Seven Uncommoners

By Ridhima Verma

This is a story of seven commoners whose farsightedness and resilience to think beyond the obvious, and to ingeniously master the practices of their respective fields, made them the Seven Uncommoners. While some journeys show incredible upswings against awe-wrenching odds, others give remarkable examples of when, how and what to do best with the resources at hand. With fields ranging from technology to infrastructure, from managing hotels to supply chains, from setting up law offices to investment banking firms; together these seven showcase the transforming face of Indian business that is ready to take on the best in the world. As a faithful rendition of the lives of these fascinating individuals who understand the crests and troughs of a demanding business environment, Seven Uncommoners offers a rich insight into the riveting world of start-up culture and its subsequent growth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing
• Release date: Oct 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9788172345501

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Copyright © 2014 Prakash Books India Pvt. Ltd.

Copyright Text © Ridhima Verma

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise (except for mentions in reviews or edited excerpts in the media) without the written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978 81 7234 550 1

‘With Seven Uncommoners, Ridhima has charted a delightful narrative of the trials, tribulations and inspirations of maverick entrepreneurs. Her unique writing style is in-depth yet easygoing, providing the reader an intimate access to the life-stories and motivations of these gentlemen. Her regard and interest in her subjects also gives the book a distinctly personal touch. The book is of great value as a motivating read and also for those interested in learning what makes an entrepreneur tick.’

-Deep Kalra, Founder and CEO, MakeMyTrip.com

‘This book is a workbook for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur. It enables you to look at examples from the Indian setting and probe into an entrepreneur’s personality.’

-Mofatraj Munot, Promoter and Chairman, Kalpataru Group

‘This book takes us on an insightful journey with some of India’s leading entrepreneurs. The inspiring stories are a great read for all budding entrepreneurs as it reflects how ambition, passion and zeal drove them to seek opportunities amidst challenges to make it big. The engaging sneak peeks connect the reader to their personal lives and give a rich flavour of what it takes to become the leader.’

-Kunal Bahl, Founder and CEO, Snapdeal.com

‘The stories of this diverse set of first-generation entrepreneurs are an inspiration to those who want to start their own business or adopt an entrepreneurial mindset at work. Ridhima’s writing style is unique and interesting.’

-Mahendra Mohan Gupta, Chairman, Jagran Prakashan Group

‘Seven Uncommoners is an excellent compilation of seven individuals whose energy, passion, vision, perseverance have empowered them with a ‘never say die’ attitude. I feel it’s a treasure house of real-life episodes that can ignite a spark of inspiration in the lives of many entrepreneurs. Ridhima’s writing style is engrossing. And her proximity to the entrepreneurs makes the narration more emotive.’

-Dr. Bhaskar Das, Group CEO, Zee Media Corporation Limited

‘I’ve always loved good storytelling and this book does just that. It chronicles the lives of people who come from all walks of life, very different backgrounds, and very disparate circumstances. Ridhima’s storytelling is wickedly addictive and the characters wildly interesting. This book works on two levels—it draws you into the fascinating world of first generation entrepreneurs, but the underlying tale is about inspiration for all those who want to bite the bullet but are still sitting on the fence. An uncommonly uplifting book about uncommonly stimulating people!’

-Rajiv Makhni, Managing Editor, Technology, NDTV

‘Ridhima’s book is a great read. For anyone interested in building a great company, this book is an incredibly valuable resource.’

-Sasha Mirchandani, Managing Partner, Kae Capital, and Co-Founder, Mumbai Angels

‘It is always inspiring to read about entrepreneurs. We often underestimate the difficulties of their journey, the daily uncertainties of earning enough for mere sustenance as they plunge headlong into the unknown. I am glad Ridhima has profiled seven such individuals. We need her to work on several more, owing to the sheer number of entrepreneurs that abound in our country.’

