ET BureauBANGALORE: Pratush Charan, 28, thought he would be working at Google, Facebook or one of the top Indian companies after getting his degree in computer science engineering from a prestigious institution. While most of his classmates are doing exactly that, and drawing average salaries of Rs 9-10 lakh annually, Charan often lugs along a camera to weddings and other special occasions where he can be found shooting late into the night.
“Sometimes at 1 am in the morning thanks to the schedule of Indian weddings,” said the 28-year-old computer science engineer and former employee of Sonata Software. But Charan is no Average Joe. While his peers are sent abroad on business trips, Charan can afford his own overseas business trip, or send teammates instead. He is the co-founder of Hyderabad-based SeeMyMarriage.com, which live streams weddings in India and the United States. The four-year-old company, which has so far covered 4,000 weddings, expects revenue of Rs 1 crore next fiscal.
He is one in among thousands of entrepreneurs, whose routines are anything but commonplace. Equipped with bucket loads of gumption to surf through rough tides, these entrepreneurs don’t bat an eyelid while taking up tasks that unnerve most of their peers. “Nobody said entrepreneurship is cool or sexy or easy. It’s a lot of hardwork,” said Sanjay Swamy, managing partner at investment firm AngelPrime Partners. “It’s the most humbling experience there is.”
For Utkarsh Biradar, Saturdays usually meant the beginning of a two-day weekend during which he would hang about his house and meet with friends. Now the IIT alumnus and former Honeywell employee wakes up at five and visits the nearest newspaper seller, collating information from advertisements to update grocery prices for his mobile app Shopera. The 42-year-old had quit his job to set up WindSleeve Technologies last May. “Auchan and Reliance Fresh on weekends, and Big Bazaar on Wednesdays,” says Biradar, without missing a beat on his scheduled visits to find prices at the leading supermarkets.
The 10-month-old company’s app, targeted at working moms, collates data from several supermarkets, and provides the cheapest destination for a basket of items. Biradar, also a graduate of IIM Bangalore who often delivers lectures at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, can be found outside the supermarkets distributing pamphlets to potential customers.
“We are not conscious of people staring at us anymore,” said Biradar, whose app has touched over 500 downloads till date. “We knew it was not going to be easy, when we took the plunge.”
And it is not just the early-stage companies that have to contend with the mundane routine tasks. If one were to call the customer care of popular online lingerie shop Zivame, chances are CEO Richa Kar herself would be answering the call—under a pseudonym, of course.
The practice, she said, dates back to the initial days of the company’s launch in 2011, when she would answer queries and book orders under the false name of “Sindhu”. Such instances serve as myth busters to notions that entrepreneurs are their own bosses and answer to no one.
“We don’t have the liberty to say, ‘we’ll do what we like’. Who else will do it?” asked Richa Kar, CEO of the Bangalore-based company, which is looking at crossing Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in the next four years.
But why do entrepreneurs prefer to put themselves through the trial by fire, instead of taking up cushy jobs or settling for a normal life like most? For some it is the chance to create something new, for others like Ashwanth Gnanavelu, it is the joy of creating jobs for others.
Interior designing was not something that the MBA from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, thought he would do when he signed up on the founding team of Chennai-based BPO Desicrew.
As most of the offices are set up in remote locations, Gnanavelu and his team of 15 regularly visit godowns, garages, and old wedding halls in rural areas to transform them into IT offices that serves clients across the country. “The team is still intact. We are all here because we know we are making a difference and are not doing charity,” said 32-year-old Gnanavelu. “But hey, we also learn new things in the process.”
For most, the humble beginnings and offbeat experiences are what make for an interesting entrepreneurial journey, both personally and professionally. As AngelPrime’s Swamy said, “There’s a great opportunity cost in not being an entrepreneur."
“Sometimes at 1 am in the morning thanks to the schedule of Indian weddings,” said the 28-year-old computer science engineer and former employee of Sonata Software. But Charan is no Average Joe. While his peers are sent abroad on business trips, Charan can afford his own overseas business trip, or send teammates instead. He is the co-founder of Hyderabad-based SeeMyMarriage.com, which live streams weddings in India and the United States. The four-year-old company, which has so far covered 4,000 weddings, expects revenue of Rs 1 crore next fiscal.
He is one in among thousands of entrepreneurs, whose routines are anything but commonplace. Equipped with bucket loads of gumption to surf through rough tides, these entrepreneurs don’t bat an eyelid while taking up tasks that unnerve most of their peers. “Nobody said entrepreneurship is cool or sexy or easy. It’s a lot of hardwork,” said Sanjay Swamy, managing partner at investment firm AngelPrime Partners. “It’s the most humbling experience there is.”
For Utkarsh Biradar, Saturdays usually meant the beginning of a two-day weekend during which he would hang about his house and meet with friends. Now the IIT alumnus and former Honeywell employee wakes up at five and visits the nearest newspaper seller, collating information from advertisements to update grocery prices for his mobile app Shopera. The 42-year-old had quit his job to set up WindSleeve Technologies last May. “Auchan and Reliance Fresh on weekends, and Big Bazaar on Wednesdays,” says Biradar, without missing a beat on his scheduled visits to find prices at the leading supermarkets.
The 10-month-old company’s app, targeted at working moms, collates data from several supermarkets, and provides the cheapest destination for a basket of items. Biradar, also a graduate of IIM Bangalore who often delivers lectures at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, can be found outside the supermarkets distributing pamphlets to potential customers.
“We are not conscious of people staring at us anymore,” said Biradar, whose app has touched over 500 downloads till date. “We knew it was not going to be easy, when we took the plunge.”
And it is not just the early-stage companies that have to contend with the mundane routine tasks. If one were to call the customer care of popular online lingerie shop Zivame, chances are CEO Richa Kar herself would be answering the call—under a pseudonym, of course.
The practice, she said, dates back to the initial days of the company’s launch in 2011, when she would answer queries and book orders under the false name of “Sindhu”. Such instances serve as myth busters to notions that entrepreneurs are their own bosses and answer to no one.
“We don’t have the liberty to say, ‘we’ll do what we like’. Who else will do it?” asked Richa Kar, CEO of the Bangalore-based company, which is looking at crossing Rs 1,000 crore in revenue in the next four years.
But why do entrepreneurs prefer to put themselves through the trial by fire, instead of taking up cushy jobs or settling for a normal life like most? For some it is the chance to create something new, for others like Ashwanth Gnanavelu, it is the joy of creating jobs for others.
Interior designing was not something that the MBA from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom, thought he would do when he signed up on the founding team of Chennai-based BPO Desicrew.
As most of the offices are set up in remote locations, Gnanavelu and his team of 15 regularly visit godowns, garages, and old wedding halls in rural areas to transform them into IT offices that serves clients across the country. “The team is still intact. We are all here because we know we are making a difference and are not doing charity,” said 32-year-old Gnanavelu. “But hey, we also learn new things in the process.”
For most, the humble beginnings and offbeat experiences are what make for an interesting entrepreneurial journey, both personally and professionally. As AngelPrime’s Swamy said, “There’s a great opportunity cost in not being an entrepreneur."
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