value not only to people’s lives but also to other sectors. BW Disrupt’s Young Entrepreneur and Enterprise Awards is an initiative to recognise and acknowledge the disruption done by startups in respective sectors. With the government planning to introduce new draft rules for valuation and angel tax, experts have been highlighting that founders must follow a leaner approach. And focus on value creation rather than valuation. Startups have been tapping new marketplaces in lower-tier cities. Amid uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions, sustaining in the cutthroat competitive market is key to sailing through. The Screening Process As is the case every year, a multiphased process was followed to arrive at the winners this year as well. An initial round of screening was done to arrive at over 150 valid entries. These came from across sectors and represented different business models. Following this, in the second level of assessment, a total of 50 nominees were shortlisted and invited to present before the power-packed jury panel. The process of finalising the list of 15 winners was rigorously demanding. The nominations were evaluated on critical parameters that included the founder’s vision, market size, financial growth, the scope of social impact and the long-term growth potential it holds. Entrepreneurs from an extensive range of industries such as ecommerce, fintech, healthtech, logistics, direct-to-consumer brands, apparel businesses, and social enterprises, were nominated for the felicitation. One of the critical conditions for nominating was that the entrepreneur should be under the age of 35 and the enterprise should be seven years or younger. The jury panel for the year 2023 comprised industry leaders such as Ankit Agrawal, Director-Venture Debt, Lighthouse Canton; Sambit Dash, Partner, RPSG Capital Ventures; Bala C. Deshpande, Founder and Partner, MegaDelta Capital and Arpit Agarwal, Director, Blume Ventures. Other notable names among the jurors were Ninad Kapre, Partner, 100X.VC; Ankit Kedia, Founder, Capital A; Uma Shankar Bhardwaj, Founder and CEO, iAvatarZ Digital and Aditya Prakash Gupta, Partner – GEMs. Know The Winners Ranging from beauty and personal care to apparel, logistics to food and healthtech, and fintech, 15 top enterprises and entrepreneurs secured the win at the eighth edition of BW Disrupt’s Young Entrepreneur Awards 2023. Considering the larger emphasis on the startup sector, future-ready entrepreneurs are in the ‘driver’s seat’ to navigate economic growth. Startups’ stakeholders are in pursuit of crafting and drafting innovative solutions that can address a plethora of problems modern-day India faces. Funding for Indian startups in the first quarter of the calendar year 2023 fell 75 per cent to $2.8 billion as compared to the same period in the previous year, a report by Tracxn said. Whereas the funding for Indian startups decreased year-on-year (YoY), the month-on-month (MoM) saw a significant uptick of 54 per cent from $777 million in February to $1.2 billion in March. Regardless of the challenging global headwinds and market rightsizing, entrepreneurs will continue to innovate and solve large-scale problems. They will continue to hugely contribute to the Indian economy in order to reach the $5 trillion mark. 1. Aakriti Rawal, Co-founder & CEO, House of Chikankari 2. Ajay Lakhotia, Founder & CEO, StockGro 3. Ankit Fatehpuria, Co-founder, Zetwerk Manufacturing 4. Bharat Bansal Co-founder & CEO, Nirmalaya Wellness 5. Divij Bajaj, Founder & CEO, Power Gummies 6. Preet Pal Thakur, Co-founder, Glamyo Health 7. Kartik Hajela, Co-founder and COO, Log9 Materials 8. Kishan Karunakaran, CEO, Buyofuel 9. Pallavi Shrivastava, Co-founder & Director, Progcap 10. Parul Sharma, Founder & CEO, Gladful Foods 11. Pranav Bajaj, Co-founder, Medulance 12. Sandeep Devgan, Chief Executive Officer, Stonefield Flavours 13. Saurabh Kumar Agarwal, Founder & CTO, Reshamandi 14. Shobit Rai, Director and Co-founder, Prozeal Infra Engineering 15. Vivek Singh, Co-founder & CEO, Anveya Living BW Young Entrepreneur & Enterprise Awards 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 51
Aakriti Rawal aims to revive the Chikankari art form by remaining committed to the values of quality, craftsmanship and ethical practices By Resham Suhail It was a tough year but the House of Chikankari registered growth. What worked in your favour? We surpassed our expectations and registered 600 per cent growth compared to the previous year, closing at a gross revenue of almost Rs 20 crore in FY 2022- 2023. Looking ahead, we remain committed to our growth and expansion plans. We are focused on enhancing the customer about running a successful business, but also about building a community of individual leaders within our organisation. Inspired by Indra Nooyi’s quote, just because you are CEO, don’t think you have landed. You must continually increase your learning, the way you think, and the way you approach the organisation. I’ve never forgotten that. The House of Chikankari is a young, three-year-old brand. What were some of the early-stage challenges in your journey? One of the primary challenges we faced was working in an unorganised industry where standardisation in quality and pricing was lacking. Another challenge was educating customers about the art form of Chikankari. We took it upon ourselves to spread awareness, while also making it relevant and appealing to a modern audience. What are your focus areas for the year ahead? Our primary focus is to streamline our operations both online and offline. Additionally, we plan to expand our ecommerce presence and increase our visibility to reach more customers. We also aim to diversify our product offerings while continuing to focus on Chikankari kurtas for women. [email protected] experience, strengthening our ecommerce presence, and diversifying our product offerings while continuing to prioritise quality and customer satisfaction. What were some learnings in the last year for you as an entrepreneur and also for the House of Chikankari? Firstly, we managed our cash flow effectively by being cautious with our spending and negotiating with suppliers and vendors for better payment terms. Secondly, we embraced digital transformation by digitising our operations and leveraging social media for customer engagement. Finally, we built resilience by diversifying into menswear and exploring new markets. Overall, while the last 12 months have been challenging for startups in India, those who were able to adapt and innovate have emerged stronger and more resilient. Tell us more about your leadership approach and what you think worked better for you in comparison to some of your peers. As the CEO, I understand that leadership is not just THE TALE OF CHIKANKARI AAKRITI RAWAL Co-founder & CEO, House of Chikankari INCEPTION YEAR:2020 SECTOR:FASHION & APPAREL 52 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 53 Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Having grown more than 3x last year, Anveya Living’s founders are in talks to close a preseries A funding round now By Resham Suhail large gap between international beauty brands and beauty offerings in the Indian market. The brand currently is in the process of closing its Preseries A funding round. As it is close to breakeven, any future investment in the company will be required for capacity addition and powering profitable growth only. A nv e y a L i v i ng h a s been able to continue to drive growth in the last 12 months, while many others have had to rethink their economics and shift gears to cut losses reactively. Last year, its revenues grew three and a SOLUTION FOR CURLY HAIR CARE VIVEK SINGH Co-founder & CEO, Anveya Living INCEPTION YEAR:2018 SECTOR:BEAUTY & PERSONAL CARE “While things could have been easier at another time, I believe that companies born and built in tougher times are more resilient and built to win in the long run,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO, Vivek Singh. He explains that the company is taking care of the consumer’s end-toend experience and focusing on functions such as R&D, production and ANVEYA LIVING’S FOUNDERS BELIEVE THAT the most successful and longterm businesses are built on fundamentally strong and resilient economics, instead of the superficial “need to appear hot”. This is why, even if it is counterintuitive to the highbur n route that most startups take, Anveya Living run its business with bootstrapped capital right from the start, focusing on busine ss health alongside business growth. Continued Growth In December 2021, the st a r t up secured R s 8 crore from Rukam Capital in its seed funding round. Founded by Vivek Singh and Saurav Patnaik in 2018, the company aims to narrow the half times over the previous year with a strong improvement in profitability as well. Road Ahead Anveya Living is ready to launch more categories and products for hair care. The startup will continue to invest in research and development for this. It aims to continue multi-fold growth in scale and profitability this year and is widening its customer touchpoints in the offline market. commerce, distribution and post-purchase service. “A s a boot st rapped company, we had to do the best in the category while having the least amount of resources. This included building a team from scratch, putting the physical and digital infrastructure together, arrang ing f unds, and growing the scale and the health of the business,” Singh says. [email protected] 53 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
Power Gummies plans to raise Rs 100 crore to fuel its growth and introduce over 40 variants in the coming years By Resham Suhail coming years as well. Our Series B funding round will enable us to accelerate our growth plans. Tell us more also about your plans for 2023 and the areas of investment in the year ahead. The past year was great in terms of revenue targets -- we were able to overachieve by eight per cent. In 2023, we plan to launch kids’ gummies and new “TASTY GUMMIES CAN BE NUTRITIOUS” DIVIJ BAJAJ Founder & CEO, Power Gummies INCEPTION YEAR:2018 SECTOR:NUTRACEUTICALS Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS variants in generic wellness, expand our product line to reach a new audience and tap into a growing market segment. We have also invested in a new manufacturing plant that is going to be live very soon and will allow us to scale our production and streamline operations. It will ensure that everything going into Power Gummies will be made in India with a sustainable and ecofriendly brand ethos. Gummies are seen as something strictly for children. How did you convince people about your product in the early stages? One of the main challenges we faced when we started was convincing others that our idea was more than just a ‘kiddish’ or ‘toffee’ business. The other challenge was to make people believe that tasty gummies could also be nutritious. Managing customer expectations too was not easy. We wanted to be honest with our customers and not make false promises about overnight results. We had to communicate that our products require regular intake over a period to show proven results. Today, we continue to face challenges specific to the nutraceutical industry, including regulatory compliance and customer education. [email protected] The gummies space has seen new brands coming to the market. How have you responded to this? With the increase in competition, we are working on being EBITDA-conscious. We launched new gummy variants and completely changed our digital marketing playbook as customer acquisition costs doubled. We faced many challenges, especially with Apple blocking data sharing with Facebook, which gave us a jolt. Yet, we excelled in building our inhouse marketing tech team to pave the way for us. What has helped us is our product efficacy, word of mouth, and user-generated content. What are your next fundraising plans? We are preparing to raise our Series B funding round in June-July 2023. Our goal is to raise Rs 100 crore to actualise our growth initiatives. Our current funding status is strong, thanks to the success of our Series A round. However, we believe that now is the right time to raise additional capital. We aim to introduce over 40 gummy variants in the 54 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 55 increase of 300 per cent. We serve around 40,000 customers on our website. Nirmalaya is currently recycling over 40 tonnes of flowers every month. The floral waste is collected from temples across Delhi NCR every day and recycled by over 100 women workers. The brand that started with a few fragrances today has around 15 fragrances in incense sticks, cones, dhoop sticks, havan cups and more. Keeping our focus on the minimum burn with maximum results, FY 2022-23 has been a significant year for us. What is the advice that you follow to be a good leader and for running your business? I have stuck with one principle in my entrepreneurial journey, which is that you cannot build a business on Excel sheets. Be realistic in approach, no magic happens, only hard work and perseverance pay. While others focus only on recycling the flower, our prime focus is waste management via recycling the flowers as well as wellness through fragrance. Moreover, we have been very considerate about our customer acquisition cost. Every level of business has its challenges and entrepreneurship is about solving these. Y o u r a i s e d a b o u t $800,000 in August 2022 in a seed round. How have you used this and are there more plans on this front? Our investors are Artha Ventures, Shiprocket, DotIn Network and other marquee angels. We are in conversation to raise our pre-series A. The funds raised so far have been allocated to expand the business. Branding and marketing will take up a significant portion of the funds apart from hiring and team building. What are your business growth plans for 2023? We are projecting a threefour times growth in 2023. Currently, we are working on our marketing strategies and cost-effective ways of customer acquisition. Now our focus is on growing our operation across India and on exports. We are launching in the US very soon and after that we will expand to five or more countries. [email protected] Nirmalaya Wellness is expecting a revenue increase of about 300 per cent in FY 2022-23. Tell us more about how you have achieved these numbers and maintained your growth trajectory. We closed FY 21-22 at Rs 2.6 crore. We witnessed a 400 per cent increase in sales that year in comparison to the previous year, which was an overwhelming response. And we are indeed hoping to close FY 2022-23 with a revenue Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS To achieve quadruple growth in FY23, Nirmalaya Wellness is growing across online and offline channels across India By Resham Suhail THE SCENT OF SUCCESS BHARAT BANSAL Co-founder & CEO, Nirmalaya Wellness INCEPTION YEAR:2020 SECTOR:WELLNESS 55 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
