Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

BOOK REVIEW

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

About the Author:

Rashmi Bansal is a writer, entrepreneur and youth expert. Rashmi is co-founder and editor of JAM (Just Another Magazine), Indias leading youth magazine in print and online.She writes extensively on youth, careers and entrepreneurship and hosts the popular blog: Youth Curry. Rashmi is Consulting Editor for Cracking Careers, the careers show on business news channel UTVi. She mentors students and young entrepreneurs in colleges across India. An economics graduate from Sophia College, Mumbai and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad, she lives in Mumbai and can be reached at rashmi at jammag dot com.

About the book:The book has inspiring stories of 25 IIM Ahmadabad graduates who chose to tread a path of their own making. Its about 25 people who made their careers in entrepreneurship and have proved their metal. The book has been forwarded by Mr. Samir K Barua, Director, IIM Ahmadabad and the book has been supported by Centre for Innovation Incubation and entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM Ahmadabad. The book has been divided into three major parts : y y y The Beleivers. The Opportunist. The Alternate Vision

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

The Beleivers
People who knew entrepreneurship was the Chosen Path. They took the plunge straight after their MBA or after working barely a couple of years. And they persevered until they made it big. Some of the people included in this category are :

Sanjeev Bikhchandani (PGP 89), naukri.com :

Sanjeev is Indias most successful internet entrepreneur. For close to a decade he struggled on the sidelines but never gave up on his Big Idea. In 2006, naukri.com became the first dotcom to IPO on an Indian stock exchange.

Learning:Sanjeev had many challenges in his way! He was often offered with mouth-watering jobs but stayed firm upon his decision of having his own business. He faced lot many problems like financial crisis, but he did not quit. He JUST believed in his BIG IDEA! Entrepreneurship is what you can't afford to have ego. Entrepreneurs are seekers, always open to change.

One should not exaggerate in their business plan. One should under commit and over deliver. Persistence is THE BEST QUALITY! If one wants to achieve high aims in life then one needs to let go several things. CREATE RATHER THAN FIND OPPURTUNITIES.

Shantanu Prakash (PGP 88), Educomp :

Despite a regular middle class upbringing, Shantanu went into business while doing his BCom. The entrepreneurial streak continued after the MBA from IIM Ahmadabad. His company Educomp is today the leading provider of digital content for schools across India.

Learning: Shantanu had faced many difficulties like clashes with his partner, in getting highly qualified people,and most importantly he cannot balance his personal and professional life till date. However, he loved the challenges and never gave up! One should choose that thing about which one is passionate.
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Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

The risk-reward situation is completely in favour of the entrepreneur.

Do something which is able to make a contribution and fundamentally change something that generates value.

Vinayak Chatterjee (PGP 81), Feedback Ventures

Vinayak quit his job at Ponds because he didnt see the point of selling soap for the rest of his life. Originally set up as a market research company, over the years, Feedback Ventures morphed into Indias leading infrastructure advisory and engineering firm. Learning : Feedback would not have been posible without one element, i.e. FAITH!.The company faced a little low profile. There was a time when they had to shut it down. Its beecause of bad planning and wrong decision. So if you are honest with your purpose and have clear purpose, people are going to support you in society.
it. Do whatever your inner voice says you are good at, just dont attach any value systems to

One should find purpose by listening to ones inner voice and means would follow. Shouldnt worry about the fruits, just work hard in life.

Ashank Desai (PGP 79), Mastek :

In the early 80s, much before IT was a buzzword, Ashank Desai set up Mastek along with a couple of friends. Mastek was the first company to focus on India as a market and is today one of the top 15 IT companies in the country. Ashank Desai had overcame many challenges. Initially they did not even have a computer in their office. They faced financial crisis too. He had no experience of software exports but still, he could make that up. They had faced many problems like economic crisis, changes in customer requirements, technologies, low scope in Indian market, but it was the mutual trust of partners which hold the company. So, If you want to start a business, then bringing together a right team of people becomes very important.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

One requires a team which feels a trust for each other. One should always think big and behave as if one has already accomplished your greatness. Once one gets into any work, one should never think of quitting as one of the options. Though one should work hard, one shouldnt forget to retain work-life balance

R Subramanian (PGP 89), Subhiksha :

He quit his job at Citibank 15 days after joining, feeling restless to do something more. That something is today Indias largest grocery chain - Subhiksha. Subramanian famously rebuffed offers from Reliance Retail as he believes the best is yet to come. For every business risk taking is important. Business in retailing is tough yet lovable.

Experience makes man perfect! If one wants to slog and do physical work in the real world, it would make more sense to work in small companies because smaller the companies, better it is for a new recruit. The larger the company, lesser are the chances of one seeing the bigger picture of the real world. The experience one gets from joining small companies would make all the difference.

Vardan Kabra (PGP 2004), Fountainhead School :

In 2004, Vardan Kabra turned his back on an offer by multinational P&G to pursue his dream of starting Fountainhead School. He represents a new generation of young MBAs who are giving up seven figure salaries for the kick of being an entrepreneur. One should have possess a creative mind for being successful in any business.

