Helping others is your most valuable offering 4. (Case Study Innov8

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helping others is your most valuable offering

Case Study- Innov8 co-Working Dr. Ritesh Malik

Start-ups are working in many fields. They are also creating opportunities by helping the government. The start-up ecosystem has evolved to a point where many start-ups are now helping the other setups stand on their feet. Be it helping them with accounts, HR or business development or providing them digital platforms. Most of these start-ups are run by people who did not have any business background and lack any knowledge apart from their innovation and idea. Many start-ups have emerged by offering them solutions. Innov8 Co-Working is one such example. Dr Ritesh Malik left his practice at Delhi’s Sir Gangaram Hospital to enter the business. He began by investing in start-ups through Guerilla Ventures and then established one of his own by solving a major problem faced by most start-ups. Finding and managing office space is one of the initial challenges for startups. It is not easy to deal with property dealers, make agreements, install furniture and look for support staff. Many youngsters start either from their homes or makeshift place. However, the lack of professional ambience affects productivity. Getting a corporate space without such hassles for Rs 8-10 k can be helpful in such a scenario. This is what Dr Ritesh offered through Innov8 Co-Working. It gave new start-ups a professional working space and also helped them witness how other start-ups function. The idea was an instant hit and he is currently handling 21 such working centres. PayTM’s

Vijay Shekhar and Oyo Room’s Ritesh Aggarwal have seen great opportunities in this idea. A lawn on the roof of Regal Cinema offers a great view of Cannaught Place circle. Many start-ups witness this every day as it also serves as their office. Dr Ritesh Malik has provided them with the opportunity to work from there. I had a chat with him at the same location for Doordarshan’s programme ‘Kamyab Hindustan.’ His experiences have many lessons for budding entrepreneurs: 1. The family’s safety net is an impediment. 2. Research on benefitting people. 3. Investing profit in the right way. 4. A business sense, not bookish knowledge. 5. Turning around a bad situation. 6. A business degree is not mandatory. 7. Sell idea instead of asking for money. 8. Link with as many people as you can. 9. Only fools run away from the competition. 10. Associate with the people with similar vision.

1. The family’s safety net is an impediment.

The South Asian cultural ethos is such that most parents behave like ‘Kangaroo parents.’ They want to keep their children safe in their pockets. The feeling emanates out of strong family bonding and essentially signify their love and care. However, it can also come in the way of children’s growth. This is the reason family businesses flourish in our part of the world. We find grandson doing things exactly the same way as grandfather did. I belong to a family of doctors. I wanted to study economics but family members were insisting on pursuing a similar career path. They were hesitant to set me off to a stream they knew little about. My grandmother even threatened a hunger strike if I didn’t relent.

2. Research on benefitting people

My family has 37 doctors. I was another addition to the list. I was admitted to a government medical college at Tamil Nadu’s Teni village. I had no option but to fulfil my grandmother’s wish. It was a great revelation. I realised for the first time that real India is not restricted just to major cities and it resides in villages like Teni. The region was notorious for the Sandalwood smuggler and bandit Veerappan at that time. The electricity supply was sparse. Around 7 lakh villages in India have daily access to power supply for only one hour. I soon realised at Teni that while being a doctor I can benefit 100 patients, technology can enable me to work for millions of people. Having a natural inclination for research, I had the opportunity to work with the Sophisticated Analytical Instruments Facility (SAIF) at the IIT Madras. Here I worked with my cofounder and technology expert Abhishek on Augmented reality. We also worked to digitalize newspapers, something which is a common practice now. However, it wasn’t easy in the beginning. We also worked for the campaigning of a political party. Our innovation allowed people to listen to the speeches of leaders by scanning their photographs. The same innovation is known today as the Times Of India’s ‘Alive’ feature. We were the ones to start the process of digitalising newspapers and billboards.

3. Investing profit in the right way.

We expanded our operations as money poured in. My cofounder looked after the technical aspects while I took care of the business side. A good start-up cannot work without a good team. We were lucky to have earned money at the beginning itself. I belong to a traditional Punjabi family. My grandmother suggested buying gold, grandfather wanted to invest in real estate, whereas father thought mutual funds will be the best place to put this newly-earned money in. However, I said I will only invest in

start-ups. This led to the beginning of the Guerilla Ventures. As the name suggested, we wanted to be like a small but effective team like the ones led by Shivaji or Che Guevera. I studied a lot and found it appalling that an economy of India’s size was nothing more than a back-office solution provider. We work on the products of others while there are few takers for our products.

4. A business sense, not bookish knowledge.

India has not been greatly successful in selling her products or technology. Even our technological giants like the TCS or Infosys work for foreign products. When will we become a product-based economy? When will our companies make their products in other countries? It is not because our entrepreneurs lack a brain. Some of the world’s leading companies are governed by Indians. Around 40 per cent of staff in companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft are of Indian origin. We have a genetic goldmine but lack the right mindset. This is the result of the colonial subjugation for centuries. Our disjointed education system is another problem. I have taught since childhood when Babur was born. However, nowhere we find mention of how he established his kingdom soon after coming to India. A lack of practical knowledge makes things difficult for our youth. Start investing in the right companies if you lack expertise. Begin from small companies that show promise and a zeal to work. We did the same through Guerilla Ventures. Change and failures are stepping stones of success for any start-up. They are your biggest teachers. We soon realised that start-ups have little opportunity to learn from each other as they were not working together.

