जब एक देहाड़ी मजदूर और उसका परिवार दो जून की रोटी के लिए तरसते हो ऐसे में उसी घर का एक लड़का अपनी अथक मेहनत से करोड़ो का साम्राज्य खड़ा कर दे तो ये सुन कर आपको विश्वास नहीं होगा । लेकिन आज की इस कहानी में जिस इंसान के बारे में जिक्र किया जा रहा है उन्होंने कुछ ऐसा ही किया है।
कहते हैं कि, मन में अगर सच्ची निष्ठा और दृढ संकल्प हो फिर मंज़िल और आपके बीच में कोई भी रुकावट नहीं रहती। जरा सोचिये यदि आपसे बोला जाए कि एक दिहाड़ी मजदूर ने अपनी कठोर मेहनत से करोड़ों का साम्राज्य बना दिया, तो क्या आप यकीन करेंगे? बिलकुल नहीं। लेकिन हमारी आज की कहानी एक ऐसे ही दिहाड़ी मज़दूर के बारे में है जिसने अपनी अथक मेहनत से सफलता को परिभाषित किया है।
एक मामूली कब्र खोदने वाले के बेटे और पेशे से एक दिहाड़ी मजदूर वी पी लोबो ने खुद की बदौलत एक बड़े रियल स्टेट बिज़नेस की स्थापना कर सिर्फ छह सालों में 75 करोड़ का सालाना टर्न-ओवर किया। यह सुनकर आपको किसी चमत्कार सा लग रहा होगा लेकिन लोबो की पूरी जीवन-यात्रा बाधाओं के खिलाफ एक सकारात्मक सोच प्रेरणा से भरी हुई है।
वी पी लोबो की कंपनी को जानिए
लोबो की कंपनी टी-3 अर्बन डेवलपर्स, उच्च गुणवत्ता से युक्त सुविधाओं के साथ बजट घरों का निर्माण करती है। उनके टियर-3 प्रोजेक्ट में इंटरकॉम, वाईफाई और पुस्तकालय शामिल हैं और इस समय तक़रीबन 500 करोड़ रुपयों के मूल्य से भी ऊपर के प्रोजेक्ट उनके कंपनी के चल रहे हैं।
वी पी लोबो की कहानी
वी पी लोबो का जन्म कर्नाटक के मंगलुरू के नजदीक बोग्गा गांव के एक बहुत ही गरीब परिवार में हुआ। उनके माता-पिता अनपढ़ थे इस वजह से उनकी प्रारंभिक शिक्षा लोकल मीडियम स्कूल में ही हुई थी। उन दिनों उनके माता-पिता दोनों ही दिहाड़ी मजदूरी करते थे और उस समय उन्हें मजदूरी के एवज में पैसे नहीं बल्कि चावल और रोज उपयोग में आने वाले सामान दिए जाते थे। इसलिए स्कूल की फीस देने के लिए भी लोबो के परिवार के पास पैसे नहीं होते थे। कुछ लोगों की मदद से वह किसी तरह दसवीं तक पढ़ पाए।
उनके गांव से हाई स्कूल की दूरी 25 किलोमीटर दूर था। इसलिए दसवीं के बाद वह मंगलुरू चले गए। वहाँ संत थॉमस चर्च के पादरियों और नन्स की सहायता से लोबो ने संत मिलाग्रेस स्कूल से बारहवीं की पढ़ाई पूरी की।
50 रुपये लेकर निकले थे मंज़िल की तलाश में
एक दिन लोबो अपने बचाये 50 रुपये के साथ, बिना घर में किसी को बताये मुम्बई निकल पड़े। बस ड्राइवर मंगलुरू का था और उसने लोबो की मदद की और उसे कोलाबा के सुन्दरनगर स्लम तक पहुंचा दिया। वहाँ वह यूपी के एक ड्राइवर के साथ रहने लगे और बहुत सारे छोटे-मोटे काम सीख गए। थोड़े पैसे कमाने के लिए वह टैक्सी धोने का काम करने लगे। दिन भर में दस गाड़ियां तक धो लेते थे और इससे उन्हें सिर्फ 20 रुपये ही मिल पाते थे।
लोबो ने एक छोटी पॉकेट डिक्शनरी से हिंदी और अंग्रेजी पढ़ना शुरू किया। इतना ही नहीं अंग्रेजी न्यूज़पेपर खरीदकर रोज पढ़ते थे। धीरे-धीरे उसने दोस्त बनाने शुरू किये और कपड़े आयरन करने लगे और इस तरह लोबो महीने में 1200 रुपये कमाने लगे। तब जाकर इन्होंने अपने घर में अपने ठिकाने की जानकारी दी और हर महीने 200 रूपये घर भेजने लगे।
वह एक समृद्ध सज्जन के कपड़े आयरन करते थे, उन्होंने ही लोबो को आगे पढ़ने के लिए प्रोत्साहन दिया।
