Skip to main content

Budding entrepreneurs make most of this time: Consumers are taking novel ideas and comfort providing solutions hand to hand

 

Clinical courses

Editorial, May 2015 issue

“ This is the best time world is witnessing lately, as world is rapidly undergoing metamorphosis. Also known as makeover, metamorphosis means complete change or a significantly important change. This makeover is from view point of entrepreneurship. There are hundreds of stories, if not thousands, describing struggle of start-up novice, geld with unprecedented success. Entrepreneurship is gaining new shape and momentum as world was never so happening for those who like to have the risk for start up.

A startup company or startup is a business or business sort of, in the form of a company, a partnership or a makeshift arrangement/temporary organization, designed to search for a repeatable and profitable set-up. It is high time to float some small time venture, which will take gigantic shape with your hard work and proper homework. If you are Business-Fashionista, then you are surely bound (rather, I will say destined) to be a successful entrepreneur sooner or later. Here I am mentioning few examples which are talk of the town/world.

Ola Cabs, Freecharge, Carwale.com, Policybazar.com and likes of. The list is endless, but the common concept is, biting by an entrepreneur bug. This bug is a must if you want to launch or think of launching your own venture. Important stuff is that, present world is witnessing consumers who want ready-to-use information, products and service. May it be through mobile phone applications or something like that. There are two calculated benefits of floating brainchild (business or business ideas). #1 After initial success and estimated business plans, you may continue your venture or  #2 You may enter into any of the business pacts with a sound partner or sole partner e. g not so old taxi operator, Ola Cabs has acquired TaxiForSure, in a $200-million (Rs 1,200 crore) cash and equity arrangement; the first ever business deal between organized taxi operators in India.

If we talk about another start up/example, then it is of Fungru, the concept to change how feedback is taken from customers. Usually it’s a boring task to fill in the feedback forms. A venture floated in 2014 by few IIM and IIT passed out, will surely change the way customers percept about feedback forms. What requires for students is actionable insights in real time. Then comes the role of customers, I mean develop a solution, which is really user-friendly, do-it-yourself idea and user required concept. User-required and user friendly both are not same. User-required means need of the hour and user-friendly means user should not get irritated while using your brain child or brain child borne product/service.

There is no sense in sticking to your basic degree. If calling is for something which is not related to your field/credentials, then leave it and jump into what is best for you, based on your abilities, passion and introspection.   

Amid all these the good news is that, perhaps first time in the history of Indian pharmaceutical Inc, a pharmaceutical businessman became the richest Indian. This will be a big inspiration for students and passed out pharmacy students, because money/revenue matters a lot while choosing a career. Whether we accept or keep it in disguise, but it is very well known that besides being a good and humble human being, every worldly wo/man wants to make money out of his academic testimonials. In this context it is very important to mention here about Sun Pharma’s Dilip Shanghvi. He recently topped the list of India’s richest person by surpassing Reliance Industries’s chief Mukesh Ambani. Somewhere in past I mentioned intentionally that so far no pharmaceutical businessman could break-into the list of top 10 or 20 riches Indians. 

Journey from a wholesaler to richest Indian
With a capital of Rs 10,000 in 1982 at Vapi. Dilip Shanghvi started Sun Pharmaceutical Industries. Today, it is India's largest drug maker and most valuable drug company. It is worth mentioning here that before Shanghvi, none of the pharma man achieved this feat.

https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/p

Now comes the question. What it requires to be a successful entrepreneur or what it takes to be a start up? Is it like that, only CAT and IIT entrance qualified people can do miracles? All-right, I agree, for a while. It means non-IIT and non-IIM passed out are not able to replicate what people coming from premier institutes are doing?

If it is so (you could not qualify CAT or IIT or PMT) then there is need of hardworking mentors who can prepare students and interested people to develop (not the ability to do breakthroughs) but a vision and the way to visualize world and its problems. This learning should be beyond basic subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology and therefore I mentioned mentor, not the teacher. Teachers have to work hard (if they want to be 360 degree mentor) for making students budding entrepreneur. No doubt here management has to give them a handsome salary and not the rubbish task like bring students for admission on commission basis and other mediocre task. It is highly advisable for those who have a knack for starting their own business, to go through these websites and read real life stories of successful people who are setting examples for others:

Following beautiful (and originally made by the organization, mentioned on it) info-graphics shows (and inspires too) very clearly, what and how long it takes to launch a successful and pre-planned business enterprise, with a run away hit.

Last example, which is very recent, IIT Madras under the guidance of Rama S Vermam, has created immunotoxins to particularly target cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected. What pharmacy students are doing? I am not commenting on that. I am just asking if they are doing consumer and customer required stuff or stuff merely to get degrees?

Bottom line is that, keep searching and developing avenues with hawk-eye view and have patience and perseverance and find time to read stories of stalwarts.

Images and brand names are copy righted and author has no claim on such items whatsoever.

Author is a creative, content and copy writer. He writes extensively on brand and branding strategies besides being a futuristic commentator.

- Amit Gangwal

FIND MORE ARTICLES FROM MAY 2015 ISSUE