Rajiv Kumar, Founder and CEO of Rocketalk, changed the rules of the game for the deaf by launching a mobile app in 2008 that would help the latter communicate with each other by exchanging video messages. This picture depicting Kumar as a magician tells us that change is possible—all it requires is a little imagination and creativity.
By Pranbihanga Borpuzari
W
hen Mook Badhir Mandal (MBM), an NGO in this Gujarat town chanced upon an application called RockeTalk, they realized it had the potential to be a game changer for the way the deaf communicate. The application, which enables the user to send a video message has meant communication between hearing-impaired people never remains the same again.
Rajiv Kumar found it difďŹ cult to read SMSes because of his eyesight problems, and wondered how to communicate with his friends through voice messaging without having to make a call. “It was over three years ago when I was in the U.S. and wanted to communicate with my daughter by recording my voice. I also wanted to receive a voice recording from her instead of the usual SMS,â€? says Kumar. He started prototyping on an application that would enable people to send voice messages. Kumar decided on a social networking platform which would also enable people to connect with others with similar taste. The idea got even bigger when he thought he could make 100 Entrepreneur + August 2010
thousands of people talk together on a common platform. “We have managed to achieve what we set out to do. Today we have thousands of people talking at the same time in a virtual room over mobile phones. They are not only talking but also sharing thoughts and ideas,� says Kumar.
A push-based service and messages on RockeTalk can be sent on real time. This, however, has not come easy. Kumar ďŹ rst had to sort out a way to search voice, capture and digitalize voice and then transmit and receive it. “No two phones work the same way. Every time you get an application for a computer, it is easier to develop since a sizable number of computers have the same operating system of Windows. For phones we have Java, which is further divided into 1.1 and 1.2. “Then we have Symbian and its different versions and now we have iPhone and the androids. Apart from that, once you have developed an application you have to think about the screen sizes of various phones. The challenge was to create an application that runs across all phones,â€? says Kumar. Entrepreneur + August 2010 101
IMAGE BY SHAMIK BANERJEE
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012 107 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
START UPS
[ NEXT LEVEL ]
THREE’S COMPANY The last three years have held many lessons for the startups we have covered SHONALI A DVANI
S
ince this magazine’s inception, we have dedicated a significant portion of our effort towards covering game-changing, edgy startups backed by enthusiastic, ambitious and passionate founders, who have targeted both domestic and global markets. It would be fair to say that, but for a lack of space, we may have covered many more. India, the land of entrepreneurship, as often noted, has no dearth of entrepreneurial opportunity, given that many markets and segments are still unorganized. However, in our engagement with the ecosystem over the last three years, a few sectors in particular have taken prominence with respect to entrepreneur and investor interest— healthcare, education, clean energy, consumer internet and mobile. The latter two in particular have been key focus areas, with e-commerce leading the pack. With respect to internet businesses, two clear-cut categories have emerged— those which use the internet to deliver a service or a product to make internet usage more effective. “There has been an increase of technology consumption by small and medium enterprises and consequently many new business models targeting this segment have emerged,” says Bharati Jacob, Founder Partner, Seedfund. The bulk of India’s
118 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
startup activity has been fuelled by a maturing ecosystem which has gained strength particularly in Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Industry associations like TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and Nasscom have provided mentoring forums to early stage entrepreneurs, while an emergence of some quality incubators (physical and virtual), e-cells, angel funds, B-Plan competitions, and accelerators have been catalysts to this evolution too. “The amount of investment available has also increased despite the downturn in 2008-’09 and in the current slowdown too, with angels, seed funds and even larger venture funds investing in very early stage companies,” highlights Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Nexus Venture Partners. While technology companies and mobile-based businesses are still leading the deal flow, brick and mortar companies are also getting funded. “The year 2011 saw close to 200 deals in early stage startups, this was the highest in the past 10 years,” points out Varun Talwar, CEO, The HR Fund. However, the picture isn’t fully rosy and many logistical and administrative gaps continue as challenges. Hiring senior talent remains hard for startups, particularly those that haven't
raised external funding. Sameer Guglani, Co-Founder, The Morpheus, an incubating and investing firm, feels the major challenge for entrepreneurs lies in the fact that the ecosystem is still heavily biased towards companies which are part of a dominant trend. In the past year it’s been around e-commerce, group deals and, of late, in the taxi booking segment. “A disproportionate amount of money and attention is going here and proves to be a challenge to those who aren’t operating in this sector. So those solving a problem, because they are passionate about it, have difficulties in scaling a venture,” he opines. Thankfully, none of the above challenges have been a dampener to entrepreneurship or the number of people opting for it as a viable career option. It’s been driven by awareness, and media, too, has played a part here. As far as exits go, it’s been a mixed bag. IPO exits have been few since many startups are still nascent nor are current market conditions conducive for such exits. A lot of entrepreneurs are ensuring that they have an exit strategy in place. Many investors are of the view that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will take precedence as entrepreneurs consolidate their market position. Overall, investors and entrepreneurs are bullish on the outlook for the ecosystem, expecting more exits and further improvements in number and quality of entrepreneurs.
