Ahmedabad: Dr. A Velumani, founder chairman & managing Director of Thyrocare Technologies and Shri Ghanshyam Dholakia, founder & MD od Hari Krishna Exports enthralled the audience at ‘Romancing with Risk’, a seminar organised by Ahmedabad chapter of Young Indians (YI), the youyj wing of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Friday at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA).
Two highly successful businessmen, addressing the audience said, ‘Risk-taking is an essential quality for any entrepreneur to achieve success’.
“I and my wife had well-settled jobs, and we took an enormous risk when we both quit our jobs on the same day to start Thyrocare. There were many ups and downs along the way, but we took calculated risks, and they paid off. Business is not about not making mistakes, but being on the right track. This is also my advice to young entrepreneurs,” Dr.Velumani, who quit his job as a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), told the jam-packed auditorium at AMA.
Citing another example of the risk he had taken, he said, “Other people in my industry also do Thyroid Biochemistry, but I do only Biochemistry. It looks like a good strategy now, but it was a risky decision at the time.”
On a lighter note, Dr.Velumani said that the reason for starting his own venture was to do away with the perception that South Indians cannot do business. He regaled the audience with inspiring anecdotes about his journey from a remote village in Tamil Nadu to a successful and self-made businessman.
The second speaker of the seminar Shri Ghanshyam Dholakia, Founder & MD of Hari Krishna Exports, also came from a poor family in Saurashtra. He followed his elder brothers to work as a diamond polisher for many years, before starting their own venture. Hari Krishna Exports is today one of the largest diamond polishing companies in the country.
“The diamond industry works on credit, but we took a big risk by selling only against advance payment. Our sales declined initially, but we stuck to the decision. People slowly realized that we were trustworthy partners, and the decision to stop selling on credit paid off,” he said, talking about the risks he and his brothers had taken.
He also said that they scaled up operations in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
“Diamond prices crashed after the 9/11 attacks. Diamond prices fell sharply because everyone thought that demand for diamonds will fall. We, however, saw lower prices as an opportunity to enter into niche diamond business and it turned out to be a great move for us,” Shri Dholakia said.
Dholakia, whose firm is known for generous annual Diwali bonus to employees, further said that 50% of their sales are online now, and “selling against advance only has become our biggest asset”.
Monil Parikh, Chair of Ahmedabad Chapter of Young Indians, thanked the speakers, and exuded confidence that their success journey would inspire many entrepreneurs.
