18 IIM MBAs walk out of placements braving current financial turmoil, reports Amrita Das from MBAUniverse.com
Many full-grown companies shelved new projects this year, putting all blames on recession. Industry top-shots argued recession is the worst time to start new ventures and that it was best to remain cost-effective until sings of recovery begin to emerge. But this was not the case with the fresh lot of MBAs, recently out from some of the top MBA institutes in India.
Continuing with its tradition, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, this year, churned out seven entrepreneurs from its factory. Although, the number was lower than previous year’s ten entrepreneurs, it would be inappropriate if we label it as a downward trend. Considering the frequency with which young companies are winding up, it is inspiring how these students declined plum, secure job offers and are bullish on starting new ventures amidst the severe economical crunch.
Two students from IIM Kozhikode, Rajat Kathpalia and Raj Veer Singh, opted out of IIM Ahmedabad placements this year. Rajat, a resident of Delhi, decided to start his own consultancy in the field of Clean Technologies and his friend, Raj Veer Singh, plans to set up his own venture on rising solar energy demand in Uttar Pradesh.
In an exclusive interview with MBAUniverse.com, Rajat said, “There can be no better time to start up than a year of slowdown. I have three reasons to support my argument. First, since the average salaries offered are not very high, you are not tempted to take them up. Second, manpower and raw materials are normally cheaper because of reduced overall demand and third, the interest rate comes down in a slow economy. And as far as credit crunch is concerned, I feel there are enough people willing to fund IIM graduates’ ventures at any time.”
At IIM Bangalore, too, a total of seven students opted out of the final placements. An official spokesperson at IIM B said, “Seven IIM Bangalore students opted out of final placements this year in spite of the current financial tumult to set up their own enterprises based on their own ideas. IIM Bangalore is more than happy and we are sure all of them will do well since their business ideas are unique.”
The scenario was almost same in the IIM Lucknow where seven students walked out of campus placements to realise their own dreams. Two of these students – Ashwini Agarwal and Vivek Drolia – have decided to start their own ventures in readymade garments and waste management respectively. Ashwini while stressing that India was not under recession said, “In my opinion, the current financial situation should be looked upon as a blessing in disguise for entrepreneurs. Actually, the decision of taking up an uncertain career becomes very difficult when there are excellent, safer opportunities available. However, in such a scenario, a candidate can never estimate, whether the company he/she has decided to join can provide a stable, safe career. In such a case, I feel, he/she should pursue something which would at least give the satisfaction of trying something of interest.” An IIM L spokesperson too stated that traditionally recessions have been considered an appropriate time for start-up organisations since the opportunity cost is lower and resources are available at a lower price.
The online site www.ourownbook.com, which was a successful venture by two IIM Indore students of Class 2008 Anubhav Jain and Dhruv Bhusan, inspired two more to tread the same path this year. Anubhav, co-owner of www.ourownbook.com, said, “Both Dhruv and I had offers from financial majors and consulting firms at IIM Indore, but we had decided to go for our own venture a long time back and we were very confident with our business idea. We think that the probability of a risky venture succeeding in uncertain times is higher than the good times. Raw material is available at a very low price and manpower is also cheap. Hence, to me, students opting out of placements in 2009 have a good chance of shining well in their career provided they strike the right opportunity in the right sector.”
With dwindling number of jobs in the markets, entrepreneurship received boost at other MBA institutes too. This year Xavier Labour and Relations Institute, Jamshedpur (XLRI), introduced deferred placement system. The year also saw the launch of three start-ups by XLRI students. One XLRI student even signed out from deferred placements.
Similarly, one student from S.P. Jain Institute of Mgmt & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai has plans to setup an independent venture. Like many other MBA institutes, SPJIMR provides its students with an option to return after two years for normal placements if their venture fails to kick off. What’s more, some of these MBA institutes even help those opting to take the road less traveled with funds.
Click below to read the first 3 parts of MBAUniverse.com MBA Placement Report 2009
http://www.mbauniverse.com/campusinner.php?id=2124 (Part 1)
