Tag: entrepreneurship

My Business Ventures and Failed Venture Lessons


I started as a freelance at the age if 18 and evolved as an entrepreneur from the age of 20… In last 13 years I’ve had my hand on couple of ventures…

FreeLancer: Between 1998 – 2000 I’ve been a freelance and I’ve been into web design and manpower consultancy…

Agriya: This was my first entrepreneurship venture… Agriya was a Web Services company… I learned the nuances of entrepreneurship… I’ve been a part of this company for 8 years and it was a #success…

Distributor Of a Pharma Product: Invested in this venture to help my friend and I had no earlier experience on the domain… This venture was a #failure…

People Justice: Invested and Operated a fortnightly Tamil Magazine which is into investigative journalism… Learned the nuances of the business where I came to know the types of printing, selecting paper, networking with journalist, editorial, layout design, proof reading and distribution…This venture can also be considered #failure… But still we occasionally keep releasing the issue…

Real Estate Venture: Tried my hands on Real Estate which has created a lot of millions in India… Unfortunately this venture is also a #failure…

Cogzidel Technologies: Cogzidel is a Web, Mobile & Social Media services company… I’m a part of this company for last four and half years…

Cogzidel Consultancy Services: CCS is an accounting and business services company… I’m a part of this company for last four and half years…

In all my #failed ventures I was an investor and I invested to help a friend of mine to settle down… Though I learned from those ventures my main take away is;

– Don’t invest if there is no investment from other partner…
– Don’t invest until the person requesting investment does a business plan and show you some commitment…
– Make tough things in written (agreement) and especially make exit difficult for the person…
– Never invest to help someone… If they give-up you loose your money and the purpose of gesture gets defeated…

Program on Entrepreneurship


XIME, one of the premier Business Schools in Bangalore holding AICTE’s top accreditation and Business India’s A++ rating in its latest survey, is pleased to announce its 11th training programme in Entrepreneurship Development from April 04 to 30, 2011.

This programme is backed by XIME’s considerable wealth of experience in the teaching of Entrepreneurship over the years by some of XIME’s faculty and also consultants to SMEs.. It will be run at the attractive XIME campus in the heart of the Electronics City of Bangalore.

The diverse aspects of the programme will be covered through sessions at XIME for four weeks followed by a week of Business plan preparation and mentoring.

The broad spectrum of subjects to be covered in the first four weeks will include computer training, followed by lectures on various topics in Entrepreneurship, functional areas of Business, and Key Managerial Skills. The lectures will be interactive in nature and designed to ensure active participation by the trainees. Considerable emphasis will be given on opportunity identification and business plan preparation.

1. Entrepreneurship Competencies
2. I.T Tools & Solutions in Small Business Management
3. Business Opportunity Identification
4. Development of Detailed Project Report
5. Complimentary Skills Development
6. Key functional areas
7. Liaisoning with Promotional Agencies
8. Mentor Programme

There will be a number of experience sharing sessions on successes and failures in small enterprise management.
Interested people can contact Mr.Venkatesh (09845020538 or venkat@xime.org).  For more details plz visit:  http://www.xime.org/edp.asp

Fear Supersedes Passion


In recent times I’m approached by lots of youngsters who have zeal for entrepreneurship… They have wonderful ideas and some even have good execution plan… But what is common with all the folks is the dreaded word “Fear of Failure”… They approach me asking me to help them in execution… In simple terms it is their idea where is I’ve to;

  • Invest in project…
  • Create, Build & manage a team…
  • Manage and align all the stakeholders…
  • Market it to end user…

What all I can get in return is their support from outside… Meaning they wont quit their job & they will keep giving their thoughts… They quit and join me when everything is set and company comes to a comfortable position…

In simple words they want some third person to take the risk and they will share the benefits once the project is a success… If it fails they don’t have anything to loose other than some time they spend on meetings & fringe jobs they do…

The reasons they have for not quitting their job immediately is;

  • They have commitments (at the age of 24 & they assume they will be out of commitment at 34)…
  • They have to gain some expertise & experience…
  • They don’t have sufficient capital…

For all those gentleman I’ve a simple answer… I’m not stupid… If your Fear Supersedes your Passion it your problem… I’ve no obligation to baby sit you for your success…

All I can tell is you are not an entrepreneur material because you don’t have traits such as;

  • Guts
  • Enjoying Failures
  • Fire in your A$$

Finally I’m sure you can’t become an entrepreneur until you change your attitude…

Chilled out for the day & a day of co-incidence


I’ve decided to take some break form my normal work and do something interesting. That is when I got a message in FaceBook from a person whom I befriended last week in the bus. He was telling me that he wanted to become an entrepreneur and wanted to spend sometime with me to understand / get some of my thoughts on Entrepreneurship. I though that would be the best thing to take a break.

