Tag: entrepreneurs

How and why to build a ‘meaningful’ business as an entrepreneur

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Entrepreneurs aim to solve a problem they are passionate about; be independent and work for themselves, and innovate. Starting a business from the ground up is a tough job. If you are trying to solve a problem that is considered a ‘social one’, it requires an innovative approach and a can-do mindset to deliver a scalable business. The chances of failure is high, but as an entrepreneur, one should worry about the opportunity you might miss rather than fathom the thought of failure.

When you set out to build a for-profit social enterprise, it’s important to combine proven practices along with technology to address complex social problems. For example, while building a business that provides financing solutions to largely excluded communities in the lower socio-economic strata of society, combining established microfinance principles along with innovative technology can ensure successful lending to this demographic. An approach that combines these two aspects results in a highly scalable and profitable business model with social impact.

According to one of the world’s most successful start-up accelerators TechStars, 10 percent of their companies fail in their journey. This figure is even higher when entrepreneurs try to create a “meaningful” business. But challenging the status quo would result in greater satisfaction, and the potential to create social impact at scale is in itself a noble mission.

So what is the secret to success? Below are five factors to success

• The right mindset: If you want to succeed in solving societal problems, the right mindset is key. To every problem, there is a solution, however challenging it might seem. However, the most obvious solution is not always the right one and you may only learn this through practice. It’s crucial to be quick to execute, learn and pivot. Failure is not a concept. You are always learning and making progress. Finally, focus on your strengths and use that to create value.
• Choosing the right problem: So what’s the right problem to solve? Choose a problem you are connected to and believe in, because you need the drive to work 24/7 in finding a solution. Choose one big enough that it matters and one that other people are trying or have been trying to solve.
• Right location: Location, location, location! The most favourable place to adopt and scale your idea might not be your home. Instead you need to be sure the market is ready to adopt a solution and consider the size of the addressable market. Crucial for success for entrepreneurs is a market where it is easy to do business and you can rapidly show proof of concept, without too much bureaucracy.
• Invest in a great team: This means a team that believes in the mission, challenges the status quo, is competent in key areas from fundraising to business development. Occasionally add in “the odd duck” — people from a different background to bring in a fresh perspective.
• Go big or go home: Just like the quote, give it all you’ve got and be the best that you can be, or don’t participate. All you’ve got is what is going to make you achieve the scale that matters. Identify the key strength of your product or service and double down on them. Always do faster in order to stay ahead of the competitors. While learning fast, growing, pivoting or doubling down on certain parts of the business, communicate clearly with all stakeholders and build relationships with key stakeholders.

If all these are done while keeping the DNA, mission and vision of the company, you will surely build a scalable meaningful business. Always remember, “if it were easy, someone would have already done it”.

Cedrick Tandong is CEO, Three Wheels United.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mudra loan beneficiaries have created over 1 crore jobs, says report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mudra loans have led to a 28 percent rise in jobs, reported Business Standard, citing a government survey. The new jobs were generated by establishments which took benefit of the central government scheme.

The report on Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), prepared by the labour bureau under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, revealed that the number of workers in the establishments who availed the loan increased from 3.93 crore to 5.04 crore.

The PMMY was launched in April 2015 to give unsecured loans of up to Rs 10 lakh in order to create more employment and entrepreneurs in the country.

As per the survey, the report said, a total of 1.12 crore new jobs, over half of them in the form of self-employment, were created through the Mudra loans between 2015 and 2018.

However, the result was below the government’s expectations. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in parliament in February that 4.25 crore new entrepreneurs availed Mudra loans, only 51 lakh new entrepreneurs were created from the initiative, said the report.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

In the entrepreneurial quest, success is not the only thing that matters; enjoy the journey

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Most of us in the entrepreneurial journey are so focused on the destination that we sometimes miss the journey. Various management gurus and motivational books have asked us to have an inspiring and larger-than-life destination. However, we should not forget that Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal didn’t have a horizontal marketplace in mind when he started selling books online. And Vijay Shekhar Sharma didn’t have any idea of having a digital payment giant when he started his SMS broadcasting company.