join us and then retaining them was a big challenge but now we have been able to do so with good management strategies. What were some of the specific steps you undertook last year, especially given the uncertainty in the startup ecosystem? Over the last 12 months, easy access to capital has considerably waned. This has required a fair bit of change in the strategy, and the age-old adage of profitable growth has come to the forefront again. We continued to focus on the basics and tweaked our offerings with that in mind. Glamyo Health has renewed its focus on solving the real pain points for the patients, added newer verticals like dental, which is a blue ocean market, and tightened its grip on costs with a focus on profitable growth. We have also been looking at alternate channels of demand generation to replace the digital-first channels of demand. Is there a mantra or a principle that you follow as you lead your teams or plan your next steps? Glamyo Health’s success mantra has been its razorsharp focus on execution, with the patient at the centre of all the offerings. Moreover, we have been broad-basing the demand generation from only online to a mix of online and offline, which has proved to be quite useful. [email protected] Healthtech can be said to have a mixed 2022 but Glamyo Health was able to register growth. Please take us through some of the high points and where this places you now in the marketplace. Last year, Glamyo Health witnessed significant growth in both the number of patients counselled on the platform as well as the number of doctors we have on our platform. The number of patients who received free medical counselling increased to 600K and our website witnessed over 10 lakh visits. Despite three Covid-related disruptions, we focused on the elective surgeries market and were able to scale to nearly six crore medical counselling sessions for patients in need. We have over 350 hospitals in the network now and we also raised $7 million so far. We are currently in Series B discussions. I recall when we had begun, even attracting good-quality talent to Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS 56 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 Eyeing profitable growth, Glamyo Health looks to focus on the basics and has tweaked its offerings accordingly By Nitesh Kumar TARGET THE PAIN POINTS PREET PAL THAKUR Co-founder, Glamyo Health INCEPTION YEAR:2019 SECTOR:HEALTHTECH
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 57 Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS 57 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 To make ambulance services as accessible as finding food, Medulance looks to raise $1-2 million in the current year to grow its fleet By Team BW APP FOR AMBULANCES PRANAV BAJAJ Co-founder, Medulance INCEPTION YEAR:2017 SECTOR:HEALTHTECH ters to the rising demand for ambulance services across Indian cities and towns through its 7,500-vehicle fleet that reaches within 15-20 minutes of a call. It claims that its 5G smartconnected ambulances have the potential to revolutionise the emergency response service. They are equipped with the latest technology and are designed to take ical assistance was a challenge for the nation. With so many scattered players, entering the industry and making an impact was a challenge,” says Bajaj. Medulance has always been committed to building sustainable and highimpact businesses. Being a bootstrapped organisation that has been profitable is a substantial factor that has helped the startup deal with the current uncertainty. Founders claim that the company has been profitable for three years now. Roadmap for 2023 The company has always aimed to increase its targets periodically, and last year, it was “satisfied with” the month- on-month growth it achieved. In order to take the company to the next level and achieve its growth targets, Medulance has set its sight on raising $1-2 million in 2023. The fundraising process is already underway. This funding will allow the company to expand its operations and invest in key areas such as technology, marketing, and hiring. It is also planning to expand its business-to-business (B2B) and business-togovernment (B2G) operations. I N T H E E M E R G E N C Y HEALTHCARE SECTOR, response time is one of the most crucial factors. According to several reports, in developed countries, it takes less than seven minutes to reach a patient whereas, in India, it takes an average of over 45 minutes. “We believe that assistance should be provided when it matters the most,” says Pranav Bajaj, Co-founder, Medulance, a healthtech platform. As founders with non-medical backgrounds, their first port of call was to fully comprehend the emergency response industry. Another challenge Medulance faced was creating a top-of-mind recall of whom to call and when to call in emergencies. Quicker Service The Delhi-based startup capatients to the nearest hospital in the shortest possible time, even if it’s located 60- 75 minutes away. In addition to serving as transportation units, the ambulances can also act as remote monitoring units, providing real-time patient data to hospitals and medical professionals. “The emergency response sector was scattered and access to quality and affordable medSPOTLIGHT
Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Sandeep Devgan is looking for opportunities to collaborate with like-minded investors and partners By Nitesh Kumar ADAPT AND ACCELERATE SANDEEP DEVGAN CEO, Stonefield Flavours INCEPTION YEAR:2018 SECTOR:FOOD & BEVERAGE company, we are currently in a strong financial position and have sufficient cash to fund our growth plans for the foreseeable future.” As far as its long-term strategy is concerned, Stonefield is looking for opportunities to collaborate with like-minded investors and partners who can help the company achieve its goals and accelerate growth. Early Hurdles Enlisting the challenges the company faced during its initial stages, Devgan says, “The availability and prices of raw materials due to global challenges was a huge challenge. This impacted our supply chain and production, and we had to adapt quickly to keep up with demand.” Additionally, the competition from mass market players is a challenge. Sharing the company’s 2023 plans, Devgan says, “We will continue to foster a culture of innovation and encourage our employees to come up with new ideas that can drive growth. We plan to invest in new flavour delivery systems to meet changing customer needs and preferences.” The startup is also eyeing to expand into new markets abroad and experiment with new business ideas and products. [email protected] DESPITE THE SEVERAL SETBACKS IN the startup ecosystem at the moment, Stonefield Flavours, a flavour manufacturing startup, has witnessed an impressive growth phase, wherein the company not only met its targets but exceeded them with a 45 per cent growth compared to the previous year. Talking about what the company did differently to stay afloat, Sandeep Devgan, CEO at Stonefield Flavours explains, “We have SPOTLIGHT been successful because we embraced change quickly, especially during the pandemic. We had one of the best years in 2022-23. We stayed true to our vision of ‘inspiring change, delighting lives’.” The company said that while keeping innovation as its core strength, it focused on its people, which helped Stonefield achieve its targets. Cashflow is King Speaking on the importance of maintaining cash flow, Devgan says, “We are conservative in our financial projections. We maintained healthy reserves and secured multiple sources of funding, including bootstrapping, debt and equity. The key takeaway from our growth story would be to keep your ears to the ground and listen. Don’t just sell products to customers, instead, solve their problems.” For Devgan, the year gone brought Stonefield Flavours its “biggest growth since inception”. He adds, “As a 58 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 59 for an Indian household. By designing functional foods and snacks, Gladful’s vision was to solve India’s protein and other nutritional deficiencies. The company sells cookies, nuts, cheela mix and much more to provide the adequate protein needed for a kid. Consumer Connect The past few months have been interesting on account of increased cost of customer acquisition and focus on businesses that can grow sustainably. For Gladful, it’s a welcome change. “It is a necessary push as well, as an automatic filter where only the best competition will truly stay,” says Sharma. Consumer connect is the core focus area for the brand. It has so far served over one lakh customers. It ensures that it constantly listens to and speaks with its customers to take their feedback. “We are quick to change based solely on consumer feedback. We touch base with over 20,000 consumers monthly through ACCORDING TO STUDIES, OVER 70 PER cent of Indians suffer from protein deficiency. Gladful provides high-protein products for the Indian palette which are convenient to make and can easily fit in the tiffin box. “We intend to solve for the busy mother by giving high-protein options to her kids and family,” says the company’s founder and CEO, Parul Sharma. For the Jaipur-based company, the growth plans and investments rest on two pillars –– distribution and innovation. This year, the brand is expected to bring out new products across several categories. Slow Beginning Sharma quit her job during the pandemic and started product research. Each step took slightly more time than usual because companies were shutting down new verticals, marketing spend was reducing, startups were dow nsizing a nd there existed many other complexities. The idea of Gladf ul took root when she was asked to signif icantly increase the protein content in her nine-year-old child’s diet. She built her version of a protein calculator only to realise that meeting the daily protein requirement for active pre-teens was not easy Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS In 2023 alone, 15-monthold Gladful grew nine-fold in comparison to this period last year By Resham Suhail ‘HEALTHFUL’ FOOD FOR CHILDREN SPOTLIGHT WhatsApp, emails and phone calls,” informs Sharma. The team at present has five members including founders apart from the dispatch staff, doing a business of Rs 6 crore in annual recurring revenue. [email protected] 59 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 PARUL SHARMA Founder & CEO, Gladful Foods INCEPTION YEAR:2022 SECTOR:FOOD & BEVERAGE
