ENTREPRENEURSHIP ASSIGNMENT

INTERVIEW OF AN ENTREPRENEUR

Submitted to: Dr. Arya Kumar

Amit Dharamsi Roll No : 10

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Brief Profile of the Entrepreneur...................................................................................................................................... 3

Profile of Entrepreneurial Venture.................................................................................................................................. 4
Interview with The Entrepreneur.................................................................................................................................... 5
Analysis of the Entrepreneur........................................................................................................................................... 11
 BRIEF PROFILE OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

Name: Mr. Santosh Jayawant Rane

Age: 40 years

Education:

B.E (Mechanical) from Walchand College of Engineering – 1991

Diploma in Management Studies from Mumbai University – 1999

Work Experience:

Herdillia Chemicals – 1991 to 1995

NOCIL – 1995 to 2002

Larsen & Toubro Infotech – 2002 to 2005

Hexaware Technologies – 2005 to 2008

Avartan Technologies Pvt. Ltd. – Entrepreneurial Venture – 2008 till date

Mr. Santosh Rane, born and brought up in a distant suburb of Mumbai, comes from a very humble
family consisting of his parents and two younger sisters. Santosh’s father lost his job as the
company shut down its operations when he had just completed his 10 th standard. To support the
family of 5, his father had to take up low paying job that barely met their family’s needs. During his
school days, Santosh had a knack of doing business by selling ballpen refills and earn his pocket
money. This enterprising nature of doing odd jobs or businesses saw him and his family sail
through the tough days of their lives. He eventually went on to become a Mechanical Engineer from
the prestigious Walchand College of Engineering. It was the job that he got after his engineering
that changed the condition of his family for good.

It was this zeal, enterprising nature and the belief that “Nothing can be worse than what I have been
through” has eventually turned him into an entrepreneur.

Mr. Santosh Rane, along with his ex-colleague from Hexaware Technologies Ltd., started this formal
entrepreneurial venture in the year December 2008, with the name “Avartan Technologies Private
Limited”.
 PROFILE OF ENTREPRENEURIAL VENTURE

Avartan Technologies Private Limited (Avartan Technologies) (http://www.avartantech.co.in) was

initially started as a partnership firm in the year December 2008 by Mr. Santosh Rane, along with
his ex-colleague from his ex-company Hexaware Technologies. This partnership firm was
transformed into a Private Limited enterprise in February 2010. When quizzed about the reasoning
for starting the entrepreneurial venture initially as a partnership firm, Mr. Santosh Rane answered
that this was done to save the capital costs. He added that formation of a Private Limited enterprise
costs about Rs 40,000/- while setting up a partnership firm requires only notary costs.

Avartan Technologies is currently in the initial phase of growth with revenues expected to touch Rs.
1 crore for the financial year 2010-11. The company initially started with 2 employees (i.e.
founders) and its headcount has now reached to 10 employees in a span of less than 2 years. They
now serve 5 customers concurrently.

Avartan Technologies initially catered to the requirements of Oracle e-Business Suite (Oracle ERP)
and gradually extended their service offerings to other technologies as well, though their main
focus still remains Oracle ERP.

Avartan Technologies’ Vision and Mission statements are as follows:

Vision

Our vision is to be the IT leader in providing the highest quality software solutions and services to
the all Industry verticals.

Mission

Our mission is to bring significant cost reduction of IT expenditure of our Customers through
executional excellence at the same time maintaining World Class quality services.
 INTERVIEW WITH THE ENTREPRENEUR

Amit Dharamsi (AD): Would you tell me about yourself before you started your first venture?

Santosh Rane (SR): I am Mechanical Engineer. I have spent my initial years in Chemical Industry
responsible for construction Projects in chemical plants. I then moved to IT in year 2002 and it has
been 8 years now.

AD: Whom else did you know while you were growing up who had started or owned a business, and how
did they influence you? Anyone later, after you were 21 years old?

SR: Starting of my own was always on my mind since childhood. But while working in the Chemical
Industry, I came to know many service contractors, manufacturers and vendors and interaction
with them made me believe that I also can start of my own.

