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7/29/2019 MACONZA Trishna issue
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Dear Readers
We bring to you the Trishna Special issue o
Maconza. We salute the spirit of entrepre
neurship in women. We cover Anita Roddick
the owner of British cosmetic retail company
Body Shop and unfold the story of Ms. Priya
Kumar, who belongs to a Hindu joint family
and is a mother of two, in an interview withher. A lecture delivered by Ms. Rashmi Bansal
in which she defines various types of entrepre
neurs, has been covered.
This issue highlights the need of having a Plan
B, along with the B Plan and the role of a B
School in shaping an entrepreneur. The pas
sion of a sportsman, taking shape of entrepre
neurial aspirations has been put across
through the story of Arjun.
With the entrepreneurship boom in India
huge FDI inflows and revival of the dying arts
an attempt has been made to explore some o
the opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs
There is also something in store for the fitness
freaks who wish to be entrepreneurs. Check
out!!!
We welcome your feedback on the magazine
- Meenakshi Aggarwa
MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN BUSINESS
SCHOOL & BUSINESS 4
B PLAN AND PLAN B 6
ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOM IN INDIA 6
B-PLAN AND PLAN-B 9
THE DEHATI GYM 8
DEFINING AN ENTREPRENEUR 10
ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOM IN
IN INDIA 12
WHO IS AN ENTREPRENEUR 14
SUCCESS STORY OF ANITA RODICK 16
ENTRPRENEURSHIP, THE NOT FOR
PROFIT WAY 18
THE HIDESIGN STORY 21
THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT
ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA 23
REVIVAL OF TASSAR SILK IN JHARKHAND 25
INTERVIEW WITH MRS,. PRIYA KUMAR 28
THE XX FACTOR WOMEN ENTREPRE- 31
NEURSHIP BLUR IN INDIA?
CROSSROADS- BEAT THY OWN SELF!!! 34
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Macon means to Create or to Build. The objective of launching the cell is to provide the commo
platform to those who aspire to be an entrepreneur and want to bring change in the society in a differ
ent way.
These people can come together, express their views, show their passion, share their ideas, and nurtur
their dreams to see them turning into reality with the help of Macon. Through Macons initiative, w
try to bring out the entrepreneurial skills and provide with the vital support system that a budding en
trepreneur demands.
The Vision
MACON is a conglomerate of individuals with a vision, a dream which surely can come true. It is
place for all those who want to create their own path and leave behind the trails of success. The Ce
aims at nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit and tremendous energy among individual to a level wher
they can bring about a positive change in the societya change that we all aspire for. MACON believe
an entrepreneurial mind is a mind of original ideas and aspires to extend all possible support to its stu
dent and alumni members, in association with its strategic partner, NEN, and enable them to realiztheir dreams.
The Mission
To ignite the spark of entrepreneurship amongst students from IBS and other institutes and provide
common platform for individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit to develop, nurture, share and grow
their ideas.
Establishing a new enterprise requires skills that have to be nurtured from a very early stage. Th
huge potential and skills of management graduate of India needs to be tapped and each and every col
lege has to take up initiatives of creating not just job seekers but also job providers. However motiv
tion and information at the right stage could lead to birth and nurturing of future entrepreneurs a
the graduate level. Even for those who do not aim to start an enterprise immediately, the cell wi
help in providing them the platform to demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills.
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The Entrepreneurship Cell
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Why do business schools misunder-stand Business
By Ashish Agarwal (Alumnus, IBS Hy-
derabad)
Today B-schools are producing employees and
not entrepreneurs. Most students see it as anentry to the money minting world. Most of the
B-school grads accept the high-paying job; and
after the honeymoon is over, all are frustrated
and looking for answers to a basic question:
Is this what I really want to do? Whats
my calling?
When we look into the future, we should look
for the people who can exploit the opportunity
rather than those who solve the problem.
While problem solvers ponder over the fruit
that has already fallen, an opportunist looks
for the fruits that are ripe and ready to fall.
An entrepreneurship-specific curriculum in B-
schools is essential for today's entrepreneurs
to create valuefor their organization, and
their stakeholderswhether they are building
their own companies or playing a leadership
role in any organization.
Differentiated products drive the growth of
company, and in a globally competitive worldthose products become a necessity at increas
ingly accelerating rates. Therefore, companie
need to continually innovate. This is why busi
nesses of all sizes need entrepreneurs.
Where do these entrepreneurs come from
Many are honing their skills by working with
startups. While those who take this path do
develop all the necessary skills, from opportu
nity identification to growth, they are particu
larly adept at finding outside investors. Thi
skill, while critical for a startup, is much les
for a corporate entrepreneur. For big compa
nies in need of entrepreneurs, relying on thos
Misunderstanding between Business School and
Business
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who have started their own business isn't
really a solution. They simply don't have the
right skills.
That's where B-schools have a role to play.
They can and must step up and create entre-
preneurs, so badly needed in organizations of
all sizes. An emphasis on entrepreneurship
would help MBA students understand how to
identify opportunities and create value. It
should start by defining entrepreneurship in a
way that communicates its relevance to corpo-
rate recruiters.
We are unfair to ourselves by defining entre-
preneurs by the size of the organization they
work for or by the firm's growth potential.
Beyond redefining what it means to be an
entrepreneur, B-schools must alter their
curriculum in order to produce entrepre-
neurs. In addition to having stand-alonecourses, the entrepreneurial mindset needs
to extend to existing disciplines within the
business school. The addition of experien-
tial programs allows students to transform
their classroom knowledge into real-world
skills.
Beyond redefining what it means to be an
entrepreneur, B-schools must alter their
curriculum in order to produce entrepre-
neurs. In addition to having stand-alone
courses, the entrepreneurial mindset needs
to extend to existing disciplines within the
business school. The addition of experien-
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tial programs allows students to transform
their classroom knowledge into real-worl
skills.
While Ford is today known for his innovative
assembly line and American-made cars, he
wasn't an instant success. In fact, his early
businesses failed and left him broke five time
before he founded the successful Ford Mo-
tor Company.
The billion-dollar business that is Honda
,began with a series of failures and fortunate
turns of luck. Honda was turned down by
Toyota Motor Corporation for a job as an
engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some
time. He started making scooters of his own
at home, and spurred on by his neighbors,
finally started his own business.
Source: www.onlinecollege.org
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Rajesh is a worried man. He finished his MBA
from a reputed B-school and had taken up en-
trepreneurship, turning down a lucrativeplacement offer from a Fortune 500 firm. Things
were going positive in the beginning but after
a year, the difficulties in running the business
at ground zero, rather than the imaginary
world in the B-school, crushed on him. He was
planning to close the business and join a small
time firm for a not-so-attractive package.
The fear of becoming a person similar to
Rajesh is always present in the minds of bud-
ding entrepreneurs and it is justifiable to a cer-
tain extent. People with good B Plans usually
tide over the initial obstacles due to the enthu-
siasm they experience over their plans and go
on to become successful if their product (or
service) is lucky enough to be accepted by the
market they wish to cater. But, if for some rea-
son it takes time to gain that acceptance,chances are high that they might be dejected
provided the high expectations they had for
their B-plan. Gradually, the challenges and ad-
ventures become obstacles and problems and
they might doubt the worth of their own B
plans.
Insecurity ABOUT their future would be th
next stage as they might feel a lot would b
under stake. In the worst case, bare surviv
becomes difficult for them.
