With as many as eleven talented young people opting out of the placement system to start their own ventures, the trend of taking this less traveled road has grown stronger. These students have plans to start their ventures in areas as diverse as logistics, manufacturing, advertising, finance and agro-processing in addition to information technology.
Take the example of Kaushik Mukherjee and Arun Balakrishnan. Their venture "lootstreet.com" is aimed at redefining e-commerce in India. "Unlike other online shopping websites, this website does not follow the 'Auction' or the 'Buy-at-Fixed-Price' model. The Lootstreet portal will host both new and used goods and follow a unique model of price determination of a sale with a simple underlying ideology - Every Price is Negotiable," say Kaushik and Arun.
Lootstreet is also defining an interesting shift in entrepreneurial trends. While many startups in the past have been pure-play IT based, Lootstreet combines IT with logistics and supply chain to create a brick and click structure which has been used successfully in the west by many e-commerce websites. The business reflects the founders' backgrounds; Kaushik has work experience in the IT sector while Arun has worked in shipping and logistics before coming to IIM Ahmedabad.
Another young entrepreneur, Ranjith P. Ajaykumar, is planning on launching a series of consumer based websites. According to Ranjith, his two years at IIM Ahmedabad have helped him structure his idea. "IIM-A has helped me by equipping me with all the right tools of management to excel in this field. After completing the PGP program from IIM-A I know all the aspects of a running a company which is invaluable education for an entrepreneur", he says.
Nageshwar V G Neela is planning on entering the agro-processing industry. According to Neela, his motivation for starting his own venture is the state of the Indian economy. "I think that with the kind of growth that our economy is seeing recently, it makes more sense to invest the time and efforts in entrepreneurship and reap its benefits. I was always of the opinion that the only master one can serve best is oneself. So, the route of entrepreneurship came naturally to me."
In the finance domain, Satvik Upadhyay and Ankit Mathur have spotted a big opportunity in the Indian market. Their website Aisapaisa.com is an independent platform for Indian retail investors to come together. The website, which will go live within a month "aims to provide simple access to credible and relevant information for its users", says Satvik.
Nirmal Kumar has started his venture in the out of home advertising business by the name of NPPL (Nirmal Prachaar Pvt Ltd). His idea is to come up with different concepts providing maximum visibility to the brands shown at his display. "We also add value to viewers in terms of providing information like live news and railway information on the station. We have taken up our pilot project from Ahmedabad station and are now expanding it to other places. We are getting good response from the corporate houses."
There are many factors driving these young entrepreneurs, IIM Ahmedabad is also playing a part in promoting this trend; the institute recently came up with the policy of a 'placement holiday', which allows graduating students who choose entrepreneurship as a career option to sit for the institutes' placement process for two years after passing out from the institute. However, IIM-A says that so far not a single person has availed of this policy, which is testament to the quality of ventures started by students passing out.
The faculty at IIM Ahmedabad has also been forthcoming to help these young entrepreneurs. According to Siddharth Jaiswal, "The encouragement from faculty has been phenomenal. One of the professors has been mentoring us like his own children. I could never have thought about these big plans had it not been his support and constant guidance despite time constraints and busy schedule."
IIM-A runs a hugely popular elective course in the second year titled 'Laboratory in Entrepreneurial Motivation' or LEM – which has acted as a breeding ground for some of these next generation CEOs. Jaiswal adds, "I had started a business before I entered IIM-A but was not able to manage it as efficiently as I would have liked. After my course at IIMA, I have realized my shortcomings and am doubly prepared. All things said and done, I feel the biggest learning for me at IIM-A has been to think BIG."
Commenting on the trend of more management graduates choosing to be entrepreneurs, Prof. Vasant Gandhi of IIM-A observes, "This shows a new spirit of independence, risk-taking, innovation and confidence seen in top management schools abroad such as in the US. What is striking is the diversity of ideas pursued from fruit-vegetable supply-chain from Bihar to Delhi, to portal for retail investors, to agro-processing and railway-station advertising. This gives confidence that India is clearly on the rise!"