वी पे लोबो ने कहा कि, “मैं कल्पना करता था कि मैं सूट और टाई पहनकर उसके जैसे एक दिन किसी ऑफिस में नौकरी करूँगा और हर दिन मजबूत होता जाऊँगा।” मुम्बई में छह महीने बिताने के बाद उन्होंने नाईट कॉलेज में जाना शुरू किया और वही से इन्होंने कॉमर्स में स्नातक की डिग्री ली।
संघर्ष के दिनों को याद करते हुए लोबो बताते हैं कि,“मैं सिर्फ 4-5 घंटे ही सो पाता था, टैक्सी धोना, कपड़े आयरन करना, खाना बनाना और सफाई और फिर रात में कॉलेज जाना और पढ़ाई करना। लंच ब्रेक में पांच मिनट में खाना खाकर टाइपिंग क्लास जाता था”।
लोबो की पहली नौकरी
लोबो को उनकी पहली नौकरी जनरल ट्रेडिंग कारपोरेशन में मिली जहाँ से वैज्ञानिक प्रयोगशाला के उपकरण देश के सभी शिक्षण संस्थानों में भेजे जाते थे। इनके मालिक ने इनके सीखने के उत्साह को देखकर उन्हें सेल्स एक्सक्यूटिव की नौकरी दे दी। उसके बाद उन्होंने पीछे मुड़कर नहीं देखा। पांच साल यह नौकरी करने के बाद लोबो ने इसे छोड़कर गोराडिया फोर्जिंग लिमिटेड कंपनी में रीजनल मेनेजर की पोस्ट पर काम करने लगे।
फिर 1994 में वह मस्कट चले गए और वहाँ से लौटकर उन्होंने एक रियल स्टेट कंपनी एवर शाइन को ज्वाइन किया। उसके पश्चात् उन्होंने बहुत सारी कंपनियों के साथ काम किया और 2007 में एवर शाइन ग्रुप के सीईओ बनकर मुम्बई लौट आये।
लंबे अनुभव के बाद शुरू की खुद की कंपनी
रियल स्टेट बिज़नेस के लंबे अनुभव के बाद इन्होंने 2009 में T3 अर्बन डेवलपर्स लिमिटेड नाम से खुद की कंपनी शुरु की। शुरुआती दिनों में होने वाली पूंजी की दिक्कत उनकी पत्नी के भाई ने और दोस्तों ने पूरी कर दी और बाद में उनके शेयर होल्डर्स ने और धीरे-धीरे उनकी कंपनी में बहुत सारे कंपनियों ने इन्वेस्ट करना शुरू कर दिया। उनकी कंपनी के नौ प्रोजेक्ट पूरे हो चुके है जिसमे शिमोगा, हुबली और मंगलुरू के प्रोजेक्ट शामिल है।
गरीब बच्चों को पढ़ाने के लिए खोला एनजीओ
लोबो गरीब बच्चों के लिए एक एनजीओ भी चलाते हैं जिसका नाम T3 होप फाउंडेशन है। जिसमें गरीब बच्चों को अंग्रेज़ी माध्यम के स्कूल में पढ़ाया जाता है। इतना ऊँचा मक़ाम हासिल करने के बाद भी लोबो अपने पुराने दिनों को नहीं भूलते। अपनी जड़ों से जुड़े इस रियल हीरो की कहानी सच में बेहद प्रेरणादायक है।
आपको वी पी लोबो की यह प्रेणादायक कहानी कैसी लगी, नीचे कमेंट बॉक्स में अपनी प्रतिक्रिया देकर हमें जरुर बताएं। हम आपके लिए और भी ऐसी ही प्रेणादायक और नए-नए स्टार्टअप की स्टोरी लाते रहेंगे, बने रहें हमारे साथ। और हाँ, इस पोस्ट को शेयर अवश्य करें।
Patricia Narayan the woman who earned 50 paise a day now is a woman who has inspired many to never give up
Patricia Thomas married Narayan at the mere age of 17. More so, she was ousted from her family home as her parents were against this inter-religion marriage. To top it all, the love of her life who she left everything for, turned into a drug addict soon and she was left with no money and four hungry mouths to feed. However, she wasn’t the one to give up and she decided to start over. Thus, she set up a mobile cart on Marina beach and with help from two specially-abled people, she started selling snacks, coffee, tea and juice. She claims that Marina was her business school as it taught her everything there was to learn about running a business.
