Tête-à-Tête with Sai Sreekanth M

Sai Sreekanth M
Product Manager
in.linkedin.com/in/saisreekanth
Total Years of Experience: 18
Role Before Joining PGSEM: Engineering Manager
Role After Completing PGSEM:  Product Management

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. [Family, Education, Hobbies]                         

I am a Telugu speaking person from coastal Andhra but have lived in Bangalore (in fact in a 5 sq. km area) all my life. I speak 5 Indian languages, enjoy reading about India and travelling within India. Think I have a good understanding of what Indians do and think. I listen to Carnatic music a lot, have been learning it for a few years (can’t sing well though). I follow other arts such as theatre, dance, lectures and discourses based on literature, films and documentaries.  

I have an undergraduate degree in Computer science from University Visvesvaraya college of Engineering, Bangalore and have completed the PGSEM programme (first batch) from IIM Bangalore.

I am married to Sheela who is currently teaching and we have a son(6 years old) and a daughter (3 years old).  

Q. Please describe your current job/role that you perform?

I am a Product Manager in the Emerging Markets team at Google. I have worked in Emerging Markets teams at HP and Yahoo for the past 9 years. Over these years and now at Google, I am interesting in conceiving and delivering useful technology applications to emerging market users. Would like to leverage my understanding of emerging market user needs and technology background in rolling out impactful services for users.

Q. What would be the most challenging aspect of your role?

Product management involves orchestrating several teams and stake holders in delivering impactful solutions. Very often, we need to do this without any explicit authority over other teams and this requires a great deal of tact, rigor and understanding of wide range of issues.  

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?

PGSEM did transform my career in moving from a software engineering management role to that of product management.

More important than the career shift, was the education that I obtained through the PGSEM programme. I learnt to analyze industries/economies, understand how businesses are managed, learnt about users and people behaviors, got to work really hard on complex problems etc. This knowledge is an asset that I put to use in several contexts and not just in my professional career. 

Q. What are the trends that you see in the business space today in terms of the skill requirements and the supply of the same?

Nothing profound to share here. I do notice that there is a significant increase in the quantity of skilled resources (engineering, management, legal, finance) but do not see a change in the quality.

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

 Can’t think of an incident that has influenced me the most. Have been lucky to come across several skilled, well-meaning people and they have had an indirect impact in developing my own perspective. 

Q. What do you think are the key attributes of a good leader?

* Lead by example

* Honesty of purpose

* Focus, sustenance, perseverance

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

Again, can’t think of one person. Have been lucky to come across hundreds of good people who are doing great selfless work in serving people and bettering their lives.

Q. What is your take on the importance of a value system in business?

Find it strange that such a question is being asked. A good value system is not a negotiable thing not just for businesses but also for living your life well. Can’t see how businesses derive their value systems independent of its owners/founders/workers.

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?

Do what you like to do and are good at and the question of work life balance does not arise.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

Identify an area or two that you are really passionate about and have a good ability in. Work to be the best in that area.

Tête-à-Tête with Abhinav Agarwal

Abhinav Agarwal
Director of Product Management

Total Years of Experience: 17
Role Before Joining PGSEM: Product Management
Role After Completing PGSEM:  Product Management

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.
I have been living in Bangalore for the last 10 years, am married and have two daughters. I have a BE (Hons) degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Mumbai, and in 2006 graduated from IIMB’s PGSEM program. My hobbies are mostly reading and photography, and I cover both of these on my blog, at http://blog.abhinavagarwal.net/  

Q. Please describe your current job/role that you perform?
My role is product management at Oracle, and I am a Director of Product Management and Strategy. In that capacity I am responsible for our company’s Business Intelligence Mobile product, advanced data visualizations, and spatial analytics, all within the Oracle BI EE suite. I also engage with partners, customers, and our marketing and sales organizations to help our customers be successful with our company’s tools and products.

Q. What would be the most challenging aspect of your role?
 Managing the time difference between Bangalore, where I live and work out of,  and Redwood Shores, where the development of the products I am responsible for happens, has been the single most challenging aspect of my role.

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?
 PGSEM helped provide a broader perspective to what I do. The disciplines of marketing and strategy mostly so, but also other disciplines like Human Resources and Finance helped me better understand the context and background in which companies operate. Certain theories and constructs like Porter’s Five Forces, Christensen’s Theory of Disruptive Innovations, Moore’s Chasm Theory, and Teece’s complementarity's of assets - have all hugely influenced me. I was fortunate enough to be doing product management when I joined the PGSEM program, so the learning’s from the PGSEM program could be applied directly to my job.

Q. What are the trends that you see in the business space today in terms of the skill requirements and the supply of the same?
The rapidly growing market and the spread of technology is enabling the rise of a new class of techno-entrepreneurs in India today. The scale of the market affords Indians today the opportunity to create new businesses and ventures that can be originated, funded, staffed, launched, and made successful entirely in India. This was not the case even five or ten years ago. The next ten years will see several billion dollar startups emerge from India. While entrepreneurs will be the original product managers of new ventures, what these companies will need and require will be world-class product managers - to articulate and drive strategy and product direction. The companies that can find and retain such product managers are the ones that will stand a greater chance of succeeding in the marketplace.


Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.
 There has not been any one single incident, but there have been a few incidents that have helped me evolve my philosophy towards my professional and even personal life. The most important I would consider the birth of my daughters to be. That helped me realize and better assess what was more important in life.