Money talks When we featured Prizm Payment Services in Entrepreneur’s November 2009 issue, Managing Director Loney Antony (50) had just acquired Reliance Money’s Point of Sale (PoS) business, pushing its total count to 5,500 PoS terminals. Since then, the startup, that’s in the space of ATM and PoS deployment, maintenance and handling back-end transaction processes, has achieved several significant milestones in terms of client acquisitions, investor funding and business growth.
The most crucial development facilitating the same has been a tweak in its business model—outsourcing to transaction-based, that has also increased revenues from `27 crore in FY’09-’10 to `340 crore in FY’11-’12. The turning point occurred in April 2010 when Prizm signed on Axis Bank as a client, taking them into a new direction. Axis Bank then had 4,000 ATMs, and as of March 2012, its network has grown to 10,000 ATMs. Apart from fixed fees charged for deployment and maintenance in its earlier, traditional model, Prizm now earns revenue on every transaction. “The traditional model we offered was based on two fundamentals—cost and operational efficiency—managing it cheaper and better for banks. However, other banks were reluctant to use this model as they thought the cost and operational efficiency may not be very high. So we devised an innovative model based on pay per transaction and went to larger banks. Now, we determine where to place an ATM, how to deploy and manage it,” Antony explains to us. The firm charges a flat fee around `14 (varies from bank to bank) per transaction as opposed to fixed fee of `50,000-60,000 per month, per ATM, excluding rental of premises in the outsourced model. “This gave a new comfort to banks as they didn’t have to put down any capital, monthly fixed fee, or find suitable locations,” he highlights. As of March 2012, Prizm Payments has 11,000 ATMs deployed or managed for banks, 35,000 PoSs and the firm’s run on the back of 900 employees across 16 offices, with a presence
ALL THAT MONEY Revenues in FY’09-’10: ` 27 crore Revenues in FY’11-’12: ` 340 crore Number of ATMs deployed or managed for banks as of March 2012: 11,000 Number of employees: 900 The crucial change: Tweak in the business model from outsourcing to transaction-based mechanism Photo Neha Mithbawkar
SUCCESS BY SWIPES: Loney Anthony of Prizm Payments
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 119 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
SPEND IT
[ RESTAURANTS ]
Three New
Dining Options Our hot picks for gastronomic delight in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru SRIYA R AY CHAUDHURI ver the last three years, we have traveled to various parts of the country, trying out new restaurants to guide you to the best options you have when eating out. In the big metros, there are a number of restaurants opening every month, and many of these places are fully booked on most nights. The cuisine is also very varied today, reflecting the fact that the globe-trotting Indian prefers newer and more exotic items on his palate. There are many new hotels opening up in different parts of India, especially in tier II and tier III cities, throwing open options of eating out at their in-house restaurants. Food entrepreneurs are raking in the moolah and business is thriving, slowdown or not. Looks like the passion for food is increasing with each passing day and there are enough takers to quench this desire‌
O
1
F Lounge.Diner.Bar, Mumbai This swanky and upscale eatery opened its fashionable doors to Mumbaikars recently and has already received positive reviews from patrons. The location works well: the F Lounge. Diner.Bar is located amidst tall office buildings in the bustling trade hub of Lower Parel. Located on two levels, there is a private dining area as well as Dom Perignon champagne lounge here. The moment you step inside, ushers hand you a by now-necessary one-day drinking permit, so that overzealous police officials do not spoil the evening for you. The wine list STYLE ON A PLATTER or cocktails/mocktails on offer are 1. F Lounge interiors not too varied. We expected more 2. Patiala chicken 3. Tandoori wasabi prawns variety, especially for the cocktails, 2
3
128 Intelligent Entrepreneur ď‚„ September 2012
1
3
2
