The making of an entrepreneur

Updated on: Wednesday, August 18, 2010

How exciting it would be to come up with an idea, incubate it and later develop it into a good business model? For those who value creativity, originality and hard work, entrepreneurship seems to be the right choice.

Once an area not all that explored, entrepreneurship has now emerged a worthy option where those who have made successful attempts are quite eager to share their experience. What has worked for one may not necessarily work for another, but nothing like having the opportunity to learn from others' successes, and importantly, mistakes.

When the Asia-Pacific Student Entrepreneurship Society (ASES) Regional Summit is held in Chennai for the first time from August 22 to 28, it would be one such opportunity where the young and the experienced meet. (For details, visit: www.asesindia.iitm.ac.in)

An initiative of the Cell for Technology, Innovation, Development and Entrepreneurship Support (C-TIDES) at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, the event seeks to provide a platform for students, aspiring entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and veteran entrepreneurs to come together.

The ASES is a student organisation based at Stanford University, California, whose mission is to educate and network the future leaders in business, technology in the Asia-Pacific in order to foster a global entrepreneurship society, says an organising member.

With networking having become one of they key strategies for any profession and more so, for entrepreneurship, the event promises to be the ideal forum for anyone with that one brilliant idea.

In fact, several networking initiatives have picked up in a significant way both in the real and virtual world. The National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), for instance, is a non-profit initiative that seeks to inspire, develop and support aspiring entrepreneurs.

The NEN recently expanded its activities to bring together college pass-outs and budding entrepreneurs in one platform. It has about 70,000 members in 30 cities, an indication of the prevalent level of interest in entrepreneurship.

What is it about entrepreneurship that has made it such an interesting career option? Whether it's the story of M. Mahadevan whose enterprise brought an exotic menu to Chennai's restaurant scape, or that of IIM-A graduate E. Sarath Babu, who decided to pursue his dream and establish a catering service, the bottomline is that these are not far-fetched efforts that require magical powers.

With passion, perseverance and the willingness to take risk, anyone with that spark can make their attempt a success story that would inspire others, is something Mr. Sarath Babu tells youngsters all the time.

“Growth depends on our capability and there is just no limit to it,” he says, over three years after he established his company.

Speaking of challenges, he says every entrepreneur is bound to encounter different challenges in the initial years. “Once we learn to deal with them, there is no looking back,” says the young entrepreneur.

Quite a few students are showing keen interest in entrepreneurship, if the activities of student cells in arts and science colleges are any indication. Many city colleges have started hosting bazaars, where students make or source products and display them for sale in stalls.

“One of my seniors, who was good at jewellery designing, has now started a store in Mumbai. She began in a small way, making beaded jewellery for friends, and now runs a store that has all the big names as customers,” says R. Rupa, a BBA student.

Another student S. Shravan, pursuing his B.Com degree, decided not to take up professional courses such as CA despite most of his friends choosing to do that. “I am interested in starting a business initiative. I want to work for a year or two, then get a management degree and later, set up my own business,” he says.

The making of an entrepreneur

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