Q. What do you think are the key attributes of a good leader?
A good leader must be, fundamentally, a good person. Everything else is secondary. A good person will be able to take the decisions a good leader has to take. A person with a selfish, short-sighted, or individualistic attitude towards life will take decisions that reflect his/her own value system.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?
At work my role models have been a few over the past several years. Some have been people I directly worked with in my teams, while others have been people I have had the good fortune to observe closely while at work, even though I did not have a direct working relationship with them at the time. From executive management to fellow product managers to my direct managers, learning and role models have been there to help guide me. 

Q. What is your take on the importance of a value system in business?
A value system has to be the articulation and enforcement of a set of guiding principles that are inviolate. Anything else is no more important of relevant than an election slogan or a marketing gimmick. The value system a company and its leaders articulate and follow and hold themselves and others to is what differentiates a successful company from a great company that people want to work at.

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?
 If there is a mantra for work-life balance, then surely I am still trying to discover and learn it! A work-life balance is difficult to achieve, and certainly an optimal balance even more so. We each have to evaluate our priorities in life, and the decisions we make based on that assessment are what determine how much balance we actually attain in our professional and personal lives.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

The PGSEM program is an investment in your future. As with investing, remember to invest for the long-term. That is what will result in the largest payout.

Making History! A Conversation With Mr. Sumit Chowdhury

Entrepreneur of 'My Life Chronicles'

PGSEM 2005-08

www.mylifechronicles.com

1)    Why did you decide to start My Life Chronicles

The idea came to my mind while speaking casually to a couple of my PGSEM batch mates at IIMB. It was Dec 2008. My father passed away from cancer in 1998 and I left home right after that. My elder brother had left home earlier. Being a very organized person my father used to write journals regularly and keep all letters and other paper records neatly filed. On my visits to home town years later, I could see that those diaries and folders were gathering dust and even being sold away to the raddiwalla. I could not do much while on a short vacation but wanted to at least scan and digitize the old photos and letters. This desire led me to the idea of preserving individual and family stories and then on to preserving institute and corporate memories. When I googled I found that there is an organization in the USA called APH, Association of Personal Historians who are already doing this for 15 years. That was the time I realized that we Indians are poor preservers of our past and that needed to change and change fast.

2)    Tell a little about yourself - education, work, family - the story so far.

Born and brought up in Steel City of Durgapur, I completed my secondary education from St. Xavier’s, Durgapur and Higher Secondary education from Bidhan Chandra Institution, Durgapur. I went on to complete my BE(Hons) from REC Durgapur and chose to work at SAIL, Durgapur. This was the time my father was suffering from cancer and I cherish the time I stayed close to him. Father passed away in 1998 and I moved to Bangalore a year later in 1999 following my IT dreams. Infosys was about 3500 people and still a close family when I joined the company. I remember sitting close to NRN's cabin in the Heritage Building, Electronics City. Infosys gave me an opportunity to broaden my exposure and knowledge by sending me on various foreign assignments. This happened pretty quickly in my career and the rich interactions with customers helped shape my thought processes. I got married to Tandra in 2000, an alumna from my college. We moved to Banerghatta Road, very close to IIMB. We still stay here. Tandra works in Novellus Systems. We have 2 daughters, Ananya of 8 years and Anwesha 3 of years. 

In 2003, I went through this phase where I had a major urge to do a PhD in Operations Management (Sunil Mehta's book inspired me). I took the GMAT and applied to a few universities in the USA. Georgia Tech found me worthy of a scholarship and invited me over. Reality struck me hard as I realized the full impact of the decision. Leaving my 6 month old daughter and family for a degree which takes 5 years, by a conservative estimate sounded impossible. Taking them along meant sacrificing settled lives and careers. I sent a painful rejection note to Georgia Tech and appeared for the neighborhood IIMB PGSM program interview instead. This was the same time I moved from IT Delivery to Pre-Sales and Marketing at Infosys, hoping to focus on academics for a couple of years. 2004-2007 was a roller coaster ride juggling PGSM assignments, Pre-Sales RFPs and family. However, this is the time that gave me the confidence and courage to attempt something different, to start on an entrepreneurial journey. I felt I was not ready and to get a different perspective I challenged myself to join a completely different work environment. I joined Honeywell, an industrial automation giant working on New Product Development projects. I kept working on my entrepreneurial ideas and goals till the time I left Honeywell to start My Life Chronicles 3+ years later. My Life Chronicles has been a labor of love ever since.

3)    How did you manage the risks, how are you paying the bills

Having a working and supportive spouse helps. It has been more than a year and I continue to depend on her to meet our bills. However, I am planning to start taking a small monthly salary from My Life Chronicles to ease the burden.

4)    Are you happy 

I am having the most enjoyable albeit the most hectic time of my life. I am no more known by Infosys or Honeywell but by My Life Chronicles alone. This is a fundamental shift in thinking and can give entrepreneur nightmares in the initial months and years.

5)    Would you want to go back to Honeywell

No, unless I am compelled to because of financial or other pressures.

6)    What next

My Life Chronicles, I would like to believe, is at an inflexion point. I will be joined by partners in the next few months, partners who see value in what I am doing and who would like to share the risk. While stories of individuals is where my heart lies, corporate chronicles is showing a lot of promise. I am working with CRISIL (A Standard & Poor's co.), a well-known brand with a tremendous reach across India and even globally. In the process, I have been personally interviewing Senior Management and Board members of large corporate and all of them have been very positive about the idea. Making high quality memoirs and chronicles affordable and easy, still remains my dream.