Building on its momentum, StockGro plans to raise an additional $50 million by the end of 2023 By Nitesh Kumar customer support and offering incentives to keep them engaged. Our brand campaigns have been super sharp in their messaging and reaching the target audience through social media. We have doubled down on our offline initiatives and on-ground engagement. How would you define your leadership mantra? KNOW WHEN TO PIVOT AJAY LAKHOTIA Founder & CEO, StockGro INCEPTION YEAR:2020 SECTOR:FINTECH Our mantra has been to be bold, innovative, and inclusive. We are not afraid to take risks and try new things, but we also know when to pivot or cut our losses if something isn’t working. Our leadership team has always been laserfocused on our mission and values. We are here to empower people to take control of their financial futures and democratise access to the stock market. StockGro has raised $40 million. What are your next plans on this? We plan to raise an additional $50 million by the end of 2023, which will help us scale our operations, invest in new technologies, and innovate in the virtual stock trading app market. A l s o , w h at a r e y o u r overall plans for the year ahead and some of the areas where we will see you focus more? We plan to launch new features enabling our users to invest in a wider range of financial products, including mutual funds, gold, futures and options, and bonds. Another area of focus for us is international expansion. Overall, our growth strategy is focused on delivering value to our users through innovation and investment in technology. [email protected] Your company began just when the pandemic hit. What was the experience at the time? Just as we were getting started, we found ourselves in dire need of initial funding. We realised we had to bootstrap the startup and assemble a small but mighty team to launch the business within six months. It was also a challenge at the time to create a product that would resonate with our target audience and provide a unique value proposition. Challenges for the startup ecosystem resurfaced in the last year as well. What were some steps you took to ensure you kept growing? One key aspect has been to maintain a healthy cash flow by being conservative with our expenses and focusing more on generating revenue. We realise the importance of retaining existing users by improving our products, providing excellent Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS 60 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 61 tomised, flexible product that was closer to their cash flow cycles.” She adds, “We also faced challenges in convincing our capital supply partners and investors that this could be a large enough market and that we could solve it with a nuanced and well-designed product. Supply challenges were also a hurdle as we were trying to balance the expectations of our partners while ensuring a uniform customer experience.” Muted Leadership Leadership is the key to building a successful brand. “Despite facing turbulence, our continued focus remains on growing our people and customers,” Shrivastava explains. She says that despite all the challenges the brand had faced, what did not change was the customer trust it had and its teams’ optimism. The year 2022 happened to be one of the most challenging years that the startup ecosystem had seen in the past decade. However, unlike its competitors, Progcap seFOUNDED IN 2017 BY PALLAVI SHRIVASTAVA and H i m a n shu C h a nd r a , Progcap has been sailing through the tough funding and economic headwinds in the startup ecosystem. The startup has raised over $100 million since its inception. Working at the intersection of software and financial services, the brand aims to be the first full-stack retailer-focused digital bank. It digitises, automates and eases capital movement across the supply chain for small and medium-sized businesses that have remained excluded from the formal financial ecosystem. Sharing Progcap’s secret to success, Shrivastava, Cofounder and Director, says, “We have been focused heavily on the core and building for long-term profitability. We have heavily emphasised building robust systems, controls, and governance in place while ensuring customer retention.” Flexible Product As regards the biggest challenge the startup has faced, Shrivastava says, “Being the first player to solve the working capital financing needs of this segment, we found ourselves competing with informal credit and a set way of doing business. We soon learned that the customers we were targeting were not easy to switch, which led us to create a cusY OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Despite the headwinds, Progcap became profitable in Q3 of the last fiscal and its growth trajectory continues By Nitesh Kumar LOW-KEY LEADERSHIP WORKS PALLAVI SHRIVASTAVA Co-founder & Director, Progcap INCEPTION YEAR:2017 SECTOR:FINTECH cured $40 million in June 2022. This indicates that the brand’s unit economics was spot on. In terms of business growth, it reported a threefold increase last fiscal year compared to FY21, and on top of that, it became profitable in Q3 of the last fiscal. [email protected] 61 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
focused deep-tech startups were nowhere in the future frame. Log9 is among those brands that are trying to build a resilient, customercentric deep-tech hardware brand without making a noise. “Hardware does require more patience and higher capital than software technology, but it also has larger moats and longterm sustainability as a business,” Hajela explains. The Underdog From an investor’s lens, hardware tech was not among the safest bets amid uncertain market conditions. Highlighting the efforts he made to grab venture capital money, Hajela recalls, “It took us quite some time to raise our initial cheques to fund our research and to convince investors that this was worth it. Eventually, now we look at hardware as a sought-after sector for VCs and investors after seeing companies like Ather, Log9, Skyroot, etc. create a precedent of success stories in this sector.” From customers to governments across the globe, everyone is evaluating LOG9, A STARTUP THAT is taking a planet-first approach, has been incorporating planet-conscious steps into its operations. It is an example of how a brand can achieve its target while keeping the planet as its centre. “We have always been very thoughtful of our expenditure, making sure whatever we do has a high-value upside towards sustainability and towards our business,” says Kartik Hajela, Co-founder and COO of Log9 Materials. FY23 panned out to be a difficult year for Indian startups in terms of fundraising. However, Log9 raised $40 million in a mix of equity and debt in January. Moreover, it recorded a fourfold jump in revenue. Sharing the company’s ultimate goal, Hajela says, “The vision of making India self-reliant in energy demands higher capital to set up bigger cell factories, for which we are soon starting our next round, which will be much bigger than the last one and will primarily be used to set up bigger cell manufacturing lines in India.” Tech Revolution The last five years were no less than a technological revolution. The pandemic has only complemented the trend and pushed the entire ecosystem to adopt the changes at a much faster rate. However, sailing in a different boat, hardwareY OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Log9 aims at building a resilient, customer-centric, deep-tech hardware brand with sustainability at its core By Nitesh Kumar A PLANET-FIRST APPROACH KARTIK HAJELA Co-founder & COO, Log9 Materials INCEPTION YEAR:2015 SECTOR:ELECTRIC VEHICLES SPOTLIGHT companies on their sustainability goals and climate-conscious processes. Sustainability as an output is not just an option but the future of businesses, and Log9 has realised the part it has to play in the battle to save the planet. [email protected] 62 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 63 Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS SPOTLIGHT 63 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 Online marketplace for biofuels, Buyofuel, envisions reducing carbon emissions by replacing fossil fuels By Resham Suhail TOWARDS GREENER INDIA KISHAN KARUNAKARAN CEO, Buyofuel INCEPTION YEAR: 2021 SECTOR: TECHNOLOGY & ENERGY BUYOFUEL IDENTIFIED A GAP IN THE supply chain of the fast-evolving biofuel industry. This enabled the startup to model its business on newer technology-led strategies to meet the growing market demands. Subsequently, in November 2022, it secured Rs 11.50 crore in the second round of pre-series A funding. Inflection Point Ventures led this round with participation from LetsVenture and Venture Catalysts, among others. Buyofuel is in the process of raising additional funds later this year. The company closed its last fiscal clocking 20 times more revenue compared to March 2022, which, according to CEO Kishan Karunakaran, was “better than their initial expectations”. Bumpy Beginnings The startup claims to have the largest supply base today but its beginning was far from an easy road despite the thriving biofuel industry. “When we first entered the market, most of the sellers and waste generators were from the agricultural sector. The scepticism was evident since this was their first transaction through the digital mode. As a result, there was significant resistance towards digitisation,” recalls Karunakaran. Despite the progress in this regard, even today the company faces this difficulty as it expands in new geographies. As it entered each market, pre-existing waste traders who were taking advantage of waste generators and agro-processing businesses caused some backlash and obstacles for Buyofuel as well. “However, we established a great support team to handle these situations,” the CEO explains. Since the market was anything but easy, Karunakaran began to engage with numerous angel networks much earlier. The startup decided to decrease the number of new hires and focus on hiring people who could multitask and cover a wider range. The Way Forward In 2022, Buyofuel expanded into various geographies and multiple states. Aiming to grow outside India, it is set to enter Europe as well. In 2023, it will continue to make sizable investments in integrating artificial intelligence, blockchain and other technologies. In the short term, its growth strategy is focused on acquiring more sellers and buyers and ensuring transactions via the platform. In the medium term, it intends to ensure expansion into other geographies. In the long run, Karunakaran aspires to automate the technology so that all buyers and sellers are at ease using Buyofuel. [email protected]
Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Shobit Rai’s company expects to clock revenues of more than Rs 1,500 crore in FY 2024-25 By Resham Suhail PLUG-&-PLAY SUSTAINABLE INFRA SHOBIT RAI Director & Co-founder, Prozeal Infra Engg. INCEPTION YEAR:2017 SECTOR:RENEWABLE ENERGY DOMESTIC MANUFACTURING IN THE SOLAR energy sector is a struggle point in India. The government launched productionlinked incentive schemes to boost this and this was where Prozeal Infra came into play. The company’s co-founder Shobit Rai says, “Prozeal aims to be India’s most bankable clean energy company.” Prozeal currently is sitting on a closed EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) order book of close to Rs 2,000 crore. It will be completing this in FY 2023-24 and also plans to hire another 150-200 engineers for expanding its footprint in renewable energy asset development and for distributed green hydrogen generation. In the last year, when the infra industry was facing hurdles due to fluctuating commodity prices, Prozeal made client relationships an integral part of its company principles. It identified “best services” as the way to grow. Future Plans In February 2023, Prozeal raised $4 million in Series A from Alchemie Ventures for an 8 per cent stake. The company plans to go for the next round by June 2023 which will be between $10 million and $15 million. It plans to then take the IPO route to raise an additional $50-60 million. The funds will be used for developing assets in renewable energy, working capital for EPC business, and development of green hydrogen and sustainable future fuels to meet the industry demands. Wide Footprint Prozeal operates in the commercial and industrial segment to help multinationals and corporates with renewable energy projects such as solar, wind-solar hybrid and distributed green hydrogen, to reduce power bills and achieve net zero goals. It operates on a park model with ready plug-and-play infra across the country, largely in states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The company also has over 650 MW of solar projects commissioned across 18 Indian states and more than 50 electric vehicle charging stations installed in its dedicated Procharge application. In terms of business growth trajectory, the company has been doubling its scale year-on-year and FY 2022-23 is no different. Rai discloses, “We have not only achieved our revenue targets but also our EBITDA numbers, which are more critical to keep the company bankable.” [email protected] SPOTLIGHT 64 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 65 Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS Reshamandi is open to collaborating with the right set of people and organisations that share the company’s goals By Nitesh Kumar BUILT WITH THREADS OF RELATIONSHIPS SAURABH KUMAR AGARWAL Founder & CTO, Reshamandi INCEPTION YEAR:2020 SECTOR:NATURAL FIBRES RESHAMANDI, A NATURAL FIBRE SUPPLY chain startup, has registered three times revenue at Rs 1,248 crore in the first three quarters of FY23. Re-looking at its product mix, margins, efficient use of capital and human resources and the like has helped Reshamandi bring profitability and growth to the business through the efficient use of resources at hand, says Saurabh Kumar Agarwal, Co-founder and CTO of the company. Focus on Trust Reshamandi’s leadership has always prioritised relationships and trust. “Trust is intrinsic to every relationship, and Reshamandi stands true to its tagline, ‘relationships matter’. We strengthened it by putting more trust in our teams, our employees and our stakeholders. All business-to-business companies are built on relationships and our growth is a clear indicator of that,” Agarwal adds. In the last f inancial year, Reshamandi has gone from Rs 20 crore in FY21 to probably closing around Rs 2000 crore in FY23, with Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amor t isat ion (EBI T DA) profitability in the last two quarters of 2022–23. Agarwal explains that the company is open to colSPOTLIGHT laborating with the right set of people and organisations that share its desire to make a difference and create large value for this ecosystem. Birth Pangs Reshamandi faced its share of early-stage challenges. “Having been used to the traditional methods, it took us time to prove the benefits of technology,” recalls Agarwal. Another persistent challenge was the “cash-deprived nature of the textile sector”, which Reshamandi is attempting to address via ReshaMudra by providing short and long-term financial support to the stakeholders. In the future, Reshamandi plans to focus on creating a robust tech-led business instead of just a tech-enabled business model. As far as investments are concerned, Agarwal says, “We are looking for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) partner with whom we can address the textile sector’s capital problem. We will also concentrate on expanding our overseas business at a rapid pace.” Reshamandi also plans to move into the private label space, where it will be able to come up with its blends and fabrics and launch these private labels via B2B platforms. [email protected] 65 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
