National  Entrepreneurship  Network  

Success  Stories  of  Young  Entrepreneurs  

     

 

“OUTSIDE  THE  BOX”    

     

Entrepreneur  Name:  Mr.Rajat  Soni  Venture:  Samosawala’s&Rudraa  caterers    Success  come  to  those  who  dare  to  live  out  their  passion,  no  matter  how  obstacles  and  challenges  try  to  deter  them.  Passion  keeps  them  going,  is  well  demonstrated  by  Rajat  Soni  who  at  the  early  age  of  18years  while  pursuing  BBA  started  the  venture  entitled  as  “Samosawala’s”.    Rajat   belong   to   the   family   occupied   in   jewelry   and   real   estate   business   for   them   his  concept  to  act  as  an  entrepreneur  and  work  in  food  segment  was  totally  immature.  On  the  other  hand,  Rajat  was  determined  to  pursue  his  interest  and  contribute  something  unique  to  Indian  food  zone  that  was  demolishing  due  to  growing  trend  of  fast  food  from  western  countries.    Rajat  had  a  challenge  to  pull  his  customers  from  the  market,  where  people  not  so  easily  seek   for   something   that   is   common.  Knowing   the   fact   that   Indori’s   are   fond  of   eating  ‘kachori  and  samosa’.  He  came  up  with  different  types  of  samosa’s.  Not  the  regular  so  called  samosa’s.  And  this  idea  became  the  turning  point  for  his  business  career.      Adding  to  this  he  has  also  proved  his  efficiency  as  2nd  runner  up  in  E-­‐Week  organized  by  National   Entrepreneurship   Network(NEN)   in   2012.     And   also   marked   his   presence   in  TATA  first  dot.      All   such   achievements   and   development   in   his   life   helped   him   to   learn   more   about  entrepreneurship,  how  to  develop  business  plan,how  funds  are  arranged  and  the  steps  

to  be  followed  to  start  the  venture.  The  learning  gained  by  him  through  NEN  guided  him  to   take   first   step   where   he   studied   product   feasibility,customer   orientation   and  conducted  surveys  to  measure  success  rate  of  his  product.    When  he  get   ready  with  business  plan  next  step  was   to  arrangefunds,  He  approached  bank  but  unfortunately   fail   to  receive  any  help,the  option   left  was  to  borrow  from  his  friends,  relatives  and  some  of  his  well  wishers.  That’s  how  he   collects  1   lac  as  an   initial   investment   to  establish  his   restaurant,  which  offer  samosa  with  taste  &  quality.      He   offered   samosa   chat,   samosa   pyaj,   samosa   club   sandwich   and   many   more,He  worked  18  hours  a  day  with  team  of  4  people  he  created  sensation  in  Indore  by  serving  300  customer  a  day.  He  remarks  “Initially,  I  was  bit  apprehensive  about  my  success  but  response  has  been  great  for  all  the  dishes.”    The  Best  part  is,  that  he  is  targeting  to  start  6  outlets  in  the  Indore  city  that  will  generate  around  40  jobs.  Like  “samosa”  his  next  target  for  experimentation  is  puha  and  kachoori.  Beside  this,  he  also  run  catering  business  in  customizes  form  where  he  delivers  services  like  lunch  and  dinner  as  per  customer  choice  that  he  called    “next  generation  catering”.      He  wishesto  start  “samosawala’s”   in  every  state  of  our  country  and  hope  to  scale  new  heights   to   his   business.He   says,“If   you   run   beside   your   passion   not   only   you   get  successful  but  also  get  self  satisfied.  “That  was  my  passion,  which  acted  as  driving  force  behind  my  success.                                    

“EXPLORE  GENIUS  WITHIN”    

   