7)    Advise to those who want to take the Plunge

Follow your heart but have a safety net. Prepare for the worst case, take your family into confidence and take the plunge. The 'right time' will never come. The right time is now. You are not going to die if you take the plunge!

8)    What role and importance would you attribute to PGSEM in your journey so far?

Without PGSEM I would not have had the confidence to venture out. Through PGSEM I have come to know a few people who have helped me with their thoughts, suggestions and encouragement.

9)    How did you evaluate the opportunity in terms of the critical elements of success? The competition and the potential market? Did you make a business plan?

This is a new concept in India. There was no data available as such. We did some primary research which didn’t throw up positive results. It was more of gut feel and the passion to do something I enjoy that led me to plunge.

10)  Any specific learning’s you would like to share with the budding entrepreneurs.

Meet as many potential customers you can and listen to what they want. Meet start-up founders and understand/learn from their challenges/mistakes. Moonlight.

Tête-à-Tête With Mr. Shamit Bagchi

Entrepreneur of Dhonuk.com

PGSEM 2008-11

1. What was your background before you started the venture?

I was a software engineer (total experience of 7 years) who had worked for 2 years in public sector – Bharat Electronics Limited, and just above 5 years in Honeywell in avionics embedded/real-time software and business development, marketing (about 9 months).

2. Who/What was your biggest influence that made u interested in entrepreneurship? Any role model?

A creative endeavour is what I sought to bring forth. It is this creative urge to create a platform for young and budding artists that made me create a forum of this sort that would also make business sense. It was also my urge to showcase my own art works. It was also the love of art and the feeling that just coding/development in the IT industry not being my calling that added to the urgency in creation of Dhonuk along with a supportive IIMB culture – the professors and students. A unique course by Prof Balasubramaniam Shekar at IIM Bangalore also paved the way to create something unique in the management space related to the arts.  

3. Did your educational/professional/social background helped u in starting the venture?

Yes and no. Yes in terms of some technology aspects. No as the area was niche and there was a lot to learn and that was really fruitful (the learning). I was quite initiative driven and had conducted events and been an active volunteer having managed (being the editor-in-chief of Xpressions) and enjoyed the experience having worked with creative people in house magazine in Honeywell - Xpressions. Social yes I was always a volunteer with the local Durga Puja activities and this always helps – volunteering is a very important if I may say so ‘feature’ of an entrepreneur/potential entrepreneur.

4. Was this your 1st venture?

Yes.

5. If no, please let us know the details of the previous venture(s) and did it(they) help in any way for the current venture?

I was quite initiative driven and had conducted events and been an active volunteer having managed (being the editor-in-chief of Xpressions) and enjoyed the experience having worked with creative people in house magazine in Honeywell - Xpressions.

6. How did you spot the opportunity for Dhonuk? How did it surface?

It was this rise in the middle class’s disposable income and the growth of social networks and internet usage that combined to signal a possible market opportunity. It was also as I mentioned a love for arts and Indian art formats and artists that propelled the idea and pure profit motive was not always the objective.

7. How did you evaluate the opportunity in terms of the critical elements of success? The competition and the potential market?

We did several projects both at PGSEM level and in my personal capacity. I along with others in the team also created studies and research at IIMB to drive the study of the business of art – which was indirectly related to Dhonuk and I feel has added to the overall increase in knowledge of the arts and also its appreciation/feasibility as a business venture. It was a way for introducing art in the management studies beyond just elite organizations such as Saffronart etc. A case on Dhonuk has also been created with Prof Ramesh Kumar of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour.

A business case study on Dhonuk titled 'www.dhonuk.com – Marketing Art in an Emerging Market' written by Prof S Ramesh Kumar, Marketing area, IIM Bangalore and Shamit Bagchi was published by the Richard Ivey School of Business , Western Ontario, Canada (known worldwide for its business case studies) in its case collection.

8. Can you please share any specifics of the business plan you had.

I can share the entire plan – I see Dhonuk as a means of management/entrepreneurial learning and will be ready to share all aspects of it with you! I will send the plan, as a document.

9. Was it a one-man show or did you have partners?How did the financing come in for the venture?

Self financed and largely a one man show except some branding and promo material by Anshuman Majumdar. The idea also was to create a social organization wherein content and ideas would be from members of Dhonuk (online) acting as pseudo employees. During exhibitions this actually worked. The open innovation concept (P&G) was also an inspiration for this.

10. What all were the external sources of help (if any) u got for Dhonuk to start and float? Any one who stands out in your mind.

Some very excited and talented volunteer’s whose works were showcased in specific Anshuman Majumdar from Bangalore, Pritesh Ananthakrishnan from Sweden. Towards the initial stage Parashar Shah helped with some technology aspects and later stage Adarsh Natarajan also helped out to think on reviving certain areas.

11. Any specific "aha" moment in the venture you would like to share?The most challenging moment you have faced till date in the venture.