This extreme case happens when a perso
does not know when to stop investing mor
So, like someone said Business is like gam
bling that one extra try would get you all th
was lost, the engrossing nature of an entr
preneurs B-plan, arising most probably due this emotional attachment, might lead one to
deep abyss. But does all this mean that w
have to abstain ourselves from executing ou
B-Plan?
B-Plan and the Plan B
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The importance of having a
contingency plan while starting abusiness and even beyond that.
By Manohar S
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THE PLAN B
The answer is an obvious NO. After all, would
there be any Tatas, Ambanis and Fords if their
respective founders had abstained themselvesfrom executing their B-Plans due to the fear of
failure?! The solution is to come up with a
Plan-B along with the B-Plan. Yes, I am talking
about the what if plans that always gives the
entrepreneur the necessary backup in case the
new business fails to run in a successful man-
ner. This sort of planning helps us to take the
vital calculated risks without jeopardising
our bare minimum needs.
The Plan B not only provides the entrepreneur
a safety net but also instils in them an assur-
ance and confidence and in turn may play a vi-
tal part in forming a successful business.
Thus, the backup plans are not necessarily
backward looking and should not be taken as
a sign of meekness but rather as a consequence
of rational thinking.
A good backup plan should be based on our
existing strengths (in our case, a MBA degree
is definitely one!) and it should be practical
and easily executable.
TYPES OF BACKUP PLANS
But, this sort of contingency planning shouldnot be restricted to just what to do after I exit
my business kind of scenarios. It is but one
among the many backup plans that one has to
have while running a business because in a
business, it is always about revision of deci-
sions and in that process, choosing an alter-
nate plan of action to the existing plan.
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Thus, apart from backup plans that revolv
around exiting the area of business altogethe
there are others which might be about shiftin
from one business to another. This kind plans should be made after learning the nu
ances of running a business and evaluating th
profitability of alternate plans.
Still, other plans may not deal with anythin
even remotely associated with going out
business. It happens within the same busine
and it might deal with setting of realistic ta
gets and how to achieve them. Initially, a potential entrepreneur, in her overconfidenc
over the plan, might impose on herself unrea
istic and over-optimistic targets to achieve i
the business and might plan accordingly. Bu
ground realities might prevent them from
achieving those targets. So, certain backu
plans might aid them in rethinking the
strategies based on their revised targets.
Whatever the type of Business, it is necessar
to have one of each type in different tim
frames of running the business. Moreove
budding entrepreneurs must tide over the no
tion that B-Plans are a conservative way t
look at things and realise that these backu
plans, as a matter of fact, would help the
pursue their B-Plan more aggressively withou
the fear of survival. The benefits of the assu
ance that a backup plan gives may be bett
reaped if they are made immediately after,
not along with, the making of the B-Plan. S
what are you waiting for? Go ahead with you
B-Plan...after making your Plan-B, of course!
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Working out at the cost of nothing: A
modern impossibility?
By Divya Ann Selveraj
Within the quietness of an orchard called
Amrud Bagan at Jonha, 40km away from Ran-
chi (the capital city of Jharkhand), a thoughthas changed into an idea which has given birth
to a very unique venture: a rural Gymnasium.
However unlikely the concept, it has been exe-
cuted successfully.This Dehati Gym was pioneered by NiteshSonkar, an under graduate student. He was
aided by his two friends Suraj and Shyam.
These three first created the gym and thenwere joined by two more visionaries: Karan
and Shekhar.
The Gymnasium is nestled within a rambling
fenced garden with fruit bearing trees. It haits own assortment of gizmos all sourced righ
from nature. These gizmos include a barbel
made from wood and mud and dumbbellsculpted out of stone, a chest lifter with two
spherical stones fitted at either end of an
iron bar. An earthen cauldron filled withsand on which they practice Karate i
mounted on a brick supported hearth andis heated using wood. This open air gymdoes not even require the artificial comfor
of an air conditioner.
These fitness equipments made out ostones, wood and mud may sound crud
but on second thought, the engineering
that must have gone into creating them iunbelievable. Other than the conventiona
gym equipment, they have also created newequipments in innovative shapes.
Whatever they did is eco friendly and does no
use even a hint of modern technology. Theyhave proved that to create something it is no
necessary to destroy something else; especially
not their green beautiful home. Money is certainly the biggest constraint one faces whil
starting any kind of a venture. But not for this
group of youngsters who overcame it withsheer determination and hard work and th
will to do something constructive, to giv
something back.
Not only have they provided a village lik
Jonha a modern privilege, they have accom
THEDEHATI GYM
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plished something that youth in such areas canonly dream of having, that too for free
The importance of being fit is waning every-where but Jonhas youth will never be at a dis-
advantage when it comes to having an oppor-
tunity to fight this trend. Even though life inrural areas is comparatively active with culti-
vation and farming activities, modernity and
its influences are everywhere. Also, to stick toones roots and conform to change at the same
time is difficult if not impossible. These five
young men have become an inspiration tothose facing this struggle.
The gym was first built only for personal use.Now about a dozen fitness freaks attend the
rural gymnasium. These very people also claim
with great conviction that the services they
provide are at par with any high end gym inthe city. Suraj credits the wooden barbells for
his biceps. Currently entry is only on the basis
of friendship. No fees are charged. What thefuture holds cannot be predicted.
An enterprise whatsoever will have to keep itsintegrity intact. These young entrepreneurs
may not be making money but they surely have
given something and received benefits person-ally as well as satisfaction in the form of seeing
their dream grow and go on to fulfil those of
others.
What we need to analyse here is whether
turning it into profit making venture is feasiblein this scenario. Will it be as happily accepted
and will it do as much good as it is doing now?
Will the cost of changing its nature be toomuch in terms of the loss faced by those in
need of a facility such as this one?
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To turn it into business may be possible bforming a framework of the privileged alon
with the unprivileged. The more privilegecan, if they so desire, become stakeholders in venture such as this and use its services an
generate profit. At the same time they mus
not close doors to those who cant afford tpay the fee however nominal. Neither mus
services to them be provided at a lower prior
ity level. This is where the glitch comes. Oncthey overcome this it will turn into a model fo
all to look up to and emulate. It is a big ste
but the one that is dreamt will be possible foa group of youth so daring, so creative, so ex
perimental and so enterprising that they liter
ally created not just something but a lot othings out of nothing. Nothing more than the
very own hands and what they found lyin
around (considered by most to be useless jununworthy of anything constructive).
Entrepreneurship is all about going that extr
mile without regarding personal benefit as thsole objective. It is mainly about innovatin
and daring to execute something unconven
tional. This they have already achieved. Futurdevelopment in this case may require mor
than just the five of them but a larger respons
bility from the society. Till then may the youtof Jonha develop their biceps and work ou
their way to new strengths not just physicall
but psychologically, knowing well enough thathey are in no way behind their counterpart
in the city when it comes to such matter
Sometimes it is only the mind that needs to bconvinced. Nitesh Sonkar, Suraj, Shyam, Kara
and Shekhar will never let this conviction die.
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Who is an entrepreneur?
By Shubra Pant
The session by Rashmi Bansal (the writer of
Connecting The Dots, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish and
owner of the magazine Youth Curry on entre-
preneurship, was a refreshing change from the
conventional guest lectures. The youngspeaker was dynamic and open minded, who
shared with us her insights on entrepreneur-
ship, her experiences, the challenges she faced
and what was that one thing that drove her to
where she is today. We not only heard but ex-
perienced the great mile
stones of her odyssey.Ms. Bansal started with a very common, ye
unanswered question WHO AM I? Its no
just an unanswered question but its reach goe
way beyond in the sense that it is introspec
tion of ones soul. The next question she raised
was what can I contribute to this world
What is so special about me? What is that one
thing that I can do best and only I can do i
best? Moving on, she spoke about differen
types of entrepreneurs:
The natural entrepreneurs who alway
had it in them to make it where they ar
today.