-Ravi K Sheth, Owner and Director, The Great Eastern Shipping Company

‘Ridhima, in her neatly crafted debut book, narrates the inspiring tale of seven successful entrepreneurs who rose from their modest beginnings to establish themselves and their firms as industry leaders. I find Seven Uncommoners to be a fascinating behind-the-scenes look into the challenges faced by these individuals in pursuit of their dreams. This is indeed an inspiring read for all budding entrepreneurs.’

-Renuka Ramnath, Founder, Multiples Alternate Asset Management

‘Seven Uncommoners beautifully covers the journey of individuals who succeeded in their respective areas. This should be an interesting read for young people to take inspiration and think of entrepreneurship as an alternative to main line job opportunities from.’

-Shachindra Nath, Group CEO, Religare Enterprises Limited

‘I have had the pleasure of working with several entrepreneurs in my career. Seven Uncommoners touched a chord with me, as I am sure it will with many others. Ridhima’s ability to humanize the stories of these successful men makes this book a very enjoyable read.’

-JM Trivedi, Managing Partner and Head, South Asia, Actis

‘Entrepreneurs are the wealth creators of a nation. The seven depicted here have made a mark in their own fields after fighting all odds stacked against them. Ridhima has used an engaging narrative style for these role model stories that will inspire many more entrepreneurs to build our nation.’

-Parag Shah, Managing Partner, Mahindra Partners

‘Seven Uncommoners is a great compilation that brings together the personal plus highly successful professional side in an excellently written book. It’s about the die-hard entrepreneurship attitude that many Indians are born with and is one of the books that will inspire thousands of future Indians to JUST DO IT.’

-Rajesh Kejriwal, CEO and Founder, Designyatra and Kyoorius

To my parents, my sister – the best running buddy ever,

and to the entrepreneur in you.

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

PAWAN JAIN

Chairman and Managing Director,

Safexpress Pvt. Ltd.

VISHAL GONDAL

Former Founder and CEO, Indiagames

Current Founder and CEO, GOQii

MAHESH SINGHI

Founder and Managing Director,

Singhi Advisors

NISHITH DESAI

Founder,

Nishith Desai Associates

PRASAD LAD

Founder and Chief Mentor,

Krystal Group of Companies

JAGDISH GUPTA

Chairman and Managing Director,

J Kumar Infraprojects Ltd.

PATU KESWANI

Chairman and Managing Director,

Lemon Tree Hotels

Epilogue

Thanks to the Seven Uncommoners for sharing their lives with such honesty.

Behind every successful man, there is a strong, wise and hardworking woman. Thanks to the wives who gave me great insights into their husbands – Shefali Singhi, Neeta Lad, Kusum Gupta, Harpreet Gondal, Swati Desai, Sharanita Keswani and Sandhya Jain.

Thanks to the children who opened up about their fathers – Shubham Singhi, Surbhi, Saily, Shubham Lad, Rubal, Nayana, Aditya, Surbhi, Noopur, Suril, Kamal and Nalin.

Thanks to a grand kid and my new trekking buddy – Disha Gupta.

Thanks to people behind the scenes who were friends of the book – Abha Bhatnagar, Devanshi Krishnamoorthy, Oswald Fernandes, Neha Gupta, Rani Chavan and Shalini Gupta.

A special mention to Sushill Jiwarijka, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Kishore Biyani, Shailesh Haribhakti and Sumeet Nihalani.

Thanks to three dear friends who are writers and stood by me through the process - Julian Aguon, Stephanie Fontenoy and Supriya Sehgal.

My years as an entrepreneur have taught me a few lessons. One, successful businesses are based on a deep customer insight. Two, we are eventually truly successful only at what we love to do. It is about freedom, creating, identity, ego and more. In essence, entrepreneurship gives meaning to life. And you have to enjoy the road to getting there, because it can be a long road. Three, the calling for what we love to do can strike at anytime, as two stories in this book illustrate – Vishal started when he was 16 and Patu at 44.

