“Tum log yahan kyun baithe ho? Seniors ne yeh bataya ki ek banda hai jiske sessions laughter challenge se achche hote hote hain?”

And a crowd of about 200 burst out laughing. Thus began the “lecture” by Prof. Sunil Handa.

All those who came with the mindset that this is going to be one of those typical classroom lectures were taken for a surprise. His lecture technique was immediately appealing, and in no way overly pedantic. I'm sure most of us have seen too many lectures where the speaker simply shows slides after slides making it highly technical. This session began with questions from the students.

”What does it take to become a good entrepreneur? What is the skill set required to become a good entrepreneur?” the answer to this one question set the tone of the discussion.

Professor Handa began the lecture with an example of one of his batch mates, a Mr. K S Rao a lean, lanky, introvert, academic type student, a diametric opposite to the smart, extrovert, aggressive, assertive image of an entrepreneur who started his venture by manufacturing Neem pesticides and has gone to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs. Followed by examples of various successful entrepreneurs who could not be more diverse than chalk and cheese. Thus establishing a point that there is no set skill set required to become a successful entrepreneur. All it takes is perseverance and passion for what you decide to do and simple common sense to set up a successful venture.

“Bacteria are typical entrepreneurship material. No matter what you do they thrive, they survive. Even under adverse conditions they grow.”

 

On starting a venture

If you think you may start a business by borrowing money, you probably need to relook at the mathematics of doing so. If you succeed, you will end up paying hefty premiums and if you fail, you may still end up paying more than the Principal amount!! Then how does it make any economic sense. Substantiated by an example of Narendra Nirkumbi wherein he started by taking up leased land and factory and then gradually moved forward to owning his own property. Prof. Sunil Handa cautioned the students that the scale up of business should be well paced, so that there are no hiccups in the growth of the business and also the work life balance of the entrepreneur is maintained. He suggested that even if the business fails, the experience is much greater than that can be gained from a conventional job.

 

Perseverance, Struggle, Humility is what it takes

“I went to a company for months before I got my first order. It’s a struggle between who has more patience, you or the other guy”.

There is no shame in pursuing for what you believe in. And if rejected for the first time go for the second, the third or as many times as it takes to convince your buyer. This is what is required to establish a business. If you think everything will just go right, it won’t. You need to make it right.

 

Upto-date Info of Related and Unrelated streams:
It is not uncommon in people to stop reading/analysing once they get success. However, SH suggested that one should always keep the habit of reading and be knowledgeable about things related directly or indirectly or not even related to his business. This is helpful when one needs to adopt methodologies/techniques/benefits from outside the business. As you decide to move from one venture to other, this reading helps you decide the feasibility of the business and helps generate more ideas. The essence of the point was that one must keep himself up-to date on different topics, regardless of whether they are directly influencing your business or not. Who knows when they come handy!!

 

An Idea or a Me Too product

In answer to this query Professor Handa cited the example of his IV Fluids venture (Intravenous Fluids) wherein the product is common but how certain differentiation in the manufacturing process help you make huge profits. It’s not easy to always have an innovative product or service hence going for a me too product is not wrong or rather its one of the coolest ways of becoming a successful entrepreneur provided you are deep into it. “Tum poori tarah ghus jao.” To quote in professors words.

 

Overcome the fear of a venture turning sour or an already failed venture.

Nobody but you can help yourself. If a venture is failing abandon it, but it would not fail if you look into the nitty gritty before starting a venture. Be objective, logical and practical about your idea and do not get emotionally attached to it. Unless until you decide to take the first step nobody can help you.

“Lottery lagegi kaise jab ticket hi nahi liya !!”

All in all, the lecture was most interesting, enlightening and entertaining. The audience were spellbound throughout. The lecture has certainly confirmed some of our beliefs mostly dispelled our notions about entrepreneurship and given food for thought for the rest.

“If you want to meet god become an entrepreneur. No person could be more egoless than an entrepreneur.”

One good point may change your outlook drastically and something similar happened after this session.