Reincarnating Raipur
“DON’T LET OTHERS CONVINCE YOU THAT THE IDEA IS GOOD WHEN YOUR GUT TELLS YOU IT’S BAD.”
The life of an entrepreneur is tough and a roadblock often hits us. Let us have din insight into MIDAS Entrepreneurship Institute which has been creating entrepreneurs since 2013. Prof. Parag Shah, the Founder of MIDAS. He is a serial entrepreneur, who is in Real Estate, Hospitality, Aviation, and Pharma. Prof. Shah is primarily an Educationist other Author, and winner of the prestigious Business Acharya of the Year award. He has also coached several companies for strategy and growth. Prof. Parag Shah has motivated young minds to pursue entrepreneurship.
Here is what Prof. PARAG SHAH has for young entrepreneurs. The term entrepreneur is derived from the Sanskrit word “Antar Prerna” meaning “the inner call”. Therefore, an entrepreneur is someone who responds to his inner calling. Who is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is somebody who has gumption, who is driven by passion and not money, and who is willing to give up everything for chasing a dream.
Prof. Shah says. “Find your “Ikegai” a Japanese concept that means “a reason for boing”!” Prof. Shah believes that an entrepreneur must know why he is in the business and what business he is into. At MIDAS Prof. Shah always asks his students, “What is the thing that He then helps his students to find their reason for “Being their ikigai.
What do you think are the main hurdles that an aspiring entrepreneur may face?
The first thing an entrepreneur must be prepared for is “uncertainties”. As life becomes more and more complex disruption becomes the order of the day. So, the speed of an acrobat and the focus of a yogi is what an entrepreneur needs. He also believes that an entrepreneur is a die-hard optimist. Apart from this, an entrepreneur should always treat his failures as his best friend, Quoting from his book he says, “In life, you never lose, you either win or you learn!” Unfortunately, in the Indian context, we condemn failures, but we need to change this and instead embrace them, learn from them. Your capacity to have faith in yourself, take responsibility for the failure of your team, and the humility to hand over the credit to the team for success, is the true essence of entrepreneurship and leadership.
What will happen to businesses or how businesses can be restructured during and post-COVID?
If anyone claims to know what will happen to businesses post-COVID-19, he is wrong. In the short term, see a big disruption, prices will go down, and businesses will have to look forward to efficient ways of operation. But soon the market will slide back to the way it was before, all we are into today is for the short term i.e. one year from the date of the invention of a vaccine.
Meanwhile, you need to prepare your business for the worst-case scenario and plan till July 2022. Go digital. Adapt and pivot, cut your costs and increase your revenues by changing your product range.
How important is Entrepreneurship Education in today’s time?
It is oven more critical now than it ever was. Because the traditional method of teaching in the country and the world is to help young minds to set a goal and get all the resources required to achieve the goal so there is a whole new method of teaching called Effectuation Methodology. Founded by Dr. Saras D, Sarasvathy, This theory promotes that expert entrepreneurs are focused on resources and not on setting goals. This is something have practiced intuitively.
Many Startups fail because they resort to the traditional method of doing a market survey and then giving what they think the market needs, rather they need to go the ‘Lean Start-up way’ propounded by Dr. Eric Ries, and use Effectuation. The National Education Policy is a good beginning, but the devil is in the implementation. The top skillset for the future entrepreneur will be-Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and most important formals Compassion.
How has MIDAS been creating relevant educational experiences for budding entrepreneurs?
Understanding the modern entrepreneurship ecosystem and the aim to create entrepreneurs not just for their first business but for life, the MIDAS programs are based on 6 crucibles-Leadership, Creativity, Effectuation, and Critical Thinking.
Innovation, and Incubation. Our focus is on making students creative thinkers who will solve problems innovatively. be effective in their approach and use Lean Start-up methodology to build their business. This is achieved through experiential and action-oriented learning approaches. We believe in doing rather than teaching. We change the way you look at things, the way you live your life, the way you solve a problem, and the way you handle failures! The intense program puts you through enormous challenges and makes you come out as a better human being and a better leader.
FEW TIPS ON SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING THE FAMILY BUSINESS:-
In a survey conducted by PWC IN 2020, Family owned businesses constitute 65-80% of the developing countries economies. Family businesses are the growth engines of the economy and they are here to stay!
To manage the family business successfully, I advise all the ser of the family to trust their children, not protect them from my mistakes and instead let them make their own mistakes and the team from them. Another piece of advice for the seniors in the family would be not to put their children directly in the senior management position on day zero. Sensitize your children about the realities of your business. In a family business, communication is very critical and should also be done clearly even if it leads to disagreement, and this will always hold the family together in the longer run.