A research project was seed funded by IIM Bangalore on these aspects although not directly related to Dhonuk it was on the area of business of art. A related paper was also created and was just published recently as it was selected as part of a recently concluded conference COGNITIVE 2011 at Rome, Italy. The paper 'A Framework for Creativity-oriented Autonomy based on Online Social Networks' can be found here:  http://www.thinkmind.org/index.php?view=article&articleid=cognitive_2011_6_20_40077

Another was being the creative partner with IIM Bangalore’s Unmaad 2011 fest. See this page: http://www.unmaad.com/dhonuk.php. Not being able to get a solid team going as it was a niche field is/was the most challenging and daunting aspect. Part time interests don’t always work out and at least one more person needs to be there all the time. By the time someone wanted to join in as a genuinely interested partner I was already in the process of moving into a corporate role. We met Sarnath Banerjee the graphic novelist and wanted to create a graphic novel wing to Dhonuk. It didn’t take place. Some testimonial are here: http://www.dhonuk.com/page/testimonials-1 This will give you an idea of how value is being generated as part of this online ecosystem (art buyers, art sellers and art enthusiasts predominantly visual arts). So that is in itself a very encouraging!

12. Now that you are back into corporate world, do u feel its going to affect the dedication level to Dhonuk?

Yes ofcourse! The forum is running as an online social network and with minimal intervention from my end. Let me see how I can revive other plans on generating revenues and ROI etc. It is in a non-revenue generating state now! Plan to reposition it as a creativity hub – was discussing this with a former co-founder Anshuman Majumdar.

13. Being in a niche business, what are your future growth plans for Dhonuk?

Who knows what the future holds!

14. As you look back, what do u find personally rewarding and satisfying as an entrepreneur?

Yes a rewarding learning experience that also helps me identify my own strengths and weaknesses both personal and interpersonal. I could have done better and let us see what the future has in store, there is always scope to improve once you know. Also it was a experience that made me that much more strong - mentally. 

15. Any specific learnings you would like to share with the budding entrepreneurs.

I think to get a strong team going is very important. This would be something in my view, I didn’t do very well as my idea was to get a loosely fit team going and I did get carried away with assuming interest from many others. Assumptions don’t work when building the team, they may mean good, and may give ideas but they will not be able to contribute in any big way for the enterprise, be it your friends even close ones – doesn’t work out that way! In some aspects they can help and ultimately it is left to a few of us (what I’d call the core team). They need to have a solid interest and belief in the idea. Part-time members can rarely fulfill this long term need for a strong team.

Trust factor has to be slowly built and people with different values from the core team can and should not be allowed to hijack – that said I reiterate ‘trust’ is the cornerstone in my view in setting up and growing an endeavour such as an enterprise. Genuine sincerity and interest in the idea also plays a role. Being solo can sap a lot of energy out of you! My thought was to have each artist as an entrepreneur and then get them to create value for potential customers and not have an in-house team per se (even if it is 2 strong). This did succeed to some extent as the forum itself and the few exhibitions we did was running purely due to talented artists and their works. So my strength was in getting the social system going – of course my frequent interventions were needed. But a core team is very important to have – collocation of the team may be secondary.

Also although starting up is an emotional journey the practical aspects of planning is very, very important. You can always improvise on the go but have a basic plan and keep building on it as a form of guidance.

The firm’s Value Proposition is very important to hone into. I always had this conflict regarding Dhonuk’s value proposition i.e. was it for the artist (as a community) vs the customer (as an ecommerce portal) orientation. Although you can try to cater to different types of people, it is better to focus and build later after you get a strong foundation or build strengths in one area.

I think entrepreneurship calls for perseverance – a great deal of patience and this is repeated all the time yet is absolutely true.

PGSEM Alumni meet

As the sun began to set last Saturday, a few people from the corners of Bangalore and outside, slowly inched back towards IIMB. The destination was well known to them. And some had been sorely missing these trips for a long time..

For the current crop of students, the evening promised to be something special. Could they see a reflection of their own futures in the seniors whom they were about to meet..

The event started in the most comfortable way.. some even helping themselves for a second round of samosas and the wonderful fruit-cake. And then, settling down in a classroom comes naturally to all PGSEMers. Seniors came from everywhere - Cisco, HP, Infy, Wipro, etc etc.. And then there were the special ones.. the Entrepreneurs.

The interactions began. Stories and incidents flew. Over the din were heard comments like 'I got rejuvenated here', 'Never missed a class unlike Engineering!', 'demystified my life', 'upgraded my skills', 'made great friends', 'life felt like an action movie', 'grew more confident' and on and on. Some in the audience had horror written on their faces when one senior recalled an incident of copying which was caught. And as the elegant Ms. Uma Balakrishnan reminiscenced the guidance she received from Professor J.Ramachandran for a knotty problem in her new venture, it reminded all of the greatness of this institution.

It was the 10th year reunion for the first passing batch of PGSEM in 2001. And that class of 50+ students was well represented. The old and the new compared the course, then and now. There now was the new classroom block. A more expansive list of electives on offer. A race among professors to offer some of their best courses to the PGSEM students. The swiping system of attendance (the unwelcome offspring of technology revolution). The thick cover of trees having grown a little less wild. But some things had not changed - mid-career crisis/confusion among students, the break-neck speed of academics, the mystique of our ageless professors and the wonderful administrative support.

Charm was added to the light-hearted evening as Vikram.JS and Vikram Parthan took to the stage and played the guitars. Who would not enjoy a 'purani jeans' or 'summer of 69' once more?

The dinner buffet was tastefully laid out. The soft lighting and green lawns reminded all of the holiday season and the coming dawn of a new year. It was all apt - after all the the best of networking happens over good food! 