Over the next years, she started running canteens for offices in Chennai and soon in 1998, became the director of Nelson Manckam road restaurant. However, it wasn’t the end of grief for Patricia. In the year 2002, Narayan, passed away and after some days, her daughter and son-in-law lost their lives in a car accident too. These events seemed to have devastated Patricia but she decided to hold on to her determined spirit and move on.
Patricia and her son soon set up their first restaurant called “Sandeepha” which was named after her late daughter. Since then, she has gone on to devote all her time to building and nurturing her restaurant and making it bigger and more popular than ever.
Her struggles to make odds meet were difficult but the courage and determination she showed was definitely extraordinary. In 2010, her struggles and business sense was appreciated and she won the ‘FICCI Woman Entrepreneur of the Year’ and soon became an inspiration to all women across the country.
“I started my business with just two people. Now, there are 200 people working for me in my restaurants. My lifestyle has changed too. From travelling in a cycle rickshaw, I moved to auto rickshaws and now I have my own car. From a mere 50 paise a day, my revenue has gone up to Rs 2 lakh a day.” -Patricia Narayan
Ritu Kaushik hails from a village near Sonipat Haryana, tops Flipkart seller earning of Rs 8 lakh a month right now.
The increasing e-commerce industry has given rise to a growing number of inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs from each and every part of India including the remote and rural areas. Ritu Kaushik is one of the example for the same, who built a successful business through Flipkart.
Ritu Kaushik hails from a village near Sonipat Haryana, tops Flipkart seller earning of Rs 8 lakh a month right now. E-commerce industry has a great scope of expansion in India and has helped many of the entrepreneurs achieve their dream of being financially stable. Ritu is one of such story among the many that highlight the growing wave of financial liberalization of women from remote corners of India.
Her handbags brand name is “Ritupal Collections” features bags in the range of Rs 200-1500.
Ritu’s earning as around Rs 1 lakh per month by the end of 1st year. And today, after 3 years of the business, her monthly revenue is around Rs 8 lakh per month.
Ritu Kaushik started her business of selling handbags in 2016 via Flipkart. She saw everyone around her buying products online, this is how she got the idea of starting this business.
A mother of 2, Ritu went back to college after her marriage and completed her graduation despite having to take care of the kids.
She got married at young age of 16, her husband gave her the full support to complete her study after marriage.
Often referred to as the father of Indian IT sector, the man is known to be amongst those who need no introduction, and their work speaks for them!
The Leo by birth, Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy famously known as Narayana Murthy is the founder of Infosys.
Often referred to as the father of Indian IT sector, the man with a net worth of $1.9 billion is known to be amongst those who need no introduction, and their work speaks for them!
Presently, he acts as the Chairman Emeritus of Infosys. Some of the services the company offers include business consulting, technology, engineering, and outsourcing services.