The logical ones, who grabbed the op
portunity when life offered it to them
and made the most of it.
Defining an Entrepreneur
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The emotional ones, who were always
passionate about one particular thing in
life and always knew and believed inthat one thing
Accidental entrepreneurs, who became
what they are by chance rather than
choice
And finally, the experimental ones, who
end up discovering that spark within
them experimentally, are very much
there.
The speakers next question was again a very
fundamental one but not very easy to answer -
what drives you? What is that one thing that
makes you happy and you just love working on
it? She emphasized on the need to find that
driving force and that passion, the belief in
that passion and after the realization of that
passion, things automatically fall in to place
.She further emphasized on the point that we
need to start from the basics and move from
simple to complex and not complex to simple.
In this regard, she quoted Steve Jobs as you
cant connect the dots looking forward con-
nect them looking backwards.
She emphasized on doing something com-
pletely crazy and out of the box, going beyondthe scopes of our own imagination want and
innovate something and innovate something.
It is a necessary condition to first know what
you before you actually start working on it
because until and unless you dont know about
Page|11
what you want you will never have the pas-
sion and zeal to make both the ends meet.
Once you know what you actually want and
have the basic raw material you are all free to
unwind your imagination.
The most important message from the
speaker was that what matters the most is
the fact that you either love what you do or
do what you love. Entrepreneurs probably
never love what they do but they do what
they love because that entrepreneurial spirit
never lets them settle for anything and every-
thing. Entrepreneurs are their own boss and
do what they like rather than doing anything
that comes their way.
Your time is limited, so dont waste it living some-
one elses life. Dont be trapped by dogma which
is living with the results of other peoples thinking.
Dont let the noise of others opinions drown out
your own inner voice. And most important, have the
courage to follow your heart and intuition. They
somehow already know what you truly want to be-
come. Everything else is secondary
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Entrepreneurship is neither science, noran art, it is a practice- Peter Drucker
By Gayatri Bose
Entrepreneurship is a word that not onlyholds many meanings for individuals acrossthe world, but is also a word that transformsand transfers one, instantly into a land ofreverie, hopes and aspirations.
There has always been a time wheneach of us has felt a need to changesomething or do something away fromwhat is predicted and break away fromthe chains of expectations that bind usso tightly that at times, we suffocate andstifle because of the very society and socialgroup on which we feed as parasites other-wise.
The time when Indians, without much adoand hesitance, have started to express theiryearning to spread their wings and fly seemsto most certainly have arrived on the muchtracked timeline. The entrepreneurshipboom in India stands a living proof for suchprogress and yearning.
However, one must wonder, is stretchingyour arms towards a more independent formof work just enough to sustain such a boomin any given arena?? Along with ideas, areborn the forms and necessary helping handsthat shall hasten the realization of suchdream. I believe that the entrepreneurial
boom in India is not just a result of ideas, butalso the support of various organizations andpolicies that have had their share of contri-bution. It is believed that India shall con-tinue to unlock the keys of this boom for thenext decade.
The advent of technology, political changesand government support through entrepre-neur-friendly policies has been instrumentalin ushering the forces of change. The IT in-dustry has been a leader in such cause-setting examples and being a bandwagonleader, inspiring the other sectors as well totake on the initiative and thus ensuring thegrowth of the diversified sectors, through bigand small entrepreneurial ventures.
India has forever had the spirit of an entre-preneurship in her and though such spiritwent unnoticed with bigger giants such asUSA and China standing up shadowing her,the time has indeed arrived when India toohas stood up and made an impact on the waythe world has forever perceived her.
There was time when colonization and so-cialism has buried the spirit of entrepreneur-ship, but today it is much celebrated andlooked upon, by practically applying theo-retical concepts, like reverse positioning,proving to be successful in spite of criticismand political issues.
However, each new venture faces challengesof various types. The first of such challengesis the primacy of the venture and entrepre-neurship. With increasing number of Indians
ENTREPREUNERSHIP BOOM IN INDIA
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moving towards an entrepreneurial trend, ithas been noticed that some of them have nothad any entrepreneurial activity in theirbackground. With dearth of investors and
the much required infrastructure, it onlypoints to the lack of entrepreneurial ecosys-tem.
A second challenge is the threat of competi-tion from the existing biggies in the marketwho are the giants having a lot of money andinvestment. Being existing players, they arealso a part of the customers and target mar-kets attention and retention power and ca-
pacity.On further consideration, capital tooemerges as one of those challenges, that
young new foal in the entrepreneurshiparena might face. Though there are VentureCapitalists existing in the market for the ex-act purpose of providing funds to new startups, there are few who support the idea dur-ing the initial stages. In addition, with in-
creasing number of start ups, there arises theproblem of mobilization of funds from theold ventures to the new ones. There also liesthe problem of reduced access to these VCsdue to the sudden flooding of ideas and en-trepreneurial brainwaves.
Any business, to start off, needs the power ofthe human capital too. A one-man army intodays world is no longer enough to take on
the world. However, it also needs to be con-sidered that people, no matter how risk tak-ing, would ever wish to take risk with theirfuture and hence therein arises the problemof a young entrepreneur, the problem of find-ing adequate and adept human resource forthe venture in its nascent stages. The attri-tion rate in these start ups has also thus been
Page|13
observed as high and mostly, it is the younginexperienced who join the entrepreneurThis also implies that the knowledge and theexperience of the personnel, which are im-
portant elements for steering the ship, maybe lacking in most of the ventures. Anotherstraw would be to keep up with the fast paceof globalization in todays world and developthe contacts and networking skills required.
On the social front, since entrepreneurship isviewed as risky and seems to be lacking aconsistent and regular flow of funds, it is stilnot a widely accepted concept in the Indian
minds which looks for security issues firstwhen deciding upon the acceptance of anindividual into their social group.
Despite the above, there have been fascinat-ing and inspiring stories that emit rays ohope beyond the darkness of the challengesmentioned above. Networks such as NENhave been set up to not only encourage theentrepreneur overburdened with the expec
tations of regulated cash flow by the societybut also to help people start thinking in away that differentiates them from the rest ofthe herd. There are E- cells that have beenset up in various B schools across the coun-try (for MACON, the E-cell of IBS, Hyderabad) that maintains contacts with venturecapitalists and convince them to providefunds to the young minds, in order to achieve
their dream and do something different inthe world.
Shashi Ruyia of the Essar group, in hisspeech at the National Institute for entrepre-neurs, rightly said, There has not been a bet-ter time in India to reach out and touch thehorizon entrepreneurship is no more lim-ited to family-managed businesses in India
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Memories are a part of everyones life. We tend
to bask in past glory and remember those
phases of life, where we have performed excep-tionally well and not only made others proud
of us but also ourselves. What is it that makes
that moment extraordinary and etches it into
our mind forever? Why is it that we feel a re-
newed positivity when we think of that mo-
ment? What makes that moment so special
and so different?
As these questions flash through my mind, I
am reminded of this one person, a real good
childhood friend and a neighbor of mine. He is
Arjun, a tall and lean, 18 year old guy. His pas-
sion, since childhood, has been Football. He
can play the game for close to 12 hours with
just one break in between, such is his stamina.