I wasn’t aware of this life lesson when we started researching the reason for not finding cereals based on millets. Growing up in various places in rural South India, I have had my share of exposure to millets but was wondering why we only have artificial-looking extruded millet grains in muesli. We didn’t have a solution to crack it. While trying to understand this challenge better, we started giving this in pieces to nutritional science graduates as part of their internship programme. They didn’t exactly know what they are searching for; neither did we know why we are doing it. But as Steve Jobs says, when you look back everything connects.

Be innovative

Customers never know what they want, so none of our interns worked on customer feedback and data gathering. This comes with challenges, because the time taken to reach a destination in this method of journey is longer and success isn’t guaranteed. What we ended up with after a three-year zig-zag journey was a single-ingredient breakfast bowl of ‘Jowa Bix’ which has —

* Longest bowl life (time before it gets soggy) in the category

* No added sugar or sweetener, but still sweet

* 100 percent jowar

* In the process, have a patent pending in our name

Never in our wildest dreams did we have a patent in our name. Also we never knew that the jowar stem nectar we developed as a magnesium-manganese-iron supplement a few years back will come in handy and be the key to our patent application. Just like Steve Jobs never had a clue in early 90s that Apple would become the most valuable company in the world thanks to its phones which wasn’t part of its plan then. But what he did believe was that they should keep challenging themselves which would help them get ahead. So is that a larger-than-life vision? To me it isn’t, but it’s a commitment to be persistent and making sure you are moving forward.

Learning curve

One has to make sure that one isn’t stuck with the same problem and is always moving. Though movement in uni-direction would make you cover distances faster, if you are learning even a zig-zag movement would take you places where others haven’t been yet. But this comes with an important caveat; one needs to have resources. External resources would be available only for people who commit a uni-directional journey because learnings can’t be monetised in the short term. So even if you are doing a zig-zag format, each of those small vectors has to be big enough for the external investor to believe in. Or you need to be making enough cash flow on those vectors that you don’t have to rely on external support. The irony is that not many talk about this and even those successful ones don’t.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma took 18 years to reach the Paytm we know today and when he says ‘go big or go home’, don’t get stressed too much because Colonel Sanders created KFC when he was 61 years old. For him, 52 years of pre-KFC learning helped, so until the day you fall dead you have a chance to go big. From an investor’s point of view, who has a definite timeframe, this may not be true; none would have backed Sanders in his 30s for a blockbuster that he created 30 years down the line.

Jowabix happened when:

* We were looking for a millet breakfast solution which goes with TrueElements brand filter of wholefood.

* The journey was to minimise the tinkering with ingredients.

* We were looking for a single-ingredient breakfast which can be convenient and tasty.

These were the vectors which were the zig-zag journey. This might go big; even if it doesn’t then the learning from here will pay us as long as we persist in the journey and not give up.

The world can’t be full of Elon Musks because everyone is unique, the moment you start measuring success through the prism of the world you might get stressed. Own your prism, focus on smaller vectors and enjoy the journey.

Sreejith Moolayil is the co-founder of True Elements.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Inside F6: How a group of founders decode scaling startups with mindfulness

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A lot of entrepreneurs reading this will agree when I say, the journey from ‘start-up’ to ‘scale-up’ is mostly characterized by ambiguity, mistakes and endless frustration. There are plenty of reports and studies that help de-mystify scale for startups, but very little that underscores the importance of prioritizing your mental growth while scaling your business.

As entrepreneurs, problem-solving is woven into the very fabric of our daily lives. As critical as this skill is, over time it can lead to what is popularly called ‘founder burnout.’

It is a proven fact that running a start-up is akin to a marathon and not a 100-meter sprint. While I doubt that the fast-moving dynamics of being involved in a start-up will ever change, taking the time to supercharge your mental agility by constantly learning will go a long way.

Reduxing the Mind

Over time, during my interactions with fellow entrepreneurs, I realized many of us faced similar challenges when scaling up – managing the board, investors, and difficult leaders, building a hybrid sales pipeline, building successful marketing organization, nurturing personal equations and the much-cliched work/life balance…

The more I listened, the more I relaxed and surprisingly, the more I learnt. 

