Entrepreneurship, Luck or Persistence?

When Deepak Joshi was 18 years old, he sampled ice cream at a store and thought that he could make it
better. He made his own recipe and began selling ice cream bars, cones, and cups in his hometown
Belgaum. People began asking him for more.
Deepak got himself trained at Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, and
developed skills to prepare ice creams of different flavours and compositions. Using meagre profits and
his mother’s kitchen, Deepak Joshi began making large batches of ice creams. He then designed his own
wrappers and developed a commission system for friends who sold ice creams at several schools.
Business was so good that it became an obsession. Deepak worked after college, weekends, and
holidays, aside from a brief period when the health department suspended his operations until he obtained
proper permits to make ice creams. He made different types of ice creams by trying his own methods until
he graduated from college. At first, he could meet the demand without purchasing special equipment or
sacrificing other activities, but when he began providing ice creams for college fundraising events and fun
fairs, demand exceeded capacity, and Deepak started buying professional equipment, hiring helpers, and
purchasing bulk supplies.
Looking back, Deepak recalled the obsession, the long hours, and the drive to learn about the business.
Deepak set about placing orders with local stores and developing contacts with dozens of schools,
colleges, caterers, hotels, and civic organizations. His business soon consumed his entire family and
closest friends. He registered the company and set up an ice-cream parlour. During the first month, he had
18,000 orders, and by the time he graduated, Deepak was distributing specialty ice creams to retail stores
in three states.
At the age of 26, Deepak repositioned his company as a major distributor of specialty ice creams and
began planning a chain of upscale ice-cream parlours, which would complement his current ice cream
manufacturing and distribution system. When he paused to think about his plans, he realised that to
launch a regional or national chain would mean major changes in his organization. He and his family
could not handle all the responsibilities, and the nature of Deepak’s ice-cream business would change.
Although the idea of pursuing a major business was exciting, Deepak could not help feeling apprehensive.
Reflecting upon his business, Deepak realised that many people considered his success to be no more
than the luck of a personable young man who made good ice creams and had accidentally stumbled
pon a few good markets. In fact, he had worked extremely hard to attract clients. Most of his customers
had not been comfortable buying from a young college student, and customers seldom took him seriously
until they had dealt with him for a long time. Winning over customers had always been a challenge to
Deepak, not a roadblock, and creating unusual ice creams had been exciting.
 He was not anxious to become a corporate manager, and although he had always worked well with
others, Deepak liked being independent. Running a company would mean sacrificing his autonomy. Yet
the idea of a chain of stores selling his specialty ice creams had been a dream for years. At the same time,
expansion would mean financial risk, and Deepak had always avoided debt. He dealt in cash and had
always carefully calculated his expenses to avoid even the slightest loss. He realised that he was at a
major crossroads in his young career. The choice seemed to be whether to follow his dream and expand or
to be content with his existing business.
Questions:
1. Identify the entrepreneurial characteristics of Deepak Joshi. How do they match the
characteristics described for successful entrepreneurs?
2. Take a position regarding the decision facing Deepak. Should Deepak expand his business and
open a chain of ice-cream parlours.
3. Based on what you know about Deepak and what you believe his characteristics to be, would
you say his success was due to luck or persistence? Explain. How does luck play a role in any new
venture?

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, & Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

Mukesh Ambani is the elder son of the legendary business leader late Dhirubhai Ambani and
Kokilaben Ambani and was born on April 19, 1957. As of March 2018, Mukesh Ambani was ranked by
Forbes as 19th-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $40 billion. He is the only Indian
businessman, on Forbes' list of the world's most powerful people. As of 2018, Ambani has consistently
held the title of richest Indian on the Forbes magazine list for eleven years.

Through, Reliance, he also owns the Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians. In 2012, Forbes
named him one of the richest sports owners in the world. He resides at the Antilia Building, one of the
world's most expensive private residences. As of 2015, Ambani ranked fifth among India's
philanthropists, according to China's Hurun Research Institute. He has played a pivotal role in taking
Reliance Industries Limited to the zenith of success in his illustrious career.

After completing his MBA from Stanford, he joined Reliance Industries in the year 1981, which was
founded by his father Dhirubhai Ambani. He was the brain behind Reliance backward integration.
World's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar is the brainchild of Mukesh Ambani. He was
also the in charge of Dhirubhai's dream project Reliance Infocomm. He also entered into retail business.