Arjun has never had an inclination towards
education. He always used to scrape through
his examinations. Every single day, he wouldreach home, drop his bags in his room, grab a
bite and call all of us out to play football with
him. If no one agreed to come, he would play
all by himself which pulled everyone out to
play.
While we were kids, Arjun and I got along
really well. We were inseparable and shared a
bond exactly like two brothers. We were in
the same school, took the same school bus to
go to school and return home. We shared our
food, games, clothes and even stayed with each
other. Such was our bond that even each of our
parents considered both of us as their children
The two of us were the naughty brats of the
neighborhood. We would do all the mischiefand ensured that the blame went on any one of
the others.
At the age of ten itself, Arjun made up his mind
that he was going to become one of the great-
est footballers ever. The way he worked to-
wards achieving his goal, everyone around him
knew he would achieve it. He was selected for
his school football team the same year. He wasthe youngest and all his team mates used to
bully him. The team coach used to console Ar-
jun but laughed at him afterwards. I didnt like
the two faced coach one bit. He wasnt even
qualified enough to be a coach. He just played
for the state team for 8 matches. Arjun always
complained to me that the coach didnt use
proper strategies. This went on for at least a
year. As Arjun played in the team, he began to
gel with the team and all the team mates be-
came his friends.
One fortunate day, it was one of our friends
birthday and there was a football match and
our school had with another school. Arjun was
supposed to be a part of the team. So, all of us
Who is an Entrepreneur?
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Be the change you wish to see
By Kunaall Jumani
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decided to watch the match and then go to our
friends place for lunch. The pavilion was a full
house. All students from our school as well as
the opponent school were already there. It wasthe final match and as per Principals orders,
the team had to win. Both teams entered from
opposite ends of the field with their coaches.
Our school coach continued with the same
strategy as earlier. The whole team was bored
of playing with the same formation and pat-
tern from the past one year and they wanted a
change that could be challenging and provide avictory, when it was crucial.
The team gathered and brought out what they
wanted. All of a sudden, Arjun came up with
his strategy and made the game plan, alto-
gether different from that of the coach. The
team was convinced with Arjuns plan and the
game began. The coach saw sudden formation
changes and began to yell. All of us began towonder what happened, and then the captain
was called. He told the coach to sit down and
watch and stopped him from giving further
instructions. The offended coach resigned that
very moment and the team began to celebrate,
instead of feeling bad or getting scared. The
game resumed after a confusion lasting for
twenty minutes. The opponent team had been
the constant winner of the Tournament till
then. The shield went to them for 4 years in a
row. This time, our team was determined to
break this record and we were confident be-
cause Arjuns strategy never failed. All round
the ground there was continuous cheering,
Cottons, Cottons.
Page|15
This was the defining moment for Arjun as h
had to prove his caliber to all those who felt he
wasnt as good. Our team went on to win the
match and Arjun was hailed and carried al
round the field by the team. Age no bar, Arjun
was given all the respect he deserved for get
ting away from the norm.
Well Arjun is not a footballer yet but will b
one soon. Also, he is a multi talented person
with football as his passion and photography
as his hobby. But he is no less than a profes
sional photographer. Thats not it, Arjun alsohas dreams to be an entrepreneur and thi
dream has taken him to one of the premier B
Schools in India.
Arjun, does not have a B Plan as of now, but h
has a dream. He has an ambition. He has a vi
sion. And last but not the least, he has the ca
pability to stand against all odds, the potentia
to be different and the capability to take riskeven when he is under a pressure to produc
the best of the results.
Arjun portrays the true spirit of an entrepre
neur. Entrepreneurs are not a part of the herd
They are not followers, they are the leaders
Entrepreneurs are not born, they are developed
by their grit, determination and will power.
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If someone asks people to list down the names
of the entrepreneurs they know, it would not
be surprising if they come up with the namesof Ratan Tata, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and
the like. Whatever names they would come up
with, that list is most likely to have one com-
mon feature. I am sure we would be thinking
of lofty aspects like guts, intelligence and glory
of those personalities once we look for the
commonalities. But above all these is one sim-
ple common attribute. The common persons
idea of an entrepreneur is that HE would bea male and the list that he would come up
with, would be a male-dominated one, irre-
spective of which gender he/she belongs.
Are female entrepreneurs few in numbers? A
dispassionate analysis would tempt a person
to answer in the affirmative. The reasons were
(hopefully not are) plenty. Whatever the ob-
stacles are/were, things have changed in thelast few decades. Women entrepreneurs have
begun to show up and are beginning to prove
that they are inferior in no way to their male
counterparts. Let us take a look at the inspira-
tional life of one such entrepreneur, Anita
Roddick.
Anita Roddick was the founder of British cos-
metic retail company, Body Shop. What mad
it stand out in the cosmetic industry was th
it stood for ethical consumerism. The Bod
Shop was one of the first commercial cosme
ics outlets to prohibit the use of ingredien
tested on animals and one of the first to pro
mote fair trade with third world countries.
stood for aspects like community trading, hu
man rights protection and promotion of selesteem based on the ideals of its founder, Anit
Roddick who vigorously campaigned for env
ronmental and social issues involving herse
with organizations like Greenpeace.
She attributed her work ethic to her childhoo
life which in no way was a smooth road. Sh
was born in 1942 as the third child to paren
who would get divorced when she turneeight. She grew up working in a caf and on
fine day she stumbled upon a book on th
holocaust, carrying horrible stories of the Naz
concentration camps. This kick-started m
into a sense of outrage and a sense of empath
for the human condition, she would later say
She initially wanted to become a teacher an
The Success story of Anita Roddick
Page |16
The Story of one of the most
inspiring women entrepreneurs ofall time
By Manohar S
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accordingly pursued her tertiary education.
She had earned herself a scholarship to study
in a kibbutz in Israel where she was expelled(thankfully?!) for playing a prank.
She held various jobs and travelled to many
places from South Africa to Tahiti. She went to
a school in South Africa where again she was
expelled for violating an apartheid law. She
returned home and shortly married Gordon
Roddick. The two of them made a living run-
ning a restaurant and an eight room hotel.
One fine day after Gordon Roddick went trek-
king on a horse from Buenos Aries to New
York leaving her to support her two girls; she
started a cosmetic retail The Body Shop
(incidentally, placed between two funeral par-
lors!) in Brighton, England.
Out of desperation, she created cosmetics out
of every ingredient that she had stored in her
garage. Her products contained ingredients
that women used in cleansing rituals that she
had witnessed in her travels. She opened her
first shop with only twenty five products fi-
nanced the store using her hotel as collateral.
With its strong environmental flare and popu-
lar demand of the products, Roddick had al-
ready opened a second shop before her hus-
bands return after 10 months. She took thefranchising route when the company was in a
financial crunch and spread franchises all over
England. In 1984, the company decided to go
public, a decision she thoroughly regretted as
their company was evaluated by how much
profits they were making and not the number
of jobs they created being the socially active
company it was. Today, The Body Shop ha
over 1,980 stores and more than 77 million cu
tomers in 50 different markets serving customers in over 25 different languages. Its succe
put Roddicks net worth at more than $20
million. In 2006, the company became an inde
pendently managed subsidiary of the LOr
Group.
