Entrepreneurial DNA!

Ok this is the first of its kind. Usually I always write my blogs on a Word Doc first and then after being completely satisfied with it I paste it here on my blog. But today i have taken the brave step (or rather the sensible) step of starting the blog right here on the compose section of the blog. Wow...big step. Well the reason you are on the receiving end of all these (unnecessary) details is because I was curiously going through the "Personal Documents" folder in my notebook and came across a number of unfinished blogs. And there are more than 6-7 such incomplete docs. While some were intentionally abandoned, some of them just didn’t see the light of the day because of "lack of time"...ahem!!! There I go again...

Yesterday was a rather interesting day for me. After 3 days of absolute homesickness, the evening turned out to be quite a welcome change. We were part of the Corporate Dinner hosted by us for the Sponsors and Strategic Partners of Cerebration 2008. We had the top management from DBS Bank, Brewerkz, Expressions International and SPRING Singapore all under one roof. It was attended by our Vice Dean, Professors and MBA office.

I had the privilege of sharing the table with the Founder of Brewerkz micro-brewery and am glad I did. Devin Kimble opened doors of Brewerkz in Singapore and has met with a lot of success. And now they are looking to expand outside Singapore and hence the reason that they are case sponsors for Cerebration.

We had an interesting conversation on our table with Prof. Bob Fleming also present with us. Devin spoke about how he was a trader and a lawyer before completing a master's degree and becoming an entrepreneur thereafter. For him, the CSF (Critical Success Factor) to be an entreprener is to have a lot of ideas. And gosh is he right. And then suddenly there seems to be a common theme in the discussions I have been part of for the last 2 weeks.

For the uninitiated, I was part of a study trip to USA last week where I had a chance to meet personalities like Scott McNealy, Sumir Chadha and (hold your breadth) Mr. Warren Buffett!!!!!!! While the experience on the trip is going to be another blog(s??) in itself, what is striking is the similarities in the personality types of these entrepreneurs. It’s almost as if there is a DNA type!

1. All these people: Great Great Communicators
They all have a flair for words and humour as well. They can really engage an audience for a long span and have very interesting take and insights on things and subject matters in life. (I am in awe of Mr. Buffett!!)

2. All these people are very very personable. Very approachable and very friendly and so humble. They treat all of us (people at least half their age) with respect and at par with them. (I mean c’mon me on par with Mr. Buffett!!!! What a dream!) :)
Of course, if they weren’t humble they wouldn’t have even reached half way where they are today.

And while they all agree that an MBA education is definitely a value add, in Scott McNealy's words "You don’t need an MBA to understand that you need a positive bottom-line...and to know how to get the positive bottom line all you need is a great CFO. If you want to be an entrepreneur what you need to be is 'Be Controversial and Be Correct'. If you don’t differentiate yourself you will not have pricing power. If you have a brilliant idea, make sure you have enough people who think you are crazy. That’s differentiation". According to Scott, the best take away from an MBA are networking opportunities on beer nights, on social gatherings. "You never know who can be your potential partner".

Interestingly, Devin had somewhat of a different take. An MBA gives you an opportunity to work in groups and in projects and that’s how real life is. You brainstorm and you share ideas and once you have lots of ideas, you can be an entrepreneur.

Devin's conversations also revolved around how they lived in simpler times without seat belts and computers and how they had to hang outside in crowded buses to get to school (though small towns in most developing nations still face this). They all know where they are coming from and that’s definitely one of the reasons for their humility.

So all in all it was an interesting evening. And its conversations like these that reaffirm my faith in my abilities and my yearning to take up my ideas (at most times ideas that don’t seem to have a sustainable revenue model) and make them see the light of the day :). And I know that there a number of people who think that the ideas are crazy and that I am not capable of doing them. Makes it all the more challenging and makes me believe more and more that "I can make it!" :)