So, with the start of Alumni reunions this year, the family of 1000+ PGSEMers has found one more chord to connect back to their alma mater. Its only natural to thank the Alumni organization of IIMB, especially Mr. Rakesh Godhwani and Ms. Rohini for the joyous evening.

Know Your Alumni Series : Samyeer Metrani

Samyeer Metrani
VP - Design Services, Mistral Solutions Inc.

Total Years of Experience: 22 Years.

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Group manager - Embedded Systems, Encore software Limited

Role After Completing PGSEM: General manager @ Encore Software Limited.

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself. [Family, Education, hobbies]                         

I’m married; I have two children, Saket (11) and Saatchi (6), and a lovely wife. My father was in the Airforce, so my education was all over India. For some time I was in boarding school too, at the Lawrence School, Lovedale near Ooty. I have an unconventional education, I am a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, but have been a technical geek playing with computers since I was 12. Computers for me were a hobby, and have become my life.

Q. Please describe your current job/role that you perform?

Mistral is an Embedded Design Services company. We help our customers design embedded products, and help them take those designs all the way through prototyping, firmware development, testing, product validation, certification, all the way to shipping product.

I head the design services group for Mistral in the United States. It is primarily a front-end role. I interface with customers and partners to manage the business that we do in the United States.

On one hand, I focus on building strategic relationships with silicon partners. For example, Mistral is one of the key suppliers of development platforms for the Texas Instruments OMAP processor. We leverage the expertise developed, towards building solutions for customers who would like to use the OMAP processor in their designs.

On the other hand, I work closely with the end customer, keeping a finger on their pulse, and making sure projects are going well. Keeping communication channels open, and making sure that issues, both sides of the planet are open and discussed.

Q. What would be the most challenging aspect of your role?

That’s easy…its keeping communication going...we operate in a global relay race, with teams working all over the world. We have to make sure that all information on everything that is going on is available to everybody who needs to know.

I spend a lot of time listening; to our teams, to customers, and am always looking for that “small thing” that got missed. Big problems get the visibility and because of that are pretty easy to solve, it’s the small ones that get ignored and become the real problems that we sometimes face. Problems/mistakes happen; keeping communication going through a crisis is the primary requirement to come out looking good on the other side.

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?

I remember my first day at PGSEM. You know how it is, you go through life, doing well in school, college, at work, did well at the entrance exam, and here I am…and generally think… “Damn! I’m good!” …and then you walk into a classroom full of people who feel exactly the same way about themselves. A humbling, and a very learning experience.

PGSEM really took me from trying to do everything myself to working out how I can work together with others to achieve a common objective. It changed my approach towards colleagues, suppliers, partners and most importantly customers. It also helped me focus on structure and technique towards doing things. Studying, while working, had the powerful advantage that I could test my understanding of what happened in the classroom, in the real world of the workplace.

Q. What are the trends that you see in the business space today in terms of the skill requirements and the supply of the same?

There is a convergence and consolidation that is going on across all sectors our industry services. The big are getting bigger, and the small are getting swallowed up. This introduces new challenges as we look for ways to differentiate at what we do. The customer is not always ready with a problem they are looking to solve, it is up to us to come up with new concepts, new designs, new products and services…

In the words of Henry Ford, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have asked for faster horses!”

The industry needs people who can change, who can innovate, who are willing and able to tear up the status quo to create a new reality, come on…10 years ago Google was a search engine!

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

It was in 1982, I had just come back from boarding school for the summer and we had gone to Bombay (now Mumbai) to meet my grandparents. Sitting there in front of the TV was a Home Computer, the ZX Spectrum. That was when I was introduced to the virtual world of computing. I spent a lot of time that summer learning basic, and showing off to my brother and cousins how I could make it do what I asked of it. I was hooked, that wonder has not worn off, and I hope it never will. I no longer have that ZX Spectrum computer, but I have the manual, over the years the pages have rotted, and have stuck together, I can no longer open it, and I don’t want to lest it comes apart, but it holds the pride of place on my bookshelf as a reminder of my introduction to computers.

Q. What do you think are the key attributes of a good leader?

1.       Decision Making – The ability and the willingness to take a call.

2.       Consistency or actually Clarity – a leader needs to be clear about what he stands for, and consistent (even predictable) in standing by it.

3.       Willingness to be wrong – and taking corrective action quickly.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

That would be Mr. Subroto Bagchi. I first met Mr. Bagchi over 14 years ago. At that time I was running a small startup from a house in Bangalore, he was a senior figure in Wipro, much before he started MindTree. He treated me with the same respect that he would give to somebody from a much larger company. Every time I have met him since he not only remembers those times, but takes the effort to know a little more about me.

I am not surprised to see how far Mr. Bagchi has gone, and I hope that I live up to the picture of myself that he set up for me.

Q. What is your take on the importance of a value system in business?

While I believe that business should have a value system I believe more, that a value system is what the individual lives by. No business can impose a value system onto an individual or a team, but people who believe in similar values can come together and become a very powerful force. I sincerely believe that if we treat the other person (customer, partner, colleague…no matter) exactly the way that we would like to be treated, we will do well. A slightly tongue-in-cheek example that I give often to people starting a new career, “May the person who builds your house do his work with exactly the same commitment that you give to your work!”

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?

This is a tough one, especially because I am a bit of a Workaholic. I have a fantastic wife who will tell me when I’m going too far…and I guess to my credit, I listen. I do the work, she provides the balance.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

There is a significant need for leadership in our industry. After the PGSEM you are ready to take it up…but nobody is going to come to you and say, “You are ready, now lead!” You need to step up and ask for it, and make sure you get it. Knowledge and ability is of no value unless it is put to use, go ahead and show the world what you can do.