The truth is that there are success stories of all sorts. I worked for five years with corporates and then drifted and pursued several small ideas for seven years before we launched Naukri in 1997. Years of compromising on my lifestyle, earning less than enough to make ends meet, and bootstrapping saw us break even eventually. When I think about it, I started an Internet job portal when there were only 14,000 Internet users in the country!

Which is a testament to the fact that entrepreneurship is mostly irrational and as a friend puts it, a lot like falling in love. But what would we be without people who are agents of social change, wealth creation and innovation? Imagine a life without your I-product or Whatsapp or Facebook!

And what better cultural context than the current to unleash the entrepreneur in you? There exist platforms for sharing experiences, coaching and networking, with strong support of key stakeholders from business society. Entrepreneurship enjoys a positive image and entrepreneurial success is publicly celebrated.

We are lucky in that India is an exciting place to do business in. Young people are creating businesses, small and large, and employing other young people. A tenth of our GDP is derived from small and medium enterprises, higher than most countries. An entire generation is leap frogging from computers to smart phones and we are slated to be one of the largest consumer nations.

While the courage and conviction is all you, I personally enjoy relating to inspiring stories for the wealth of motivation they provide by the simple eloquence of their example. I hope Seven Uncommoners helps unleash the entrepreneur in you in some measure. Good Luck!

Founder & Vice Chairman

Delhi, 1st September 2014

Entrepreneurs are the building blocks of an economy. While some start off because they have an idea or product to share with the world, and others like to solve big problems, many take the plunge when they discover an un-met need of their people or government. And what better country than India, the quintessential land of opportunities, to carve a niche for oneself. From retail to infrastructure, all sectors abound with scope for growth, investment, and room for talented and hard-working people to get ahead.

This book is inspired by seven such fascinating first generation successes who not only found a niche for themselves in different sectors representative of our growth story, but also set industry standards along the way. All beat larger firms on their own turf to re-write the rules of the game. What is truly incredible is that neither one was born with a silver spoon nor came from a cushioned background of family lineage doing the same business. Like many of us, they faced disadvantages at different stages of their career.

It did not come easy and each one faced private demons along the way, making them relatable human beings who were in our shoes till they did what they did and survived to proudly tell their tales and trails of success.

And it doesn’t end there. These luminaries, as I learnt, are also thoughtful men despite the enormously busy lives they lead. This book attempts to engage them on an individual, more personal level, in order to deliver their uncommon stories as examples we can all identify with while pursuing our own dreams.

Happy Reading and All the Best.

He is driving the third party logistics revolution in India with our road network mapped like the back of his hand and warehousing space in excess of 10 mm sq ft. While Safexpress began its journey in 1997, its foundations were laid a decade prior when Pawan set up a transportation agency as a fresh graduate in search of practical business ideas. He began by working exclusively in markets that were complex in need and reach, like Bihar and the Seven Sisters. Based on sound principles and ethical practices, he built a powerhouse that evolved as the industries and geographies he served did. Today, he is the supply chain partner of choice of businesses ranging from couture to automobiles.

PAWAN JAIN IS THE OWNER AND CHAIRMAN OF SAFEXPRESS PRIVATE LIMITED, INDIA’S PIONEER IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN & LOGISTICS INDUSTRY.

Supply Chain Management in India has come a long way from Hindustan Motor’s highly integrated modus operandi to Flipkart’s marketplace model. This despite the obvious challenges in the form of our seriously unorganized transportation and warehousing sectors, where over 70% of the players own less than five trucks. With businesses recognizing the value of a strong supply chain partner, I decided to include the biggest name in the field in my book for the lessons we can learn from his story.

Pawan Jain is the Chairman and Managing Director of Safexpress Private Limited, India’s pioneer in the Supply Chain & Logistics industry. He began his innings as a mere transporter in the 70s and now boasts the most sophisticated delivery network across the country with his fleet of over 3,600 GPS enabled vehicles traversing 6 lakh kms a day.