Before getting ready I got another message in FaceBook from a Student. He was asking my thoughts on MBA. This guy has just completed his Under Graduation and wants to pursue his MBA immediately. He said he has not attended any campus interview to continue his studies and also his parents wants him to have a Post Graduation before he going to Job. I recommended him to work for 2 – 3 years before doing a MBA. I’ve shared as must as example as possible. But it is upto the boy to take my point and to convince his parents.

Then I was going through the success story of Mr.Ganapathy of Dosa Plaza which raised my energy. Please go through this link to read about his story “Once penniless in Mumbai, now a crorepati!”

Only then I remembered about the Success Story of another person whom I read a month back and contacted him immediately. I was glad to get a polite response form him and most probably I’d be meeting him tomorrow.

Then I picked my bus mate and spent good time with him. We were sharing our thoughts, plans and ideas. It was mutual learning and infact he had good network of friends who would be of good help for me in my business. So, it was worth the time to spend with him.

Finally when I was about to close the day I got a SMS from a new visitor to my blog;

I have come across your blog by accident. im a sri lankan tamil living in uk.keep da inspiring work sir.god bless .raj ramanan

and immediately he called me. That was very motivating and I was happy that people recognize the small success I’ve made and not it is time to work hard to sustain the success.

10 years of Entrepreneurship & 2 Years for Cogzidel


September has become a special month in my Life as it is during this month that I started my career and that too as an entrepreneur. I still remember it was during September 2000 I started my first company in a Ganesh Temple in Besant Nagar during Ganesh Chadurthi. Then I didn’t know I’d have crossed soo many hurdles & would be blogging about it today.

Also my second venture Cogzidel was started during september 2 years back and again I cant believe it has been 2 years. I can still remember both the days afresh.

It was a wonderful journey which was a mix of;

  • Excitement
  • Learning
  • Experience
  • Betraying
  • Managing Cruelty
  • Criticism
  • Appreciation
  • Recougnization

It took me 10 years in life to understand only half what entrepreneurship is and I’m still learning. Now I’ve a past to show people about my performance. But time to redraw my future & this is how I want my future to be positioned or I want to be or I want to do;

  • Become an Angel Investor
  • Become a Business Mentor
  • Become a professor on Entrepreneurship
  • Experiment / Research on Entrepreneurship like
    • Social Entrepreneurship
    • Holding and scaling an Entity
    • Forming a Company with Crowd Funding
    • Run a Public Limited Company

Just understood where my heart is and slowly moving towards the direction of my passion. Finally on this day I’d like to thank all my friends, relatives & my associates who have helped me reach where I’m today.

I wish 2020 will have a lot more to Share than now.

Gave a speech on Entrepreneurship


Got an invitation to give a talk on Entrepreneurship at Tech Mahindra. It was a nice experience and nice to see lots of folks who were interested to know more about entrepreneurship.

Invitation to The Most Popular Entrepreneur Challenge 2009


Moving forward with its endeavor of building a strong Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem, YourStory launches The Most Popular Entrepreneur Challenge 2009; lead sponsored by Sun Startup Essentials.

Entrepreneurs are unique human beings, as creators and shapers of ideas, they have changed the world. Every Entrepreneur who has ventured forth has done so knowingly that their future is a gamble. Braving the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” they emerged victorious each time. This has been the trait of their race. From endless planning to business models and team building, a modern Entrepreneur chooses to do it all. Statistics, research, facts, and market knowledge are the new tools of an old trade.

 

However, we seem to have forgotten that the entrepreneur is more than just the sum of his or her parts. As the legacy of our past stirs us post Independence Day, we have looked deep and hard at what makes an entrepreneur. YourStory seeks to rediscover the charisma, leadership, and foresight of the Great Indian Entrepreneur.

 

For the first time in India, YourStory is conducting a Challenge for Entrepreneurs which will be 100 percent community driven. With all the contests in India primarily being ‘judged’ by experts and panelists, who form ‘their’ opinions on ‘your’ business model, we think that’s its time to change the rule of the game as celebrate entrepreneurship for its spirit purely. No conjecture, posturing and punditry can hope to judge the worth of an Entrepreneur.

 

If you believe that if it is about you then the people closest to you would be your best judge. After all an Entrepreneur is what an Entrepreneur Does. We believe a great entrepreneur is one who can inspire and lead people around him/her. We think it’s time to test your entrepreneurial zeal and popularity among your peers, clients, vendors, friends and relatives – a litmus test that tests your ‘Appeal Quotient’ and brings to fore a biz mastermind, a consummate entrepreneur and a deserving winner. 