Know Your Alumni Series: Musthafa PC

Musthafa PC

Designation: Co-founder of Best Foods (ID Special food products, http://www.idspecial.com/)

PGSEM Batch: 2004 - 2007

Total Years of Experience: 12 years in IT industry, 4 years of Entrepreneurship

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Program Manager at Intel

Role After Completing PGSEM: Entrepreneur

Q. Tell us a bit about yourself.                        

I did my B.E. in Computer Science from NIT Calicut in 1995. During my IT career, I worked with Motorola India, Citibank Dubai, Intel India, Misys and Fair Isaac. After finishing my PGSEM, I quit my job at Fair Isaac to fully focus on my venture, Best Foods.

I come from an extremely poor family in Wayanad, Kerela. My father, being uneducated himself, was extremely committed toward ensuring that I get good education. I was lucky enough to get a chance to study. When I graduated, I was the only graduate of my village. Today, I am married with three lovely kids.

During my free time, I play cricket with my kids and watch TV. I don’t like reading books.

Q. Tell us something about your journey-How did it all begin?

I always had an entrepreneurial inclination. In my childhood, I used to sell sweets during my summer vacations. After finishing my engineering, I got busy with my job. During my marketing project under Late Prof Thiru, I gained some knowledge of the food processing industry. I then also realized that there was perhaps some business opportunity present in the ready-made batter business. In 2005, I started operation with a 50 sqft room and 2 small conventional grinders in partnership with my cousin brother. I entrusted the day to day operations to my cousin while I was working in IT field. We started doing test marketing to check if our idea really had potential.

Another, turning point came when I joined the VEIL (old name for the REIL course taken by Prof DVR) course. As a part of this course we were supposed to write a reflection paper. It was then I realized that even though as Project Manager, I was ensuring the execution of a project as per a plan, but surprisingly I did not have a plan for my life. I took the reflection paper very seriously and used this to get answers for two things, a) what was the purpose of my life? b) what was the plan for my life? This was the only paper where I scored the perfect 4.0 GPA and the reflection paper brought about a lot of clarity in my mind. At the end of 2007, I left the IT industry and immersed myself into my enterprise.

Q. Please describe the nature of your business?

        Best foods Enterprises manufactures and markets the ID Special food products. We started with making batter for Idli and Dosa. Now we make and market several other products like Kerala Parota, Wheat Parota, Achappam (Rose cookies), Pettiappam (diamond chips) and Aappam under the ID Special Brand name.

Q. Describe the evolution of your company?

During the test marketing days in 10 stores, we were able to sell about 2 – 2.5 Kgs of batter per day per store. This gave us the confidence that this business could be scaled up. Using 15 lakhs of my savings from my professional life, we setup a 700 – 800 sqft factory in Kagadaspura in 2006. We soon started selling 3000 kg of batter every day and we hit our production capacity.

We realized that it was time to expand further and with the help of Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation (KSSIDC), we setup a factory at Hoskote in 2008 end. This factory is about 8,000 sqft and it produces about 20,000 – 25,000 Kgs of batter every day. Today we have a turnover of about Rs 20 crores and have already got several offers from bigger players and venture capitalists which we have already declined. We also had a multi-crore buy-out offer from MTR which we have declined.

Q. How is your company structured today?

Our company employs about 250 people currently. Out of these about 99% is unskilled labour from remote villages of South India. Apart from manufacturing, the other major activity that we have is Sales and Distribution. Here again we hire from villages and train the people.

Q. Describe the company goals and mission.

We have set ourself a target of making Best Foods a Rs 300 crore enterprise in the next 5 years.

We have not set any formal mission defined for the company. However, I have seen a lot of poverty in my early days and believe that I was lucky enough to get some opportunities to reach where I am today. A number of youth from villages, though extremely bright, do not get an opportunity in their lives.

I am hence a firm believer of generating employment for the poor youth of villages. I believe, providing employment is much useful than helping someone by donations. I am happy to see the little contribution that I have been able to make in the lives of my workers. After two years of training and hard work, our Sales guys can give Business School students a run for their money. These guys who were perhaps earning Rs 3,000 per month are now able to make around Rs 35,000 per month. The transformation in their life styles gives me lot of satisfaction.

Q. What are your future growth plans?

        We have distribution tie ups with Nilgiris. Our major presence has been in Bangalore. Very recently, we have started distribution in Chennai, Mangalore, Dubai and Hyderabad. We plan to do the same at Mumbai and Pune through a distribution tie up with Nestle.

     Once, our sales reach a critical mass in these cities, we also have plans to set up factories in these cities.

        We are also helping some people who want to expand ID special or use our idea in setting up businesses at new places. In fact, I would be happy to help a fellow PGSEMer who wants to take this idea to different locations.

Q. In this highly competitive space requiring comparatively simple skill-set, what gives your company the edge to do well?

      I believe even though the opportunity for ready-made batter was there in Bangalore, there were no organized players. This was when we started operations and made a mark for ourselves. Now that we have established ourselves up to a certain extent, we are relatively less worried about new players entering the market. New entrants will bring in more customer awareness about availability of such products in the market which will help boost our sales.

