Connect the dots

STEVE JOBS’ COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS GIVEN AT THE STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN 2005

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust… in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life”.

BY RASHMI BANSAL

A story of 20 enterprising individuals without an MBA, started their own ventures and proved their mettle to the world.

Street SmartPrem Ganapathy

Came to Mumbai like million others in search of a better future. Inspired by McDonald’s, Prem has risen from humble dishwasher to the owner of the fast food chain Dossa plaza.

Having 26 outlets PAN India.

The InventorKunwer Sachdev

He is a BSc graduate, an average student in school. Fell in love with physics later in life and made the “love” profitable.

It’s a 500cr company today in the field of power electronics.

To sir with loveGanesh Ram

As an NSS volunteer, ganesh discovered his knack – “teaching”

From a single coaching center in 1981, Vivekananda Study circle has grown into Veta – India’s largest spoken English school

What women wantSunita Ramnathkar

She wanted to do something for herself after the birth of her second daughter, launched Fem fairness bleech. Dominated the market for more than 27 years.

Recently sold to Dabur

He gave up his prestigious job of a professor in Madras university, to set up a Chinese restaurant. But his knowledge of cost accounting was equally handy in the kitchen

It’s a food empire stretching across cuisines and continents.

Food for thoughtN Mahadevan

The Human touchHanmant Gaikwad

As an engineering student took tuitions to support himself through college. Today he runs BVG, a facilities management firm which has the cream of the corporate.

A 300Cr company. Biggest client : Rashtrapati bhavan

Shine on crazy diamondRanjiv Ramchandani

A student of Microbiology, but hated it. He joined advertising agency (The Edge, Triton) but he hated the hierarchy. Ultimately he became his own boss in Tantra.

Karma companySuresh Kamath

This Mtech from IIT runs a software firm where programming jobs are open to all – not jut engineers. He believes that social responsibility and sound business can go hand in hand – and his company is living proof of it.

Look Ma, no handsRaghu Khanna

He started his company at the age of 24, right out of college. Cashurdrive based on a simple idea which required no capital, no office, no fancy technology. His story shows that experience is overrated – there is no better time to start than now.

“ Give me any car anywhere in India, I can wrap your ad on it”

JUGAADThe common dots : All these entrepreneurs

have no formal training in Business. They learnt by observation, experimentations…….

Business is not “rocket science”

JUNOONThe common dots : Some of them are

driven by a particular idea/passion, something which is innovative and is never

transformed before into a living reality.

Kitabi KeedaR sriram

• He never had the burning ambition to start a business – he simply wnted to be immersed himself in the world of books. Yet this college dropout went on to build India’s largest bookstore chain, and spread the reading virus far and wide.

Vote for chanceSourabh Vyas &

Gaurav rathore – Political edgeHostel ki dosti and a common love for politics gave birth to the company “ Political edge” – a new species of corporate. These two idealistic young men are putting their grey cells to use, providing research and consulting services exclusively for politicians. “The common man feels that 99% of politicians are frauds and don’t know anything, but we say around 40% are good. They are trying hard to do something, but there are constrains.”

King of popSatyajit singh

He was comfortably place in life as a distributor of consumer durables. Yet one fine day he stop the business, to take on the challenge of commercializing makhana. In doing so, he has found a mission in life and brought benefits to thousands of marginalized farmers.

Created a 50 cr business from Bihar.

Far from the madding crowdSunil Bhu

He was a city boy and wanted to work in a farm. After college went to Belgium, he learnt all about making cheese. That’s what he is been doing at Flanders Dairy for the last two decades, and lovin it.

Electric dreamsChetan Maini

Chetan Maini was crazy about electronics and cars. Its this passion that led him to pursue the dream of producing an electric car. Today Reva is not only manufacturing such vehicles but licensing its technology to the likes of General Motors who was an intern in the same company to start his career.

Paper TigerMahima Mehra

She wanted to work in recyling, but not with an NGO. So she ended up starting a business in handmade paper. Along the way she discovered many interesting things, including an unexpected use of elephant dung.

Gentlemen prefer LettuceSamar Gupta

Samar was a city boy with no burning ambition in life. But when life threw up a challenge, he decided to face it head on. Over the last decade Trikaya has matured from a hobby into a flourishing business, ever expanding the frontiers of “what can be grown” in India.

ZUBAANWhen creative people became

entrepreneur.

The story tellerAbhijit Bansod

Truth shall prevailParesh mokashi

AvatarKrishna Reddy

Call of the wildKalyan Varma

ThanksSo…..

Is this the right forum to say be innovative and be

yourself?Its not me, Rashmi said.