5. Turning around a bad situation

We Indians fear Mondays. It is not only because of work pressure but also due to work environment. We decided to change this. The state of Delhi offices isn’t particularly inspiring. However,

it is worse in cities like Kanpur where work spaces are often dingy and dirty. It is difficult to expect productivity in such spaces. We focused on the following 4 things to change offices spaces: • Location • Community • Design • Technology I had some money and took the rest from my father. We started our work in Delhi and selected Delhi’s heart, Cannaught Place for operations. A right location was imperative for us. Cannaught Place is connected to 90 per cent of Delhi through metro at a travelling distance of 21 minutes. The location of Cannaught Place for office was a dream for most start-ups. We gave them a workspace will all the facilities. We made initial mistakes but were able to sell the entire space within the first month. It was really encouraging.

6. A business degree is not mandatory.

I did not have a formal MBA education and had no idea of concepts like customer validation. All I knew was that customers need to be offered a new product at a viable price. The Cannaught Place is one of the most expensive places for real estate and therefore out of reach for most start-ups. Getting a seat for Rs 8,000-10,000 per month makes it easier for start-ups. They also found a right atmosphere where they could learn from other start-ups also. Innov8’s lock-in period was much easier than legal documentation with property owners. The company requires only 1-month notice to exit Innova8’s workspace. A premium quality office space was a dream fulfilled for most start-ups. Finding furniture, support staff, setting up canteens etc used to take up lot of time. This could now be used for productivity. This was the reason our start-up was acknowledged by our clients. A good product is never hard to sell. Ours was aimed at promoting the

ease of doing business. It was a hitherto new concept in India.

7. Sell idea instead of asking for money.

We expanded our operations to Chandigarh. The Y-Combinator financed us followed by PayTM’s Vijay Shekhar. This enabled us to start a new working center with a capacity of 500 employees in Bengaluru. Most start-ups face questions on funding. My advice is to sell your idea to investors instead of asking for money from them. You must understand their psychology. They have money but no idea. They are keen to put their money on any idea which they think can give a benefit. I believe investors are a reticent lot. They look at hundreds of reasons of not funding you. It is your job to convince them otherwise. Look for another ones, if they are not willing.

8. Link with as many people as you can.

I would advise you to link with as many people as you can. Investment is not big or small. Any amount of money should be welcomed. I never judged my investors while taking their help. Some gave as little as Rs 60,000 while there were also those who invested as big a sum as Rs 10 crore. Even a small investor would tell his circle about your start-up and thus act as your brand ambassador. PayTM’s Vijay Shekhar was a great help for me. Slowly, we have grown to 21 centres with 15,000 seats. Today, we are country’s largest co-working place. We have our campuses at Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Gurgaon, Noida and Hyderabad. It will take some time to create talent hubs in small cities. Talent from smaller centres move to bigger cities. Therefore, our focus is on major urban centres. My horizon grew when I moved from a Tamil Nadu village to Delhi. This is also the reason that Kanpur’s talent either moves to Delhi or fly straight to San Francisco.

9. Only fools run away from the competition.

I see people who view competition negatively as fools. Competition is necessary to move ahead. You find it in big cities. It is important to learn from other people. Our institution has a dedicated department for understanding competition. Knowing what competitors are doing is most necessary for any startup. The competition draws your attention to better innovation. Market changes rapidly and it is necessary to keep pace. Innov8 is special because it embraces the idea of competition. Nothing is wrong in emulating your competitors’ good practices. Even imitating is not bad in today’s market. Accepting defeat before fighting is the worst fate. This was Dr Ritesh Malik explaining his vision. Let us try to understand the 10th point from the perspective of his team. Ritesh was helped by his co-founder in technological aspects. He invested the money wisely to become ideal for other start-ups. Similar vision does not mean same education or skills. The team should share your vision but it should have people with varied skills. Ritesh was good at identifying people for his team and is reaping dividends.

10. Associate with the people with similar vision.

For Innov8’s operational chief Ankush Grover, a new idea or innovation is the seed. It will grow into a tree if the following questions are answered: • Will the idea work in the market? • How useful is it? • Is your innovation financially viable?

Ankur says every start-up should be aware of its economy. It should also know how to invest the profit. Company’s chief design officer Sheel Dwivedi claims his designs are aimed at enthusing vigour and freshness in start-ups’ ideations. According

to him, working space is no less than homes for start-ups. Gaurav Gulati, the COO of Innov8 believes there’s a different vibe when many start-ups are working under one roof. It not only facilitates exchange of ideas, but also financial associations. Branch head Aishwarya Garg enumerates following principles for start-ups: • Don’t spend more than you earn. • Work as a team. • Learn from mistakes. • Develop a fresh perspective. • Look for partners and not merely investors.

Things to remember:

1. Believe in your dreams. Try what you want to do. Formal training is immaterial. 2. Make solving problems your second nature. Utilise things around you in a better way. 3. It is not necessary that your family love your dreams as much as they love you. 4. Present positive results to win the trust of your near ones. 5. Associate with the right people and take expert advice. One expert could be more useful than 100 books. 6. Learn to invest the initial profit in the right manner. 7. Do something which has never been done before and offer it to the market at the cheapest rate. 8. There is no shortage of investors. You should know why they would reject your proposal. 9. Demonstrate your product to the investor and then seek money. 10. Don’t be afraid of change. Adapt to it.