We give utmost importance to quality and service. Our products are manufactured in a super hygienic environment. We do not add any preservatives/flavors so that homely taste is not compromised. Fresh products reach the stores early morning so that customers experience the convenience of a natural food. Customers have outsourced their daily hassles to us J.

Q. How did PGSEM help transform your career?

         Firstly, the reflection paper that I wrote helped me in deciding the purpose and project plan for my life.

      Secondly, before PGSEM I used to be more of a tactical guy. I believe PGSEM taught me to think more strategically keeping long term view in mind.

Q. What were the few challenges that you faced in your entrepreneurial career?

      My first challenge was that when I started, I had no clue about food processing industry. I had to spend a lot of effort learning things.

      The other major challenge was convincing my family to allow me to leave my high paying software job and take the plunge in business. In fact, I told all this to my father just about 1 year ago.

     Then there were some other challenges that several businesses face sometime. For example, our competitors tried to spread rumors that a rat was found in one of our products. There was also a case of product tampering by local competitors by purposefully inserting needles in the batter pouch.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

         This is a spiritual question and I would like to answer it spiritually. I am a religious person and I consider the Prophet Muhammed as my role model. I am a firm believer in His teachings and try to follow them in my business as well.

      We pay all our taxes and do not have debt in the business. In fact, once we turned down an annual order of Rs 50 lakh from a leading hotel chain because they wanted to use one of our products as a bar snack.

Q. What is your Mantra for work life balance?

     During my corporate life, I at least used to get Saturdays and Sundays with my family. However, now it has become difficult to spend even weekends with them. I try to spend at least 15 mins daily with my 3 kids. However, I don’t think I am able to maintain a proper work life balance and I am not sure if such a thing is even possible for a startup entrepreneur  J.

Q. How is your association with IIMB and PGSEM now?

      I am still a frequent visitor at IIMB. I teach as a guest faculty in the REIL (Reinventing through Entrepreneurial and Intrapreneurial Leadership) course.

Q. Do you have any advice for budding entrepreneurs?

• First of all you should do a thorough research to understand the potential market for the product.
• If the product appears to have enough potential, see if there are gaps in the market. For example there may be a situation where there is demand but no proper supply in the market.
• Look at the competition in the market. If there is a huge competition from organized players already in the market, it is extremely difficult for a start-up to establish itself. When we entered, there was hardly anyone in Bangalore market.
• If possible, through your enterprise try to generate employment for unskilled labour from villages.

Q. Your message to students at IIMB-PGSEM today?

      During my IIMB days, several of my batch mates in PGSEM, used to crib about their IT careers. However, most of them did not have the guts to do anything about it and are still continuing with the same. I am sure many of the present PGSEMers would also be in a similar situation. Even though I was lucky enough to have a cousin to look after the test marketing of my business, it was difficult for me to take the plunge into entrepreneurship. Hence my message to current PGSEMers is:-

        If you are passionate about something, go ahead and at least try it out for at least few months with the help of full-time well-wishers like your cousins. If things work out, switch off completely from your old work and focus into your passion. If you don’t try, you will only talk about it till your last breath but would never make it happen. All the best!

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 5

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 4

A Quick Take with Akshat Kumar

 PGSEM Batch: 2007

Total Years of Experience: 6 Years 5 Months

Current Organization: Wunderman (A WPP company)

Current Role and Responsibility: Digital Media Strategist for Nokia Global. My remit is to mine consumer insights to position Nokia's product and services. I plan digital touch-points across earned(social) media, bought media(search and display) and owned media(dotcom).

Role Before Joining PGSEM: Senior Software Engineer, Finacle at Infosys

Role After Completing PGSEM: Digital Media Strategist, Nokia at Wunderman

LinkedIn Profile Link: http://in.linkedin.com/in/akshatkumar

 

Q. Tell us about your journey to where you are today?

It's been fun so far and to the point of sounding clichéd I owe a lot to PGSEM and IIM Bangalore. I joined PGSEM while I was working as an Engineer with Infosys. By the time I finished my first quarter, PGSEM had given me enough confidence to make a jump to something I had wanted to for a very long time and I was lucky to find a startup that was willing to give me an opportunity to try out something in digital space. I worked with a few startups during my PGSEM period and honed my skills in the digital marketing space. It was not very easy to manage work and studies but then I did it pull it off. And then they were extra-curriculars as well in the form of SAC which I think made PGSEM even more fun! As soon I graduated, I got the opportunity to spearhead planning for Nokia's digital business in India(thanks to Linkedin) and it's been good so far.

Q. Tell us something about the family?

I come from a family which has got three generations in law. My father recently retired as the Chief Justice of the High Court and now heads a Government Commission. My mother, elder brother and elder sister are also lawyers. So in a way, I am the black sheep of the family but then I add colour to the otherwise legalese dining-table conversations :)

Q. 3 words to describe you.

PGSEMer, PGSEMer and PGSEMer

Q What could have been an alternative career for you?

Writer. I still moonlight as one and write for Lonely Planet India.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

1.Consumer. Understanding the Indian consumer which is as diverse as it can be and demands the moon from the marketer.

2.Competition. Comes across all price spectrums. In the form of products and/or services as business struggles to survive.

3.Digital. The digital landscape in our country which is as diverse as it can be. While there are places in our country that struggles to get the basic piece of the digital infrastructure right, every marketer wants to have a piece of Youtube in his marketing strategy. It is a challenge tackling such a paradox.