Since his retirement from an active role in Infosys, Narayana has been an active part of his private investment firm to backs start-ups, Catamaran Ventures. Other than that, he is also a part of a range of activities which include:
Independent Director on the corporate board of HSBC
Trustee of the Rhodes Trust
Chairman of the Governing board of Public Health Foundation of India
Asia Pacific Advisory Board of British Telecommunications
Serves on the strategic board which advises the national law firm, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, on strategic, policy and governance issues
Member of the Advisory Boards and Councils of including –
Cornell University
INSEAD
ESSEC
Ford Foundation
The UN Foundation
The Indo-British Partnership
Asian Institute of Management
Additionally, he has Co-chaired the World Economic Forum in Davos and has also served as a director on the boards of DBS Bank, Unilever, ICICI and NDTV, in the past.
He has also been honoured with India’s most prestigious awards Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Shri awards (2000).
Narayana has received his degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Engineering and has also completed his Master in Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur).
Talking about his personal life; Narayana is married to Sudha Murthy and has a son Rohan Murty and a daughter Akshata Murthy. Rohan is a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University and has recently invested $1 Million in a type of robotic astronomy project – Robo-AO project. And his sister Akshata, who had completed her MBA from Stanford Business School, is now married to Rishi Sunak a British Conservative MP.
Narayana was born in Sidlaghatta, Kolar District in Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore (now Karnataka).
He belonged to a poor family and his father was a teacher in a high school. But even then, he was one of the brightest students (without any coaching classes) and would often help his friends in studies.
Since those early days, he dreamt of pursuing engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology. In the first attempt itself, he appeared for the test and cleared with great marks.
Later, he began working for Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) as Chief Systems Programmer and his tasks included working on India’s first time-sharing computer system. He also designed and implemented a BASIC interpreter for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
Now around the early 70’s, he went on to start his first entrepreneurial venture – Softronics, a software consulting firm. This was also the time when he was dating his wife Sudha and intended to get married to her. Her father had a condition that he must be settled with a decent job if they wanted their blessings, but Narayana was very adamant about his free will.
After about a year and a half, the company sadly tanked and they were forced to shut it down. Due to this event, he was left with no other option but to take up a job, hence, he joined Patni Computer Systems in Pune as a General Manager.
Since, he now had a job which satisfied his to-be father-in-law, before joining the company he made sure to get married to Sudha. This was also because he was going to the US for training and wanted to complete the marriage before that.
And with the arrival of the lady luck of his life, within a short period, he began walking on the paths of success!
The Interesting Story Of Infosys
So while at Patni, he again felt the urge to get back to entrepreneurship. He strongly felt that he was meant for it and that this was the right time too, he was very passionate about creating good quality software, but the problem was that he didn’t have the money.
How Did It All Happen?
But his wife could see his pain and the fact that he wanted to do something with his life, but he had no money. Hence, she decided to help him out.
She gave him a sabbatical of three years and asked him not to worry of the house, she will take care of all the financial needs. She also gave him ₹10,000 that she had saved for the off days.
Having that sorted, on a morning of January 1981, he met six of his software engineer friends in his apartment to discuss on how they could create a company to write software codes.
Soon after that he also decided to leave his job at Patni and began working on his new project.
And after six months of aggressive preparations, Infosys was registered on 2nd of July, 1981. It then used to be known as Infosys Consultants Private Limited. The company was co-founded by Narayan Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, N. S. Raghavan, S. Gopalakrishnan, S. D. Shibulal, K. Dinesh and Ashok Arora.
In 1982, together they moved to Pune and bought a small house on loan. Although, the company’s registered office was N. S. Raghavan house at Dadar, Mumbai, but the front room of Narayana’s house was used as their office.
All six of them would operate from there, and Sudha was their Clerk-cum-Cook-cum-Programmer. She had also taken up a job at Walchand Group of Industries as a Senior Systems Analyst to support the household.
Moving on, Infosys moved to Bangalore when it got its first client – Data Basics Corporation from the United States in 1983. But this time it was only Narayana who had moved, that too without his wife (because her son had infantile eczema, an allergy to vaccinations).
