New Delhi In an interview with Ashok Kumar of IndianExpress.com, Saurabh Srivastava, Chairman Emeritus, TiE – Delhi, tells, how entrepreneurship has come of age in India.
How does TiE function?
TiE is an organisation solely devoted to entrepreneurship. It attempts to encourage, motivate and enthuse people to become entrepreneurs and then nurtures, mentors and guides them towards being successful.
In doing so, TIE adopts the ancient Indian Guru Shishya tradition. Its charter members are the Gurus who are successful entrepreneurs, have been there done that, and are now ready to give back to society and help guide and mentor young wannabe entrepreneurs (Shishyas) to success.
TiE truly supports entrepreneurs by not only providing extensive mentoring but also providing access to an ecosystem comprising of prominent entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who are charter members at TiE, thus providing an excellent platform for networking and exploring innovative channels for growth.
Apart from other initiatives, TIE also does several events around the year on horizontal subjects like sales and marketing, HR, how to build a business plan etc. or around vertical segments such as retail, internet, education, etc. TIE Delhi did over 40 such events last year.
With a presence in 13 different countries spread across 54 different cities, spread across 5 continents, TiE is committed for the promotion of entrepreneurship across the world.
It’s interesting to note that individuals associated with TiE have created businesses with market value over $200 Billion, since 1992, thereby speaking volumes about the contribution of this organization. Today, TiE has grown to become the world's largest not-for-profit organization for entrepreneurs.
The importance of TiE has become even more imminent in the light of the economic slowdown which has really proved to be a stumbling block in the plans of many ambitious entrepreneurs. TiE has been contributing actively by providing entrepreneurs with extensive mentoring and instilled the confidence in them to go ahead with their plans.
How do you see your association with TiE?
I have always believed that the solution to most of the world’s problems, particularly in the Indian context, lie in entrepreneurship because, in the ultimate analysis, it is entrepreneurs who create employment, wealth and the myriads of innovations that improve the quality of life of mankind.
Personally speaking, I have been passionate about TIE, which is focused solely on encouraging, motivating and enthusing people from our part of the world to become job creators and then nurturing and mentoring them to enhance their possibility of success.
My relationship with TiE has been a very fulfilling and enriching experience. It has greatly enhanced my vision and knowledge by providing exposure to a vast pool of entrepreneurs from diverse sectors.
Do you think India lagged behind, in having associations like TiE to further the interests of entrepreneurial atmosphere?
To establish the relevance of TiE, it would be interesting to understand the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in India.
For example, first generation entrepreneurship is a recent phenomena because of obstacles like lack of a complete entrepreneurial ecosystem, limited funds for the seed stage and dearth of angel investors apart from the lack of the physical infrastructure.
In such a scenario, organizations such as TiE come as a great help for the potential entrepreneurs and serves numerous purposes, such as:
*TiE makes it fashionable for people to be entrepreneurs
*Allows sharing of experiences
*Provides extensive mentoring
*Provides opportunities for networking
*Opens up channels for funding
Over the years, an association with TiE has provided a vantage position for entrepreneurs as it has enabled them to ride through the various challenges that they face as they establish their venture.
Though entrepreneurship is a concept that is not too old here in India, the traction that it is witnessing is very encouraging. We are optimistic about entrepreneurship driving the growth of a ‘New India’ - one that promises to be a force to reckon with in the global scenario.
Where do you see TiE today since its inception?
TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals who shared a common vision of nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit.
Presently, TiE has more than 11,000 members and over 2,500 charter members in 53 chapters across 12 countries. Clearly, TIE is “an idea whose time has come”.
TiE’s mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education. Dedicated to the virtuous cycle of wealth creation and giving back to the community, TiE’s focus is on generating and nurturing our next generation of entrepreneurs.
From its inception in 1999, the Delhi Chapter of TiE has come a long way and is one of the biggest and most vibrant of the TiE chapters with over 1000 members and conducts over 40 events annually.
Having the Highest Performing Chapter accolade to its name conferred by TiE Global, TiE Delhi seeks to engage not only with entrepreneurs but also with policy makers in order to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship. TiE Delhi has consistently delivered value to constituencies across the entrepreneurial eco-system through strategically planned programs and events.
How does your association with TiE, make a difference to your career in totality?
Having made the transition from the successful Corporate Executive to a serial entrepreneur, I am well aware of both the challenges and rewards that accompany this journey.
When I was running the software operations of Tata Unisys, the second largest company at that time, I thought I knew all there was to know about the business. However when I founded my first company IIS Infotech Ltd., it was humbling to find out how much I didn’t know. I learnt more in the first two years of my start up then I learnt in the 20 years before that.
But it was a great experience and I was fortunate that it was successful. IIS merged with Xansa and listed on the London Stock Exchange (US 800 billion Dollars in revenues) till it was acquired by Steria.
I have since been involved in several start ups and am passionate about furthering entrepreneurship in India. I am actively involved with TiE as it provides a great platform to fuel the growth of entrepreneurship.
Over the years, through my association with TiE, I have been actively engaged with various entrepreneurs and the challenges that they faced prompted me to work towards helping them sail through the early days of their venture.
With this in mind, I co-founded Infinity Ventures, India’s first seed stage fund which created companies like India Bulls and Avendus. More recently, I co-founded Indian Angel Network which aims to provide early stage funding to entrepreneurs. IAN has quickly become the largest angel group in the country with around 100 members and operations in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
This is just the beginning of the journey and I stand committed to taking more and more steps to further the cause of entrepreneurship in India.
In your perception, has Indian entrepreneurship come of age?
Entrepreneurship is a vital constituent in the growth of an economy, and India is uniquely poised to unlock the entrepreneurial boom through the next 10 years. The technology boom of the mid and late 90’s have ushered in tremendous changes and set the stage for a wave of entrepreneurship taking India by storm.
The power of first generation entrepreneurship in India was first illustrated by the IT industry which went from USD 60 Million to USD 60 Billon in 20 years and 99% of the companies were setup by the middle class, first generation entrepreneurs. This has inspired many other industries such as health care, telecom and so many others.
How do you perceive the perception of entrepreneurship, through the eyes of an average Indian?
India used to be an entrepreneurial country in the days gone by. Three hundred years ago, India accounted for 25% of world income, the same as China and all of Europe.
The years of colonization and our own flirtation with socialism and the ‘license, permit, quota, raj’ killed the entrepreneurial spirit, made everyone look for low risk jobs and being the part of the bureaucracy became the preferred option.
Fortunately, the country has opened up its economy and gone for economic reforms. This has rekindled our latent entrepreneurial talent and Indian companies are now taking over the world.
Entrepreneurship is being celebrated and is no longer frowned upon. Our brightest minds are therefore turning to entrepreneurship, becoming role models and unlashing a new era of innovation.
Whether it is software (where we are taking over the world), telecom (where we now have the cheapest cellphone rates in the world), or the NANO (which is redefining the global paradigm of value for money in a low cost car), Indian entrepreneurs are now driving India’s economic growth and India’s citizens and its Government respect their contribution.