The Body Shop has a reputation for supportin
social and environmental causes, thanks t
Roddicks strong personal sense of social r
sponsibility. After stepping down in 2002 fro
co-chairman, she spent 80 days of the yea
working as a consultant in her stores and use
the rest of her time to advance causes in cam
paigns against human rights abuses and ex
ploitation of the underprivileged.
On September 10, 2007, Roddick passed awa
due to a massive brain hemorrhage
ANITA RODDICK ON ENTREPRENEURSHI
If you do things well, do them better. Be da
ing, be first, be different, be just(sic).
Dysfunction is the essence of entrepreneu
ship. Ive had dozens of requests from place
like Harvard and Yale to talk about the subject. It makes me laugh that ivy leaguers are s
keen to learn how to be entrepreneurs, b
cause Im not convinced its a subject you ca
teach. I mean, how do you teach obsession? B
cause it is obsession that drives the entrepr
neurs commitment to a vision of somethin
new.
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As I waited in my car for the signal to turn
green, a soft tap on the window suddenly
brought me back from my reverie. It was a lit-
tle girl begging for alms, holding the baby
sister in her arms. It was this pitiful sight that
got me thinking. Academy Award Nominated
Slumdog Millionaire was an instant hit all over
the world. The audience thoroughly enjoyed
and absorbed every word of the movie, conven-
iently ignoring the pathetic condition and the
hidden truth of the gamble that was openly
broadcasted. As such issues stare the world in
the face, one needs to be empathetic and in the
least, take note of the existence of these social
problems.
In his recent visit to India in November 2010,
the President of United States of America, Mr.Barack Obama mentioned the recent trend and
potential of entrepreneurship in the world.
Though entrepreneurship is often related to a
profit motive and business for the purpose of
creating wealth, yet one must not restrict her-
self to this narrow definition of an entrepre
neur. An entrepreneur is not only the one who
has an idea and earns profit but she is also th
one who hits upon an idea for a social caus
and can also be rightly termed as an entrepre
neur- a social entrepreneur. The Skoll Societ
defines a social entrepreneur as a chang
agent; a pioneer of innovation that benefits so
ciety. The seventh United Nations Genera
Secretary, Mr. Kofi Annan describes social en
trepreneurship as "Founded on the principle
of private initiative entrepreneurship and self
employment, underpinned by the values of de
mocracy, equality and solidarity, the co
operative movement can help pave the way t
a more just and inclusive economic order
The above definition may sound too ideal to fi
into an idea that is essentially perceived as
profit making enterprise. However, this ver
idealism has become reality, as more and mor
entrepreneurs are investing their profits fosocial causes. For a social entrepreneur, wealth
is only a means to the end and such wealth i
generally used for the betterment of the societ
and protects humanity and Earth against sen
sitive issues.
Entrepreneurship, the not-for-profit way
Page |18
A not-for-money way ofEntrepreneurship
By Gayatri Bose
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It has been more than a year since recession;
however, it has left its scars on many people.
Poverty and unemployment suddenly became
the most feared words in the job market. It is
since then believed that entrepreneurship is
necessary to set off the loss that has been
caused by these factors on a society so fragile
and vulnerable.
The term social entrepreneurship is often mis-
taken to be another form of charity. As rightly
described by Emanuel Swedenborg, True
charity is the desire to be useful to the others
without thought of recompense.Social entre-
preneurship, on the other hand is a non profit
motive that relies less heavily on donations
and reinvests its donations to generate reve-
Page|19
nues and sustain itself. It uses these funds t
create a lasting impact on the society as well a
identify opportunities wherein there lies th
potential to change the world. An entrepre
neur is identified by his ability to innovate. In
volving in social entrepreneurship implies th
there is a need to heavily innovate the kind o
offering. In todays world, where the society
increasingly conscious of the societal need
and what the society most yearns for, it
these social entrepreneurs who are required t
innovate their offering. Today, one might b
able to suggest the names of a lot of NGOs tha
are involved in serving the society. However,
the social entrepreneur is unable to provid
something different to the society, it may los
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its visibility in the market. Thus, unfulfilling
one of the primary requisites for carrying forth
a venture of any sort. Innovation is however,
not restricted to offering proposition that is
totally unheard of. It may also extend to a
common proposition with a few variations and
it is these variations that may make all the dif-
ference.
Since the social entrepreneur serves the soci-
ety, one of the basic characteristics that me
must possess s awareness and empathy for the
cause one is working on. One needs to believe
in the cause they are working for in order to
show results. Social entrepreneurs are not dis-
couraged by the lack of funds for they see the
greater opportunities that lie ahead of them for
the betterment of the society. As with most
forms of entrepreneurship, capital is necessary.
However, funds have always been scarce for
social entrepreneurship. It is for these reasons
that business men have developed the concept
of patient capital for funding these ventures.
Patient capital is simply the long tem capital
that is appropriated and accumulated from the
profits of their other business ventures. Some
modern economists today view patient capital
as a poverty reduction tool that must be pro-
vided to those who wish to dive into the sea of
opportunities of social entrepreneurship. The
major challenge, of course lies in procuring and
channeling the investments towards such
cause.
The impact of such a venture however is
largely and mostly dependent on the business
generated at the base of the pyramid, that is
the lowest segments of the society at whom
these ventures are primarily aimed at.
One of the best examples of a successful social
entrepreneurship ventures is Grameen Bank as
suggested by Muhammad Yunus, for which he
was also awarded the Nobel peace prize. He
opines Im encouraging young people to become so-
cial business entrepreneurs and contribute to the world,
rather than just making money. Making money is no
fun. Contributing to and changing the world is a lot
more fun.The concept of Grameen bank is very
simple. Money is lent to a group of poor people
to invest and start their own business. The
revenues thus generated are used to pay back
the loan. This capital is then recycled to initi-
ate further business and encourage more small
scale entrepreneurial activity which in turn
acts as a poverty alleviation measure.
As the signal turned green, I drove towards my
destination with William Draytons words in
my mind. "Change starts when someone sees
the next step."
Page |20
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When I began, one of my biggest weaknesses
and strengths was the fact that I really didnt
care. I didnt care if the company flopped or if
it survived because that was not what was
driving me. It took me many years to realize
that doing your own thing is making your own
brand, says the free spirit entrepreneur Mr.
Dilip Kapur (Kapur), President ofHidesign.Kapur spent his childhood in Sri Aurobindo
Ashram, located in Pondicherry and always
thought America was the centre of the world.
At 15, he wrote to the headmaster of the Ando-
ver Phillips Academy (Massachusetts) asking
for admission. Surprisingly, the letter from the
ashram was accepted and all fees were waivedoff.
In 1977, after completing his studies, Kapur re-
turned to Auroville, Pondicherry. Once back to
the sleepy south Indian town, Kapur didnt
Page|21
have anything to do. To beat the boredom, h
sat down with an artisan and hammered ou
his first leather bag followed by another si
bags. Then, a German friend bagged orders fo
Kapur. He got an order from a German hous
for 1,400 bags, 200 of each design. With in
creasing demand from the foreign market, K
pur was pressed into expanding his worksho
Soon, there were about 200 people workinunder four roofs.
With no background in business, Kapur learn
the tricks of the trade bit by bit and currentl
the turnover of Hidesign India is more tha
Rs.100 crore. It retails through 52 exclusiv
stores and has its presence in over 100 mult
brand outlets. Hidesign, which came into exi
tence in 1978, as a one-man-artisan worksho
with Rs.25,000 (for a sewing machine, som
leather and a worker all accommodated in
thatched shed on the roof of Kapurs house)
The Hidesign Story
Are you Chic, are you Fab, do you cravefor Style,
Do you adore Design??