Later, after the Murthy’s, Nandan Nilekani and his wife Rohini also moved to Bangalore, but since they didn’t have a place to stay, they used to stay with the Murthy’s at their home/office.
Slowly, the rest of the team also moved to Bangalore as well and work again began with full force.
How Did They Manage To Scale The Company Under Given Conditions?
Now during that time, when they began moving ahead aggressively with Infosys, there were certain ground rules laid down.
Firstly, all the founders collectively took a firm decision that none of their wives would ever get involved in the running of the company. This was because running a company requires a person’s 100% and if everybody got involved in the company then who would take care of the family and children.
Secondly, none of the founders would be allowed to continue with the company after the age of 65. This way, the younger talents at Infosys would get an opportunity to grow to the top positions.
Additionally, none of their children would also get involved in the future as well, this would close all possible rooms for discrimination or partiality.
Anyway, things began to speed up quickly. Their initial years were clearly not smooth. Most of the founders were into writing codes. They wanted to make a strong impact in the American market. The environment of their company was such that Rohini was taking care of Narayana’s son, while Sudha was helping them write software programmes for Infosys. A lot of struggle indeed!
These were the days, when even after eight years of trying to bring up a company, they had got nowhere, whereas their friends who had studied with them had cars and houses.
Yet despite so many sacrifices and struggles, all the partners and their families made sure to take time out for small picnics as well too.
The Challenges
Around the late 80’s, Infosys got into a Joint Venture with Kurt Salmon Associates, a first of its kind for them. Gopalakrishnan was made the public face of this JV in America.
But due to unfortunate and unknown events, this joint venture collapsed in a very short span of time (in 1989) since it started.
This left a huge dent in the company. The company was on the verge of collapse, and looking at the worsening scenario one of their founders – Ashok Arora, sold his shares (of the unlisted company) back to the partners and moved out.
Situations were extremely bad for them, none of them had a clue of what to do, how to go ahead. But it was Narayana’s confidence and courage that helped them out.
He told all the partners that if they wished to leave, they happily can and that he will buy back all the shares from them. But he will keep the company running. But the other partners decided to stay.
So they decided to buck it up and face the challenges. To begin with, they divided all the tasks. Narayana always had an eye for talent and a talent for dividing labour, hence he handled the management. Nandan was asked to take control of sales, Kris and Shibu managed the technical end, Raghavan was asked to handle people, and lastly, Dinesh was assigned quality.
Their pace was such that, the company went on to open their first international office in Boston, US in a matter of no time.
What helped them the most was liberalization of Indian economy in the 90’s! Since then the company has made sure to never have to look back.
Infosys campus, Mysuru
The Rise Of Infosys
Narayana very well knew that image was everything and hence, he smartly on the sidelines worked on creating an image for Infosys as well. He invested heavily in creating huge and world-class campuses. This was literally bigger than any other company’s headquarters in India. It helped them show their global customers feel like they were in a global office.
As they grew, unlike many other big businesses who used to play dirty, Narayana brought in a ‘no compromise policy’ on getting ‘under-the-table deals’ and doing ethical business.
And thus began the ultimate rise of Infosys!
In 1993, Infosys apart from acquiring the ISO 9001/TickIT certification, took the biggest leap since their initiation and went public, and soon after the IPO the company also decided to share a portion of their equity with employees. This move of theirs greatly helped them retain the talent and also gave the employees a sense of ownership as well.
And in the next two years, the company had opened global development centers in Fremont, Toronto, and had also opened their first European office in the UK.
If this was huge then in the year 1999, they company grew by manifolds when it announced that it had touched revenues worth $100 million and had also got listed on NASDAQ. What was even more commendable was that at that time, Infosys was known to be amongst the 20 biggest companies by market capitalization on the NASDAQ.
This was the time when the Infosys began their massive worldwide expansion plan and went on to open a list of offices in different parts of the world including Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Australia, and two development centers in the US. Additionally, they also launched their Business Consulting Services as well.
In 2002, after taking the company to revenues worth $500 million Narayana decided to take the back seat, and Nandan Nilekani took over the position of CEO, whereas Narayana became the Chairman and Chief Mentor.
