Capt. Shaji Kumar

Tag: #Entrepreneurship

  • Finding Your True North: When Life’s Journey Finally Becomes Your Own.

    Finding Your True North: When Life’s Journey Finally Becomes Your Own.

    Finding Your True North: When Life’s Journey Finally Becomes Your Own.

    Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by a seemingly simple question? The kind that appears innocent on the surface but sends you tumbling down a rabbit hole of self-reflection? That’s exactly what happened to me recently when a friend casually asked: 

    What are you passionate about? 

    Are you following what your heart and mind desire?”

    On the surface, it seemed like an easy question to answer. After all, I’ve built and run a fairly successful small business for 27 years. As a first-generation entrepreneur, I could confidently say that passion drove me to achieve something meaningful. But when I looked deeper—really looked—I wasn’t quite sure anymore.

    The Passenger Syndrome: When Life Drives You.

    For years, I wondered: Have I been in control of my life, or has life been driving me along its own predetermined path while I sat as a mere passenger?

    Looking back, my early years were anything but deliberate:

    • School: I finished in a stream that wasn’t my forte at all. Barely made through.

    • College: Switched to a subject that was, once again, everything but a choice.

    • Military: Joined the Armed Forces without much deliberation, deciding within the first year that I’d only stay for the stipulated five years.

    Each step felt like following the Darwinian theory of survival—adapting, persisting, but not necessarily thriving in alignment with my true self.

    The First Real Choice: Entrepreneurship as Awakening.

    The turning point came when I decided to become an entrepreneur. For the first time in my life, this felt like a deliberated choice—not just going through the motions or following societal expectations.

    Despite the usual “rollicking” of Army life, this decision set me going in a direction that felt authentically mine. Yes, there were troughs and crests, the inevitable tempests of establishing something new. But through it all, I found myself enjoying what I was doing for the first time in my life.

    That’s when I realised something profound: the need to be creative and keep creating new vistas and avenues is what I’m truly passionate about.

    Life Lessons Learned Along the Way.

    1. Passion Isn’t Always Obvious from the Start.

    Sometimes passion isn’t a lightning bolt of clarity. It’s something you discover through experience, through trying different paths, even through the things you initially resist. My journey through various streams and careers wasn’t wasted time—it was research for finding my true calling.

    2. Being a “Passenger” Isn’t Always Wrong.

    There’s wisdom in allowing life to guide you sometimes, especially in your early years. Those experiences I thought were just “going through the motions” actually equipped me with skills, resilience, and perspectives that later proved invaluable in entrepreneurship.

    3. Calculated Risks Are Worth Taking.

    I’ve never gambled in the conventional sense, but I realize I’ve been “gambling with life” all this while— taking chances, betting on myself, choosing uncertainty over security. This kind of calculated risk-taking has been the gateway to my most fulfilling experiences.

    4. Transformation Is Ongoing.

    The usual transformational changes keep happening. What excites me today might evolve tomorrow, and that’s not inconsistency—it’s growth. The key is staying open to these changes rather than rigidly sticking to outdated versions of ourselves.

    5. Creation Is Its Own Reward.

    The passion I’ve discovered isn’t just about business success—it’s about the act of creation itself. Building new vistas, exploring fresh avenues, bringing ideas to life. This creative drive transcends any single venture or achievement.

    Questions for Your Own Reflection.

    As I’ve learned, sometimes the most valuable questions are the ones that initially make us uncomfortable:

    1. When did you last make a truly deliberated choice? Not just going with the flow, but actively choosing your direction?

    2. What activities make you lose track of time? These might point toward your genuine passions.

    3. If you could start over, what would you do differently? More importantly, what would you keep the same?

    4. What kind of “gambling” are you avoiding? Sometimes the biggest risk is not taking any risks at all.

    5. How has being a “passenger” in some areas of your life actually served you? 

    Not all unplanned journeys are wasted journeys.

    The Journey Continues.

    Today, I’m more comfortable with the idea that life is part deliberate choice and part surrender to circumstances beyond our control. The key is recognising when to take the wheel and when to trust the process.

    My 27-year entrepreneurial journey taught me that passion isn’t just about following your heart—it’s about creating a life where your heart and mind can thrive together. It’s about embracing both the planned destinations and the unexpected detours.

    The most important realisation? You’re never too late to start making deliberated choices. Whether you’re 25 or 55, whether you’re just starting out or pivoting after decades in one direction, you always have the power to become the driver of your own life.

    Sometimes the best journeys begin not with knowing exactly where you’re going, but with the courage to finally take the wheel.

    What deliberated choice will you make today

  • SUCCESS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR – III

    The grass on the other side is always greener. Is it genuinely green or is it actually an illusion. I ventured out long time back, and can’t really say that it has turned green, even though like the salt and pepper hair that I have now, it does seem to be interspersed with some green. And mind you I have spent some 21 years tending to it. A lot of ex-employees who were at one point associated with me did jump into the sea of entrepreneurship. I am not aware of how they fared in their endeavor and whether for them it turned greener almost instantaneously. One thing is however very certain, those who feel that entrepreneurship is indeed a get-rich-quick scheme are headed for a disaster. I meet so many people who rattle out the road map, get funded, create valuation and bring out an IPO / get acquired and then walk away with tons and tons of money. A select few hit par dirt and which triggered this berserk stampede. That is why today we find that 90% of startups are failing. 

    Anyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur should have a innate desire to achieve success. And it has a long gestation time and the budding entrepreneur has to be prepared for the long waiting period during which the test would be severe and relentless. How does an Olympian win the Medal that he/she aspires for. There is no short cuts here.

    You need to have a vision, ascertain the “WHY” factor and start small. Let the light far off be burning even though dim from afar. If Birbal could find warmth from the candle burning miles away then surely you can keep the desire burning till you reach your goal. Mistakes, aplenty are inevitable. But with each mistake the resolve should keep getting stronger. Never give up in the face of adversity. The situation will change eventually. The fire in the belly should remain burning. Perseverance and willingness to work hard. If you choose to be an entrepreneur then you have to choose to sacrifice a lot of other things. 

    Your enterprise is your baby. Be proud of it. Never be dazzled with what is around you. A very senior person remarked to me recently about the location of my Office. It is my Office and I am proud of it. I am the “employer”, and if employees do not want to compromise and have their own locational preferences then it is their own restricted mindset and I cannot help it. Whoever heard of a well walking up to a thirsty person!! But then you can provide Value addition. 

    I have built a goodwill by practicing integrity and taking very good care of my Customers. And this has definitely resulted in a very positive retention of Customers with solid goodwill. The Customers should not stop believing in your Venture. Never take them for granted. You exist only because of them and it can never be the other way round. If our reputation and integrity exceeds expectation then Customers will be willing to be associated with you regardless of the cost. It will not matter if you are more expensive. 

    When you embarked on your entrepreneurial journey, was it a “risk” or a “gamble”. Just like success is never guaranteed, failure does not mean the end. Nothing is final. At one point, I went on to scale heights and in the very next year my business had plummeted. The slide could be stopped only recently and have again regained the upward momentum. Entrepreneurship has its flips and flops. Never be discouraged. If you do not give up, there is nothing that can stop you from succeeding…a true life story.      

  • Success as an Entrepreneur – I

    Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realises that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which circumstances grow; he then becomes the rightful master of himself. Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.

    Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. No such conditions can exist as descending into vice and its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its pure happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations; and man, therefore, as the lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself and the shaper of and author of environment.

    Get up and get going. Let the power and potential of the circumstances work its magic. If there’s a limit to what you can physically do, at least allow your mind to wander freely in brave new territory. Courage is not the absence of despair, it is rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair. It should be easy to come up with practical, creative solutions to all problems. Forget plans and just resolve to do something that feels like it ’has a ring to it’. That ring, if you trust it, will prove to be made of 24 carat gold. And if you’re not sure what it is you should be doing, treasure your sense of uncertainty. Nurture it. Be proud of it. Remember that every great book begins with a blank sheet of paper. Every wonderful painting starts with an empty canvas. Every beautiful musical composition commences with a moment of silence. Every creative process, no matter how humble, requires you to bring forth something out of nothing. Which is very daunting. Usually, the best way to get going is just to do something. Anything. Then, at least, you’ve got something you can alter or adjust or improve on. That’s why what you are tentatively building is far better than nothing. 

  • MSME’s : Wither to?

    India houses more than 63 million MSME’s contributing 29 percent of the GDP, 45 percent of Industrial Production, providing employment to millions of Indians. However, it has always been beset by inherent issues which unfortunately has largely remained unattended to. Despite a dedicated Ministry setup by the Government there still remains a huge gap between the cup and the lip. The most unique challenge that MSME’s endure is access to low cost capital. This despite having dedicated channels like SIDBI in existence. Authenticated reports estimates that the credit gap for MSME’s stand at approximately INR 15 lakh crore. And with the advent of technological advances, initiatives like GST and the formalization of the economy, the back of this sector is already at a capacity stretch. Only 20 percent of the MSME’s are being financed by the formal banking system, that leaves the rest 80 percent to scrounge for “finances” from the informal sector at atrocious rates of interest. This lack of adequate access to timely and affordable credit continues to remain one of the sector’s biggest challenges, restricting its growth and future potential. There has been some initiatives led by the Government like the 59-minute loan, co-organisation between banks and NBFC’s for affordable credit, however despite these initiatives being laudable at a macro level, it still leave a huge gap at the micro level, as it does not translate into anything.

     

    The dream of growth and pushing the GDP to get to 5 trillion, with a budding young India and initiatives like start-up India, pushing the young Indians to explore avenues of entrepreneurship & self-employment, the Government needs to step up its act and ensure that the hand holding translates to grass root level. The hand holding has to be more visible. There is no other way around the crisis of employment, and it is only logical to push entrepreneurship and self-employment. The large businesses may only contribute just as much to this 5 trillion target, than the 30 percent sector which can be pushed to clamour and contribute as much as possible – and it can. This is the only way that a young vibrant India having 70 percent of able bodied under thirty raring to go population can take us to the finish line.