Do you own a Hidesign??
By Akanksha
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now a global trendsetter in the leather fashion
accessories segment with international sales
worth Rs 200 crores.
Initially all Hidesign products were exported to
Britain & Australia but the Indian market
opened for Hidesign with liberalization in the
1990s. Currently, numerous embassies and
consulates in New Delhi and other cities have
made it a point to give away only Hidesign bags
as official gifts to visiting dignitaries. There
are hundreds of Indian and multinational com-
pany executives who like to flaunt this 'Made
in India' brand, who flaunted nothing other
than global brands like Louis Vuitton, Prada or
Gucci until some years ago.
Hidesigns joint venture with the Future Grou
has led to the launch of a successful fashio
accessories brand for the modern Indiawoman called Holii. Kapur is currently work
ing with Rohit Bal on a new luxury brand fo
the modern Indian woman.
That is not all, the man behind this successfu
venture has many feathers in his cap and t
talk about it all would need a separate book
Kapur backs up quality with solid custome
care and after-sales services thus caring abou
the products long after they have left th
shelves.
This is a story of a hobby that made a buzz
both in the Indian and foreign luxury market.
So what is your hobby???
Page |22
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Today, India is a hot destination for global in-
vestors. The money flow from FDIs and FIIs inIndia has reached phenomenal levels and is ex-
pected to touch $50 Billion by the end of the
financial year 2010-11 alone. This is now a
keenly observed phenomenon by policy mak-
ers and economists alike. Another important
section of people noticing these developments
are the entrepreneurs. From start ups to well
established entrepreneurs they are dreading or
looking forward for the FDIs.
Observing Indias ability to withstand the
Global slowdown, confidence of the foreign
investors is very high. Moreover, the return on
their investments in their countries is low,
given the recent slump in growth and eco-
nomic dormancy in many of those countries.
This has further encouraged inflow of foreign
funds in the recent years.Given the circumstances, the question that
arises in an entrepreneurial mind is- whether
this is a disadvantage or advantage. Their
doubts are not baseless, given the fact that in-
flux of more foreign funds usually results in
Page|23
the Survival of the fittest kind of situation.
There are people who argue that there wer
many companies in India who had great poten
tial but did not live up to it and it was the fo
eign investment through joint ventures th
enlivened these companies. So, it would not b
a blunder to extend this logic and say that if
start up is showing potential, it is sure to b
noticed by investors who might be Indian o
foreign. Investments from foreign organiz
tions on start-ups are not ruled out of th
equation. This is mainly due to the compettion which forces them to be vigilant and no
tice any innovation, so that they could capita
ize on it before their competitors do.
But this does not mean that going the FDI wa
is a bed of roses. To be noticed or to make
mark in the target market is very difficul
IMPACT OF FOREIGN INVESTMENTS ON
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA
How badly can Foreign investments
affect Businesses in India?
By Manohar S.
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given the competitor-infested scenario. This
means any innovation or business plan should
be really good. Foreign venture capitalists are
usually extra careful and apply stringent tests
on the B-Plans, given the fact that they have to
risk their money in a far-off land and that too
on a start-up instead of an established com-
pany which is likely to make profits.
But one thing is for sure, any plans for starting
up a business in an existing, well established
field will now have to be seriously deliberated
and carefully executed because it is difficult to
match the capital employed by these well es-
tablished firms.
But the advantage is that this is an open mar-
ket scenario wherein anyones new product or
service is bound to be accepted provided it is
good, irrespective of whether the firm is big or
not. This could be well illustrated by the re-
cent developments in the retail sector.
The influx of FDI is being encouraged into the
retail sector. This sure is bound to have a pro-
found impact and is seen as a big threat to the
small retailers. There were arguments that it
would write off the inherent entrepreneurship
of small retail in India. Hence, there were calls
for the government to manage this FDI in a
calibrated manner. But if events just prior to
this are of any indication, then it would serve
as a good source for allaying these fears. It is
because even before this allowance for FDI
was finalized by the government, big corporate
houses no lesser than Reliance industries lim-
ited (RIL) and Aditya Birla Group had set up
their retail outlets. The former hadReliance fresh
and the latter came up with More.
These retail outlets were expected to perform
really well, given the capital at their disposal
and the brand value they commanded. More-
over, they came up with an attractive business
model which involved direct sourcing from the
farmers, removing the costs involved with the
use of intermediaries. They were expected to
elbow out the common corner grocery store
and other small retailers which they appar-
ently have not done. Even though these initia-
tives by the corporate houses were not failures,
they did not affect the business of small retail
outlets in a significant manner. In fact, the
small retailers actually made great use of these
retailers as there were incidents of small gro-
ceries sourcing their grocery from these bigger
outlets and selling them to their customers!
But it is true that the big players have not been
around for a long time in the retail business
thus making it premature to come to any firm
conclusion. But still there are two lessons to be
learnt. One, entrepreneurial skills are not de-
pendent on the capital at a persons disposal
(E.g. Small retail outlets outwitting the
biggies). Two, India as a market has space for
everyone.
This could be extended to any industry, prov-
ing that all these talks of high influx of foreign
funds diminishing the spirit of entrepreneur-
ship could in fact be exaggerated, if not wrong.
So high FDIs or no FDIs, a good idea backed by
good commitment will make it through!
Page |24
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With the continuing economic growth in In-
dia, it has become a habit to compromise upon
some industries which are not purely profit
oriented. This compromise has also taken into
its void some distinct traditional occupations
which have characterized certain regions in
India with uniqueness and exclusiveness. This
was the condition of the Tasar Silk Industry in
Jharkhand. Tasar Silk is a delicate golden hued
fabric, slightly coarser in structure than mul-
Page|25
berry silk.
The rare craft of rearing silkworms which wa
indigenous to the tribal of the state slowly b
gan to extinguish when the cost of living an
exploitation from the purchasers increased t
an unbearable magnitude. Diseases whic
killed the silkworms before they formed co
coons caused the farmers to incur huge deband hence lose their lands to money lender
These facts have now come to light, with th
government trying to amend by fixing tradin
terms and providing support incentives lik
seed capital and subsidized raw materials.
The question that arose was how to reach th
new development to the farmers. This is wherNGOs like PRADAN (Professional Assistanc
REVIVAL OF TASAR SILK IN JHARKHAND
A unique opportunity for
entrepreneurship in the tribal
community
By Divya Anne Selvaraj
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for Development Action) stepped in as media-
tors between the government and farmers.
This has given rise to four branches of employ-
ment: production of DFLs to be sold to farm-
ers; rearing of silkworms and harvesting the
cocoons; raising tree plantations which feed
Tasar silkworms and finally, reeling and spin-
ning.
DFL producers are trained through NGOs and
Grainages for the purpose are built through
governmental subsidies such as the Swarna-
jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY). This
has given many people an alternative if not the
only employment opportunity. Once they learn
how to develop the DFLs they become owners
of their very own enterprise. They can then sell
their produce to the government or to rearersaround them at a fair price without the inter-
vention of private parties with vested inter-
ests.
The second branch comprises of farmers who
rear silkworms in the forests around them.
They buy DFLs at subsidized rates from the
Government through Distributors.
The third branch comprises of plantation de-
velopers. Tribals in this region are owners of
the rearers around them at a fair price without
the intervention of private parties with vested
interests.
The second branch comprises of farmers who
rear silkworms in the forests around them.
