Bizmen share their success mantra

The event titled Insight’ 17 brought together distinguished business tycoons from Tamil Nadu to share their expertise with budding student entrepreneurs and to give them a glimpse of the conducive environment that is currently prevailing in India. 

Speaking about the event Rev Dr P Christie SJ, Director of LIBA said, “This is an exciting time for start-ups. The government is pushing through policies that are very favourable for starting an entrepreneurial venture. Students are looking for placements and we felt the need to inspire them to become job creators instead of job seekers. The symposium was organised to give students an idea of the ecosystem for entrepreneurs and how they can become successful. For speakers, we chose entrepreneurs who are not only successful in their respective field, but also abide by values and ethics.” 

Kick-starting the event, R Ramaraj, Senior Advisor, Elevar Equity said, “This is the best time in the history of independent India to be graduating. There is a fantastic shift in social acceptance compared to few years ago.

Today, it is considered cool to be a founder of a start-up or to be part of it. There is a sincere effort by the government to create a vibrant ecosystem. Where there is a vibrant ecosystem, the probability of successful entrepreneurs goes up exponentially.”He also elaborated on the role disruptions play in making or breaking a business empire. 

“They are many disruptions that can level a successful business venture. Technology as a business disrupter has changed the fortunes of several companies. Entrepreneurs must constantly learn to stay ahead of the curb. Entrepreneurs must strive to become disrupters that change the way a business model is run rather than be on the receiving end of it,” he added. 

Girish Mathrubootham, Founder and CEO of Freshdesk, a SaaS (Software as a service) provider, elaborated on the need to strike a balance between work and leisure to taste success as an entrepreneur. He said, “To be successful you need to be customer-centric. Focus on creating a product that consumers will love. Marketing also plays a very crucial role in the success of business and entrepreneurs and always play to your strengths.”

Dr A Velumani, Chairman & CEO, Thyrocare, who spoke about the need to work for betterment of customers, said,” Prosperity come from the floor and not from the customer market. If a product is good you do not require funding. If the product is subpar, no amount of funding can save it. Try to differentiate yourself from your competitors. You do not need money, but only stamina for a successful business venture.” 

Talking about the role played by angel investors in promoting entrepreneurs, Balram Nair, The Chennai Angels, said, “Angel investors are a group of corporates that mentor prospective entrepreneurial concepts. At The Chennai Angels, we have a pool of expertise and we restrict our investments to the pool. We can mentor a venture only if we have the resources within the pool. We fund the entrepreneur to a large extent. 

We will choose a good entrepreneur with a not-so-great idea over a fabulous idea helmed by a person lacking the expertise to run a company. We do not support ‘me too business models’. We are not looking for people who can replicate a business concept. We look for people who can develop a concept that addresses a problem that no one else have tried to tackle.”