One should be always clear about what one wants in life. If one wants to start any business then one needs to be passionate about it and needs to work hard for success. One may worry about hard times, at the beginning but when they do come, everyone finds a way through them, the only thing is that one needs to be creative.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

The Oppurtinists

Deep Kalra (PGP 92), makemytrip.com :

Deep went into business the way every entrepreneur dreams it will happen: a venture capitalist offered him $ 2 million to start up. But with the dotcom bust he had to invest his life savings and buy back his own company. Makemytrip.com is today Indias leading travel portal. For young entrepreneurs, they should choose their field very carefully. During the course of ones life one should plan their funding carefully. They also should hire the best personnel in ones business and one should not hesitate in hiring better people then oneself. They should promote an honest and open working atmosphere

Rashesh Shah (PGP 89), Edelweiss Capital :

In a world dominated by the likes of J P Morgan and Merrill Lynch Rashesh Shah set up a large and successful homegrown investment bank in a single decade. But it wasnt a straight path to success - there were many bumps and detours. Rashesh says hardships are part of business but one must be able to overcome them in order to succeed in life.

Nirmal Jain (PGP 89), India Infoline :

Nirmal shut down his information services business in 1999 and put all his eggs in the internet basket. His gamble paid off and today India Infoline is one of the countrys biggest online trading platforms.Entrepreneurship is a very risky business One who is entering this business must be prepared to fail otherwise one cannot survive for long in any sort of entrepreneurship business. One should ideally work in a large organization before starting any business of their own, as experience always helps. One needs to have leadership quality to succeed in life.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

Vikram Talwar (PGP 70), EXL Service :

After a long and distinguished career with Bank of America, Vikram Talwar could have spent the rest of his years playing golf. Instead he chose to set up a company which is today one of Indias largest BPOs. Working with a partner requires huge amount of sacrifices. If you want to get into entrepreneurship, an inner drive in succeed is what required.

EXL, started with three partners, then it was sold, then the customer turned in bankrupt and then it was bought again. So here, beginning again with everything was difficult. The main problem was with partner(s). However vikram got rid of his ego and then their business kept moving.

K Raghavendra Rao (PGP 79), Orchid Pharma :

Raghavendra Rao has built up a $300 million dollar pharma company in 13 short years. The son of a working class railways employee, he now dreams of making Orchid Indias first $1 billion pharma company. One should dream big and think ahead in life.

One should also believe in dignity of labour. In order to succeed in life, one should be passionate about their goals in life.

Jerry Rao (PGP 73), Mphasis : A career Citibanker, Jaitirth (Jerry) Rao was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug in his late 40s. He built up a large and profitable company (Mphasis) but recently sold out to EDS because business is about passion as well as knowing when to let go. After college one should be instrumental in choosing the company for a job because choosing a good company can give one invaluable lessons within a short period of time. While going through hardships in business, one should think about their strengths and not about their weakness.
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Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

The Alternate Vision

Venkat Krishnan (PGP 93), GiveIndia :

Hes worked with a newspaper, a television channel and as principal of a school. Venkat then launched GiveIndia, to promote the culture of giving in India. He is an entrepreneur but his mission is one with a difference. you should have the courage to start a business because entrepreneurship is not easy and it is risky as well. you should just try and experience the joy of giving at the first instance.

You should give their time, money and skills for those who need them and want to improve their lives. Things should be done with great satisfaction. Commercial success is not needed. You should never start a business for the sole motive of earning profits.

Anand Halve (PGP 77), chlorophyll :

After two decades in advertising Anand set up a brand consultancy called chlorophyll. He believes small is beautiful because in the quest for size and scale you lose out on the joy of creation. This is an alternate model of entrepreneurship. To set goals for yourself in life, one should follow their hearts and not mind as only hear can answer meaningful questions of life. Money is not an end in itself, one shouldnt do business if one wants to earn money only.

One should create love and affection at the workplace. Before starting any business, one should define Dos and Donts

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

S B Dangayach (PGP 72 ), Sintex :

He is not the owner of the company but in every other sense works like an entrepreneur. The man behind the iconic Sintex water tanks believes in constant evolution and creation of new products. And after 34 years with one company he is still passionate about it. You should do only that business which is likely to give one satisfaction. You should do only that thing in business, which one likes the most. You should follow their conscience. You would be successful in life if you follow their conscience.

Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

CONCLUSION: This book has enhanced me to a great extent.

Things we often think is not always correct! Say for eg. I am interested in entrepreneurship. I thought if one has an idea, a big idea, then one must aspire to own a big company. But its not so, experience, creativity and learning should also be part of your job. That is the basic element for success. Because success is satisfaction and not money. This is beautifully portrayed in the story sweet success. Overall its a good book for students who are interested in pursuing their career in entrepreneurship and for young entrepreneurs!

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Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

Presented by: Nikhil Motlag Kunal Borse Aman Khatri Arvind Singh

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