Students of management are often the closest to realising dreams of setting up a business — simply because their theoretical knowledge in running an organisation is just a spark away from being translated into reality.
Not surprisingly, 70 students belonging to the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) at the Bharathidasan Institute of Management (BIM) plan to set out on their own business ventures a few years down the line.
“For long, Indians have worked under someone or the other, and the urge to start some venture of their own got suppressed over time. But today, the situation is changing with all the exposure the Internet has brought. This, combined with interactions with successful entrepreneurs who have survived the risk they undertook, can be hugely motivating for students like us,” says Vairava Prakash from the E-Cell.
Based on this premise, the E-Cell was begun just a year ago, with 35 members and subsequently enrolled with the National Entrepreneurship Network. The group regularly organises workshops on business plan development and knowledge camps by inviting practising entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Of course, there are hurdles. Said N. Bala Baskar, Director, BIM: “For most students, getting into entrepreneurship immediately after graduation is not an option because of their existing commitments. Family pressures to land a job, their current financial situation and repaying educational loans are some of the prominent reasons.”
He adds: “Difficulty in securing venture capital is another hurdle. Most venture capitalists choose to fund ventures that have been functioning long enough to show promise. An untested business plan cannot find funding easily.”
In fact, the 100 per cent placement record indicates that students are not yet ready to take the plunge straight out of college. “We want to first gain relevant exposure, stabilise ourselves and then raise the capital required to start off on our own,” says V.M. Ramesh, who handles media and public relations for the E-Cell.
Nevertheless, they have started experimenting. Their pet-venture ‘Snack n Bite', is an all-night cafeteria operating within the campus between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. “We have tied-up with the State Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology for our food stocks and the venture was jointly funded by the management and an alumnus. We pay them annual dividends out of the profit we make,” says K. Uma, one of the members handling the initiative. On the cards is another venture, the Green Initiative, begun in collaboration with an alumnus having his own business in selling decorative plants. “We intend to procure decorative plants under a franchisee model and sell them to corporates through an outlet in Chennai,” says Dinesh Chinnasamy, who handles networking and public relations for the cell. Mani V. Shanthavel, one of the founding members of the E-Cell, experimented with entrepreneurship for his summer project. “The idea arose from my classroom research project that showed 60 per cent of youngsters were willing to read Tamil books, but didn't know which ones had to be read. I then decided to launch a prototype website, www.lemuria.co.in, which not only sold and delivered Tamil books, but also included a user-generated book referral system.”
To address capital-related issues, the E-Cell is planning to set up an Alumni Venture Fund, contributed by the institute's over 2000 alumni. The institute provides them a cushioning by granting a year's placement leave. They are allowed to sit for placements along with their juniors in case their venture fails to take off.
-Aruna V Iyer
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