You might have seen containerized vehicles with a geometrical ‘Safexpress’ printed across their side bustling through traffic in a busy Indian city. Well, if this doesn’t ring a bell, let me share an association that will – If you purchased a Harry Potter in this country, know that it was Safexpress which secretly housed them for five weeks before distributing to 750 book stores across the country at 4:30am on the day of their official launch.

My association with Safexpress materialized a couple of years back. I had set up shop at the company’s corporate headquarters in New Delhi, as is customary for a banker to do. And my dealings were primarily with his son, a sharp Stanford Business School alumnus in charge of my assignment. When I did interact with Pawan though, the traits I noticed straightaway were sobering modesty and extreme politeness. There was no bravado, ego, or sense of heightened importance from a man grossing well over Rs 1,200 crore annually! He is avuncular, of medium built, always immaculately dressed in suits, soft spoken and gentle in his mannerisms, with kind eyes behind rectangular frames.

As I spent more time at Safexpress’s premises, a few employees began sharing snippets of Pawan’s story during our lunches. My initial impression of Pawan had been humbling and awe-inspiring as it is. When I learnt more about the man, I was compelled to present my creative venture to check if he would open up about his story. In addition to being shy, Pawan is shot for time and to elicit a positive response from him took an achingly long while, all worth the wait though. Interestingly, he was the only one in the book who asked me to run him through the protocol for recordings and questions to be covered.

Our first recording took place in his office, which is unusually vast and occupies more than three fourths of a huge floor. It is well illuminated with natural light and minimalist in its decorum, with a heavy mahogany desk, statuesque bookshelves and a couple of lamps. Reminds one of a school principal’s chambers in a way.

Pawan was born on September 1st 1954, in Hapur, a small town in UP, which credits its limited development solely to its proximity to Delhi. He is not sure if his date of birth was properly recorded but goes with the school account. His father practiced as one of the few and prominent civil lawyers in their town and mother stayed at home to manage six children, of which he was the fifth. They lived in a traditional, joint family set up and the patriarch of the family, his grandfather, earned a modest livelihood as a grain merchant.

Pawan attended the local government schools, where the medium of education was Hindi, and secured a top three ranking consistently. A studious and somber child, Pawan developed a vivid sense of right and wrong at an early age. His parents, although gentle with their children, had a glaringly black or white view of the world. Matters like respecting elders, going to bed early, and returning home at a respectable time were non-negotiable. There was no room for misinterpretation when they told him that education was important and the only way for him to build a life.

After school, one would find Pawan bent over textbooks for hours. All was not work, and he did play in the evenings with cousins, all seven of whom lived in the ancestral home. His relationship with them was, and still is, thick. Mostly, they entertained themselves with games and sports in their backyard. The house he grew up in was old school - massive, with high ceilings, verandahs, balconies and tall windows. Some games, such as cards and playing kabbadi on the streets, were a strict no-no. Despite their insistence on being good, Pawan’s parents were not harsh, and never whaled into him.

What was really nice though was that his father let him question everything and at that age, Pawan’s curiosity knew no bounds. So from why waking up early is good to why the sun rises in the East, all his questions were answered with patience and respect.

When Pawan was four, a change in fortune enveloped their family. His Uncle, who was part of the joint family set-up, started a forward trading business. There were colossal losses in the first few weeks, and the entire family was dragged deep into financial problems. Around the same time, his grandfather, an emotional man who was further weakened in old age by this misfortunate, insisted that one of his sons stop practicing law, lest they had to go up against each other in court, a scenario made likely by the dearth of lawyers in their town.

Pawan’s father, a gentleman, and one to acquiesce to his parent’s wishes, decided to sacrifice his successful career for his younger brother. Sacrifices such as this, which were a testament to putting family first, stayed with Pawan forever. And guided him through his relationships.

In search of greener pastures, his father left for Kolkata when Pawan was five. He left with no money and chose Kolkata for a couple of reasons – it was a reigning hub for Marwaris and a key trading center for Eastern India. The thought process was to understand the market and start a business.