It is no secret that an entrepreneur’s life is exciting and yet always on the edge. Interactions with fellow entrepreneurs, helped me realize that there was a lot we could all do to support each other in achieving scale both from mind and business perspective.

This is how F-6 came together in May 2016. A group of six, individuals with diverse backgrounds who have devoted their lives to entrepreneurship. Our mission: Create “a cheat code” that will enable entrepreneurs build long-term sustainable business models while boosting mental agility.

Enter F-6 

Girish Mathrubootham: CEO & Founder, Freshworks

Shashank ND: CEO & Co-founder, Practo

Ritesh Arora: CEO& Co-founder Browse Stack

Aneesh Reddy: Co-founder and CEO Capilliary Technology

Shanmugam Nagarajan: CPO & Co-founder [24]7.ai

Manav Garg: CEO & Founder, Eka

The F-6 – Up, Close and Personal

From the get-go, it was apparent that we had to find a middle ground to connect with each other. We were all of the different age groups (31 -52), businesses models (global SMB, enterprise, healthcare, deep tech & analytics) and disparate cultural backgrounds. The first step was to open up about our personal and professional lives.

Because let’s face it – our professional and personal lives have never been more integrated than it is today. 

Year 1 – Building Trust 

In the first year, the focus was to get to know each other and to establish trust by allocating a couple of hours every quarter. We spent 50 percent of our time discussing issues that mattered and the rest on key business issues – from scaling sales to structuring marketing and such.

The agenda from our first meetings looked something like this:

Total time: 3.5 hours

• 30 mins: Discuss vision/charter 
• Working towards USD 1 BN market cap in the next 5 years

• 10 mins: Presentation on each business 

• 10 mins: Break 

• 60 mins: Business lifeline

• Each of us spoke about our business history, key challenges/successes/failures/disappointments et al

• 10 mins: Break 

• 30 mins: Current business challenges

• 10 mins: Way forward –
• Who do we want to meet and what do we want to get out of these meetings/structure of business updates/feedback/conclusion

Year 2 – Integrating Families

Multiple retreats were organised in year two, to build on the foundation of trust we established in year 1. Our families were part of the entire process and spent the day with us.

The retreats were not just to discuss critical business issues but also to share stories of our lives. We talked about tales from school, about friendships lost, the darker side of success, our health and much more. Though unconventional, this approach helped us develop a deeper understanding of each other and our businesses. It enriched our thinking with different perspectives and honed problem-resolution skills.

Year 3 – Get, Set, Scale

In our third year of association, we decided to dedicate more time to critical business issues, innovation and scaling to the next level – preparing for IPOs, higher valuation, managing senior executives and of course switching off.  

We graduated from day-long retreats to corporate style weekend offsites with our families. The perfect example of work/life balance! 

Our mission to decode scale and establish a strong support system has more or less come true, with each member committing time and effort to the cause.  Personally, this is the group I rely on for a true and an unbiased perspective.

For a lot of budding entrepreneurs out there, it could just be a group that meets over a couple of drinks, power yoga or maybe a round of golf.

Looking Forward

The #SaaSboomi enterprise 2019 is one such attempt from us to give back to the Indian entrepreneur community. With this event, we hope to provide a platform for budding entrepreneurs to connect, exchange notes and get valuable inputs that they can apply to their own business models in their quest to scale.

While the event is focussed on decoding all things hyper-scale, hopefully, it will also help you connect with like-minded individuals who can be your growth hacking support system.

Manav Garg, the CEO and Founder of Eka Software Solutions, is leading F-6

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The importance of being legacy league educated

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Education is one of the most important aspects of a good career. While there may be a few who might not agree with this, a good education does play an important role in developing a holistic personality and becoming a subject matter expert. Better the institutions, better the learning.  Today some of the best corporate honchos and entrepreneurs are from Legacy League institutions.

The sheer grit with which they have built and led the organizations is as if success has been their birthright. These honchos have not just built organizations, but have built brands and a legacy. They are unstoppable, valuable and are the torchbearers of a successful India.

Let’s look at some of them who have made an indelible mark.