They buy DFLs at subsidized rates from the
Government through Distributors.
The third branch comprises of plantation de-
velopers. Tribals in this region are owners of
large pieces of wasteland. They are being en-
couraged to develop these into privately
owned plantations of Asan and Arjuna. In the
future, most of the Tasar production will be
from these areas because of the controlled and
disease free environment of these plantations.
The fourth branch comprises of rural and
semirural populace who are provided with the
cocoons from which they extract yarn. This
activity is known as reeling and spinning.Reeling and spinning, to a large extent, is a
community based, governmental or NGO as-
sisted activity. Self Help Groups have been
formed to improve the economic and social
condition of women. Individual effort is yet to
be taken in this regard. Weaving, which is the
final process of crating Tasar silk fabric is not atraditional occupation of the Tribal commu-
nity. Efforts are being taken to promote the
above so that the community can have total
control over the entire production process and
Page |26
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earn greater profits.
Therefore, entrepreneurial opportunity can be
cited in the first three branches. Significant
levels of women entrepreneurship can also be
found in these fields. Women have discovered
the benefits of earning their own money as
they are enabled to supplement the income of
their husbands. It has empowered many to
send their children to school and earn a re-
spectable and equal place in the society for
themselves.
The entrepreneurial flame has now been lit
amongst the tribal farmers and their families.
They can once again be self dependent. The
Government, through the Central Silk Board
Page|27
(CSB), and NGOs have together in a uniqu
and powerful effort helped revive the spirit o
self help among the rural tribal populace oJharkhand. Silkworm rearing has once agai
become a profitable occupation especiall
with the growing awareness of organic fabric
Organizations such as PRADAN have reache
out directly to farmers with new technologies
The Central Tasar Research and Training In
stitute (CTRTI), established in 1964 in Ran
chi, has qualified scientists and researcher
continuously developing new technologies t
increase the productivity of the industry an
to provide training to farmers and Rs. yout
alike who are interested in venturing into th
industry.
The positive results that have been achieve
are only due to private individuals who reall
dared to take up this new opportunity, ind
viduals like Piyush Ranjan Tudu of Dodhajh
in the Dumka district of Jharkhand. This 2
year old earns about Rs. 20,000 a year by pre
paring and selling DFLs to rearers around him
If others like him decide to make a life fo
themselves the community will soon come ou
of the shackles of poverty and they will owe
all to no one but themselves.
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How was PROVAS born?PROVAS was born as a result my enthusiasm
and my wish to do something of my own. I
had been working since the age of 18, first as a
Customer Care Executive in a small company
and then in Deloitte. After getting married, I
shifted to USA and started working as an as-
sistant with the CEO of a well firm where I
was praised for my willingness to adapt toconditions.
I also asked my boss to shift me to some other
vertical as I would be able to use my intellect
and creativity since the job of an assistant is
very mechanical. I permitted to work with
any other functional area I would like in addi-
tion to the job of an assistant. I explored some
more areas and realized that my skill set
could be used for something better. I also re-
alized that the work I was doing for my em-
ployer could be done for myself in the sense
that I could provide administration services
to business houses who are willing to out-
source the same. On realizing this, I explored
the market for the same in the US. The US
market providing such kind of services was
quite mature but such kind of services were
yet to be provided and popularized in India.
I had the idea and also the willingness to im-
plement it but had to wait to return to India asI was on a dependant VISA. As soon as I came
to India, I started giving shape to my idea. Fi-
nally, in October 2009, PROVAS was born.
What is that one thing that drove you
throughout?
My urge to be known and be someone apart
from the crowd always motivated me to work
really hard.
What was it from your professional life that
Interview with Ms. Priya Kumar
Page |28
Housewife, mother but most of all, a
successful entrpreneur
By Meenakshi Aggarwal and Gayatri
Bose
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worked to your advantage in starting this
venture?
The first and the fore most thing that helped
me was the network I had built over a periodof time while working with different organiza-
tions. I consulted some of my previous em-
ployers and friends and acquaintances in the
US who encouraged me to go on with the ven-
ture. It was only through my networks that I
that I managed to tap the target customers in
various parts of the world. Also the experience
gained while working as a business analysthelped me immensely.
What are the qualities that you want to in-
still into your organization?
Competency, commitment and confidence.
That is why I have just one employee working
as an assistant as I believe in quality work andnot in quantity. Also my assistant is as com-
mitted and competent as I am. But there have
been college interns working on their respec-
tive projects in my organization.
Maam you just said that you have just one
employee working for you. So, your costs
must be very low. Is it so?
Yes, definitely. Apart from the basic costs, the
costs I incur now are on two internet connec-
tions, electricity back up, phone charges and
an employee.
Page|29
What according to you is the most impor
tant thing for a business?
Discipline and ethics are the two most impo
tant things in a business as they bring back thcustomer and assure them of fair and just pra
tices.
Maam after having worked in both Ind
and US, do you see a difference in the att
tudes of people towards women entrepre
neurs?
Yes, definitely. I think the basic differenc
comes about in matters of family support an
the husbands consent in the case of a marrie
woman. But in US, the gender does not pla
such an important role. (Being a male and fe
male does not matter). I have been fortuna
enough to have such a supportive family an
husband without whose support striking
balance between my personal and profession
life would have been difficult especially since
have two small children.
What have been your greatest accomplish
ments till date?
I believe my greatest accomplishment is th
greeting card given to me by my daughter o
the occasion of Mothers day on which shwrote mom, you are my role model. There ca
not be a better compliment for any mother i
the world.
Just to share with you, one of my clients onc
said to me- In God and Priya we trust whe
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he was really very happy with my work. This
is one of the compliments which I take as an
honor and cherish till date.
How is it that you strike a balance be-
tween your personal and professional life?
The first thing that works to my advantage is
the fact that Provas is a virtual service pro-
vider and the fact that I operate from home.
This enables me to have flexible work tim-
ings and be available for my kids when theycome back home with a trophy or a bruised
knee. As a parent, it is my duty to give fond
memories of childhood to my daughters.
Though some issues might crop up at some
point of time but I manage to pull through
with the help of my husband and kids.
As we come to an end, I would like to ask
you that who is your role model?
My role model, undoubtedly, is my mother
who herself is an entrepreneur. THANK
YOU SO MUCH MOM!!
In the end, I would like to request you to
give a message to budding women entre-preneurs?
Always believe in yourself as you will face a
lot of challenges in life. Also learn to multi-
task as there are a lot of expectations from
you as an individual, as a daughter, as a wife,
as a daughter-in -law as a mother and as an
Indian citizen. Fulfill your dreams in a wa
that are acceptable in India.
Page |30
Inspirational story
In the 1940s, a young inventor
named Chester Carlson took hisidea to 20 corporations, including
some of the biggest in the country.
They all turned him down. In 1947
- after seven long years of rejec-
tions! - he finally got a tiny com-
pany in Rochester, New York, the
Haloid company, to purchase therights to his invention - an electro-
static paper-copying process.
Haloid became Xerox Corpora-
tion we know today!
Source: http://www.allinspiration.com/
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Many things are left ignorant; obvious issues likeglobal warming and economic disturbances even
if the signs are clear. On the same lines, the gov-
ernment and people of India, chose to remain ig-
norant of opportunities that lay ahead for women
entrepreneurs despite some signs that show clear
growth in the number of women entrepreneurs,
over 10% from 1990. This untapped sector of our
society still remains in the myths that she does
not have what it takes to become an entrepre-neur.