manufactured from Indian suppliers, which counts towards 16 per cent of our revenue during FY22, all of which would have otherwise gone to neighbouring countries. How has your sector changed over time and how has this impacted you? Today, the manufacturing requirement is more diverse and deeper, so Zetwerk raised a total of $662.2 million in over 12 rounds of funding and in March 2023, you raised Rs 100 crore in debt funding. What are you doing differently that is working in your company’s favour? We have been focusing on certain pillars to keep growing. These include building world-class processes and products, along with robust internal systems to meet the expectations of our customers, investors and external stakeholders, and a culture of empathy as an internal expression for the organisation at large. What would you say makes you better than your peers? We are very clear on the purpose of our business, which is to make an impact on people’s lives and we live by this every day. We currently employ more than 2,100 people fulltime and generate employment for another 1,00,000 people indirectly through our business across India. We work with more than 10,000 supply partners to drive various manufacturing requirements. Some of our SME partners see more than a 100 per cent increase in revenues from partnering with us. We have introduced more than 300 international customers to get their products Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS SME players partnering with Zetwerk have seen more than a 100 per cent increase in revenues By Nitesh Kumar CONCLUSIVE GROWTH ANKIT FATEHPURIA Co-founder, Zetwerk Manufacturing INCEPTION YEAR:2018 SECTOR:MANUFACTURING meeting specifics such as delivery time, minimum requirement, and certain customisation is essential. From a customer and supplier perspective, we encountered a broken supply chain system. Moreover, building the trust of suppliers to deliver outside a specific geographical area has also been a challenge. What are your plans for 2023? Zetwerk will bring significant demand for manufacturing to India and, in the process, make real additions to the country’s gross domestic product and growth. We will continue to invest in capacity-building, either ourselves or through partnerships, and exploit available opportunities in the industrial as well as consumer manufacturing segments. We are also heavily investing in our in-house technical capabilities to improve efficiency in the manufacturing supply chain and meet the specific needs of our customers and suppliers to give them a more personalised experience. [email protected] 66 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
FOR MORE INFORMATION Devika Kundu Sengupta | +91 98716 54991 [email protected] FOR NOMINATIONS Neeraj Verma | +91 8076825854 [email protected] | POWERED BY KNOWLEDGE PARTNER SUPPORTING PARTNER ORGANIZED BY fifffflffiflfflfi flffl fi flfflfflfifl fl fi fifffflflflffffl fl ffi fifffflffiflflffffflflfflffflflffifl fl #BWBestOfFinTech FESTIVAL OF CONCLAVE + AWARDS 3rd edition Powered By Scan to Nominate
Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS PHOTO ESSAY BW Businessworld shines the lens on young entrepreneurs driving India with the ‘Young Entrepreneur and Enterprise Awards’. Leaders from several domains including ecommerce, fintech, healthtech, logistics, direct-to-consumer brands, apparel businesses, social enterprises and more were nominated for the recognition. One of the critical conditions of nominating for the awards was that the entrepreneur should be under the age of 35 and the enterprise should be seven years or younger. The awards ceremony was preceded by a forum that looked closely at how young entrepreneurs and their ventures are driving India’s decade Curated by Resham Suhail ENTREPRE NEURSHIP CELEBRATING 68 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
ENTREPRE NEURSHIP Winners of BW Disrupt’s Young Entrepreneur and Enterprise Awards 2022 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 69
Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS PHOTO ESSAY Anil Kumar Jain, CEO, NIXI (IX, Dot IN Registry and IRINN) acknowledges India’s notable developments in digital payments and the internet sphere Vikas D. Nahar, Founder and CEO, Happilo shares his success mantra, his ambitions for 2023 and must-dos for young entrepreneurs to become a sustainable brand From L-R: Vasudha Mukherjee, Editorial Lead, BW Education; Shyam Sunder Singh, Co-founder, Dehaat; The Good Glamm Group and CEO, The Good Media Co; and Mayank Jain, CEO, New Auto, CarDekho Group discussing how founders can maintain long-term growth The founders from across the sectors discuss how young entrepreneurs can continue to address the demands of niche markets. From L-R: Ruhail Amin, Senior Editor, BW Businessworld (Moderator); Bharat Bansal, Co-founder and CEO, Nirmalaya, Parul Sharma, Founder, Gladful; Vani Talwar Khosla, Co-founder, TidyUP and Nitesh Singh, Co-founder, BlueTea 70 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
Discussing strategies to scale from 0-10 in a digitally transformative age are (L-R): Resham Suhail, Editorial Lead, BW Disrupt (Moderator); Anubhav Bansal, Senior Director - Express Parcel, Delhivery; Chinu Kala, Founder, Rubans Accessories; Pranav Bajaj, Director, Medulance Healthcare; Shaily Mehrotra, Founder and CEO, Fixderma; Nikita Malhotra, Co-founder, Winston and Ranjita Ravi, Co-Founder, Orxa Energies (L-R): Durlabh Kumar Rawat, Founder and CEO, Barosi; Anshita Mehrotra, Founder and CEO, Fix My Curls; Dinesh Arjun, Co-founder and CEO, Raptee; Resham Suhail, Editorial Lead, BW Disrupt (Moderator), Ish Babbar, Co-founder and CTO, InsuranceDekho; Ashish Agarwal, Director, Resurgent India and Samayesh Khanna, Co-founder, Beanly Coffee (L-R) Ruhail Amin, Senior Editor, BW Businessworld (Moderator); Anuj Parekh, Co-founder and CEO, Healthysure; Arnab Mitra, Managing Director, Liqvd Asia and Founder, DigiBoxx; and Gautam Malhotra, Managing Director, FuelBuddy discuss how to effectively navigate the inflexion point in the journey of business growth 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 71
Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS by Team BW OPENING ESSAY ENTREPRENEURSHIP WHEN ENTREPRENEURS, MENTORS COME TOGETHER As the next chapter of India’s entrepreneurial journey unfolds, the YEA winners will be keenly watched Photograph by Denisismagilov 72 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
his special issue of BW Businessworld celebrates the most vibrant of India’s young entrepreneurs. In this annual feature, the mix of the young, the audacious and the enterprising, forecasts what India’s entrepreneurial future may look like. Selected through a multi-layered process, these young men and women represent the very best of young enterprisers. Over the years, many BW Businessworld Young Entrepreneur Award (YEA) winners have made it big, and hogged headlines elsewhere. This list then is also the gold standard of quantifying India’s entrepreneurial culture and ethos. An entrepreneurial culture is part of a nation’s national character. If India’s 1991 liberalisation unshackled private enterprises, many would agree that the startup revolution of the last few years has further helped create a new culture. While the BW Businessworld YEA winners, showcased in the previous pages, will be followed in their journeys, in this special issue, we invited the world’s best and India’s leading entrepreneurship gurus and mentors to share their blueprints on how we could further deepen an entrepreneurial culture. In his masterly essay, Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at Harvard Business School and among the finest India experts, Tarun Khanna, talks about entrepreneurship and a state of mind”. He says, “In a course I’ve co-taught at Harvard College for over a decade, Contemporary Developing Countries: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Intractable Problems – and in an online version on edX taken by three quarter of a million students, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies – I develop this notion of entrepreneurialism as a state of mind, and explore its practical implications.” He goes on to say, “Not everyone is an entrepreneur, but everyone can suspend suspicion and appreciate an entrepreneurial frame of mind. After all, it’s what propels societies forward”. Among the India-based experts, IIM-B’s Professor of Entrepreneurship, Suresh Bhagavatula, argues why we need to create more job givers than job seekers. Mukesh Sud, Associate Professor at IIM-Ahmedabad, along with Founding Director - Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University Priyank Narayan, offer valuable insights on how effectual logic is different from conventional logic when it comes to entrepreneurship. Ramya K. Murthy, Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship at IIM-B, stresses that digital entrepreneurship and digital technologies were fueling the India startup story. When the most respected mentors and entrepreneurship gurus come along with the real actors – the entrepreneurs breaking new ground – we get a fairer understanding of how entrepreneurship is changing us as an economy, society and nation. As we aspire to become a nation of entrepreneurs, we must also become a nation of problem solvers. As the next chapter of India’s entrepreneurial journey unfolds, the YEA winners will be keenly watched, and global and Indian mentors and gurus will also engage with their success stories. We at BW Businessworld will continue to chronicle their inspiring journeys. T By Team BW 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 73
T O BE AN ENTREPRENEUR IS TO embrace a state of mind. That includes the startups that are discussed breathlessly in the media. However, entrepreneurship is about much more than just this clutch of (financial) unicorns capturing the imagination at any given moment. Consider the etymology of “entrepreneur.” The term has been around since the 1700s, coming from the French entreprendre, to undertake a task. In the last few decades, it has been associated with Silicon Valley ventures, spreading variously to China, India, Israel, etc. A ‘Google Books’ search shows the use of ‘entrepreneur’ rises in the West over the past few decades, and in China, also rises sharply starting a few decades later, though the latter numbers should be taken with more than the usual pinch of salt (given translation difficulties). Anyone with historical sensibility will know that entrepreneurship was hardy through the centuries. Joseph Schumpeter wrote his Theory of Economic Development in 1911 where he celebrates the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs thrived during the time of the Mauryas, and in Medici Florence, and elsewhere. The last century of Chinese development is littered with entrepreneurial successes, transcending regimes and surviving turbulence, from the statesman philanthropist Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Textile Company in 1895, to Liu Hongsheng, the “King of Matches,” and the China Match Company in 1930, to Lu Guanqiu, the Zhejiang peasant who founded – incredibly, during the peak of the Cultural Revolution in 1970s – the now multi-billion dollar global automotive parts Wanxiang Group. Nor is entrepreneurship limited to startups. My co-authored book Leadership to Last (Penguin India) profiles iconic entrepreneurs from South Asia and beyond who have built systems of multi-generational entrepreneurship. Who is to say that we shouldn’t call any policymaker an entrepreneur if she displays a creative, risk-taking bent of mind, set on achieving a societal goal more cleverly? The idea of conditional cash transfers, social welfare programmes where the state transfers money based on some conditions being met (e.g. school attendance by children, or timely vaccination), is an inspired policy idea whose conceptualisation and implementation was nothing if not an act of entrepreneurship. In a course I’ve co-taught at Harvard College for over a decade, Contemporary Developing Countries: Entrepreneurial Solutions to Intractable Problems – and in an online version on edX taken by three quarter of a million students, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies – I develop this notion of entrepreneurialism as a state of mind, and explore its practical implications. Without pretending to be comprehensive, here are three characteristics of this state of mind that I’d say are almost necessary and nearly sufficient conditions. First, an entrepreneur must be open to varied insights, especially from those who think differently from oneself. But how, practically, to do this? In my course, I ask students to think like a scientist, like an artist, and like a planner. To caricature, the scientist thinks of hypothesis and refutation, of concrete data algorithmically; the artist puts himself in the shoes of others because he understands that the same data might be interpreted differently by different individuals, and that this perspective unfetters the imagination; the planner takes a bird’s-eye view to consider the system wide implications of choices. Would-be entrepreneurs can use these different starting points to mixand-match ideas, as has been done through the ages. Thomas Edison’s lightbulb was born around 1880 from just such a recombination, of a gas lamp and from experimentation with varied materials with differing incanENTREPRENEURSHIP AND A STATE OF MIND Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS By Tarun Khanna COLUMN 74 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