Sundar Pichai

A distinguished alumnus of IIT Kharagpur from where he completed his metallurgical engineering and later his MS from Stanford University in material sciences and Engineering and an MBA from Wharton University, Sundar Pichai is an example what hard work coupled with education from the best institutions can shape you into. He joined Google in 2004 and soon became CEO – a position he took up in the year 2015. Prior to that, he led the product management and innovation efforts for a suite of Google’s consumer products, including Google Toolbar, Chrome and Chrome OS. Before joining Google, he held various engineering and product management positions at Applied Materials, and was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company for a variety of software and semiconductor clients.

Vinod Khosla

Having completed his B.Tech in electrical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, a master’s in biomedical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Vinod Khosla, after a short stint with Daisy Systems, co-founded the Sun Microsystems. He later became a Venture Capitalist. Vinod Khosla, along with 4 other Indian Americans, was on Forbes US’ richest list in 2014.

Closer home we have business icons who have put India in the world map for their successful venture in IT and Finance.

Nandan Nilekani

An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Nandan Nilekani is the co-founder of Infosys. As a co-founder, Nilekani led the company from strength to strength. Before assuming leadership as CEO in 2002, Nilekani held various posts, including managing director, president, and chief operating officer. He served as its CEO from March 2002 to April 2007. During his five-year tenure as CEO, Infosys’ topline grew six-fold to $3 billion. 

Sameer Gehlaut

An IIT Delhi alumnus, Sameer Gehlaut went on to start and build India’s successful financial empire in 1999. He is the founder and chairman of the Indiabulls Group, a diversified financial services group with businesses in housing and consumer finance and broking through independent and listed companies in the Indian stock exchanges. Before starting Indiabulls, Gehlaut worked for an American oil services company called Halliburton for 2 years.

He is one of the youngest billionaires in the country.

The examples provided here offer just a glimpse of what premium league education does to an already ignited mind. While we do have dropouts who went to build legacies such as Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates,  let’s not forget that they quit IVY academy and not just another university.  While preparing for such academics, one gets to delve deep in subjects and cement the basics thoroughly which helps in building on that knowledge. With such a firm understanding it is but natural to build upon a spectrum of knowledge that is not just an occasional brilliance, but one that nurtures an entire ecosystem that one works with.

A few conscious approaches when young will help one in chalking a well-chequered career. Be it leading an organization or becoming an entrepreneur, having sound knowledge, enhancing one’s understanding, keeping with the pulse of the ecosystem, both technological and economical, doesn’t come as a fluke. It needs hard work, smart deliverables, focused approach and upskilling as and when required and an intelligent network that will help in acquiring them. If you just asked how? Then read again. IVY education is not just about studying from the best, but networking with the best as well.

Rome was not built in a day, neither one’s career. Whatever path you choose, it is detrimental to have a disciplined focused approach. The more you strive, the better you become.  No one said it is easy. To get the best, you need to give your best.

Do remember, when you set out for the best there are times when your grit is tested. Just remind yourself of the greatness that the people listed here have achieved; it would just give the requisite impetus to move further.

Ravi Soni is an alumnus of The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi; Angel investor; digital transformation strategist

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Self-employed? Four steps to ensure your home loan application is accepted

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Manoj Patil, a 37-year-old is a self-employed architect from Pune. In September 2016, he decided to buy a house, but getting a loan from a bank was not easy. He had approached about five different banks before State Bank of India finally gave him a loan of Rs 38 lakh in July 2017, against his loan application of Rs 50 lakh. The other banks didn’t find him creditworthy. Manoj had delayed his equated monthly installments (EMI) on his car loan a few times before. Banks don’t view any skipping of EMIs kindly, especially if you approach them for a loan, and being self-employed only added to Manoj’s woes.

Loan sanction not smooth

His newly-formed company seemed unstable to another bank. Since start-ups take time to show profits, the initial years are a struggle. Lack of skills in running the business successfully for long term, the firm not being registered under the Goods and Service Tax (GST), fluctuating income and inadequate bank balances were some of the other reasons banks gave him while rejecting his application.