AD: Were your parents, relatives, or close friends entrepreneurial? How so?

SR: No one except my maternal uncle. In my family, a person giving up a lucrative job is considered
to be insane. So I told my parents only after a year about my venture. My wife has supported me all
through my venture.

AD: Did you have role models?

SR: Narayan Murthy and my maternal Uncle, who is hardly educated, had started small business
years ago and is doing good with sheer hard work and commitment.

AD: What was your education/military experience? In hindsight, was it helpful? In what specific ways?

SR: Being an engineer always helps me to do analysis in scientific way, though I may not be using all
the knowledge that I have learnt from my engineering days. Education helps you to build
confidence to learn new things. A commerce graduate usually shies away from technical content
and while engineers also do same way for accounts. In my view one should receptive to acquire
knowledge in different areas. Of course Technology and Finance are the key for any business.

AD: Did you have a business or self-employment during your youth?

SR: I started my first Business when I was in 7th Standard. It was about selling ballpen refills and
refilling them. That continued for two years. I also used to sell fire-crackers during Diwali for my
pocket money. I undertook many such part-time businesses during my college days as well. After
two years of my job, my friend and I bought plastic injection moulding machine and used to do job
work. We used to work in shifts so we used to look after shop during off hours. This continued well
for two years and then suddenly my friend has a major family problem and needed his investment
back. We had to sell off our assets since it was difficult for me to buy out his share.

AD: In particular, did you have any sales or marketing experience? How important was it, or a lack of it,
to starting your company?

SR: I don’t have any experience. But we never felt need of it, as every person does marketing every
moment of his life, be it in his job or business. You continuously have to sell yourself. The only
difference is, in business you need to have a scientific approach.

AD: When, under what circumstances, and from whom did you become interested in entrepreneurship
and learn some of the critical lessons?

SR: It always in my mind. I was in IT industry and in Indian IT industry senior managers spend
most of their time in administrative and mundane work and this leads to redundancy. I was moving
up the ladder fast and was worried about becoming redundant soon. So, I thought this could be
right time to add value to self and create value for the people.

AD: Describe how you decided to create a job by starting your venture instead of taking a job with
someone else.

SR: I was working for 16 years for somebody and although I was satisfied with my growth, I
thought growth would halt after 4 to 5 years and instead of being the liability to industry I thought
of adding value to self and others.

AD: How did you spot the opportunity? How did it surface?

SR: My ex-boss got one contract in big business house in Pune and he asked me to join. I jumped at
the opportunity. Although that opportunity only lasted for two months, we did manage to get work
in those two months from my previous employer.

AD: What were your goals? What were your lifestyle needs or other personal requirements? How did you
fit these together?

SR: My lifestyle needs are no different than a common man’s goals and I was blessed to have
achieved those lifestyle needs by then. But my personal goals are not directly related to wealth.
They are creating some space of your own and create jobs for others. If your income is low, then
you align yourself to that, being from lower middleclass family, this is not challenge for me.

AD: How did you evaluate the opportunity in terms of the critical elements for success? The competition?
The market? Did you have specific criteria you wanted to meet?

SR: I strongly believe that there are opportunities around you all the time. The point is whether you
are ready to take that. Let me explain there are available seats for IIM every year but the
opportunity exists only for those who are ready. Now India is passing through a phase which every
country does only once in its lifetime and I am happy to be there at this point of time. So anything
and everything that comes your way can be opportunity. But, only a few see it while others see it
only when somebody makes use of it.

AD: Did you find or have partners? What kind of planning did you do? What kind of financing did you
have?

SR: This was easy for me, my ex-boss of the company I last worked asked offered me to join. Since
this was an IT services industry and we had to work at client site, we started with zero capital.

AD: Did you have a startup business plan of any kind? Please tell me about it.

SR: We did not have any business plan. We just jumped at the opportunity. Currently, we are in the
process of building one.

AD: How much capital did it take? How long did it take to reach a positive cash flow and break-even
sales volume? If you did not have enough money at the time, what were some ways in which you
bootstrapped the venture (bartering, borrowing, and the like)? Tell me about the pressures and crises
during that early survival period.

