"Startups, by definition, should disrupt" - Ashok Soota of Happiest Minds

At a time when IT Services is hardly the flavour of the season among Venture Capital firms, that Happiest Minds was able to attract brand name investors within a months of its founding is testament to the credibility and experience of its primary founder & Chairman, Ashok Soota. This "seasoned manager" feel is also something that comes across right through this interaction. - The Venture Intelligence Team

Ashok Soota, Executive Chairman, Happiest Minds (Bio)

Interview by Sanjay Anandaram, Founder of Jumpstartup, followed by interaction with students and other entrepreneurs at IIT-Madras on January 5, 2012. Event Co-Hosted by C-Tides, the entrepreneurship cell at IIT-Madras. More photos from the event.



Highlights (click on the links for individual audio snippets):

As a Late Stage Entrepreneur, you need to plan on a larger scale since you don't have the luxury of time

Attracting and Inspiring People: Having a Mission & Higher Purpose

- "Have a (company) name that you have to live up to"

A startup should, by definition be disruptive

- How Happiest Minds is taking on the incumbents by leveraging the emergence of cloud technologies, mobility and social media

Winning the first customers

Decision Making should be through "Head, Heart and Gut"

Don't take "bet the company" type risks

Services and Products are Different

- They Operate to Different Rhythms, Different Risks & Rewards

Click Here to Download the full length audio - 1 hr 33 mins; 43 MB
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"Entrepreneurship is all about getting the job done" - Raju Venkatraman of MEDALL

No-nonsense lessons from a serial entrepreneur and a pioneer of the Indian BPO industry. - The Venture Intelligence Team


Raju Venkatraman, Founder & CEO, MEDALL Diagnostics (Bio)

Interview by Chandu Nair, Founder of Scope eKnowledge, followed by interaction with students and other entrepreneurs at the Department of Management Studies IIT-Madras on October 24, 2011.

Highlights:

The ability to "zoom in and zoom out"
- As an entrepreneur, whenever the situation warrants it, you should be able to work in a hands on fashion and get involved in the details. Similarly, you should also be able to step back and focus on the bigger picture (and leave the details to others).



Please click on the links below to view corresponding video snippets

The motivation as an entrepreneur is not in "being the boss"
- It's more about "getting to scale" (and hence the impact you can make)

"There is no such thing as a right decision. You should make a decision and then make it right."

The Essence of Business is to "Sell, Deliver and Collect"
- Early lesson learnt while helping out with father's business.

"The First Paying Customer is Key"
- If you have this validation, plunge ahead.

"Entrepreneurship is about getting the job done"
- As a student, you should grab opportunities to take part in organizing Extra Curricular activities which will provide you early experience in this aspect. Also, the focus in the early part of a career should be on "creating an impact" wherever you work - the salary, position, etc. are secondary.

Advisors make the journey less lonely- But entrepreneurs can’t expect to delegate accountability to advisors

Why Rural Markets need more High Tech
- And why "Appropriate Technology" is not the answer (at least in diagnostics)

Click Here to Download The Full Interview Podcast - mp3 format - 47.5 minutes, 28 MB
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Click Here to Download the Q&A session
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