 

Besides building a strong profile and testimonial page of every participant, the winner of the contest will walk away with a bouquet of prizes that include a cash prize of Rs.50,000/- mentoring by Mumbai Angel Network, Times Private Treaties (part of the Bennett Coleman Group), Planet Aikon and Morpheus Venture Partners, nation-wide coverage and publicity by Yuva magazine, a two month search engine optimization programme by Clearpath Technology worth Rs.25,000/- free web development by LS Solutions and a 6 month long software and application support by Startup Garage.

Registrations open @ www.yourstory.in

Discover the Deepest Secrets of Money & Wealth Creation


Money is one of the most important and powerful resource. But Money has often been misunderstood and mishandled. The biggest lie you’ve ever heard or spoken is, “Money is not important in my life”. Money is as integral to your being as the air you breathe.

Our natural state is “rich”. Yet somewhere along the line some of us have lost our ability to connect to this huge blessing of abundance that always seems to be one step ahead of our reach.

This program welcomes you to a process of discovering the deepest secrets of money and wealth creation. 

ABOUT THE FACULTY

Suresh Padmanabhan is an excellent communicator and a powerful trainer. He is the creator of the famous “MONEYWORKSHOP” and also the Author of the book ” I LOVE MONEY” , an International Best Seller which has been translated into 11 Indian and foreign languages .

He has toured widely all over the world conducting Money Workshops. His talks have been telecast world wide through Zee networks a leading Indian T.V. Channel.

He has spoken to more than a million people world wide and also to various corporate on varied topics connected with self growth, money, wealth creation, spirituality and the stock markets. He is a columnist with leading magazines.

His aim is to impact the millions of people world wide and raise their level of consciousness in all areas of life especially in aspects pertaining to money and spirituality.

For details visit: http://www.themoneyworkshop.com/ 

PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

Date: 1st August 2009 (Saturday)
Time: 3.30 pm to 6.00 pm
Venue: Nahar Hall a/c , Desabandhu Plaza,
47, Whites’ road, Royapettah
(Next to Sundaram Towers),
Chennai – 600014.

Special Offer for Chennai Entrepreneur Meet up Members: Only Rs.200/- only if you confirm your participation right away by calling 9841438486 ( if you are a member of Life Academy the program is entirely free )

As the seats are limited, we request you to confirm at the earliest to avoid any disappointment.

This program is organized by LIFE ACADEMY – a life skills training organization based at Chennai which aims at creating Leaders of Tomorrow.

Stages of Entrepreneurship by Rajesh Setty


Just came across this blog The Dance of Entrepreneurship by Rajesh Setty which explains three stages of Entrepreneurship.

 

  • The Beginning
  • The Journey
  • The New Beginning

 

With this wonderful pictorial representation.

 

ent-phases 

 

Kindly go thru this link http://www.activegarage.com/the-dance-of-entrepreneurship to go thru this wonderful post

Bad times big opportunity for startups!!


I started my entrepreneurship ride during the year 2000 in the month of September. It was the starting days of so called dotcom bubble. The buzz, happenings and the glamour have all come to a halt. It was one of the worst times to even think of starting a company and that too offering Web based services. We were criticized left right and center for becoming an entrepreneur. My parents asked me to take up higher studies and my friends asked me to take up a job till things revert back.

 

In spite of all those obstacles I started my company with the help of my mentor and well wisher Mr.Shunmugavel Yogan, founder TheITDepot.com. Initial struggles were enormous… When ever I failed there was more criticism than getting moral support… We had no mentors and also the startup ecosystem was not mature… Everything was starting to take shape unlike today;

 

  • Opensource and frameworks were starting to emerge and were not usable. So, we had to develop everything from the scratch.
  • There were not many market places like elance or scriptlance. We had to depend on forums and on top listing on search engines (SEO).
  • Startup ecosystem like proto.in, barcamps, open coffee clubs etc were not there.
  • Also the concept of bootstrapping was new. There was an illusion that to start a business one needs huge capital.

 

In spite of all those odds we were able to strike it big and I personally feel we can see persons best only when his character is put on a test. Why I keep repeating these kind of post is because I see many enthusiastic people who want to become entrepreneurs keep telling me reasons like it is recession, market is inflated, family commitments, emotional commitments etc.

 

Unless we have control on us we can’t strike the gold. So instead of getting inspired by successful people try to know their path to success which can teach you lots of lessons.