But many women have broken barriers to travel
to the other side where only men were allowed.
Over the years, womens potential as an entrepre-
neur has been recognized as an important factor
for economic growth. They have proved their
caliber with the management skills and raised to
occasion whenever required but still, women en-
trepreneurship takes a back seat in our country.Why is there a discrimination against womens
possibility to become entrepreneurs and their
possibility to become successful by choosing the
road less taken?
Lets begin with a basic question, Why do we
need women entrepreneurs?
Page|31
How does gender matter when someone is
clined towards an idea that might bring cha
and urge to do something for the society? The
perhaps nothing more disheartening as an en
preneur than having your ideas belittled base
your gender.
What drives women to a workplace?
She could be the sole bread winner of the fa
or it could be her inherent desire to achieve use her potential to the fullest. Adding to
empowerment of women with adequate ed
tion and changing lifestyle have helped wo
seek better options and draw into ventures.
has helped them to challenge existing scen
and go beyond the popular knowledge of sarc
and superstitious beliefs.
Do they make better entrepreneurs than me
Our customs and traditions have imbibed cer
characters like trust, patience and effective
cution of decisions. These characters start f
our own families. This has made women as c
petent as men. Matching the basic qualities
quired for entrepreneurs and the
sic characteristics of Indian women reveal t
much potential is available among the In
women on their entrepreneurial ability. Thistential is to be recognized, brought out and
posed for utilization in productive and ser
sectors for the development of the nation. C
tents of entrepreneurship dont target just
but is generalized. However, women have sh
specific capabilities than their opposite gen
for instance networking and socializ
The XX factor- Women entrepreneurship blur in
India?
Are the number of women entrepreneurs
growing in India? What can be done to
encourage women entrepreneurs?
By Subhashree Srinivasan
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Whether they make better entrepreneurs than
men still remains an unanswered question. But
what can be answered is that they can do as
much as men can.
Page |32
The statistics from all over the world
SOURCE:http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/businessstatistics/article82018.html)
43% of women business owners (vs. 32% of men) say the one thing they need to be more success-ful is money.
27% of women business owners will invest in new technology such as computers and softwareover the next six months.
56% of women business owners plan to make their business environmentally friendly by recyclingwaste products.
94% of corporations send supplier diversity representatives to women's business conferences andtrade fair
85% of women surveyed don't believe being a woman is detrimental to their business success,while 32% believe it's beneficial.
69% of women entrepreneurs say they feel confident with the decisions they make regarding ex-ternal financing for their businesses.
32% of women business owners believe being a women in a male-dominated industries is benefi-
cial.
10.6 million firms are at least 50% owned by a woman or women. Women-owned businesses willspend an estimated $546 billion annually on salaries and benefits ($492 billion on salaries and$54 billion for employee benefits--heath, retirement, and insurance). Health benefits comprise thelargest share of benefit expenditures, with 2004 spending estimated at $38 billion.
Women-owned firms employ 19.1 million people and generate $2.5 trillion in sales.
Privately-held 50% or more women-owned firms are just as likely as all privately-held firms tohave employees (23% of women-owned firms compared to 25% of all firms).
Annual expenditures by women-owned enterprises for just four areas--information technology($38 billion), telecommunications ($25 billion), human resources services ($23 billion), and ship-ping ($17 billion)--are estimated to be $103 billion.
Between 1997 and 2004, privately-held 50% or more women-owned firms diversified into all in-dustries with the fastest growth in construction (30% growth), transportation, communicationsand public utilities (28% growth), and agricultural serves (24% growth).
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Is the growth of ventures started by
women over the years-justified?
Though the number of women-owned busi-
nesses has gone up, the receipts fromwomen-owned businesses is still much lower
than men-owned businesses. However,
women are starting ventures twice as fast as
men. This is positive.
The conclusion is that performance differ-
ences are not a function of skills shortage or
lack of competence in managing the business,
but are directly attributable to unequal levels
of socio-economic positioning in many coun-tries, especially ones like ours. There is ine-
quality right from the support of the family
to raising capital. Many ventures still expect
a womens father or husband to sign the
document when they want to raise money.
The myths of entrepreneurship matter
because they can be discouraging to any-one who doesn't fit them. But women en-
trepreneurs are pouring trillions of money
into the economy and creating over seven
million jobs a year. And they're doing it on
their own terms -- which may be the big-
gest news of all- Women Entrepreneurs
Shattering Stereotypes, US Weekly
A recent study from the University of NewHampshire Center for Venture Research
shows that women outperformed all en-
trepreneurs in receiving angel investments
to fund their business ventures in 2005.
Although women-led ventures accounted
for 8.7 percent of the entrepreneurs seek-
Page|33
ing angel capital, 33 percent of those women
received angel dollars in 2005, while th
overall rate was just 23 percent, according
to the study-Research study conclusion
What has to be done?
There are many things to be done to brin
woman to the limelight-
Identifying women from all sectors, base
on interest and risk taking nature
Educating women on entrepreneurship
and helping them create jobs rather thaseek jobs.
Making women understand the impor
tance they are going to create and linkin
them with other factors like social status
Briefing them with the difficulties the
might face. They have the right t
know.
Training women on various entrepreneu
rial activities.
Encouraging women to pen down B plan
and evaluating them. Give timely input
and suggestions to bring the venture to re
ality.
Monitoring their progress and guidin
them in all stages
Steps are being taken to bring out the womenentrepreneurship in India. Entrepreneurship
cells in B-Schools can help a lot in encouragin
young women take up entrepreneurship.
But the numbers don't say much. Only tim
can tell!
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Crossroads was an event that created much curi-
osity and intrigue in Trishna 2010. The success of
the event not only added a feather to the hat for
MACON but also proved to be a great learning
experience for all the Maconites involved in con-
ceptualizing and organizing the event.
Crossroads was a game designed to test the par-
ticipants skill in strategizing and decision mak-
ing. The game was a reflection of an individuals
life and the daily choices that he needs to make.
We always try to make the right choice and playsafe in life, but what is important is whether it is
an intelligent choice. Crossroads challenged the
participant to think out of the box and take that
bold stride to break free from the vicious circle of
monotony. The tag line Beat thy own self
could not have been more befitting.
Crossroads started with around 20 teams partici-
pating in the initial round. In this round, each
team was asked to play a ten minutes game calledKLICKSTART on a laptop. It took the teams
through a virtual entrepreneurial journey .It
proved to be an apt precursor to the final game.
The top six teams with the highest scores pro-
ceeded to the final round. The final round kick
started with the opening of the wheel of cross-
roads which determined the luck of the participants
and guided them to their best or the worst deci-
sions. Baby, Doodads and Charity options in the
wheel made the participants crease their forehead
as they had to bear these expenses in the game.
The participants found the game absolutely grip-
ping and enjoyed it thoroughly. The team fromMANAGE Institute, Hyderabad emerged as the
winner, with the team from IBS Hyderabad com-
ing second.
Crossroads proved to be a great challenge to the
participants, but even more daunting a task to the
Maconites involved in materializing it. The hercu-
lean task of devising the game, implementing it
and marketing it the right way was all well man-
aged with the constant support and guidance from
the senior team. The game sought us to raise the
bar for ourselves and we did.
Macon also organized a B Plan competition ,
which is the flagship event of Trishna and offers
the highest prize money as compared to all the
other events.
CROSSROADS- BEAT THY OWN SELF!!!
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One of the events of Macon in Trishna
2010
By Shilpa Jacob
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