Entrepreneurship - Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained

The ever invigorating, full of entrepreneurial enthusiasm Franchise India 2016 kicked off on very positive note through the welcome speech by Ritu Marya, Editor-in-Chief, Franchise India Media. The crisp autumn morning was marked with an exhibition pavilion bustling with budding entrepreneurs and potential franchise buyers and the conference halls buzzing with ideas and knowledge exchange by eminent dignitaries and industry experts. The Start Up summit was inaugurated by none other than ace shooter and Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra. The candid conversation between Ms. Marya and Bindra revealed some of the common threads in sports and entrepreneurships that all the attendees and budding entrepreneurs could relate to.

As the day unfolded, there were various enriching sessions and panel discussions on ‘The Great Entrepreneurial Vision India 2020, where, Parag Shah, Founder Director, Midas India and Bill Redfern, Global CEO, MACJ Buyer’s Choice opined on the significance on developing the ecosystem for building growth focused business and how this vision is being leveraged in their respective organizations. The subsequent session was marked by Dr. A Velumani, PhD, Managing Director, Thyrocare’s awe inspiring speech on his entrepreneurial journey – ‘From a small village to National Stock Exchange.’ The next session on ‘How to launch a fast growing Consumer Company – Opportunity identification and Business planning’ saw dignitaries such as Pau Abello Pellicer, Managing Director, Roca Bathroom Products, Dhruva Chandrie, COO, Shop CJ, Mahendra Surekha, Director, MACJ Buyer’s Choice and Kappulakshmi, Evangelist, Zoho Corporation. The last session before lunch on ‘How to build a brand’ was moderated by Anurag Mathur, Partner – Consumer & Retail Sector, PwC India and eminent panelists – Sanjay Coutinho, CEO, Baskin Robins and Mahesh Mac Srinivasan, Country Head, BNI India discussion about the nuances of building a brand.

Post lunch the conference proceeded with the International Summit which saw some of the eminent franchise industry consultants and franchisors from different part of the world talking about the potential for global brands in Indian market, what global brands look for while selecting a master franchisee and some uber fresh business opportunities for potential master franchisees in India.

Day 1 - Highlights:

“Capital has become secondary in today’s time. Brands need operators who would run the business with the right kind of profitability and margin.” – Ritu Marya, Editor-in-chief, Franchise India Media.

“Dealing with loss is hard and at times dealing with winning is also difficult. At the end of the day, it is all about human excellence and getting better at my performance. Entrepreneurship and sports have a lot in common. There is no guarantee for success. But you have to have the right process, structure, team and monitor the same and keep working on it. ” – Abhinav Bindra

“Every brand should have a story behind it. Besides that the very fundamentals of brand building depend on four factors – visibility, credibility, profitability and purpose.” – Mahesh Mac Srinivasan, Country Head, BNI India

“If a brand wants to grow, the franchisees have to make money. We had to make many alterations keeping in mind the consumption pattern of India in mind for example, we compressed our store size. We created demand in the market, subsidized the real estate cost. And today, 85% of our franchisees are profitable.” Sanjay Coutinho, CEO, Baskin Robins.