descence to create the bulb filament. Second, an entrepreneur embraces judicious risk-taking. A colleague once said this to me – no sensible entrepreneur takes undue risk. We don’t wake up in the morning and ask, ‘What risk am I going to take today?’ Without calibrated risk, it’s impossible to advance the status quo, almost by definition. Third, good – and I daresay successful – entrepreneurship is cognizant of societal value. The creation of Gavi, the Geneva-based World Vaccine Alliance, was an act of consummate entrepreneurship, organisational and financial creativity, that has resulted in almost a billion children getting vaccinated around the world. Gavi is a non-profit organisation, but even in cases of for-profit entrepreneurship, it’s important to separate out notions of value-created versus the part of that value that’s captured by the entrepreneur. For example, a Bangalorebased company I co-founded, Chaipoint, provides clean hygienic tea (chai) to the masses, but by employing over a thousand youth, generates value for society beyond that resulting from the chai’s consumption. Rather than embrace such a mindset, we sometimes bias our thoughts in less productive directions. For example, vast sections of society have a suspicion of money. It’s clichéd but important to reiterate that money is a human-devised tool to accomplish societal allocation and redistribution of resources, not an end in itself. Naïveté aside, I like getting compensated as much as anyone, but that’s not the end-all be-all of the creative journey one embarks upon as an entrepreneur. Another unconstructive starting point is a deep suspicion of the state. It’s worth recalling that the state has been remarkably entrepreneurial itself in many instances – I’d point to China from the 1980s until at least pre-Covid (the jury is out going forward) – or has at least facilitated entrepreneurship (by underwriting a portion of financial risk, or by investing in basic research that provides the base layer atop which private individuals innovate). Not everyone is an entrepreneur, but everyone can suspend suspicion and appreciate an entrepreneurial frame of mind. After all, it’s what propels societies forward. The author is Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor at HBS and the director of the Harvard’s Lakshmi Mittal & Family South Asia Institute. Who is to say that we shouldn’t call any policymaker an entrepreneur if she displays a creative, risktaking bent of mind, set on achieving a societal goal more cleverly? 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 75
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS FUNDAMENTALLY ABOUT problem-solving. Entrepreneurs have started ventures that have significantly changed how we communicate, live, move, and access healthcare, among other things. Some of these ventures have survived and grown to become large corporations, while others have failed. For instance, it is said that there were 3,000 automobile companies in the early 1900s in the USA, many of which were in people’s garages. However, this number quickly reduced to only a few a couple of decades later as most of these ventures failed. The world we live in, with the higher quality of life that we experience compared to the nobility of the past, is all due to entrepreneurs’ efforts over the last hundred odd years. India was a bit different – for many decades entrepreneurship was stifled due to the license raj, and only those with connections could obtain licenses to start their ventures. However, this changed due to liberalisation. Two Waves of Entrepreneurship Since India liberalised, there have been two waves of entrepreneurship. The first was in the 90s and early 2000s, which built on the cost-arbitrage of talent as the underlying business model. The second wave of entrepreneurship, starting in 2007, was more akin to the larger accepted construct of entrepreneurship across the world. However, many companies still copy successful business models from China and the West that focus on valuation, not unit economics. With the funding winter, only those with superior business models will survive. However, there has been a silver lining in the growth of unicorns – these entrepreneurs have become popular subjects in the media. Entrepreneurship As a Career Option Thanks to these stories and narratives across regional languages, entrepreneurship as a career option in India is becoming more popular, particularly among certain schools and at a particular stage of life. The change has been rapid. Many years ago, when the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) surveyed along with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), it was found that India had a high rate of necessitybased entrepreneurship compared to opportunity-based entrepreneurship. That is, people would start ventures in India because of a lack of employment avenues. However, many opportunitybased ventures have been created in the last two decades. The latest GEM study, conducted by the Entrepreneurship Institute of India, shows that there has been an increase in Total Entrepreneurship Activities (TEA) from 9.7 per cent in 2017-18 to 14.4 per cent in 2021-22 across the nation. In addition, the study finds that over 80 per cent of those interviewed feel that there is an excellent opportunity to start a business in their area and that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to do so. However, the reason for not starting is often the fear of failure. Perhaps it is time that we perceive failure differently – as an essential part of entrepreneurship, just as falling is a part of learning to walk or cycle. While it is popularly believed that 90 per cent of startups fail, it can be rephrased as 90 per cent of the first ventures fail, and the failure rate reduces as we take more shots at entrepreneurship. The “Rs 250 Venture” Many years ago, I conducted an experiment in my course called the “Rs 250 venture.” The students were given an amount of Rs 250 to run a venture for an hour and a half and submit a report. The report had to contain their plan, what happened while running the experiment, and what they would do if they reran it. Students did simple things like running Maggie stalls at night in the hostel, selling roses, or selling pani puri. However, occasionally, there were exciting occurrences that brought out creativity. For example, one group of students realised that they had run out of mashed potatoes for their pani puri, so they bought soft drinks and sold cola puri or maaza FROM JOB SEEKERS TO JOB GIVERS Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS By Suresh Bhagavatula COLUMN 76 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
puris instead. Earlier we had a salon on campus, one student signed in as a beautician for a few hours in the evening and took a 10 per cent cut of the daily earnings – she did not have to invest Rs 250 either. The reflective notes submitted were full of insights that would have improved their ventures. Developing An Entrepreneurial Mindset We must provide spaces for our youth to try their hand at entrepreneurship while in college. By providing such spaces, the young will develop an entrepreneurial mindset, a valuable faculty that will assist them throughout their career. Most people believe that we need access to resources to start ventures, but that is not true. One definition of entrepreneurship that I like is that of Professor Stevenson, who defined it as, “Entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control”. Professor Saras in her effectuation methods states that starting ventures with “who you are, what you know, and whom you know” is the “bird in hand” principle. In addition, it is important to inform students that unicorns are not the sole objective of entrepreneurship. In natural ecosystems, there are large and tiny animals, all living symbiotically. Similarly, in entrepreneurial ecosystems, we need a similar spectrum of ventures. To make this happen, we need entrepreneurship courses and incubators across colleges in the country. We need new courses that leverage technology to make entrepreneurship and management education affordable and accessible to anyone from any part of the country. Only by converting our youth from job seekers to job givers can we make India a $5 trillion economy. The author is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore The latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study, conducted by the Entrepreneurship Institute of India, shows that there has been an increase in Total Entrepreneurship Activities (TEA) from 9.7 per cent in 2017-18 to 14.4 per cent in 2021-22 across the nation 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 77
S ARAS SARASVATHY TEACHES AT THE University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. In 2007, Fortune Small Business magazine named her among the top 18 entrepreneurship professors worldwide. In her PhD thesis, Saras tried to understand how entrepreneurs think and take decisions. Working under the economist and Nobel laureate Herbert Simon, she interviewed several entrepreneurs. All of them had been in business for at least 10 years, started multiple companies, and taken at least one of them public. In her study, the entrepreneurs were given a case about a hypothetical start-up called ‘Venturing’ and had to take decisions to run it successfully. At that time, it was believed that entrepreneurs first recognise an opportunity and then assemble the resources to reach their goal. However, Saras found that when faced with uncertainty, entrepreneurs adopt a different approach to decision-making. They begin by assessing their personal strengths and weaknesses, and then seek to build partnerships with potential stakeholders. Entrepreneurs did not wait for the perfect solution, rather, they improvised and did what they could with what they had. Saras called this ‘effectual thinking’. The conventional approach to entrepreneurship, which is the opposite of effectual thinking, centres around structured planning and prior research. This leaves little room for surprises or unexpected events. Effectual thinkers recognise that in times of uncertainty, it is difficult to plan and predict the future. They are open to surprises that can be a source of new opportunities. Rather than trying to predict the future, effectual thinkers build it by interacting with other stakeholders. Effectual thinking is not confined to entrepreneurs. In fact, it is an approach or logic that anyone can use. Whether you are in the corporate world, government, or the social sector, effectual thinking can help you leapfrog to your goals. Can this way of thinking be taught and learnt? It was long believed that entrepreneurship was an inherent trait that you were born with. Saras disagrees. For her, entrepreneurship is like reading or writing, and is a skill you can develop. She quotes Jack Roseman, the tech entrepreneur: Teaching entrepreneurship is like teaching music. We cannot give you a voice, but no matter what kind of voice you bring to the classroom, we can teach you to sing better. An Entrepreneurial Career Anshu Mor began his new career by thinking like an entrepreneur. During DOING WHAT YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS By Mukesh Sud & Priyank Narayan OPINION 78 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 Mukesh Sud is an Associate Professor at IIM Ahmedabad, and has three decades of professional experience divided between academia and entrepreneurship.
his 18 years at Microsoft, Anshu had built a reputation as a master of ceremonies. He was often on stage, hosting product launches and annual company events. Anshu featured in internal brand videos and wrote content for business groups within the company. On the side, he spent time at Kommune India, which hosts workshops for artists, creators and performers. Anshu learnt to write comedy, structure material, and perform on stage. Initially he did short gigs on other comedians’ shows. Anshu became friends with Amit Tandon, a popular comedian on Netflix. Amit taught him the ropes of stand-up comedy. A month after they met, Anshu performed at a local comedy club. He still remembers every face in the audience. As they clapped and cheered, he knew that he belonged there: Strangely I was not insecure about the move at all [from Microsoft]. I guess it was because I was fairly clear on what my capabilities are . . . Along with three artists, Anshu set up an entertainment and storytelling collective. Besides standup comedy, ‘Talking Mime’ has a web series and hosts a podcast. Using his network, Anshu organised corporate workshops on leadership, the art of business storytelling, and brand consulting. In his journey from corporate executive to stand-up comedian, Anshu utilised three pillars of entrepreneurial thinking: bird in hand, crazy quilt, and pilot in the plane. The write-up is an extract from the book Leapfrog: Six Practices to Thrive at Work by Mukesh Sud and Priyank Narayan Conventional logic Effectual logic STARTING POINT Goal oriented Means oriented BELIEF Predict the future Create the future APPROACH Competition Co-creation SURPRISES Avoid them Embrace surprises BASIS FOR ACTION What should I do? What can I do? CONVENTIONAL LOGIC VS. EFFECTUAL LOGIC 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 79 Priyank Narayan is the Founding Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University.