“The lenders were suspicious about me and remained unconvinced with all the income proofs that I had submitted.” He felt the home loan process was more stringent and lengthy for him compared to what the process was for the salaried home loan applicants, as he was self-employed.

To entrepreneurs, financial institutions ask for the following key documents while processing home loan applications: personal identity proofs, savings and current account bank statements of the last six months, permanent account number (PAN) card, educational and professional qualification certificates, residential address proof, last three years’ ITRs(income tax returns) and audited financial statements (attested by a chartered accountant) and proof of the business’ existence.

Now, with technology to evaluate loan applicants’ profile, things are improving for the self-employed. Financial institutions are looking to tap an under-served market. The demand for home loans from the self-employed segment is growing across cities.  So, now we have several banks and housing finance companies offering home loans specifically designed for the self-employed. The loan tenure is also enhanced for those with their own business. For instance, PNB housing finance is offering home loan to self-employed for 30 years.

Professionals are favoured

Meghana Thakur is a 31-year-old jewellery designer from Mumbai. In April 2018, she applied for a home loan of Rs 35 lakh in a private sector bank. The bank rejected her loan stating that it doesn’t offer home loans to self-employed non-professionals. She understood that financial institutions prefer lending to self-employed professional categories such as doctors, chartered accountants, company secretaries, lawyers, and engineers. This is because they have specialized skills, domain knowledge and, most importantly, a steady income source.

Other categories of self-employed non-professionals, which include working in jewellery, real estate sectors, trading, contractors, consultants/advisors with commission income, etc. find it difficult to get a home loan. Gaurav Gupta, the co-founder and CEO of the online aggregator of financial products and services MyLoanCare.in explains, “Self-employed non-professionals working in cyclical sectors have fluctuating monthly incomes from their professions. The probability of default on loan repayments is high. So, lending institutions reject home loan applications or offer loan at higher interest rates.”

Company stability and tax returns critical

A couple of banks had rejected the home loan application of Manoj Patil, citing the instability of his company and depressed financials. The lender basically checks for the stability of the company by examining the financials when you apply for a home loan. Sukanya Kumar, Founder & Director of home loan advisory firm, RetailLending.com says, “The Self-employed need to establish their company (business) for a minimum of three years with at least two years of ascending profits lately before applying for home loan.” Otherwise, the loan assessor at the financial institution will reject the home loan application at the initial stage itself.

In the case of start-ups with no profits to show, there are challenges getting a home loan approval despite funding from venture capitalists in the business. Banks don’t incorporate a source of funding to operate the business while accessing the loan application nor do they rely on future profits from the business. Your business must show growth in cash profits, revenues and tangible net worth in the past three to five years at the time of applying for a home loan.

To verify your income, financial institutions ask for past two to three years’ income tax return (ITR) statements.

The importance of a good credit history

Bad credit history can come to haunt you at a later date. Banks evaluate your credit report while making a lending decision. Your credit score serves as a simple tool for you to understand whether you meet a lender’s requirements.

Not all financial institutions reject the home loan application from self-employed with a low credit score of less than 650. Denny Tomy, Business Head at loan advisory firm, theloanguru.in says, “If you are able to convince the loan assessor with monthly cash-flow and stability of the company with net income and profits, the home loan application could be processed.” There are a few lenders who may offer a home loan at a lower credit score to the self-employed, but that comes at fairly high-interest rates.

In a credit report, financial institutions do not rely on credit score alone, but also look at repayment history of credit card dues and other loans, bad accounts, i.e., if any credit account is settled with writes off by the institution. These write-offs are reported in your credit report when you settle with a bank in case you can’t repay a loan. Repay the written off amount mentioned in the credit report to improve your credit score before applying for a loan.

Financial institutions estimate the ability to pay EMIs by calculating your fixed obligations to your net monthly income, commonly known as a fixed obligation to income ratio (FOIR). Self-employed applicants should remember that, for an existing loan, the financial institution will likely adjust the eligible loan amount against the prevailing FOIR, which ranges between 50-60 percent. Shaji Varghese, Executive Director and Business Head, PNB Housing Finance Ltd says, “In case the EMI expense percentage is more than required, it is advisable to close any ongoing short-term loan such as a car or personal loan.” This will enhance the sanctioned amount significantly.