Pawan admits to missing his father deeply. He was a well-educated man with a taste for old English literature. His mother often found him browsing through his father’s collection of Rabindranath Tagore, Shakespeare, Lord Byron and Thomas Hardy. Neither could his father afford to move their family to Kolkata nor could he shell out money to come back home often. As a result, Pawan saw him once in two years; and during good times, every summer.

As high school drew to an end, Pawan decided to pursue medical studies, for the simple reason that there were too many engineers in his family already. Again, Pawan stood out as a fine student. Upon graduating top of class, he qualified for Guwahati Medical School.

Before the first semester could end, his Aunt suffered an untimely death and he was called back home. As an eighteen year old, he was considered to be of a conscientious age, and therefore, fit to provide succor at home with the funeral preparation and family business. After the passage of a few months, when familial responsibilities no longer bound him to Hapur, Pawan attempted to resume medical school. Unfortunately, he had missed the semester examinations and was not granted re-entry.

Our lives are filled with unstructured randomness, some of which can lead to a major impact, altering our paths forever. Now that Pawan could not finish his medical studies and had some time to introspect, he realized that maybe being a doctor was not for him after all. Guaranteed, it was a safe option; but having been recently struck by the fragility of life, he followed his heart. Pawan had always felt poorly about his lack of command over the English language. It was a challenge he yearned to conquer and without over thinking the decision, enrolled himself in a Bachelors course in English literature at Meerut University. His family accepted the decision without qualms, with his father particularly pleased now that his son could inherit his enviable book collection.

While vocabulary and grammar can be mastered with practice, learning phonetics of any language can be daunting. Pawan joined English-speaking classes at The British School of Language in New Delhi. Every evening he would board a train for Delhi, which took an hour, attend a class, and catch the last shuttle service back.

In 1975, at the age of 21, Pawan finished his under graduation. He had attended school for the sole purpose of learning English and had no intentions of earning a livelihood using his newfound skills. The family’s grain business was based in Hapur, a town he had grown out of. His siblings were old enough to look after themselves, and his father was doing better financially, making it feasible for his mother to finally move to Kolkata. She dragged Pawan down to visit his father in the hope that he would join his now flourishing business of tea trade and provision stores.

Kolkata was a promising city with opportunities abounding on every street corner. He shadowed his father for two weeks, soaking in the various intricacies of being a merchant. They traveled in buses and trains to adjoining cities where his father sourced and supplied goods. Despite the geographical distance between them for close to two decades, Pawan and his father shared a reasonably close bond, one that only grew thicker with the time they spent together. When he confided in him with his wish to start out on his own, as opposed to joining the existing trade, it was received well.

Pawan noticed that his father, even after years of going through the wringer, had to physically move around to collect raw material and sell goods to neighboring locales. Pawan apprehended that a reliable and timely transportation channel between cities was missing. That his father had accepted the lack of one was no solace for Pawan, who was too young to reconcile with inefficiencies and actively in search of business ideas.

Pawan’s father supported him emotionally and financially when he decided to travel around the country. The objective was to feel the pulse on the ground and understand commerce in India. From Himachal to Kerala, Pawan visited every major city in between. He spoke to merchants, traders, paan walas, truckers; and frequented wholesale markets, ports and warehouses. Because his father was sponsoring the trip, Pawan operated on a strict, self-imposed budget. He used the nights to cover distance and the days to explore ideas.

He evokes being in Kerala, and specifically visiting exotic spice markets when he appreciated that most of those spices were not easily available across the nation. This, coupled with the lack of trade-oriented delivery he had witnessed in Kolkata, convinced him of the scope in transportation business. He points to this as the bona fide Eureka moment for everything that followed after.

Following four weeks on the road, when he had more time to process the idea, Pawan firmed up his plan. He would begin by delivering goods from Delhi, the country’s largest transportation hub, to a few areas. Patna was his first choice, because Bihar was a consuming state with miniscule production and imported most of