I NDIA IS POISED TO FUEL the next phase of its startup story on digital entrepreneurship. A 2022 NASSCOM survey estimated over 25,000 tech startups in the country. At the core of such tech startups are often digital technologies that support novel business models. Digital technologies such as 3D printing, cloud computing, and data analytics have transformed the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities, processes of venture creation, and business outcomes. Modular Architecture Products built using digital technologies adopt a ‘modular’ architecture where the products can be easily extended and reconfigured to create add-ons without impacting the original core product. This capability offers several advantages: first, modular architecture supports novel processes of venture creation. A venture with digital products having modular architecture need not envision all product features at the outset. Additional features and product updates can be easily offered with minimal or no impact on the existing functionalities. For instance, digital platforms such as Microsoft Windows and Google Android initially supported a set of core features, which then expanded with a host of add-on apps in the App Store. As a result of the modular architecture of digital technologies, the entrepreneurial opportunity may be less defined at the outset. Digital entrepreneurship is conducive to leveraging the lean startup method of creating new ventures. The lean startup method involves constant experimentation to achieve problem-solution fit and product-market fit. Here, entrepreneurs can launch their venture with a minimum viable product (MVP) and tweak the products and business models through a series of pivots in response to customer feedback. Pivoting digital products is easier as the venture can modify its products and experiment with multiple options and MVPs simultaneously. For example, the uptick in A/B testing with digital technologies (CAGR of 11 per cent) has enabled the roll-out of more desirable product features. New Opportunities Second, digital technologies offer new opportunities for entrepreneurs. With digital offerings, the users benefit from the core product and add-ons built over them. The entrepreneurs can now build their ventures around products that function as add-ons to other established digital products and platforms. For example, ventures with products as apps on the app store of existing smartphone operating systems. Such ventures are an attractive proposition for several reasons. Entrepreneurs can leverage established platforms’ resources to minimise their investment in developing products. They can reach a wider base of users for their products through established platforms. However, they risk being ‘locked in’ if their product is exclusive to the established platform. Despite the risk, the entrepreneurial opportunity of building ventures around add-ons is lucrative, a testimony of the $3.1 billion in revenue earned by app developers in India in 2022. Platform Business Models Third, digital technologies support the increasingly ubiquitous platform business models. Here, the digital platform connects and enables transactions between multiple sides of the platform. In such transaction platforms, digital technologies serve as core infrastructure and, more importantly, offer analytics that plays an important role in deriving consumer insights and offering the right recommendations to enhance the success of concerting transactions. Popular examples include e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart and food delivery players like Swiggy and Zomato. In 2022, the ecommerce market earned revenues DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FUELLING THE INDIA STARTUP STORY Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS By Ramya K. Murthy COLUMN 80 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
exceeding $60 billion, while the food-delivery market earned revenues exceeding $27 billion in India. Digital Public Goods Digital technologies underlie several successful ventures across sectors globally. Digital platforms account for 8 of the top 10 firms by market cap, an increase from 3 in the top 10 in 2008. Clearly, the potential for new venture creation and growth is unquestionable. The future is exciting for digital entrepreneurship, particularly in India. The India Stack, a collection of digital public goods (DPGs) such as Aadhaar, UPI, and Account Aggregator, has expanded the potential market size that can be reached through digital products. The entrepreneurs now have access to a much wider base of users who use standard tools from the collection of DPGs. For example, UPI transactions accounted for over 50 per cent of all transactions in the country. Such standardisation enables entrepreneurs to design their products more easily despite the wide heterogeneity of the user base in terms of demographics, location, and preferred transaction modes in India. Moreover, with a collection of interconnected DPGs, entrepreneurs can separate their core products from peripheral services needed to complete transactions. For instance, a product built using Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) could leverage Aadhaar for identification, Account Aggregator for document verification, and UPI to make payments. Here, the venture focuses on building a platform to connect lenders and borrowers, whereas other services are provided through the collection of DPGs. Challenges Despite the remarkable capabilities of digital technologies and the business models’ phenomenal success, challenges need to be addressed to ensure fair and equitable growth, privacy, and consumer welfare. The platform business models, if unregulated, may lead to market dominance by a few players, thereby hindering entrepreneurial entry and competition. The open protocols initiative involving OCEN and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) aims to address these issues and enable entrepreneurial entry. However, the governance and efficacy of these models are yet to be examined. Further, strong data privacy laws and strict enforcement are required to ensure that individuals’ digital footprints are not misused or compromised. Digital entrepreneurship has the potential to fuel the next phase of India’s startup story and should be supported by the right policy environment. The author is an Assistant Professor at IIM Bangalore The future is exciting for digital entrepreneurship, particularly in India. The India Stack, a collection of digital public goods such as Aadhaar, UPI, and Account Aggregator, has expanded the potential market size that can be reached through digital products 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 81
I NDIA HAS A RICH HISTORY of entrepreneurship, innovation, and global trade. From ancient times, Indians have been known for their business acumen, with trade routes stretching from the Middle East to China. India’s prowess in trade and commerce is also evident in its rich literary tradition. The Arthashastra, a treatise on economics and politics written by the Indian sage Kautilya in the 4th century BCE, provides a detailed account of the workings of the Indian economy and the principles of good governance. A Hub of Entrepreneurship & Innovation India has a long history of entrepreneurship, with small businesses and family-run enterprises forming the backbone of the economy for decades. This entrepreneurial spirit has been carried forward by a new generation of innovators who are leveraging technology and disrupting industries to create new opportunities and solve complex problems. This tradition continues to this day, with India being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. India has long been known for its abundance of skilled talent and its ability to produce top-class professionals across a wide range of fields. Nurturing entrepreneurship and innovation is essential for the economic and social growth of any nation. Today, India continues to be a hub of entrepreneurship and innovation. From the IT sector to the automotive industry, from the fintech to the space tech startups, Indian companies are making their mark on the global stage. From e-commerce and fintech to health tech and edtech, Indian startups are disrupting industries and creating new markets with innovative solutions that are changing the way we live, work, and interact. The country’s large pool of skilled talent, supportive government policies, and thriving startup ecosystem have made it an attractive destination for investors and entrepreneurs alike. One of India’s greatest strengths is its demographics. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, with 2/3rd of them less than 35 years of age, India has a vast pool of talent and potential entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the country has a relatively young population, with a median age of just 28 years old. This means that India has a large and growing workforce that is eager to embrace entrepreneurship and innovation. Another key advantage for India is its global-best digital infrastructure. The country has made significant investments in digital public goods, including the rollout of 5G networks, the development of digital payment systems, and the expansion of e-commerce platforms. These investments have helped to create a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and innovation. Initiatives by the Government One of the most significant steps that the Indian government has taken in recent years is the establishment of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). It catalyses the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India by supporting innovative startups and promoting entrepreneurship amongst students. Through its various initiatives, AIM has been able to identify and nurture young talent, and provide them with the necessary resources and support to turn their ideas into successful businesses. Another key initiative that has been taken in recent years is the creation of Startup India. The initiative offers a range of benefits and incentives to startups, including tax exemptions and funding support. Startup India has also launched various programmes and events to encourage entrepreneurship and promote innovation. What More Can Be Done to Foster Entrepreneurship & Innovation India’s culture also plays a crucial role in promoting entrepreneurship and innovation. Indian society has a long tradition of valuing education, hard SHAPING A NATION OF ENTREPRENEURS AND INNOVATORS Y OUNG E NTREPRENEUR A WARDS By Srinath Sridharan COLUMN 82 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023
work, and creativity, all of which are important qualities for successful entrepreneurs and innovators. Moreover, India’s cultural diversity and openness to new ideas provide a fertile ground for innovation and creativity. Building a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation is essential for any nation that wants to foster economic growth, create jobs, and solve societal challenges. A strong entrepreneurial culture can empower individuals to take risks, think creatively, and pursue their passions, ultimately leading to new businesses, products, and services that can transform entire industries. Second, a supportive ecosystem is essential. Entrepreneurs and innovators need access to funding, mentorship, and networks that can help them launch and grow their businesses. Governments (including state governments) and private sector organisations can provide support through initiatives like business accelerators, venture capital funds, and mentoring programmes. While there are some venture capital firms and angel investors operating in India, early stage investors are still relatively scarce compared to other major startup ecosystems like Silicon Valley. Next, for longer term mindset shift to accepting entrepreneurship, the education system should emphasise creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. It should also offer courses on entrepreneurship and provide access to mentorship programmes and incubators. A robust education system can create a pipeline of innovators and entrepreneurs who are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to start new ventures. This is where the New Education Policy (NEP 2020) is a game changer idea. Encouraging research and development can lead to breakthrough innovations and create new opportunities for entrepreneurs. Governments can fund research institutions and universities to undertake research in key areas, such as science and technology, and create a supportive environment for researchers and inventors to commercialise their inventions. Finally, we need to shift our cultural mindset to embrace risk-taking and failure. In many cultures, failure is seen as a negative outcome, but in entrepreneurship and innovation, failure is often a valuable learning experience that can lead to future success. If we can shift our cultural mindset to view failure as an opportunity for growth, we can encourage more individuals to take risks and pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. Entrepreneurship and innovation are risky endeavours, and it takes a lot of hard work and perseverance to succeed. Governments, media, and other organisations can celebrate and recognise the achievements of entrepreneurs and innovators, and inspire others to follow in their footsteps. The writer is an author, policy researcher & corporate advisor India has made significant investments in digital public goods, including the rollout of 5G networks, the development of digital payment systems, and the expansion of ecommerce platforms. These investments have helped to create a favourable environment for entrepreneurship and innovation 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 83 Photograph by Karnoff
84 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 In an exclusive conversation with BW Businessworld, the Founder of ButtonMasala, Anuj Sharma, talks about sustainable fashion By Jyotsna Sharma “WE NEED A MINDSET CHANGE TO DRIVE SUSTAINABILITY S IN DESIGN” harma was born and raised in Rajasthan. He studied Apparel Design at the National Institute of Design (NID) in India. He has an MA in Highperformance Sportswear Design from the University of Derby, UK, for which he was awarded the Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship in 2002. ANUJ SHARMA AFTER HOURS DESIGN