Petrochemical, Oil and Gas and Refining and marketing are the major sectors where Mukesh has
invested. Reliance also owns the largest refinery in the world at a single location. During the early stages
of his career, he invested in diverse sectors and made money out of his investments. In 2015, he heralded
the idea of Jio, an LTE mobile network operator network, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance
Industries. This forced existing telecommunications majors to merge and to reduce their tariffs It is
innovation that transformed Reliance Industries Limited from a small textile trading firm into India's
largest private sector enterprise and a Fortune 500 company. From sparking off the equity cult in India to
set up the world's largest grassroots refinery now ushering in a digital revolution in India, Reliance has
always demonstrated that innovation is in its DNA.

Mukesh born in a business family seems to be an exceptional serial entrepreneur due to the number of
businesses he has started and owned and started in his entrepreneurial journey. Mukesh Ambani is the
face of new emerging India. Many young minds of India aspire to be rich, and they want to tread the
investment path of billionaires like Mukesh Ambani. Mukesh Ambani is now ranked as Asia's richest
person. He is also the member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry, Government of
India. Besides being an active philanthropist, he is also the board member of many other forums and
foundations. Mukesh Ambani says, "I strongly believe that education is the tool that will enhance the
competitiveness of India as a nation. The quality of the human capital of a nation will determine its pace
of economic growth and development. There are millions of Indians below the poverty line. We are
committed to aligning ourselves to address that question."
His advice to young entrepreneurs are:

 If you are in a job, you are a manager. If you are an entrepreneur, you will figure it out;
 An entrepreneur should never give up. Failures are normal. They are just steps before you
succeed. Learn from them but never give up:
 You should find a problem you are passionate about. It's not solving a problem. It's finding a
problem. Once you find a problem, then you can solve it.

Questions:
1. Identify the entrepreneurial characteristics of Mukesh Ambani? How do they match the characteristics
described for successful entrepreneurs?
2. Why Mukesh Ambani is the face of new emerging India?
3. Discuss the entrepreneurial journey of Mukesh Ambani?
4. "If you are an entrepreneur, then you will figure out what you want to do." Comment
5. Comment on the statement "Mukesh Ambani is the 20th century entrepreneur of India."

The Story of Silicon Valley

The phenomenal success of Silicon Valley, 45 miles southeast of San Francisco in California, the United
States of America, has become iconic of the American entrepreneurial spirit. Silicon Valley houses the
world’s largest technology corporations. The main catalysts that led to the development of Silicon Valley
were the institutional support of Stanford University, venture capital and generous stock options for
employees, the information technology revolution, and a favourable entrepreneurial climate for risk-
taking.
 Professor Frederick Terman of Stanford University, who is widely credited (together with William
Shockley) as being the father of Silicon Valley, encouraged faculty and graduate students to start their
own companies. He persuaded his students William Hewlett and David Packard to start the Hewlett-
Packard Company. Terman’s real contribution was the creation of a sound ecosystem and the culture of
entrepreneurship. The efforts of Professor William Shockley, who also taught at Stanford University, to
commercialize a new transistor device led to the Silicon Valley becoming a hotbed of electronics
innovation. In this way, Silicon Valley received the institutional support of Stanford University in its
early days.

Silicon Valley has a strong networking system in combination with business angels and venture capital
firms willing to support promising start-ups. This was made possible by the favourable political,
economic, and intellectual climate prevailing in the United States. The Valley is a testimony to the
concerted international efforts and contributions made by people from diverse cultural and racial
backgrounds. In the early years of the Valley’s development, the US government granted it military
research funding. Successful entrepreneurs also supported its development by using their profits to
become venture capitalists for the Silicon Valley. Many professionals were keen to work for a new
venture at substantially reduced remuneration, as it provided a greater scope for entrepreneurship and job
satisfaction compared to established firms. There was also the offer of generous stock options to
employees in order to attract and retain talent in the Valley. Companies such as Netscape, Intel, Cisco,
and Yahoo, have turned many of their employees into millionaires. This is mainly regarded as one of the
foundations for the success of enterprises in Silicon Valley.

As Silicon Valley evolved and grew, it started attracting the best talent from all over the world. It has
the largest concentration of brilliant computer professionals and the best supporting services globally. It
was here that the silicon-based integrated circuit, microprocessor, and microcomputer— at the root of the
information technology revolution—were developed.

America fostered a culture where failures were treated as learning experiences and failure held no
terror (ideally). As such, risk-taking is considered a part-and-parcel of the entrepreneurial spirit and no
stigma is attached to a failed effort. Immigrants have accounted for one-third of the scientific and
engineering workforce in Silicon Valley. Prominent among them are Chinese, Indians, and Singaporeans.
Firms are easily created, successfully developed, and frequently fail.

