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You have to be Entrepreneurial in your Thinking
Mar 2009
When did you and start your own venture and what is it about?
Well I started 3 years back. It is a series of retail chains called MobileNext dealing in mobile phones, mobile accessories, ipods etc. I realized that organized retail has tremendous potential, waiting to be tapped. I wanted to give a good retail experience to customers in tier II and tier III cities… and here I am.
Were you working for a company before you decided to venture out on your own?
Yeah...I had been with Motorola, India for 3 and half years as Head, Distribution and sales. Prior to that I worked with Gillette for a few years.
What was the driving force behind your going in for it all?
Well every person can have their own driving factor. As for me it was a passion to make a difference to the ecosystem. While I was working with Motorola, I felt that I had worked hard and contributed significantly to create the brand and establish its presence in India. I had been extremely successful in my endeavors and had learned all the rules of the game in the corporate world. But then, I wanted to experience the satisfaction of creating something on my own.
What does success mean to you and have you achieved the same?
Success for me would be defined as achieving and getting to a point where you had dreamt of yourself to be. True success comes when you are recognized for your work and you reach a certain satisfaction level you had thought of.
What is your success mantra?
If you plan to be an entrepreneur, you should be having the entrepreneurial instinct. I would rather say you must be entrepreneurial in your thinking. Entrepreneurship entails taking huge risks and you should be ready for it.
Not only this, you should inculcate the same spirit and energy level in your team members. Every entity in the organization should share the spirit. Even if one employee is low on morale, that will effect the well being and performance of the company as a whole.
What is your idea of a business leader?
A true business leader is the one who leads from the front. He is the one who sets standards and creates the right culture in the organization. He should lead by example.
How many people did you have in your team when you started off?
I had just one partner, Vijay Menon. I was lucky in this regard. Vijay turned out to be very reliable and he was just the right person who shared my ideas and vision. I could depend on him completely for almost everything.
What are the biggest mistakes you think you have made so far?
While I was fortunate enough not to commit blunders in my business, I must say that I regret being a team of just two people. I think one must start with at least 3 or 4 people to begin with. Things would have been easier if we had a few specialists, say a finance person, an HR person and a marketing person in our team.
Well it is not only the numbers that matter. There has to be the right chemistry between all the team members which is very important.
What is the most important thing to be kept in mind while hiring people to work for you?
Well, most people look for intelligent people to work in their team. But I would rather chose a person who is high on initiative. For a start up it is more important to recruit people who have the drive to make things happen.
What was the main hurdle you faced when you started off and how did you overcome the same?
Most entrepreneurs take the family for granted. Well, Indian entrepreneurs cannot really afford to take the family for granted. Unless you have the required family backing, you cannot give your hundred percent to your job.
While I was working with Gillette, my family was quite wary of myself getting into business and doing something risky. I too was not sure if I had secured my family's future so as to be comfortable to consider a risky proposition.
Family needs to be spoken to, explained and convinced before you take the leap ahead. I therefore decided to give myself three years time before taking the plunge. I think I took the right decision and began at the right time.
For most entrepreneurs raising capital is the toughest nut to crack? How was it for you?
We were lucky as far as finances are concerned. We followed the same usual procedure, consulting financial advisors, venture capitalists and all. We were able to raise 1 million dollars at the outset. Luckily we got HNIs (High Net Worth Individuals) and financial advisors who were more than willing to invest in the venture. Our first yearly turnover was 4.2 million dollars.
After this initial success we got Network 18 to invest into MobileNext. And then there was no looking back. We went on to open a series of retail chains across the country.
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