SCALe - the E-Cell of SIBM Bengaluru
It seems impossible until it's done– Nelson Mandela
Reality check : working class population is increasing, conventional jobs are fast being
replaced, disposable incomes are increasing, people have unmet demands. We need job creators, we need problem solvers. To
nurture this thought is the endeavor of SCALe- the E-Cell of SIBM B.
Clarity of goal
is a major indicator of success, the club in its mission statement “nurture ideas of budding entrepreneurs
& to help them launch their ventures and our vision is to establish
SIBM B as a hub of entrepreneurship”, has eloquently put forth the values and ideals it stands for.
Bengaluru is the
startup Hub of India and SCALe (SIBM B Center for Advanced Learning &
Entrepreneurship) is the startup hub of SIBM B. All activities are dedicated to
encouraging and discover the entrepreneurial streak in all the students of SIBM
B.
When you know one
of your own took the plunge and made it, this helps in allaying the fears of
starting up. With this thought, in its monthly newsletter E-Cell includes
conversations with alumni who have started their own businesses. A sense of
believe gets instilled amongst the students, whilst interacting with those who
stood in the same position as they are today. They push students to come up
with their own business ideas and encourage them to make a revenue generating
business model for the same.
To get the students
to recognize what it resembles to begin a business, what obstacles they
confront and what does the future hold for enterprise in the Indian setting,
guest sessions are organized where entrepreneurial consultants and investors
were invited to take the sessions.
Igniting the
spirit of entrepreneurship is one step, the next step is to take them on the
path of startup ideas and B-Plans, internal B-Plan competitions are organized exclusively
for the students of SIBM Bengaluru to showcase their business ideas and go
through the scrutiny of a jury comprised of the faculty members of SIBM B. The
winners were encouraged to pursue their ideas further and launch their startup.
The
core belief of is that there is an entrepreneur in each one of us and in line
with the vision, the hope is to
create bigger and more engaging events in the coming years to put our college
right up there with the leading nodes of startups in India and also launch more
startups from the students of our college.
Q & A with Pranav Ankush (Co-Ordinator | Symbiosis
Centre for Advanced Learning and Entrepreneurship at SIBM Bengaluru)
1)
How has your journey been at
SIBM B, especially in the field of entrepreneurship and start-up domain?
·
The journey with SIBM-b has
been incredible. SIBM-B provided me the guidance and resources to direct my
idea in proper direction.
·
As a fresher, I had no idea on
how to start and where to start building your idea to a business solution that
can be converted to a profitable and sustainable business.
·
SIBM-B provided me the proper
guidance from faculty mentors which helped turned the idea into a business
solution that it is now
·
Also, the case-based
methodology of learning helped me understand various hurdles that businesses in
varied fields have faced and how to overcome them.
·
SIBM-B helped me create the
overall business perspective of the idea that I was nurturing
2)
One characteristic that you’ve
found to be common amongst the start-up founders you’ve interacted with?
·
I have participated in various
competitions and also interacted with various entrepreneurs all across country.
·
The common characteristics that
I have come across amongst all them is everyone nurture their own idea as their
own child i.e. their focus and determination towards of building it and each of
their idea is built from a problem statement that they have come across or
common problems they have heard of.
·
Each and every founder goes through different
phases of the idea that he is nurturing those who are focused and determined
grow it to the profitable business and some leave it in the midway without
testing the feasibility.
·
Thus, those who believe and are
focused and determined towards the idea or the problem they are solving are
moreover successful in implementing it.
·
Yes, I do believe that use of
superior technology helps in creating competitive edge in the start-up world
·
As use of various analytics
software’s and tools helps in gaining edge for predicting and meeting customer
demand over the competitors
·
As most of the start-up’s are
based on similar concepts or problem statements or ideas but what
differentiates them from others is the technology or the platform on which is
built.
·
The capability of the start-up
to maintain their position as a leader mainly depends upon their ability to use
the technology and improve it continuously so that it yields long term profits
for them
·
As most of the start-up’s are
built on virtual platform’s it has become a critical for them to have
beak-through technology to sustain their growth and profitability
4)
What are your major learnings
from the E-Cell, how have the experiences with E- Cell impacted your outlook
towards the start-up culture?
·
E-Cell provided me the basic
platform for nurturing my idea to a business plan
·
Guidance from E-cell faculty
mentor and the senior students provided different perspective of implementing
it.
·
E-cell helped me analyze the
feasibility of the idea that I had in my mind and guided it from different
point of each individual who was working on it.
·
So, when I received the funding
it was achievement of the whole E-cell team
5)
How does an MBA degree add
value to a person interested in starting his/her own company?
·
MBA helps in creating business
perspective in each and everything that we are experiencing in our daily life.
·
So, for a person who is willing
to start his own Business it is an opportunity to learn the importance of
integrating the various factors that are necessary for successful business.
·
The knowledge of various fields
such as finance, Operations, Marketing & HR during initial year of the
course helps in understanding various domains that are necessary for each
business.
·
For me personally the purpose of doing MBA was
to have a formal education and to understand various aspects for successful
business.
·
The Business idea that I had in
my mind was very Raw, MBA helped me shape it in the proper business and also
helped me understand various risks that are involved in doing it
·
So MBA doesn’t only provide you
with the formal education but also helps in Creating business angle to various
thing that you see in your surroundings.