Questions:

1. What makes Silicon Valley a unique entity?

Shahnaz Husain
I do not sell products. I sell an entire civilization in a jar.

—Shahnaz Husain

Shahnaz Husain, CEO of Shahnaz Husain Group, is a successful Indian woman entrepreneur, best known
for her herbal cosmetics and for her pioneering role and leadership in promoting the herbal care industry
in India. The Shahnaz Husain Group, based in New Delhi, is one of the largest manufacturers of herbal
products in the world, creating and marketing over 350 products for various beauty and health needs
worldwide.

Shahnaz Husain belongs to a royal Muslim family, which originally came from Samarkhand, Pakistan.
Her family members held high positions in the princely kingdoms of Bhopal and Hyderabad in the pre-
Independence days. During her childhood, Shahnaz had the privilege of receiving a modern education,
which groomed her into a well-rounded personality. Shahnaz did her schooling from an Irish convent and
her father Chief Justice N. U. Beg instilled in her a love of poetry and English literature. Married at 15,
she became a mother by the time she was 16.

When Shahnaz’s husband was posted to Tehran, Iran, Shahnaz accompanied him. During her stay in
Tehran, she developed a keen interest in beauty treatments and decided to study cosmetology. To support
the expenses of the cosmetology course, she wrote articles for the Iran Tribune on various topics. While
pursuing her studies, she learned that chemical cosmetics harmed the human system as well as the
environment in the long run. This turned her attention to Ayurveda, which she believed was the best
alternative to chemical cosmetics.

After leaving Tehran, she trained extensively in cosmetic therapy for a period of 10 years from some of
the leading institutes in Paris, London, New York, and Copenhagen. On completion of her training in
1977, she returned to India. In the same year, she set up her first beauty salon at her house in Delhi with
an initial investment of ₹35,000. In contrast to other salons offering chemical cosmetics, she made use of
Ayurvedic products with natural formulations that could be safely used on the human body. By doing
this, she ushered in an era of herbal cosmetics and herbal therapy. On setting up her first salon in New
Delhi, she had put up a banner with her qualifications on it. Within days, she was booked six months
ahead. She says, “I removed the banner and since then I have never advertised. I have let my products
speak for themselves.”

The year 1980 was a milestone in the entrepreneurial journey of Shahnaz. She represented India at the
Festival of India in London, where she was given a counter in the perfumery section of Selfridges. Her
team sold an entire consignment in three days and broke the store’s record for cosmetics sales for the
year. As a result, Shahnaz was allotted a permanent counter in Selfridges and her products entered the
global market. Shahnaz’s custom-made natural products for skin and hair problems quickly became
successful.

During the last three decades, the Shahnaz Husain Group has acquired a tremendous global presence,
having sold in prestigious stores like the Galleries Lafayette (Paris), Bloomingdales (New York), Harrods
and Selfridges (London), the Seibu chain (Japan), La Rinascente (Milan), as well as in other exclusive
outlets and clinics worldwide. The group has salons and outlets in prominent locations all over the world,
which have extended on a unique franchise system.

Shahnaz pioneered the commercialization of Ayurvedic cosmetic products. She identified the market
for Ayurveda as a niche market and introduced the novel concept of “natural care and cure.” With the
professional infrastructure to support the demands of product and publicity, and tremendous goodwill, the
Shahnaz Husain Group has also gone global with its other ventures like the Shahnaz Husain Forever
Beautiful lifestyle shops, beauty training institutes, Ayurvedic health resorts, Ayurvedic centres for
Dhara, Panchakarma, and Kerala massage, and Shahnaz Husain medi-spas. In fact, Shahnaz is now
focusing her attention on developing products that can prove to be beneficial for astronauts. To sell her
products, Shahnaz has always relied on quality, innovation, and word of mouth, rather than on
advertisements.

The Shahnaz Husain product range has over 350 exclusive products in 20 distinct categories for skin,
hair, and body care. Innovative, dynamic, and determined to taste success, Shahnaz Husain has become a
legend in her own lifetime.

Shahnaz Husain operates a chain of training centres that provides education and training in Ayurveda
and cosmetology. Shahnaz Husain International Beauty Academy, based in New Delhi, provides diploma
and post-graduate courses in beauty therapy as well as various short-term tailor-made and need-based
vocational courses.

Questions:
1. Examine the qualities of Shahnaz Husain as an entrepreneur and their contribution to her
success in business.
2. What, in your opinion, was the turning point in Shahnaz Husain’s career as an entrepreneur?
3. What can an aspiring woman entrepreneur learn from this case study on Shahnaz Husain?