How to Make India a Better Place
As we step into the new decade, we asked a spectrum of entrepreneurs, bankers, VCs and marketing consultants on how they think India can improve its entrepreneurship quotient. Here is a blue print for developing the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and pave way for a brave new world
Dream, adventure, determination. This sums up the secret trait of a successful entrepreneur. Is there a system which will help nurture this in our young? When we talk of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, we do not think about this aspect. We talk of building better access to funds and mentors for instance or writing better policies for equal opportunity. But we do not build necessary social infrastructure for people to be adventurous, fail yet not go down. We forget Emerson’s words, “If you can make a bundle of all your successes and throw it behind your back and move on to start anew then you are a man.”
Why is it that people who have walked through adversity has a better chance of success? Take the case of K Dinesh, one of the founders of Infosys Technologies. Very little is known about this gentleman. He was a mail sorter in Railway Mail Service (RMS) in Bangalore. He then passed a competitive exam and moved to Department of Posts and Telegraph (then) as a Phone Inspector. He wasn’t happy doing that. He passed the Banking services Recruitment Board (BSRB) exam ad joined Uco Bank. Yet the hunger in him was insatiated. He applied for a job with Patni Computers in Pune, where N.R. Narayana Murthy was incidentally working. His persistence in getting out of a cushy government job and get into a sunrise industry apparently intrigued Murthy. When Murthy decided to set up Infosys, he invited Dinesh to be part of the founding team. Rest is history.
We have not institutionalized this ability to walk through adversity or seek deliberately an adventure. This is not about organizing hikes and mountaineering tours, though they teach vital life skills. This is more deeper than
Dream, adventure, determination. This sums up the secret trait of a successful entrepreneur. Is there a system which will help nurture this in our young? When we talk of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem, we do not think about this aspect. We talk of building better access to funds and mentors for instance or writing better policies for equal opportunity. But we do not build necessary social infrastructure for people to be adventurous, fail yet not go down. We forget Emerson’s words, “If you can make a bundle of all your successes and throw it behind your back and move on to start anew then you are a man.”
Why is it that people who have walked through adversity has a better chance of success? Take the case of K Dinesh, one of the founders of Infosys Technologies. Very little is known about this gentleman. He was a mail sorter in Railway Mail Service (RMS) in Bangalore. He then passed a competitive exam and moved to Department of Posts and Telegraph (then) as a Phone Inspector. He wasn’t happy doing that. He passed the Banking services Recruitment Board (BSRB) exam ad joined Uco Bank. Yet the hunger in him was insatiated. He applied for a job with Patni Computers in Pune, where N.R. Narayana Murthy was incidentally working. His persistence in getting out of a cushy government job and get into a sunrise industry apparently intrigued Murthy. When Murthy decided to set up Infosys, he invited Dinesh to be part of the founding team. Rest is history.
We have not institutionalized this ability to walk through adversity or seek deliberately an adventure. This is not about organizing hikes and mountaineering tours, though they teach vital life skills. This is more deeper than