The Button Masala collection has been showcased at the travelling exhibition, Connecting Concepts by DutchDFA and Bliss at the Taiwan Design Expo. Sharma has attended the Fashion Coterie in New York and participated in a show at the Alchemy Festival in London. He was invited by the Indian multinational company HCL to speak on unconventional management at the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland. What has shaped your design sensibilities? How did design school impact this? I am from Rajasthan, so my values of sustainability, conserving and preserving came from there and my experience growing up. The desire to design objects that are convenient for usage and sustainable in nature, was inherent in me. Design school helped me develop a sense of diversity, and culture. It all came together and shaped my sensibilities. Tell me about ButtonMasala. How did you start? I saw a man button his shirt wrong, and it made me think of how it would be if a fabric had multiple buttons. I experimented with this thought and created an innovative method of constructing clothes without machines, tools, or stitching techniques. In fact, one fabric using the ButtonMasala technique can transform into multiple designs. Interestingly, my first showcase at the Lakme Fashion Week (2007) was a collection of secondhand shirts. It is interesting that people are talking about reusing clothes and fabrics these days, but I started much earlier. A large segment of the fashion industry still thinks that using organic fabric and crafts is enough to qualify as sustainable. I feel people are not looking at the larger picture. The idea of sustainability has started to evolve, but there’s a long way to go. What can we expect from ButtonMasala in the next few years? Now, I teach this innovative joinery method. I have taught over fifty thousand people across twenty countries in twelve years. The idea is to fight the concept of Fashion that is unsustainable. The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world, and we need to get serious about sustainability. According to you, what is good design? Good design for me is something that happens with ease. Design that is too complex to understand or apply fails to be ‘good design’. Further, it must be sustainable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. For example, compare stitching, cutting, and pattern making with the simple ButtonMasala technique. We must keep convenience and utility central to design. Designers somehow got into a mindset to dazzle the audience and make things complex. This mindset needs to change. Areas we need to focus on in the design industry? I think it would be sustainability and functionality. We need to understand the intent of a product and then design accordingly. In fact, this goes back to our earlier conversation about which aspect, aesthetics or functionality, is more important. I would say intent is most important. Good design for me is something that happens with ease. Design that is too complex to understand or apply fails to be ‘good design’ 20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 85
86 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 NANDITA DAS The entertainment industry has a multitude of talent and huge revenue profit. A part of the industry is actor and director Nandita Das, who uses empathy as a key aspect in her storytelling. Das recently directed Zwigato - a film that revolves around the working pattern of food delivery riders. Sensitively handled, the film has been garnering appreciation from all quarters. On films mirroring real life Das said that films are the mirror of who we are. “Films are a graceful way of storytelling. Art remains a means to an end when you decide to tell a story. How you tell it is important,” she said. Das is known for making films on social issues that have the ability to touch people. “Empathy is central to one’s being, invoking empathy through our work is the ultimate goal,” she said. For example, Zwigato is a film about a food delivery rider. We order food from food delivery apps but how much do we really know about their lives? We are taken aback when asked by them for a good rating, but when you see the film you will understand that all they get is an equivalent of 5 rupees per delivery. If you are empathetic, you will be more tolerant of a slightly late delivery or even them asking for a good rating. On growing up around creativity Growing up around creativity definitely shaped my creative sensibilities. They say the wiring gets set in the early days. It was normal for me at that time. It was much later that I realised how creatively rich my childhood was. At that time we didn’t use words like success, and money, which are an essential part of people’s vocabulary today. Back in the day, it was about doing what you love and loving what you do. We were encouraged to try out different things without the fear of failure. We were taught to question things. My father always told us that creativity is not something out of the world. You absorb it when you look around, if you are observant and care for nature, as nature is the mother of all creativity. My aesthetic sensibilities and my creativity is a reflection of that upbringing. AFTER HOURS FUTURE OF DESIGN Nandita Das is an actor and director known for her remarkable skill in creating movies that have moved people. Speaking to Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-inChief, BW Businessworld, at the BW Future of Design Summit, Das gives us an insight into her process of filmmaking “Movies are a mirror of who we are”
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 87 KABIR KHAN Sharing his journey in filmmaking, Khan said, “In my initial years, I was associated with journalist Saeed Naqvi. He would tell stories and report on international affairs from an Indian perspective. He felt that we are consuming what the Western media gives us and there must be an Indian perspective. For the next five years, I travelled to around 70 countries with him. From there, I went into documentaries. My initial years with Saeed bhai totally shaped me. As far as Western media is concerned, there is always a p e r s p e c t i v e t h a t i s unheard of, which is not told to us. I learned to find those gaps. The ability to see what’s behind the headlines came from Saeed bhai. On the process of filmmaking While discussing the processes of making a movie, he explained, “There is no typical approach to making a film. I always try to do as much research as I can about the subject. In the case of ‘83 (movie), I did about two years of research. Since India does not have an archiving culture, it was really difficult to research it. I would meet journalists and talk to people who knew about the subject. Fortunately, I found the archive material at the Lord’s archives. On making good movies Pulling off good movies back-to-back needs more than mere luck. “There will always be hurdles; it’s only a dream scenario that when you embark on a journey, there will be no hurdles in your path. Sometimes they are much bigger; the biggest hurdle I faced was in my first film; within 10 days of landing in Afghanistan, I got death threats from the Taliban,” he added. In Bollywood, highs are really high and lows can be quite low. “The good part is, if you don’t take the successes seriously, you won’t be affected too badly by the failures,” Khan shares his success mantra. On empathy Can empathy be cultivated for those who don’t have empathy? To me empathy is the ability to be able to see different perspectives and to be able to respect them. Khan said that empathy is about emotions, including establishi n g a n e m o t i o n a l connection. AFTER HOURS FUTURE OF DESIGN “Empathy is the ability to see different perspectives” Director, screenwriter and cinematographer Kabir Khan is known for powerful films like Kabul Express, Ek Tha Tiger, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and 83. Speaking to Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editorin-Chief, BW Businessworld, at the BW Future of Design Summit, Khan gives us an insight into his process of filmmaking
88 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 India is a developing country and we have the potential to become a global leader. With the GDP growing and prosperity increasing, our focus is on rapid infrastructure development. After fulfilling the basic psychological and safety needs comes the design, said Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-founder and Managing Director, Hiranandani Group, and National Vice-Chairman, NAREDCO. If Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is applied to design, functionality or utility would trump aesthetics. “Once you complete the basic necessities of life, then design becomes important. Good design is a combination of utility and aesthetics. By using ‘design thinking’, one can make things for dual usage. For example, in our projects, we make the bedroom such that if somebody wants to use it as their office, they can by simply rolling up the bed. Aesthetics is equally important. Take for example, the Apple phone - hundred thousand pieces were designed differently, cally pleasing space is designed, it becomes a standard for design, and people have started welcoming such standardisation in design. However, design is an ever evolving process, designs get outdated if not improved and this needs to be kept in mind. On design for employee well-being Emphasising the need for ergonomic design, he said, “Design is important for residential complexes, but it is equally important for offices and commercial spaces.” Good design can help a company retain their employees, as it enhances well-being and given how the pandemic has made well-being central to our lives, it is an essential aspect to focus on. On designing better quality of life for city dwellers and the citizens of India We need our leadership to focus on essential aspects of infrastructure building to achieve this. And, it has to be a top to bottom approach. Back in the day, we didn’t have the money to put behind this, but now that is not the case. And, I must say progress is taking place but there is still lots to do. We need to have more people thinking about such aspects. AFTER HOURS FUTURE OF DESIGN S peaking to Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld, Niranjan Hiranandani explains the importance of utility in design “Aesthetics and utility equally important” research was conducted and finally one was chosen. This was a combination of aesthetics and functionality. Design is going to be a much more important part of the future,” said Hiranandani. Post-pandemic design needs for the realestate industry Po s t - p a n d e m i c t h e requirements of people have completely changed. For instance, now people want more space in their homes, but this has to be aesthetically appealing as well. They want their space to be comfortable and appealing. In India, we are moving towards standardisation. Once an aestheti- NIRANJAN HIRANANDANI
For Partnerships & Speaker Opportunities: Gareema Ahuja, +91 7827590848, [email protected] For Nomination Inquiries: Gareema Ahuja, +91 7827590848, [email protected] #BWGLLS JUNE 2023 NOMINATE NOW LAST DATE TO NOMINATE: MAY 30, 2023 Eminent Jury in association with SUMMIT AND LEGAL LEADERS AWARDS 2023 4TH EDITION DR LALIT BHASIN fifffflffffiflfflffiffffl ffflffl JUSTICE A.K. SIKRI ffi fflflff JUSTICE DEEPAK VERMA ffi fflflff DR ANNURAG BATRA fffl ffffl flflfflfl flfflffffl fflfffflffi flff ARSHDEEP SINGH ffffiff flffffl fflffi flffl JATIN JALUNDHWALA ffffl ff flfflflfflffiff fffflfl KAUSHIK MUKHERJEE flfflffiff fflflff flfflffi flfflfffflfl fl MOHIT SHUKLA fflflffffiff fffflflff ffl ffl ffi ff fffl ffffffffl NIKHIL GULIANI ffffiff ffflff POOJA SEHGAL MEHTANI fflff ffl flff flffl ffffl ff fflfl RAJEEV CHOPRA fifffflffffiflfflffifl ffiff ffl RAJENDRA MISRA flffffl fflff ffl fflflffffl ffffl ROOP LOOMBA fflff ffl VANI MEHTA fflff ffl flff
90 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 AFTER HOURS MUSEUMS India needs to have not just better museums but a lot more of them as they are great places to learn about our history as well as shared cultural legacy By ARIHAN SINGH MAKE MUSEUMS A NATIONAL PRIORITY WITH ACCESS FOR ALL Y OU need to know your history to unders t a n d y o u r world today and walk confidently into the future,” my father said these words to me when I first visited the City Palace Museum in Jaipur with him serving as my guide. Every time I walk into a museum, these words ring true. From an early age, I’ve been fortunate to explore some of the most prestigious and best-run museums across the world. It was enthralling for me to visit the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museum in Vatican City, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the B r i t i s h Mu s e u m i n London. I have also made multiple learning trips to the National Museum in Delhi, the Mehrangarh Fort Museum in Jodhpur, the City Palace Museum in Jaipur and the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is thanks to my parents that I got exposed to this wonderful world. Initially, I lacked interest Photograph by Andrey Khrobostov / Canva
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 91 “Do we, in India, not deserve better museums and a greater number of museums?”. The answer is a resounding “Yes” in spending time in museums but as I began to see and learn, it gradually developed into a deep interest. As time went by, I started to make the connection between what I absorbed in museums and my curriculum-based learning at school. I have become deeply committed to visiting as many museums as I can and opening this world for others through providing them physical and virtual access. A Place to See & Learn Museums are a fantastic place to learn about history and celebrate our shared cultural legacy. However, a museum is not only a collection of artifacts related to history. Every subject of human civilisation has a museum of its own such as geology, zoology, botany, music, war, sports, computers, art and many more. There are thousands of museums worldwide that display fascinating exhibits. China is striving to become a global leader in this area and so are countries in the Middle East such as the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Being at a museum is an experience that needs to be enjoyable, the learning and knowledge that comes with it is truly enriching. My good fortune in visiting museum all over the world, an enthusiasm I now share with my family, left me wondering, “Do we, in ‘Museum Superpower.’ With the advancements in internet-based technology, we have the opportunity to bring the world of museums to many more young students regardless of their socio-economic status. Remote access to immersive museum experiences is now possible, which can revolutionise the way we learn. Museums have the potential to be not just places of learning, but also social hubs and extensions of schools. They offer a unique group learning experience that cannot be found elsewhere. When I visited Dholavira in Gujarat with my classmates we were experiencing a unique civilisation because it records continuous settlement at one given place for over 1,500 years from pre‐Harappan to late Harappan period between 3000-1500 BCE. A small but very focused museum collection brought alive this city that ended its existence some 3,500 years ago. The joy of group discussion and socialisation was unique and remains etched in my mind. I believe that each person who visits a museum comes out a better person and that this has the potential to shape our future. How can you help to further my cause? Start by spending a day at your nearest museum. Arihan is a Class VIII student at Bombay International School. He has a keen and developing interest in Indian history India, not deserve better museums and a greater number of museums?” The answer is a resounding “Yes.” A museum is more than a place to see an assortment of treasures. It sparks off a curiosity within us, motivating and provoking us to learn more. The personal experience of exploring a museum should be incredibly rewarding, and it is crucial for museums to improve their visitor experiences and appeal to the inner child in all of us. A remarkable story of transformation has been witnessed at two great Mumbai institutions namely the C h h a t r a p a t i S h i v a j i M a h a r a j V a s t u Sangrahalaya at Kala Ghoda, Fort and the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Byculla. They are the oldest museums in Mumbai and their revival is an example for all museums to emulate. There are many children who have not had the privilege of visiting museums and experiencing the enrichment. I believe this can change. I am taking the initiative to let more kids of my generation – especially those who come from less privileged backgrounds – experience museums with the same enthusiasm as I and am hoping they will pass on this experience to others. I am making a small endeavour to try and organise learning trips and curated experiences for young students who are unexposed to the world of museums. I believe technology ought to be leveraged to democratise museum accessibility. I am convinced it will have transformational effects on our society. Tech As a Facilitator As an Indian, I have a deep pride in our rich cultural heritage and civilisation. It is an area where we have much to showcase to the world. I believe we should aspire to become a Photograph by Max Goth