4.Social Media. A beast in itself. It can make companies change their logos(the recent case of GAP.) One can never imagine how powerful can consumer's voice be.

Q. Your personal slogan.

Stay hungry, stay foolish(Stewart Brand)

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

Anand Mahindra. For building multiple businesses from scratch, putting Indian cars on the global map, acquiring the then scathed company and for supporting the cause of humanities.

Q  What was the influence of PGSEM in the professional life?

Tremendous! I owe a lot to PGSEM and IIM Bangalore for getting me the professional platform I desired and for SAC for helping me become a more well-rounded personality. The academics offered at IIM Bangalore is unmatched and I glad that I am able to implement a lot of what I have studied.

Q. What is your message for PGSEMers?

Network with alumni, industry and batch mates, use Linkedin smartly, spend time with Professors and to add fun to your life, please do volunteer for SAC activities.

Know Your Alumni Series: Part 3

" Ujwal Tikoo, Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder Taggle.com"

PGSEM Batch: 2006
Total Years of Experience: 14
Current Organization: Taggle.com
Current Role and Responsibility: Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder
Role Before Joining PGSEM: Senior Product Manager, Yahoo!
Role After Completing PGSEM: Director Product Management, mChek

LinkedIn Profile : www.linkedin.com/in/ujwaltickoo

Taggle Internet Ventures Pvt. Ltd., the Internet startup Ujwal co-founded, recently attracted $8.75 million venture funding. We interviewed Ujwal for "Know Your Alumni" series.

Q. Tell us about your journey to where you are today?

The Journey has shaped in the most unexpected ways. I had not imagined or planned exactly about where I am today. I have mostly gone with the flow and I don't know how things will shape tomorrow.

My entrepreneurial venture has been a work of serendipity, though I always thought that some day I may take the plunge. I got interested in Product Management after some experiments in my career and stayed on as I enjoyed the role. Work at Yahoo! taught me the most about the web and then I dabbled with mobile to complete my understanding of how mobile internet and web convergence would happen.

It has been a *lot* of hard work and work and more work. Nothing has come easy or on its own..

Q. Tell us something about the family?

I live with my wife and two wonderful kids in Bangalore. My children are the source of a lot of satisfaction.

Q. 3 words to describe you.

Thinker, Communicator, Friendly.

Q What could have been an alternative career for you?

Teaching. I still hope that someday I would be able to do it to my hearts satisfaction.

Q. What is the most challenging aspect of your role?

Every day is new. You close one issue many new problems pop up. Sometimes its hard to not feel exhausted. Entrepreneurship is vastly different from whatever you can ever read in a news article or a book or a biography. There is only some truth in stories we read, because they are painted beautifully for an audience. Experience is the real benchmark.

Q. Describe THE incident which has influenced you the most to be what you are today.

While working in a MNC, headquartered in the US, a series of incidents made it clear to me that if I wanted career growth I would have to venture into the startup world. I was doing very well in the MNC and loved the company, so it was quite a big shift for me.

Q How do you unwind from the business pressures that are an inseparable part of your job?

Playing with my children, reading, watching TV, yoga meditation. I find Ayurvedic Massage quite relaxing.

Q. When was the last holiday you went when you were completely shut off from the outside world?

Last year I went with my parents and family to Kashmir.

Q. Lighter elements/ interesting bit that no one knows about you!

I used to be quite stressed out in PGSEM days before exams. Sometimes I wouldn’t know whether I would even do well. But I did eventually pull it off quite decently!

Q. Your personal slogan.

I kind of don’t believe too much in Slogans and one-liners. I read a lot of spiritual books and draw inspiration from lives of great men. Life throws new challenges, unexpected bits that no one slogan can make up for all that I have seen and experienced in life.

Q. Whom do you consider as your Role Model and Why?

Venkat Panchapakesan, Ex-SVP at Yahoo! (now VP Engineering at Google) has had a great influence in how I think of leadership and influence. Whenever I have spoken to him, I have felt uplifted and good. Though he would face a lot of organizational issues as a leader, I never can think of a single occasion when the pressure of those situations made him not inspire someone he met. An organizational leader has to inspire people around him to rise to their best potential, by feeling good about themselves and the challenges they are facing. I feel Venkat has mastered that art.

Venkat also cared a lot about people in his organization. During some tough times, he and I were talking and simply said "let’s take care of our people."

Also, one of things I learned from what he used to say regularly "when you reward people, don't be a socialist, be a capitalist". People are tight fisted when they are rewarding performance. Venkat's approach was refreshingly different and he applied the idea of capitalism to rewarding people.

In him I have seen a lot of traits that are looked for in a Level 5 leader

Q What was the influence of PGSEM in the professional life?

I learned a hell of a lot at PGSEM. Not only from the mainstream courses on entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy but also the courses that shaped my thinking about myself e.g. REIL, PIE, and Spirituality in Management. These courses helped me build an outlook and a personal toolset to cope with personal challenges that are thrown by today’s complex work places. Its work in progress.

Q. What is your message for PGSEMers?

IIM B has an exceptional community and PGSEM is an outstanding program. Stay in touch with the faculty and they will mentor and advise and help you a lot. What you will learn from PGSEM will immensely shape your life in the future. There are challenges in being a PGSEMer but where else would you get an opportunity to study from some of the finest teachers of management while continuing your work and meeting your financial and other obligations? Though it is tough when its on, you will miss it when its over! I would any day love to become a student again and sit in a class to learn more!