SR: We have not yet borrowed any capital. We started with zero capital, and we didn’t take any
remuneration for 6 months, this helped to build up cash flow initially. We were fortunate enough
not to face pressures of any kind. Yes, I did have personal reserves for about 18 months period and
that sailed me through at the personal front.

AD: How did any outside advisors make a difference in your company?

SR: Outside advisors can give a different view point to founders’ directions. This would not only
help in our current business line but also in other diversifications that we plan to build in years to
come. This would also help to build network and brand in Industry. Networking is very important
and I think the first customer that you get is usually through networking. We are looking for
advisors for our various initiatives
AD: What did you perceive to be the strengths and Weaknesses of your venture?

SR: Dedicated team of founders who want to work together to make a company which is built on
values is our strength. The weakness that I think we are facing right now is the lack of ability to take
bold decisions due to financial insecurity. The insecurity is primarily due to the 10 employees that
are working with us and we don’t want to risk their careers and personal lives because of the faith
that they have put in us. We are looking for finances in the market and should be able to manage
something soon.

AD: What were the most difficult gaps to fill and problems to solve as you began to grow rapidly?

SR: We are moving in an orbit which we are comfortable at. We want to move from this orbit to
next where we would require more resources and may face challenges.

AD: When you looked for key people as partners, advisors, or managers, were there any personal
attributes or attitudes you were particularly seeking because you knew they would fit with you and were
important to success? How did you find them?

SR: Honesty, commitment and endurance would be the only attribute I would look for. Rest fall in
place automatically.

AD: Are there any attributes among partners and advisors that you would definitely try to avoid?

SR: Suspicious partners. Lack of Values.

AD: Have things become more predictable Or less?

SR: Yeah we can predict for horizon of a year.

AD: In terms of the future, do you plan to harvest? To maintain? To expand?

SR: We want to harvest our current line of business. IT is our strength. But, we also are looking
forward to expanding into diverse fields. Recycling seems to present an amazing opportunity.

AD: In your ideal world, how many days a year would you want to work? Please explain.

SR: I would like to take a break for 15 days for family and would like to dedicate about 20 days ni a
year for social work; rest I would want to work.
AD: Do you plan ever to retire? Would you explain?

SR: Well, I never want to retire. Though I would not like to work, I want to dedicate my last years of
life for betterment of society and social work. Till 50 years of age I would work more for me and
after 50 I would change the ratio.

AD: Have your goals changed? Have you met them?

SR: I believe in short term goals. They do give a sense of achievement and inspiration to do more in
life. So yes, my goals always change once I achieved one. Yeah sometimes it takes more time to
achieve a goal but I do achieve them as I have to move on.

AD: What do you learn from both success and failure?

SR: Learning is always from failures as one usually tends to take success for granted. Sometimes
you may get success and next time doing same way you may not and you fail. So failure always
makes you learn.

AD: Describe a time you ran out of cash, what pressures this created for you, the business, your family,
and what you did about it. What lessons were learned?

SR: Fortunately we have not come across this situation so far. Maybe we are playing it too safe.

AD: Can you describe a venture that did not work out for you and how this prepared you for your next
venture?

SR: Me and my friend started plastic injection moulding machine job work. We were doing well in
our part time venture, as we were also working. But like I said earlier, we had to close down as my
friend faced a major personal crisis. This helped me understand that manufacturing is more labor
and capital intensive and I would not venture into it. So my next venture was in services with
minimal or almost nil investment.

AD: What do you consider your most valuable asset, the thing that enabled you to make it?

SR: My attitude and self-belief.

AD: If you had it to do over again, would you do it again, in the same way?
SR: Yes, I would always like to jump in well and learn swimming rather than thinking whether to
jump and finally do all planning and not jump at all or probably find out it’s too late to swim. I
believe it’s better to do imperfect things that doing nothing perfectly. Once you are in it, you would
find the best way to survive and thrive.

AD: As you look back, what do you believe are the most critical concepts, skills, attitudes, and know-how
you needed to get your company started and grown to where it is today? What will be needed for the
next five years? To what extent can any of these be learned?

