Shantanu Bhagwat conducts Business Plan workshop at IIM Raipur

A business plan workshop was conducted on Thursday at IIM Raipur by Mr. Shantanu Bhagwat, a leading venture capitalist and advisor, who is associated with firms like Myntra.com, Elements Akademia, and MilkMantra. Mr Bhagwat had taken similar workshops at institutes like IIM Indore and IIT Bombay. This workshop was organized to promote and instill the spirit of Entrepreneurship across the state. Mr Bhagwat helped participants to conceptualize new ideas and opportunities that are emerging.

The whole concept of the workshop was to explain students about the compilation and presentation of a business plan in an effective mannerso as to attract funding from venture capitalists when starting a business of their own.

It started off with the basic understanding of entrepreneurship andhow to decide on whether can one become an entrepreneur or not.In the words of Tarang Singhal , a student attendee “ Mr. Bhagwat actually helped us figure whether we can become entrepreneurs or not.”

Mr. Bhagwat told that entrepreneurship is not glamorous, most of the startups fail and most of the entrepreneurs are not rich when they start. So he told that the basic requirement of an entrepreneur is the ability to take risks, one should learn the skills of managing risks rather than being averse to it. Rahul Khedkar, a first year student of IIM Raipur, said “Mr Bhagwat helped us in knowing practical problems in entrepreneurship and how to tackle them.”

He explained the importance of understanding the perspectives of the audience of the business plan. The plan should effectively communicate the benefits to the investors because no one is interested in doing charity. A good investor not only brings money but also value to the venture.

He also talked about the constituents of a good business plan.The plan should necessarily have a competitive landscape, industry analysis, risks and the mitigating factors. The plan should tell about the opportunities and the idea in a clear and crisp manner. He demonstrated all these necessities with appropriate examples.

He also suggested that there should be direct quotes and references from various resources and all the facts should be backed by statistics. In the words of Manu Dhunna, another attendee from IIM Raipur, “ A case study was solved during the workshop which helped us in learning from the real life story of an entrepreneur.”

The cases discussed were confidence boosters for the audience as they could actually relate the workshop with their real life experiences. Mr. Naresh Verma , a member of CII Chhattisgarh remarked , “ After attending the workshop I have gained confidence to expand my business.”

Mr. Bhagwat talked about the importance of efforts required to be put in the next 15-20 years by budding entrepreneurs as this will be a crucial phase in the growth story of the nation.Prof. Sanjeev Prashar, Chairman of Placement Committee at IIM Raipur thanked Mr. Bhagwat for conducting the workshop at IIM Raipur campus and in helping participants understand the idea of entrepreneurship so that more jobs can be created in the state and the nation at large.

Give peace a chance - On 11th remembrance of 11th September

On this 11th remembrance of 11th September, the students of IIM Raipur pray for peace all around the globe. Here is a small poem as a tribute to all those who died on the unfortunate day.....

Four hundred meters height but may be the safest place to enter

Along with optimistic hopes, I was entering the mighty world trade centre

Were the hopes genuine of future, or was there an interrogation of or 

Whatsoever the consequences I had to reach the fifty fifth floor 

Where unexpectedly of the future peril the mental activities were as always on 

Till the substantial structure trembled along with a dreadful tone 

“The plane has crashed into us “, from up came the dying shout 

In my whole body, the oxygenating fluid excited to effuse out 

Nothing else was in front of us to reach the stairs 

Till now the noxious gas jets had glutted the atmosphere 

The right terrace collapsed, the ruined structures started making the mount 

I fell, got up, ran, fell, got up, do not remember the count 

Again the legs hindered, but excuse me this time someone was there 

“Are you stupid, slumbering like this on the stairs?” 

“Don’t you have the tongue?” Oh jolted! He was dead 

The devil would ring my knell too, I could not be sad 

Rushing, ascended several floor, here, there everywhere cries 

Every heart grief stricken, but no brain had time to moisten the eyes 

The death wasn’t to give up the chase; the mercury was on an increment 

Now I can’t, now I can’t, the vicious wounds were proving them significant 

Conclusively came the end of struggle and so adorning was the ground 

The legs gave way, the eyes closed, the ears refused to perceive any sound 

Ages passed and the black balls gazed through the black lined shutters 

Julie and Alex were watching the ticking clock with the slightest of utters 

Julie ran to doctor, tearful Alex inquired: “Are you fine?” 

Paining like anything, what to show off the sign 

“I will get well soon, there is nothing to fear” 

Powerless to pat on his head, paralyzed? Not even there! 

All the world is dustbin, all the humans are leech 

I also belong to same species and now only I will teach 

I will kill you, you will kill me and the homes will continue to burn 

The cycle will keep on rounding; we will have to take out a turn

The story depicted in poem is purely imaginary. This is not related to the real experience of any person present at World Trade Center on 11th September, 2001. Julie is imagined to be the wife of imaginary author and Alex their son.

The poem has been contributed by Ankit Sharma PGP 2011-13. He can be reached at PGP11007.ankit@iimraipur.ac.in

Marketing – straight from the horse’s mouth!

On 6^th September, 2012, the students of IIM Raipur had a rare opportunity to interact with a veteran in the marketing domain, Mr. Kartik Raina. He is currently a Senior Advisor with YFactor, a firm which provides Management Advisory Services to FMCG Companies. Mr Raina completed his MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai and has extensive experience in sales and marketing with various MNCs such as P&G, Dabur and Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare.

Mr Raina enthralled the students with anecdotes from his days with Dabur, P&G, and Glaxo Smith Kline. He emphasized the importance of understanding consumer behavior, as it has a direct influence on the marketing strategy of the company. He recalled how, in his early days as a sales manager, he was required to observe customers buying Vicks cough drops at chemist shops. His observations made him realize that people bought Vicks drops not only to treat a sore throat but also to consume it as a lemon juice due to oral fixation. This realization led to the positioning of Vicks as a general lozenge, and not as a niche product with medicinal value alone, thereby closing the gap between the stated and secret needs of the consumers.

Mr. Raina then explained how the marketing concepts that we read about in Kotler can be implemented in real life scenario. He showed the flip side too-how some products fail despite having great expectations and stated that 70% of the marketing campaigns end in failure.

The students learnt a lot from this interaction, they clarified their doubts regarding developing brands, using controversies to sensitize masses, and various other concepts in marketing such as Self-referencing conceptual context etc., They were inspired to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical situations once they don the role of marketing managers.

Contributed By : Neha Khapre, PGP 2012-14, she can be reached at pgp12084.neha@iimraipur.ac.in