For instance, Ushma Jaju, 39, a lawyer residing in Indore, has an average monthly income of Rs 60,000. Considering 50 percent as fixed obligations, she can pay up to Rs 30,000 towards her debts. She has two ongoing loans (car and personal) with EMIs totalling to Rs 12,000. Therefore, the disposable income for her is Rs 18,000. Now, if she applies for a home loan, she will be able to avail an amount subject to her repayment capability from the monthly disposable amount of Rs 18,000.

Moneycontrol’s take

Being self-employed, you can improve your chances of getting a home loan if you are willing to make a higher down payment while purchasing a home, show substantial savings and have a good credit score. It is important to build an income profile in a manner that can make you eligible for a home loan. This includes regular ITR filing, showcasing a stable and adequate income stream.

One of the key reasons for rejection could be that the institution may have evaluated your repaying capacity negatively. So, improve your cash-flow and approach the financial institution again.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts are their own and not that of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Source: Moneycontrol.com

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Lesser known firms, entrepreneurs line up to board Jet Airways

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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While a clutch of investors and lesser-known entrepreneurs on Wednesday claimed to have sent their bids for the grounded Jet Airways, industry insiders say they could be either non-serious players or acting as a front for others.

“Either they have bid for the sake of bidding or could be front for somebody else. Some may, later on, declare that so and so firm or person is their partner,” said an airline executive closely monitoring the bidding process.

Commenting on the development, Club One Air Chief Executive and former India head of Qatar Airways Rajan Mehra said he cannot reject the bids as non-serious.

“I don’t agree with the frivolous part. I would not comment on the bidders acting as a front for someone but, yes, it is a possibility,” Mehra said.

British entrepreneur Jason Unsworth, who had earlier evinced interest in buying a stake in Jet Airways, is learned to have sent his bid.

Unsworth is chief of start-up Atmosphere Airlines which is yet to start operations.

Investment firms Future Trend Capital Investments, Redcliffe Capital and Adi Partners besides an NRI are also learned to have placed their bids.

Future Trend and Adi Partners had earlier teamed up with Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal to submit EoI for the carrier.

Asked for his comment on the bids by some of the unknown individuals and firms, Dhiraj Mathur, Partner, PwC, said: “I won’t say that firms reported having submitted their bids for Jet Airways are non-serious or frivolous. All I am saying is that the bidding criteria are very clear that those who have responded to the EoI would be allowed to submit their proposals.

“The next course of action would be taken by lenders only after the current process is complete,” Mathur added.

Lenders of Jet Airways led by SBI are currently in the process of selling the airline to recover their dues of over Rs 8,400 crore. The last date for submitting the bids is May 10.

Private equity firm TPG Capital, Indigo Partners, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Etihad Airways had been shortlisted to submit their bids after they gave their EoIs.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Poor ecosystem holding back Indian entrepreneurs, says Facebook

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Four out of every five women from metros as well as smaller towns in India are eager to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs, but lack of networks and accessible technological infrastructure are holding them back in their tracks, a top Facebook official has said.

Facebook, in 2017, introduced a programme for women-founded companies — SheLeads Tech — to support them with access to community, tools, mentorship and resources to succeed in building a business in technology.

The programme has now expanded to 87 cities in the country with 596 women-led tech start-ups across agritech, edutech, gaming and other verticals in just two years since its launch.

“If we go back three years, the number of women-founded start-ups in the ecosystem were about nine percent and today it has grown to 14 percent.

“Even the money that was raised by women entrepreneurs and their start-ups has increased from 3.5 percent to 5.4 percent now,” Satyajeet Singh, Head of Platform Partnerships, South Asia, Facebook told IANS.

India is the third largest start-up market globally and with its start-up initiatives like SheLeads Tech, Code for the Next Billion, India Innovation Hub and more, Facebook has come to discover that the start-up phenomenon is rapidly expanding to smaller cities.

“We have start-ups coming from Dehradun, Hubli, Nasik and other smaller cities. The widespread start-ups phenomenon is very much present in tier two and three towns,” Singh said.

