The Hindu Business Line : What it takes to be an entrepreneur

Meena Ganesh, CEO, Tesco HSC: "It is also good to have built up some safety net, because it gives you the ability to go whole-heartedly into the venture, rather than toe-dipping."

20, 25, 30, 35... 50... ? When is the best time to throw away those corporate ties and get into a venture that excites you? While most agree that a silver streak running through one's hair is necessary, there are a handful of young graduates who argue that the earlier you start the better it is. "If you make a mistake, people are willing to give you a second chance," says Kunal Mahipal, who kicked off his venture straight after a B-school education.

A graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (Class of 2006), Mahipal not only refused high-paying corporate jobs, but also did not get into any of the usual ventures that novices opt for: IT, education, services. He started Kriti Lifetsyle Pvt Ltd, which will open a chain of stores across the country offering designer apparel with affordable price tags.

Meena Ganesh, CEO, Tesco HSC (Hindustan Service Centre), who has been in and out of entrepreneurship, feels there is no best time or ideal age to become an entrepreneur.

"There are examples of successful entrepreneurs who have started in all kind of age groups ranging from just out of college to post retirement. What is more important is to have something that you feel passionate about; some thing that you really believe in." Meena Ganesh chucked a high-flying corporate job at Microsoft to start CustomerAsset.com in the year 2000; one of the first companies to bring the call centre concept into the country.

But she did something different. Four years later, she sold CustomerAsset to ICICI OneSource and got right back into corporate life. She says it does help to have some grey hair and experience, as it teaches you hard lessons on how to manage people, relationships, customers and finances.

There is also a view that the right age to become an entrepreneur depends on `what you want to do'. R Subramanian, Managing Director of retail chain Subhiksha says that if you are doing something where understanding of a market and building relationships with key vendors/customers is important, then it makes sense to have a few years of experience before diving in. "In areas which are highly innovative like technology, you do it when you have the great idea - experience or age may not matter so much," says the man who's been there and done that. Like Meena Ganesh, Subramanian too is an IIM graduate (as well as an IIT-ian) and had corporate stints at Citicorp and Enfield.

V. Rajgopal, Chairman and Managing Director of garments company Celebrity Fashions, which also owns the Indian Terrain brand, chucked up a prestigious career in the Indian Police Service to go it on his own in the garments business when he was 30 years old. Says he: "I do not think that there is any `best time' to get into entrepreneurship. That move will be based on whenever one sees a clear opportunity and has the resources. However, age is certainly important and the vigour required to drive a start up would in a sense define the timing."

Though there is no ideal age, in terms of risk taking and flexibility, one would tend to think that the younger one is, the better it is. Mahipal agrees it is easier to work with people when you are without baggage. "You are willing to learn from others and also, perhaps, recover more quickly in case of a mistake," he says. Subramanian, on the other hand, feels that people whose venture is a continuation of their previous job experience would get `it right' even at 60. For instance, a consultant or a doctor setting up his practice would rarely go wrong. "They may not radically change what they have been doing and do the same thing in a new garb. But if one is changing lines totally, then the younger the better."

Meena Ganesh suggests an alternative for all those still wet behind the ears: The person who has the passion for the idea could team up with someone who has the necessary experience. "It is also good to have built up some safety net, because it gives you the ability to go whole-heartedly into the venture, rather than toe-dipping." There are instances of entrepreneurs who are technically very capable, but their lack of business acumen comes in the way of developing the right solution that is likely to make it big.

Celebrity's Rajgopal says that work experience is not mandatory. "Entrepreneurship is a risky business and the innate skills of the individual will determine how successfully you drive the opportunity. Experience would help in developing some maturity in decision making and evaluating risk, but entrepreneurship goes beyond any of these limitations," he says.

Does that also mean that the `big idea' is necessary to make a venture successful? A big idea is definitely an enabler — every entrepreneur, however, need not be doing breakthrough stuff, says Subramanian. In his opinion, it is a myth that entrepreneurs should always do something very new and different.

"That is not necessary. You may just do the same thing others are doing and focus on a geography or a client niche or there may be lot of demand and you may just fill in a demand gap. So the big idea is not a necessity, he says.

According to Meena Ganesh, it's the first year of being and sustaining that is important. "Not every business has to become a Microsoft, there is space in the market for all sorts of start-ups," is how she puts it. She says many successful companies started off with the kernel of an idea very different from what they ended up being.

There are also cases where ventures have died during the first year or the first 18 months because the founders have not been able to sustain their passion and make a workable model in that period. "It is more important to have the idea, however small, but equally important is the commitment to the idea." Mahipal does not believe in the big idea theory.

It's the entrepreneur's job to create a demand for the product or the service. It is clear that entrepreneurship does not start or end with the big idea.

"Even after a business has been established, continuous innovation is a must. There will be enough competition and market changes around you, and standing still certainly will put you out," warns Meena Ganesh.

Subramanian agrees, "Only that the flight to entrepreneurship should be rooted in reality rather than by some flight of fancy; people should know what they are setting themselves up for."

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