   Entrepreneur  Name:Mr.KartikKumbhalkar  Venture:  Home  Tuition  Network    Kartik  kumbhalkar,  engineering  student  discovered  that  he  had  knack  for  teaching,  With  support  of  his  teammates,  he  establishedhome  tuition  network.  It  provides  moral  education  to  children,  with  regular  curriculum.    The  idea  to  do  something  along  with  studies,  strikes  himfor  the  first  time  when  he  came  in  contact  with  NEN  faculty  JitendraRajaram  Verma.      Kartik  was  well   aware   of   the   loop   holes   in   education   system   that  was   the   reason   he  planned   to   introduce   such   network   where   hecan   engagepeople   who   all   are   good   in  teaching   and   can   spend   quality   time   in   teaching   students   from   class   first   to   twelfth.  These  will   help   the   students   to   get   teachers  of   different   subjects   under  one   roof   and  even  teachers  can  teach  in  more  organized  form.      He  shared  his   idea  with  his  mentor  and  they  startedworking  on  a  business  plan.  While  planning  foremost  challenge  faced  was  to  find  such  people  who  were  equally  passionate  like   him,and   for   that   His   mentor   JitendraRajaram   taught   him   how   he   can   increase  contacts  with  people  and  build  his  own   team,  Kartikremarks,   “he   is  a  nice  person  and  helped  me  a  lot.  It  was  his  guidance  that  helped  me  to  increase  strength  of  my  teachers  and  students”.    

And  finally  on  1stJuly2012  he  started  “home  tutor”  with  5  partners,  among  them  Aditiya  Desai  was   alsoa  NEN  member.   They   altogether  worked  hard,added  different   teaching  methods.To   make   this   method   unique,   they   introduced   stress   management   in   their  curriculum.    Kartikkeeps  on  participating  in  NEN  workshop.  He  even  stood  2nd  runner  up  in  events  of  E-­‐   week.The   NENworkshops,   which   he   attended   in   2013-­‐2014,   helped   him   to   learn  about   the   ways   to   improve   entrepreneurial   activity,   which   he   applied   in   his   own  venture,   he   usedmouth-­‐to-­‐mouth   publicity,advertisement   in   newspaper   to   increase  number  of  students.    He   even   keeps   on   interacting   students   to   take   their   feedback   and   suggestions,   to  welcome  new  thoughts  and  freshness  in  their  methodology.    The  best   thing   is   that,   they   started  with   zero   investment,   and   today   they   are   earning  profits   in  form  of  fees  received,  but  the  kartik   is  not  much  worried  about  incomes,  for  him  growth  is  more  important.  Today  he  feel  satisfied,  as  he  is  able  to  give  back  something  to  society  while  learning.                                                

   

   “CREATING  YOUR  OWN  STYLE”  

 

   

   Entrepreneur  Name:  Mr.RishiSaxena  Venture:  In-­‐house  cafeteria    Rishi  Saxena,  founder  of  “In-­‐houseCafeteria”  started  his  venture  in  26/06/2012  with  the  concept  of  introducing  freshly  prepared  food  with  different  variants  in  a  cafeteria  style  available  quickly  at  nominal  charges.    Belonging   to   a   service   class   family,   Rishi   unlike   his   parents   determined   to   involve   in  entrepreneurial   activities   at   young   age.   Pursuing   graduation   in   management   he   got  introduced   with   NEN.   Where   he   learned   about   entrepreneurship   in   depth,   while  attending  NEN  workshops  and  E-­‐week,  he  perceived   that   if   someone  really  wanted   to  do  something  the  first  step  is  to  identify  problem  because  “if  we  feel  the  difference  then  only  we  make  the  difference”.    The  first  time  when  he  identified  the  problems  in  college  canteen  he  was  in  first  year  of  his   graduation.   He   was   unsatisfied   with   college   canteen   food   facilities   the   quality   of  edibles,   hygiene,   and   atmosphere.   He   claimed   to   offer   better   quality   with   different  varieties  of  edibles  at  low  cost.    When   he   discussed   it   with   college   faculties,   there   was   no   impact.Then  Marlina  Ramchandran,   who   is   the   network   manager   of   NENencouraged   Rishi   on   his  belief.His  NEN  faculty  and  mentor  Dr.  Punit  K  Dewedi  also  promoted  Rishi’s  concept  by  conveying  his  thoughts  and  ideas  to  administration.    