From then onwards, the company has grown drastically from over ₹6,000 crores (in assets, including surplus cash) and 50,000 employees in 2005, to becoming India’s second largest software exporter and then crossing a $6 Billion revenue mark and 125,000 employee base.
This is when Narayana decided to completely move out of the day-to-day functioning of the firm and handed over his Chairmanship as well to K.V. Kamath, although he still acts as the Chairman Emeritus to the firm. Additionally, in the next two years, they also began trading on NYSE Euronext London and Paris markets as well.
More recently, Dr. Vishal Sikka has taken over as the new CEO and MD of the firm, while it is at revenues worth ₹50,000 crores, and the company also has announced a $250 million ‘Innovate in India Fund’ to support Indian start-ups. Presently, the company also accounts for more than 950 clients who are spread across 50 countries.
They have also become the sixth largest publicly traded company in India and told account for more than 187,976 employees as well. In a total, the company has proudly given away stocks worth more than ₹50,000 crores to employees in the form of ESOP.
Since their inception, the company has also made a range of acquisitions which include – Expert Information Services ($23 million), McCamish Systems ($38 million), Portland Group (AUD 37 million), Lodestone Management Consultants ($345 million), etc. More recently, the company has also acquired Panaya, Inc, and Skava as well.
Infosys campus, Pune
Achievements
Listed as 25 Greatest Global Indian Living Legends by NDTV (2013)
Awarded as the Philanthropist of the Year by The Asian Awards (2013)
Received the NDTV Indian of the Year’s Icon of India (2011)
Received the ‘Woodrow Wilson Award’ for by Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2009)
Received the Officer of the Legion of Honor by the Government of France (2008)
Awarded as the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Government of United Kingdom (2007)
Won the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Of The Year (2003)
Ninad Vengurlekar shared an inspiring story of Rambhau, who used to work in his garden and now is a successful entrepreneur.
If given an opportunity, there are many who would do better than the current work they are doing. Many of us want to run our own businesses, but are we ready to grab the opportunity when it comes knocking at our door?
Ninad Vengurlekar shared an inspiring story of Rambhau, who used to work in his garden and now is a successful entrepreneur:
4 years back he was tilling the soil on the side of a road inside my complex when a site engineer asked him if he would like to build my house garden. He hurriedly came running to me and agreed to do whatever I wanted him to do and for whatever I was willing to pay. He almost did my garden for free.
He then used my garden as a show sample of his work to other houses in the complex. Within 2 years he was managing 20 house gardens. By then he had bought a motorbike. He also employed 3-4 helpers who used to visit our houses for daily maintenance. His wife was one of them.
A year later, he informed me that he had started a tempo delivery service with his son. He also won a contract to build a garden for the bungalow that the builder was building for himself in the complex. It was over 1/2 acre land. He took me there and showed me the work he was doing. I was happy.
Soon, the builder of the complex offered him the contract to maintain the trees and gardens in the entire complex. I was told that he now has 2-3 delivery vehicles and over 15 people under him.
Today he came to remodel some trees in my garden. He came in a Luxury car, got down and got to work with the workers. He was digging the soil, uprooting trees and planting new ones. He was standing there and getting things done.
At home, Maya and I were discussing his journey from a small gardener to an established small entrepreneur in 4 years. She said why can’t others do this and I said it’s there in the genes. It cannot be taught. If that was the case, entrepreneurship courses would have been in hot demand across the world.
Rambhau drives a car which even his owners don’t (like me, for example). But he works in our gardens. He takes our instructions and delivers value to us. He has the humility to serve his customers when in reality he could be making more money than them.
Rambhau must be in his early 50s. He was a contract worker until late 40s. Obviously, entrepreneurship existed within him, but he was locked in an ecosystem that did not give him opportunities of high returns for his hard work. When he got the right platform to deliver, he seized the opportunity. He did this without any support from traditional banks. (Who would fund a gardening business?)
These are the millions of small entrepreneurs like him in India that drive the Indian economy. They get no bank or VC funding. They borrow money at high-interest rates, do not understand financial ratios and repay all their debt consistently on time, while building a profitable business.
