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Crystal-gaze
three years into the future and Vineeta Singh, Devashish Chakravarti,
Bhushan Dabir and Vishal Prabhukhanolkar, all second-year students
at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) would
like to have you believe that they will be on their way to the
Big League of India Inc. But that's not why we are talking about
them. They deserve a mention for two reasons.
First, they are part of a new breed of budding
entrepreneurs straight out of management and technical institutes-some,
like Singh, with no prior work experience. Secondly, they have
all given up on big money to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
Singh and Chakravarti were offered associate-level positions in
London with annual pay packages in excess of Rs 1 crore by Deutsche
Bank. They chose, instead, to team up with batchmates Dabir and
Prabhukhanolkar to explore business opportunities in the under-penetrated
lingerie segment of the Indian textile industry. "Of course,
I was excited by the offer and it wasn't easy to turn it down,"
admits the 23-year-old Singh, an IIT graduate, and the youngest
(and the only one without prior work-ex) of the 10 students from
across all IIMs who were offered similar positions; six of the
10 have turned down the offers to start their own ventures.
"This phenomenon has started becoming
apparent in the last two-to-three years," says Mohit Kataria,
an IIM Calcutta alumnus (Class of 2003), who, along with batchmate
Gururaj Potnis, set up Manthan Services, a Bangalore-based legal
outsourcing firm. Adds Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, makemytrip.com,
another IIM-A alum who gave up a secure job to start his own travel
portal: "Graduates, especially from the top B-schools, are
now beginning to look beyond the basics, like brand values of
companies and good pay packages, that come with a cushy job."
Adds Sanjeev Bikhchandani of Naukri.com fame, yet another IIM-A
alum who turned entrepreneur: "Such graduates have no dearth
of role models these days. Moreover, B-schools today are actively
encouraging their students to turn entrepreneurs." This is
corroborated by Anindya Sen, Dean (Programme Initiatives), IIM-C:
"Big money is hard to turn down when you are in your 20s;
but we endeavour to encourage entrepreneurship."
Apart from an overwhelming urge to take on
a challenge, two major reasons, both inextricably linked, are
lending impetus to this trend: the continued upswing in the economy,
which is encouraging people to take risks; and the flow of venture
capital, especially from the us, into India. "Today, anyone
with a sound business plan has relatively easier access to VC
funding," says Kalra. "This said, it is still not easy
for people without work experience to access money," adds
Bikhchandani. While this phenomenon is as yet limited mainly to
top notch B-schools like the IIMs, some like Kataria are hopeful
that students from other good B-schools, too, will throw their
hats into the ring in the near future. "There is a latent
demand for good entrepreneurial talent in sectors like real estate
consulting and retail," says Kataria, adding: "you'll
see more such people gravitating toward Old Economy businesses."
The bottom line: India, the land of opportunities,
is here.
INSTAN
TIP
The fortnight's burning question.
Will Finance Minister P. Chidambaram
deliver another dream budget this year?
No. Dipankar
Mukherjee, MP, CPI(M)
The government has developed a habit of ignoring
us on most issues. It has been going ahead and privatising profit-making
public sector units, and turning a blind eye to rising prices.
We hope to see less of these in the Budget.
Maybe. R.
Seshasayee, MD, Ashok Leyland and President, CII
I think the Budget will focus on the creation
of human capital, the development of a skilled work force and
education. We also hope to see significant steps towards the creation
of a unified market in terms of taxation. Of course, we expect
steps to fuel growth even if industry is deprived of some concessions.
Yes. Anjan
Roy, Economic Advisor, FICCI
The favourable economic situation and buoyant revenue
collection point to a pleasant Budget. Let me add that economic
reforms have given the economy both momentum and stability, so
it depends a lot less on the Budget than it did 10 years ago.
-Compiled by Amit Mukherjee
VCS
GET HOOKED TO DVD RENTALS
Venture
capitalists have ferreted out another hot business sector-online
DVD rental companies. It's still a relatively nascent industry,
with four major players: Madhouse Media, Seventymm, Catchflix
and Cinesprite. Last year, the Delhi-based Madhouse Media received
angel funding of $2,28,000 (Rs 1.03 crore) from angel investing
groups like Band of Angels, Mumbai Angels and a few other private
investors. Then, in September, the Bangalore-based Seventymm received
$7 million (Rs 31.5 crore) from Matrix Partners India. Catchflix
and Cinesprite are funded by their promoters.
Why are investors suddenly interested in
this business? Rishi Navani of Matrix Partners explains: "We
expect the DVD rental segment to grow significantly." Adds
Shubhanker Sarker, COO, Seventymm: "We expect to have a footprint
spanning six cities (Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad
and Kolkata) by April 2007." Sameer Guglani, CEO, Madhouse
Media, has equally ambitious plans. "We're targeting revenues
of Rs 400 crore by 2010," he says, but declines to discuss
his present revenues.
-Anusha Subramanian
SEVENTYMM
» VC funding
of $7 million (Rs 31.5 crore) from Matrix Partners India
» Has received
$10 million (Rs 45 crore) in VC funding in two rounds
MADHOUSE MEDIA
» Angel
funding of $228,000 (Rs 1.03 crore) from a group of investors
CATCHFLIX
» Self-Funded
CINESPRITE
» Seed-funded
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