After  consistent  efforts,  College  Administration  appreciated  his  concept.  With  the  initial  investment   of   seven   thousand,   which   he   earned   by   organizing   different   events,   he  started   his   “In-­‐house   cafeteria”   inside   his   collage.   He   earned   three   and   half   lacs   as  revenue  of  first  year.      Like   his   college,   soon   he   will   inagurate   one   more   venture   in   Gawalior.   He   pays   his  gratitude  towards  NEN    for  developing  the  inherient  bussinessmen  within  him.                                                                            

 “DIVIDE  THE  TASK    

MULTIPLY  THE  SUCCESS”    

         Entrepreneurs  Name:  Mr.  Kamal  Rathod,  Mr.  Saurabh  Gupta,  Mr.  Vivek  Chandra  Kumar  Venture:  Life  easy  electronics    Mr.  Kamal  Rathod,  Mr.  Saurabh  Gupta,  and  Mr.  Vivek  Chandra  Kumar  founded“Life  easy  electronics”   on   13   Jan   2013,   offering   renewable   energy   products.   With   the   initial  investment  of  10,000,  earned  revenue  of  30000  within  a  month.      These   engineering   students   participated   in   E-­‐week   organized   by   National  Entrepreneurship  Network  in  2013,  In  2014,  they  werehonored  asAll  India  runner  up,  In  addition,   theyattended   workshop   conducted   by   NEN   on   Idea   generation,   Patent   and  copyright.    Kamal  says,  ”NEN  was  the  driving  forcebehind  our  idea  generation,  feel  blessed  to  be  a  part  of  these  organization.    Idea  of  introducing  Renewable  Energy  productswas  initiated,  to  control  global  warming  and  the  requirement  to  decrease  our  carbon  footprint.      Initially  created  five  products  including  wind  charger,  solar  charger.  They  faced  problem  in   capturing  market   for   selling   these   products   in  which   their  mentor   and  NEN   faculty  

JitndraRajaram   Verma   helped   in   promoting   the   products   by   finding   potential  customers.Furthermore,   he   assisted   them   in   team   building,   shaping   business   model,  raising  money  and  Networking.    Today,   theyhave   almost   captured   mobile   market   of   Indore.   Initially   started   with   low  profit  margin  this  group  is  now  earning  high  returns.  They  will  launch  few  more  products  in  coming  future,  targeted  to  reach  state  of  “No-­‐power  from  electric  socket”.    Increased   team   members   up   to   13   members,   for   adding   their   knowledge,actively  participate   in   Entrepreneurship   talks,   Workshops,   Entrepreneurship   Summits,  Competitions,   Advanced   topic   course   (e.g.   entrepreneurial   finance,   entrepreneurial  marketing,  etc.organized  by  NEN.      They  are   thankful   to   their  mentor   for  acting  as  backbone  and  NEN  for  providing  right  platform  to  exhibit  their  skills.                                                            

“MAKE  YOUR  MARK”    

   

   Entrepreneurs  Name:  Mr.Charles  Rohan  Sharma,  Mr.Alok  baj  Venture:  freeScribe    “What  man  is  a  man  who  does  not  make  the  world  better”–KingdomofHeaven(2005)  Mr.  Charles  Rohan  Sharma  and  Mr.Alok  Baj,  initiated    “free  Scribe”  on  17  Feb.  2014,  distributing  learning  resources  and  better  quality  study  material  free  of  cost,  Earning  revenue  through  advertisements.  They  participated  in  E-­‐Week  2014  organized  byNational  Entrepreneurship  Network;  and  were  honored  with  central  India  runner  up.    Mr.  Sharma  remarks  NEN,  for  helping  in  network  expansion,  Idea  generation  and  creating  business  model.    The  purpose  behind  introducingfree  Scribe  is,  imparting  better  quality  study  materialto  improve  performance,  of60% population, who comprise exclusively of student,struggling due to limited access of study material.  They  initiated  their  venture  with  the  initial  investment  of  500  rupees  only,  through  which  they  earned  3,500  as  profit  by  providing  Photocopied  notes  and  assignments  from  the  selected  elite  students  or  the  compiled  faculty  notes.  