but the ones we tried were good, if not anything special. The small fashion bites to go with your food are thoughtful concoctions. We tried the green papaya prawn puchkas (`475), tandoori Wasabi curry leaf prawns (`475) and the goat cheese-smoked cashew cigaroll with chilli chutney (`400)—all innovative and flavorful. The rosemary glazed tava seekh kebabs (`450), however, was too full of masala and is best avoided, unless you pair it with cold beer. For the mains, we tried the fusion Indian items in which regular dishes are given a slight innovative touch, like the Patiala chicken with whisky flambé (`650). But the taste here was not too different from that of a regular chicken gravy. The nariyal mirch jhinga (prawns in a yellow coconut-based gravy, `700) is a must-try, have it with steamed rice. There are all the regular trappings, like different Indian breads, biryanis, pastas etc. Also on offer are naaninis (`480 onwards) and pizaans (`450 onwards); both variations of naans, the one created like paninis and the latter like pizzas with different toppings. There are some continental dishes on the ‘world menu’ like the bourbon marinated chicken with a carrot and ginger mash (`950), the tandoori pesto cottage cheese (`475) and the fish/cottage cheese marinated and cooked in wax paper (`950). Each of these items is like a signature dish; they are light yet filling and can be paired with the wine on offer here. When at the F Lounge.Diner.Bar, always leave space in your stomach for the desserts. Each of these are highly recommended; try the Bailey’s kulfi with tiny gulab jamuns and a blueberry cashew on top of the kulfi (`600), or the mango rasmalai lasagna with blue curacao rabdi (`600)
where the traditional Indian sweet is sandwiched between two layers 1. Lamb rack 2. Veg mezze platter of mango slices. 3. De Villa’s second floor It is these innovative dishes and the ultra-chic interiors that have made this newcomer to the Mumbai gastronomical scene such a big success already. But do we like the constant FTV ramp show that plays on the wide screen like a bar along one part of the restaurant? Not really, but that is quite a minor sore blot on an otherwise great meal.
DINE OUT IN DELHI
De Villa, New Delhi Situated in Hauz Khas Village in the national capital, De Villa is cricketer Ashish Nehra and his brother Bhanu Nehra’s attempt at entering the culinary scene in Delhi. The restaurant serves usual cocktails like Pina Colada (`550), Margharita (`450) and Long Island Iced Tea (`550) but go for the unusual ones like the Cucumber Mojito (`550). If you don’t prefer alcohol, try Dew Drop (`175); this mocktail is a must-have in the Delhi summers. The hookahs here have interesting flavors like the Pan Rasna and Red Bull ones. For starters, try the Hongos Cigarro/mushroom cigars (`275) which are enhanced with apricot and served in vodka glasses. The non-vegetarian mezze platter (`425) includes pita bread, kibbeh, meat fatiyaar and chicken wings, but it’s not special. The platter was served with hummus, babaganoush, tabbouleh and tzatziki—all of which were nice but not innovative. An ‘exclusive’ at De Villa is the nazza—a combination of naan base and pizza toppings. We tried the
To read more, grab the September 2012 issue of Entrepreneur Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012 129 To Subscribe, visit www.entrepreneurindia.in
BACK STAGE
THE OPTIMIST’S 2015 OUTLOOK Like all this is ever coming true A NKUSH CHIBBER 1. We will never see a daily deal site again. Like we will never see many of the Earth’s extinct species ever again. There will be sightings and theories, but mostly they would be as dead as a dodo.
2. The realm of social media would cease to exist. No more social media and no more social media experts. And, therefore, many of these bright people would finally get what we call ‘a real life’.
3. We will see a dramatic drop in the usage of words like USP, Disruptive, Out-of-the-Box Thinking, Game Changer, Stealth Mode, and Win-Win. And again, Social Media.
4. Private Equity chaps would stop masquerading as Venture Capitalists. Venture Capitalists would stop
136 Intelligent Entrepreneur September 2012
masquerading as Angel Investors. Angel investors would just go look for a new name for their kind.
5. There will be no new e-retail businesses anymore. Anywhere. Because there will be no product category left to sell. Somebody would have figured how to sell soil online by then.
6. There will be more women entrepreneurs in India and abroad. Fewer engineer-entrepreneurs in India and abroad. Fewer “entrepreneurs” would come to India from abroad. Especially the NRI ones.
7. We’ll see the “Entrepreneur” category in matrimonial classifieds. Appa and Amma would sob in happiness and attrition rates at those Indian tech majors would skyrocket.
Illustration Chaitanya Dinesh Surpur