92 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 Digital technology has created a connected world, which is great for economics and creating wealth but has impacted the quality of life. We are always ‘on’. As a result, we constantly hear people say they are stressed, or are feeling bogged down. Over the last decade, the environment around us has changed dramatically, and AFTER HOURS INTERVIEW The widely acclaimed spiritual leader, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankarin conversation with Annurag Batra,Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld, speaks about how to develop wellbeing in troubled times, work-life balance and happiness teacher, Gurudev has offered yoga and meditation techniques in formats that are suitable for the contemporary being. Sharing his vision of non-violence, he has played a central role in conflict resolution around the world. He has been credited for his attempts at fostering peace in Colombia, Iraq, the Ivory Coast, Kashmir, and Bihar. He has consistently emphasised interfaith harmony and called for multi-cultural education as a remedy for fanaticism. Read on for excerpts of the interview. How did the name ‘Art of Living’ come to your mind? Forty two years ago when has negatively impacted physical and mental wellbeing. People rely on their spiritual wealth to help them overcome stress and chaos. We can safely say that this generation is in the pursuit of wellness, and increasing our spiritual wealth is the most important task of the 21st century. A renowned spiritual “TO FIND HAPPINESS, YOU NEED TO HAVE A CALM MIND”
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 93 we started, there was a lot of prejudice about yoga, meditation and everything spiritual. In those days if you said Pranayama or Yoga, people would imagine someone standing at the Kumbh mela on one leg or someone lying on a bed of nails. So, I came up with the term ‘Art of Living’. The term managed to create curiosity in people, and they wanted to know what it was. When they started to practice the techniques they saw its benefits in day-to-day life. with much more clarity. Is a ‘Selfless Leader’ an oxymoron? Or, do you see selfless leaders in today’s environment? We can’t put all leaders in the same basket. There are leaders in the world who are large-hearted, and they have a greater vision for the world. No doubt, the reputation of politics has gone down in comparison to what it was earlier. When we were all growing up, politicians were a respected lot. The recent past has been full of conflicts globally. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has impacted all of us in different ways. How do we bring conflicts to an end? Conflicts arise in the minds of people. We have never paid attention to this aspect in our societies. Mental health crisis has become prevalent in the world today. On one side, there is aggression and on the other side is depression. People go through this all the time. When leaders are surrounded by a small coterie and don’t look beyond that, their communication system breaks down. Their perception about things gets flawed. And that’s when you experience conflict. Better communication is important to avoid conflict. Second, commitment to a greater cause is essential. It’s important to see how a conflict is going to affect the population of the world. Third, when we see the context to life, we start thinking If you are aware of all that you have received as a blessing, you will be grateful
94 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 help remove a lot of cobwebs from the mind. Clarity will dawn. When you start asking these questions or start your journey in the spirit of inquiry, you will get clarity. There’s power in gratitude and grace. Can one develop a habit of being grateful, or is it a part of a person’s make-up? Awareness is the key. If you are aware of all that you have received as a blessing, you will be grateful. We forget this and take many simple things for granted. That’s when our life energy starts dwindling. The more we are grateful in life, the more fulfilling life will be and more grace flows into life. There is no dearth of miracles but you need to be conscious about all that you have received in life. This won’t happen every day. But again, you must remember and be grateful. Then, life takes the right direction, right speed, and the right step. About The Art of Living: Gurudev founded The Art of Living in 1981 as an international, non-profit, educational and humanitarian organisation. Its self-development programmes offer tools to eliminate stress and promote a sense of wellbeing. The Art of Living operates in 180 countries. In 1997, Gurudev co-founded the International Association for Human Values (IAHV), a sister organisation of The Art of Living. The IAHV coordinates sustainable development projects, nurtures human values and initiates conflict resolution. their day-and-night with numbers and logic. They also need to spend some time every week with the nature. Everyone is chasing happiness today. How can we find happiness? To find happiness, you need to have a calm mind. You must first get rid of the stress. How can you find happiness when you are messed up in your mind? You need keenness of observation and clarity in your mind. But for that, you have to be free from stress. When you get rid of the stress, there will be purity in your heart and your actions will be sincere. Life flows effortlessly once we pay a little attention to these aspects. Wise people say that happiness is in finding your purpose. You found your purpose very early in life. Is there a playbook to finding purpose in life? First of all, we must ask ourselves what our purpose in life is. Many people don’t even ask this question. There are some basic questions, which every intelligent person should ask themselves. And, this will However, that’s not the case today. Then again, let’s not put every leader in the same basket. H o w d o y o u d e f i n e wellbeing? Wellbeing is obvious when you have an undying smile on your face and your communication has humour in it. Wellbeing can also be observed in people who take on challenges in life. Someone who is sick would not usually be energetic - they lack enthusiasm and would not be able to take on challenges. But if you are ready to take on challenges and you have a sense of humour, it shows that you are well. How does a modern-day business executive, a CEO or a mid-level executive practice wellbeing in his life? Work-life balance is important. People must take some time for themselves to reflect on their own mind and get rid of stress. They need to understand the different layers of our system - the body, the breath, the mind and then, see how their intellect is functioning. By attending to the breath, their emotions can become stronger and subtler. It is also important to be aware of the type of prejudice they have. You develop prejudice due to your experiences or conditioning of the mind. Are you able to get out of your conditioning? If the left-side of your brain is active due to work, which involves logic, numbers and thinking - your brain gets tired and you go out of balance. To balance your system, you need to listen to music for at least half an hour. Especially lawyers, chartered accountants, and businessmen, who spend AFTER HOURS INTERVIEW Photograph by Prat138241
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96 | BW BUSINESSWORLD | 20 May 2023 A The author is the renowned astrologer Bejan Daruwala’s son and carries forward his legacy By Astro Friend Chirag Bejan Daruwala LIBRA: (23 Sept. – 22 Oct. ) Ganesha says that your focus this month should be on your relationships with others, both personal and professional. Use your diplomatic skills to navigate any conflicts that arise. You may also experience some unexpected financial gains, but remember to save for the future. SCORPIO: (23 Oct. – 21 Nov. ) Ganesha says that this month, you may feel a strong desire to transform yourself and your surroundings. Use your intensity and focus to make positive changes in your life. However, be sure to communicate openly and honestly with those around you to avoid conflicts. SAGITTARIUS: (22 Nov. – 21 Dec.) Ganesha says that your adventurous spirit will be strong this month, so take risks and explore new opportunities. Your natural talents and passions may be amplified, and you could experience a burst of inspiration and innovation. CAPRICORN: (22 Dec. – 19 Jan.) Ganesha says that your focus this month should be on your career and professional goals. Use your determination and hard work to achieve success, but remember to take time for self-care and relaxation. AQUARIUS: (20 Jan. – 18 Feb.) Ganesha says that you may feel a strong desire to break free from routine and explore new possibilities. Embrace your independence and use your creativity to bring new ideas to life. PISCES: (19 Feb. – 20 March) Ganesha says that your intuition and empathy will be strong this month, so use them to your advantage. Focus on your relationships with loved ones and use your creative talents to bring positivity into your life. What the Stars Foretell for You VIRGO: (23 August – 22 Sept. ) Ganesha says that this month, you may feel a strong desire to learn and expand your knowledge. Take advantage of any educational opportunities that come your way. However, there may be some tension in your relationships, so make sure to communicate honestly to avoid misunderstandings. RIES:(21 March – 19 April) Ganesha says this month, you may feel a strong desire to take risks and try new things. You may feel restless and impatient, craving change and adventure. However, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons before making any big decisions. TAURUS: (20 April – 20 May) Ganesha says that your financial situation may be a bit unstable this month, but don’t panic. Things will eventually work out in your favour. Instead of focusing solely on money, focus on building stronger relationships with your loved ones. GEMINI: (21 May –20 June) Ganesha says that this month, you may feel like you’re being pulled in many different directions. It’s important to prioritise your goals and focus on what’s truly important to you. Remember to take time for self-care and relaxation to avoid burnout. CANCER: (21 June – 22 July) Ganesha says that your intuition will be particularly strong this month, so trust your gut when making decisions. You may also experience some unexpected changes in your career or personal life, but try to see these challenges as opportunities for growth. LEO: (23 July – 22 August) Ganesha says that your creative energy will be heightened this month, so use it to your advantage. You may also experience some unexpected financial gains, but remember to save and invest wisely for the future. Prioritise your goals and focus on what truly matters to you. WHAT DOES MAY 2023 HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU? CARRYING FORWARD THE LATE BEJAN DARUWALA’S LEGACY, THE AUTHOR GUIDES YOU, SO YOU MAY MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER COLUMN Astrologer: Chirag Bejan Daruwala
20 May 2023 | B W BUSINESSWORLD | 97 Should we hurry up with policies around AI? There has to be a significant engagement by the policymakers. I don’t know if there is enough understanding of the pace at which the AI space is developing. Eventually, we do need policies but it has to be done – given the nature of how fast it is evolving. Moreover, it has to be done in a very thoughtful way by people who have a fairly deep understanding of the issues. A recent Goldman Sachs report mentioned that as many as 300 million jobs could be lost due to AI systems. Do you think such job losses could happen in the next 10 years? I don’t think so. Generative AI technologies require a human in the loop for a lot of activities because it can make spectacular errors. You need human judgment. But even as this develops, it could completely replace human functions in certain areas but there will be other newer things that will be created — that’s always been the history. I mean, they predicted that accountants will go out of business when Excel was first introduced. Now, there are more accountants in the world, per capita, than there were at that time. So, the nature of jobs will change? Yes, there will be more job categories or jobs that we do not know anything about right now. For instance, nobody knew that social media influencers/ content creators would be a job category 20 years ago. But the dystopian scenario of everybody sitting around with nothing to do and the state has to feed them, I think that is a little bit farfetched. Do you think countries like India should have AI-first policies to foster innovation at a national level? Because monopolies could easily form on the global stage, especially, with the US and China being far ahead in AI innovation? I certainly think this will become a contentious topic in the future. Because national competitiveness is affected by the degree of utilisation of machine learning and AI models. So, certainly governments like India should be investing in AI — not to build giant models which will compete with the ‘latest and greatest’ from OpenAI or Google — but they need to foster the creation of these models and the usage of these models as part of the national infrastructure. This could be considered critical national infrastructure. You mean something like the India Stack? Yes. India Stack was done with the support of the government. You need similar efforts here because this thing is going to be one of the most significant determinants of technological superiority among nations. And it’s going to affect all forms of competitiveness, including economic, military and more. Hence, it’s super-critical for each country, certainly a country like India, as it aspires to be the top three global powerhouses in the world. Should we be wary about anything with AI development? The companies that are building these new AI models and developing the technology, they understand the power of these things better than most people like you and me — who are on the outside. Hence, the onus is on them to both educate and put the safeguards as needed. That is where the higher sense of responsibility needs to come from. — Rohit Chintapali VMware CEO Raghu Raghuram on the pace of innovation in AI, possible job losses, the need for AI policies and what India’s approach should be with the technology LAST WORD RAGHU RAGHURAM ‘There will be probably more job categories in future’ India Stack was done with the support of the government. You need similar efforts in AI because this thing is going to be one of the most significant determinants of technological superiority among nations
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