SR: Attitude and only attitude, if you have right attitude you will cross all the obstacles, acquire
skills, be receptive to new concept and ideas on your way to reach goal. For next five years we want
to inject funds for growth in operations.

AD: Some people say there is a lot of stress being an entrepreneur. What have you experienced? How
would you say it compares with other "hot seat" jobs, such as the head of a big company, or a partner in
a large law or accounting firm?

SR: I don’t agree, one can decide where to stop when being an entrepreneur. When you work for
others, they control you and so it’s tough.

AD: What things do you find personally rewarding and satisfying as an entrepreneur? What have been
the rewards, risks, and trade-offs?

SR: I could do the things the way I wanted to do, I am contended on that front. There is nothing
called risk, it’s always relative to a person. Patient’s health risk is Doctors opportunity is another
way of looking at it. It’s too early to reap in any monetary rewards; we have just started it yet. But,
yes the satisfaction of doing something on your own is my biggest reward so far.

AD: Who should try to be an entrepreneur? And who should not?

SR: Person who believes in himself/herself should only go for it. Relying on somebody else may
result in despair, as he/she would not be ready to accept failures. You and only you would be
responsible for your successes or failures.

AD: What advice would you give an aspiring entrepreneur? Could you suggest the three most important
lessons you have learned? How can I learn them while minimizing the tuition?

SR: I don’t think I am ready enough to advise someone. But only one thing I can say "Once started
don’t give up". You may reach goal late than others but you will reach there for sure.
 ANALYSIS OF THE ENTREPRENEUR

Based on my discussions and interaction with Mr. Santosh Rane, I have analyzed his personality
traits, background, motivation factors behind his entrepreneurial skills.

Entrepreneurial Feelings:

The need for independence and acquiring sense of achievement were the prime factors for Santosh
Rane for his entrepreneurial feelings. His risk taking attitude also supplemented the feelings.

These can be suitably demonstrated by the following events in the life of Mr. Santosh Rane:

 Doing small businesses like selling ballpen refills, firecrackers in his school days for his
pocket money and thereby reducing his dependence on his parents for money
 His habit of doing small jobs helped him fund his education when his family was going
through tough times
 His sense of being stuck in the organization with doing only administrative and mundane
tasks as part of his work life
 Jumping at the first opportunity of being an entrepreneur when his ex-boss asked to join
him
 His first venture is in IT, which has been his domain for last 8 years. He is now exploring
opportunities in recycling waste. This shows his calculated risk taking capabilities

Entrepreneurial Background and Characteristics:

Family Environment

 Santosh Rane is first born

 His parents were supportive when he started doing small businesses in school and college
days
 Though his family currently discourages entrepreneurship, his wife has been very
supportive of his venture

Education

 Santosh Rane is an engineer by his educational qualifications

 He has also done Diploma in Management Studies to gain exposure to management
principles. This has provided him a good background to understand the nuances of running
a business

Personal Values
  Personal values are quite important to Santosh.
 Personal values such as integrity, commitment and endurance are the values that Santosh
Rane looks for in partners
 His sense of commitment towards his employees who have placed their trust in him can be
seen by his hesitation to take up riskier ventures.

Work History

 His initial formative years of his career were spent in Chemical Industry where he was
responsible for construction of projects within the company. This was a very high
responsibility job. As the years progressed, Santosh realized that after a certain point
growth stagnated in the Chemical industry and even the remuneration was not attractive in
the core industry. He took a risk to get into IT industry to gain a jump in his salary. As he
climbed the growth the ladder, he was again stuck up with managerial tasks which were
managerial in nature. This lack of challenge, boredom, and frustration motivated him to
launch his own venture.

Motivation/Support Systems

Motivations:

 Sense of Independence
 Money
 Need for achievement
 Drive and Zeal to do something that he loved

Role Models:

 Narayan Murthy
 His maternal uncle who had started a small workshop

Support Systems

 His wife
 His uncle
 His ex-employers
 Avartan Technologies’ Clients