The book starts with a much-debated question: Which is tougher- to start a business or to grow it? One can easily conclude that setting up a business is tougher especially when the stakes are against you. However, at the same time we cannot disparage the fact that no matter how excellent your idea is or how much enthusiasm and energy you put behind in setting up a business, your chances of success or failure depends on how you choose to develop your new venture. The second generation leaders might have born with a silver spoon, but they have to make sure that they don’t lose it.
The book features the stories of second generation entrepreneurs who took the reins of their family business and took them to newer and greater heights. The second generation entrepreneurs featured in this book are:
- Ajay Bijli- Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of PVR Pictures and son of Kishan Mohan Bijli who ran Amritsar Transport Company (ATC). It was Ajay who started the multiplex craze in the country in 1993 when he opened the four-screen cinema, PVR Anumpam in Delhi.
- Abhishek Khaitan- Managing Director of Radico Khaitan. Abhishek joined his father business Rampur Distillery which was managed by his father Lalit Khaitan when it was at the risk of closing down due to enormous debt. However, his decision to go an extra mile and not giving up at the cost of survival led him to emerge as one of the largest local players in the spirits business.
- Priya Paul- The chairperson of Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, a subsidiary of the Apeejay Surrendra Group, which operates The Park Hotels chain of hotels. Priya took charge of her family business at a young age of 23 years when her father was assassinated. Her little experience in operating hotel industry never faced a challenge as her ability to keep educating herself and thinking ahead of times lead to a 400% expansion only in the hotel business.
- Vikas Oberoi- He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Oberoi Realty. Deepak Parekh, Chairman and Managing Director of Housing Development Finance Corporation states, “Oberoi Realty is the second most valued real estate company in India. And Vikas is the least leveraged real estate developer that I know of.” Vikas father, Ranvir Oberoi sold off the family’s trading business to venture into real estate full-time. Unfortunately, the business transition wasn’t turned out to be successful. However, Vikas was eager to turn his passion for real estate into a thriving business. According to Forbes, today his net worth is 1.91 billion USD.
- T.S. Kalyanaraman- Kalyanaraman had been running a textile shop at Thrissur that his father, T.K Seetharaman Iyer had bequeathed to him. A generation later, Kalyanaraman had a similar plan where he wanted to set up two jewelry shops for each of his sons. However, his ambition was not limited to just shops, as was his initial intentions. In 2013, he set up shop in the Middle East, and now has a presence in Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar. In 2016, the jewelry retailer's network crossed the 100-store mark, and its revenues touched the 13,000 crore marks.
- Rituraj Sinha- R.K Sinha founded the company Security Service Provider (SIS) in 1974 in Bihar. The company that was earlier a 25 crore business, diversified into a 5000 crore security firm. HE stressed on the fact that “Entrepreneurship is good. But to build scale, you need systems and processes.”
- Mithun Chittilappilly- V-Guard founder, Kochouseph Chittilappilly passed the baton on to his son Mithun Chittilappilly in 2012. Since his joining the company as Managing Director, His eye for great talent and focus on core competencies the company has doubled revenues and tripled profits. V-Guard’s IPO in 2008 was a near failure. However, its stock has recently rated an outperformer.
The book also features the lessons shared by these seven-second generation entrepreneurs that helped them in carving out a road to success. The standard drivers that assisted these entrepreneurs in defining their success were:
- Follow your passion.
- Go the extra mile, don’t give up when it’s the matter of survival.
- Surround yourself with people smarter than you.
- The customer is king. Don’t cheat him/her.
- Diversification is good, but be careful. Build the capability to ensure that each diversification also becomes a specialization.
- Live your product.
- Think ahead.
- Expect the unexpected.
- Understand what is important.
What we like about the book:
The book contains inspiring stories about the second generation entrepreneurs that propel us to dream big and follow our passion irrespective of any uncertainty in front of us
Suitable for:
Any entrepreneur, leader, or an individual who is looking to create a greater impact through their work.
About the Author:
A business journalist with experience of reporting across India, including metros and hinterlands. He is currently a Senior Deputy Editor at Business Line.