Nobel laureate, and Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus said,
‘To me, the poor are like Bonsai trees. When you plant the best seed of the tallest tree in a six-inch deep flower pot, you get a perfect replica of the tallest tree, but it is only inches tall. There is nothing wrong with the seed you planted; only the soil-base you provided was inadequate.
Poor people are bonsai people. There is nothing wrong with their seeds. Only thing is society never gave them a base to grow on.’
Rambhau is a perfect example of this dogma of poverty that faces 80% of Indian population. Fortunately, he refused to become a bonsai. He literally expanded his “flower pot” to a 200-acre campus and made enough money to afford a Luxury car for himself. He proves that if you have the talent, the will, and the willingness, hundreds of ways magically appear around you – capital or no capital, education or no education.
“He is not my Gardener, he is my Entrepreneur of the Year for 2016.” – Ninad Vengurlekar
From being a door-to-door salesman to taking over as Director, Porsche, Pavan Shetty traces his professional journey.
The Economic Times details the rise and rise of Pavan Shetty, Director, Porsche India. From being a door-to-door salesman to taking over as Director, Porsche, Pavan traces his professional journey. When Pavan completed his bachelor’s degree in Commerce in the late 1990s, he was faced with a difficult personal challenge. He had to nurse a close family member for a prolonged illness. This meant full-time attention at home and not much time for further studies or to look for a job. A year went by, and though things didn’t get better on the personal front, the graduate decided it was time he found a job. Starting from being a door-to-door salesman, selling newspaper subscriptions to becoming Lamborghini’s first hire in India, Pavan has come a long way.
1999 Financial Express, sales person, 1999
This job made me an extrovert. I saw an ad in the newspaper and applied. I think this was my most difficult sales (job) because there is nothing more difficult than changing a habit. I was selling from door to door and walked about eight kms everyday. I did it for six months.
2000 HSBC, Human Resources, 2000-2002
At this point, I wished to get into banking. When I joined, I was a part of the generalist resource because I had no specialisation. By this time, I decided to do my masters. I cleared CET with 98th rank. I got through Mumbai’s Sydenham College on a merit seat. This was very important because I had to ensure that the cost of my education was not too much.
2003 Castrol India, Intern, 2003
This was my introduction to the automobile sector. I worked on tractors in Sunder Nagar, Gujarat, for over two months in between my MBA.
On campus, like most others, I wanted to be in FMCG. When HUL came to the campus, I couldn’t utter a word. I was under stress. So, yeah, I missed it. The next day, I came back with a vengeance and wanted to crack the next company. That company was Tata Motors. My journey with Tata Motors began. My experience with Tata Motors was with commercial vehicles, not cars. Commercial vehicles was really tough and I was in Mumbai, handling the biggest dealers. Some deals would be about 100 or 150 trucks. I was always on my toes.
2007 Ford India, Regional Sales Manager – West, 2007-2012
I had a friend who pulled me in. Ford offered me an assignment in west India where for two years, I did sales and after that, both marketing and sales. It gave me exposure to cars. This customer and his expectation was different from a truck owner. Then I had a challenge in Gujarat where Ford was not the strongest. I, with the help of the team, turned it around.
2012 Lamborghini India, Head-Operations, 2012-2015
I was not too keen to move out of Mumbai at this point. There were family issues. And there were more opportunities coming from Ford Delhi than in Mumbai. Lamborghini happened through a consultant. He asked me, ‘How about a business that sells only 12-15 cars a year?’ When I went for the meeting, my jaw dropped when I heard the brand name. This gave me a chance to be a businessman without starting my own business. I was the first guy to be recruited and I set up everything.
2016 Porsche India, Director, January 2016 – present
This was the most natural progression. Here, you are not setting up but taking it to another level. I had handled P&L, marketing, sales, PR, dealers, everything for Lamborghini. When you know it all already, where you could go next is ideally a big, but not too big, a brand, but where volumes and products to be sold are more. It just makes you stretch more.
This article was originally published in YourStory