Initially  they  faced  challenges  like,  lack  of  proper  infrastructure,  convincing  people  to  publish  the  advertisement  and  arranging  quality  study  material.      However,  they  overcome  with  challenges  by  the  support  of,NEN  mentor  Mr.Jitendra  Rajaram  Verma,  who  helped  in  developing  presentation  skills,  identifying  customers  and  given  market  insights.  He  also  provided  tactful  skills  for  interaction  with  prospective  partners.    For  future  expansion,  they  are  Looking  forward  to  increase  range,  by  incorporating  online  student  notes,  e-­‐books  of  the  certified  course  books  of  selected  universitiesand  disciplines,  projects,  research  papers,  newsletters  and  periodicals,  which  can  easily  download  in  PDF  and  EPUB  formats.  And  generating  revenue  by  advertisement  in  the  websites  as  well  as  the  study  materials  provided.    Mr.  Sharma  states,  “NEN  provided  tremendous  support  by  providing  right  platform  to  exhibit  our  skills,  helping  us  to  think  rationally,  practically  &  sensibly.  Encouraged  tothink  bigger!  With  the  Mentor  and  NEN  support  our  dreams  turned  into  the  reality”.                                            

“CHANGE  IS  HAPPENING”    

     Entrepreneur  Name:  ANSHUL  DUBEY  Venture:  INNOVATIVE  MARKETING    Young  guns  of  MIT  brings  ‘Free’  wi-­‐fi  access.    Anshul  dubey  along  with  his  team  members  realised  the  need  for  free  internet  access  in  public   places,   so   they   developed   a   business-­‐support   model,   found   sponsors   and   are  now  ready  to  provide  free  wi-­‐fi  access  to  internet  in  at  least  five  different  locations  and  their  college.    BE   student   Anshul   Dubey,   who   led   the   project,   told   that,   “We   realized   the     growing  need   for   free   internet   access   in   public   places   which   must   be   addressed   and   started  working  on  a  business  model  to  bridge  this  gap.”    The  idea  is  simple.  The  server  lets  the  user  log-­‐in  for  free  from  a  hotspot  after  clicking  on  one  of  the  four  pop-­‐up  ads  that  appear  on  the  screen.  The  advertiser,  who  pays  for  your  wi-­‐fi  use,  benefits  from  getting  more  hits  for  his  ads  and  through  visual  branding  —  something   he   hopes   will   result   in   product/service   retention   and   eventual   customer  conversion.    Dubey   discussed   this   idea  with   his  NEN  mentor   Jitendra   Rajaram   verma,  who   helped  them  to  develop  action  plan  and  helped  to  convert  the  idea  into  business.  Apart  from  these  he  even  guided  them  the  ways  to  find  sponsers.    

Further  more  they  participated  in  E-­‐WEEK  2014  organised  by  NEN,  and  honored  as  2nd  runner  up.  They  participated  in  many  programs  of  NEN  to  sharpen  their  skills.    The   team   members   with   diversify   knowledge   helped   a   lot   in   success   of   the   idea   of  innovative  marketing.     Akshya  Awasthi,   BE  Computer   Science   student   from  Acropolis,  had   experience   of   working   with   different   servers   and   softwares   and   was   brought  onboard  as  technical  in-­‐charge    “We   were   concerned   about   the   cost   as   readymade   servers   cost   quite   a   lot.   So   we  needed  someone  who  could  develop  the  servers  for  us.  This  marked  the  entry  of  Sonu  Sharma,  a  BE  Computer  Science,”  said  Dubey.      Also,  Sonu  had  entrepreneurial  experience  as  he  once  ran  a  cyber  café.  This  helped  him  train  the  marketing  team  comprising  BE  third  year  students  Sunil  Chauhan  and  Sharique  Khan.    As  marketers  felt  the  need  to  develop  web  displays  and  presentations  to  introduce  the  concept   to   financers   and   customers,   Prasad   Laghate   and   Dikshant   Tiwari,   both   BE  Computer  Science  students,  were  pulled  in.    With  the  idea  of  innovative  marketing  They  first  went  to  the  nearest  popular  bakery  to  check  if  they  can  get  any  funding  for  advertisements  to  ensure  users  don’t  have  to  pay  for  access.  They  returned  disappointed.      But   success  did  not  elude   them   for   long.  Their  next   visit  was   to  a  burger   shop  whose  owner   was   a   mechanical   engineer   and   liked   their   idea,   showing   keen   interest   in  investing  in  it.  That’s  how  they  got  the  sponsor  and  they  started  working  on  their  idea.    Dubey  acknowledges  his  mentor  and  NEN  for  the  continuance  guidance  and  support,  He  says,  we  hold  the  technical  qualification,  no  MBA  or  commerce  background  but  that  never  turned  as  hindrance  in  our  progress,  Its  all  due  to  the  mentor  support.    Presently  they  are  scaling  new  heights  and  progressing  in  their  business.