Supported by 30 women mentors, Facebook’s SheLeads Tech initiative aims to provide a platform to women entrepreneurs across all tech-related sectors like agritech, healthtech, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), gaming, beauty, sanitation, water harvesting and more.

The education technology sector has especially seen a massive inclination from Indian women entrepreneurs, according to Facebook.

“Facebook’s SheLeads Tech is a very close community that has helped me stay connected with what all is happening in the start-up world across the country,” said Sai Gole, Co-founder of Pune-based start-up, LeanAgri, that designs tech solutions for unorganised sectors and underserved communities like farmers in India.

“Facebook’s training and mentoring sessions have helped us understand consumer psychology and ways to target campaigns in the market.”

The social networking giant believes that for start-ups to flourish in India, entrepreneurs in smaller towns must get access to metro-level infrastructure and learning from established people and companies, who are willing to mentor and give back to the community.

Encouraged by the positive response that the social networking giant has received through its start-up boosting initiatives in India, the company now plans to double its efforts in helping students in technology-related fields to escalate the country’s businesses and economy.

“We not only have to invest in start-ups today, we also have to start investing in start-ups for tomorrow, like tech students. We have to make sure that we are inspiring them to start up and create more jobs rather than looking for one,” Singh added.

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Facebook joins GAME to train entrepreneurs in India

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Facebook and the Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) — a consortium of public and private organisations — on Tuesday announced a partnership to train entrepreneurs and create jobs across India.

Phase one of this partnership, to be rolled out this year, will cover 10 states including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir and Maharashtra, among others.

The partnership is in line with Facebook’s commitment to train five million people with digital and entrepreneurial skills by 2021, the social networking platform said in a statement.

Women currently constitute 23 percent of Internet users and six percent of mass entrepreneurs in India.

“When you give women and youth the skills and technology to improve their lives, we can equip them to unlock economic and social value for themselves and their communities,” said Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook – India, South and Central Asia.

GAME and its partners will assist small entrepreneurs build their businesses using digital platforms like Facebook and Instagram to aggregate demand, market products and acquire customers.

“Imagine the power of a platform that can bring together communities of artisan clusters, agri-entrepreneurs or homepreneurs in the thousands to learn, collaborate and succeed,” added Ravi Venkatesan, Founder, GAME.

GAME and Facebook will kick-off their engagement with a project empowering local communities of rural entrepreneurs — using digital and physical modes, a landscape review and identification of solutions for women entrepreneurs and a grand prize challenge for innovative models that spur new business creation.

With its ongoing programmes, Facebook has already trained over one million people across 150 cities and 48,000 villages with support from 50 partners.

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Here are the qualities of a business leader, according to Anand Mahindra

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Anand Mahindra, the chairman and managing director of auto to aerospace conglomerate Mahindra Group, is not an unknown name in the Indian business diaspora.

In his 34 years as a businessman, Anand Mahindra has built an enduring organisation while keeping true to his core values and admits that a firm is as good as the people it hires.

“I’ve not necessarily found a magic formula for hiring the ablest leaders. But I’ve now been in business for quite a while so I can use my vintage to advantage. I’ve discovered a methodology which I’ve used consistently over time and it has stood me in good stead,” Anand Mahindra told Bizpunditz in a video interview.

Be A People’s People

Anand Mahindra said that a person cannot be a good leader if he cannot put himself/herself in somebody else’s shoes and empathise with them. “And to do that you have to be a good listener,” he said.

Empathy just doesn’t mean that you feel for someone. It means you can get out of your skin. When you empathise with the other person’s point of view, you are able to hear it and integrate it.

Empathising helps you know things and inevitably makes you a good listener who is intrigued to know and gather information from others, Anand Mahindra added.

A person who can imbibe empathy will be a constant learning machine.

Be A Renaissance Leader

“Thinking with both the left and right hemispheres of the brain is not a cake-walk for a lot of leaders. However, who do it well, stand out in the volatile business environment and make it through,” he said.

To think visually, creatively and being able to visualise different worlds together helps understand different perspectives and integrate them, he said, adding that such individuals are called ‘Renaissance Leaders.’

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow