coverstory - raheja developers bector’s food specialties ltd sanjiv bajaj, managing director,...

20 | Small Medium Entrepreneur | November 2012 November 2012 | Small Medium Entrepreneur | 21

Coverstory

They are young, they are vibrant, and they form a new set of entrepreneurs who know how to build an enterprise. They walk on the path laid for them in the form of a

company but turning it into an enterprise has been their motto. In this issue, we aim to find out this new set of entrepreneurs who are ready to write a new chapter by building a great enterprise in their respective sectors.

According to the Family Business Survey (FBS) 2012 conducted by PwC, last year, 74 per cent of the family businesses in India have witnessed growth in sales figures compared to the global average of 65 per cent.

Only eight per cent of the family businesses in India saw a reduction in sales in the last year compared to 19 per cent globally.

To continually grow, Indian family businesses need to innovate and also need to bring in professionalism in the company. The second generation entrepreneurs are h upgraded skills with an access to technology and capital. We find out what role the second generation entrepreneurs play in the growth of their family businesses.

Rituraj Sinha, Group Chief Operating Officer, SIS (India)

Nayan Raheja, Executive Director, Raheja Developers

Deepinder Singh Bedi, Executive Director, Tulip Telecom Ltd

Gaurav Dua, Executive Director, Relaxo Footwear

Dr Anuj Saxena, Managing Director, Elder Health Care Ltd

Rajeev Kapur, MD, Steelbird

Akshay Bector, Managing Director, Mrs Bector’s Food Specialties Ltd

Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing

Director, Bajaj Capital

The

EnTrEprEnEursGennext

Coverstory 2nD GEnERATIOn EnTREPREnEuRS

puNitA SABhARwAl

November 2012 | Small Medium Entrepreneur | 23

Coverstory nAyAn RAHEjA

DRAwiNG A RoADmAp to SucceSS

Nayan Raheja, Executive Director, Raheja Developers

The young Raheja charms you not

only with his wonderful designs

and projects of developing the

tallest building in India, but also with

his vocal chords singing his own creations. This

next-generation successor is all set

to bring the best of technology and

design, singing his way to success.


Coverstory nAyAn RAHEjA

when you are young and passionate, full of ideas and energy, you take your dreams to

reality.

Passion or workReal estate is from where I get my bread and butter. Wildlife and photography satiate my heart, while music is my passion. By profession, I am an architect. I remember, I wanted to be a scientist first and then a musician. I sing, I write and I am a composer too. I used to play the rock guitar and perform in my school and college. This is still continuing, I am performing every now and then in different concerts and shows. Unfortunately, I do not get much time for all this. My mantra in life is to keep working all the time because I cannot do anything better than this. The launch of my music album had to take a back seat because there were a lot of other things in business I was surrounded with.

Apart from making great buildings and music, I love photography. I am a wildlife photographer. We have our own production house that produces films, documentaries and audio visual presentations on subjects ranging from wildlife, environment to socially relevant subjects. We have produced “Wilderness Days” that gets aired every week on DD National and International, it is an education series that teaches about wildlife and its conservation. Nevertheless, my passion for music is prominent among all. I am in the process of launching my own music album for which half of the songs has already been recorded. I am planning its releasing in next three months.

My day starts with running. I keep participating in different marathons. This helps me stay focused at my work and as well as in daily commitments.

Work takes priority I joined the business in 2006. Being born in a family engaged in

construction business, I was quite familiar with construction sites, buildings and re-engineering since my childhood. I was 23 when I joined the business. I started working in the fourth year of my college when I was studying architecture from the School of Planning and Architecture.

From the very beginning, I had knack for art and designing. My school used to send me for various art competitions and I used to win there. Architecture was the most obvious choice for me since my early days. Moreover, it has also to do with my upbringing since I had seen my father making marvelous

buildings. I am trying to pursue the vision of developing architectural marvels in India. Thus, I am more at the design and business side of the same.

My learningMy first designation was that of an architect. Initially, we did not have full-fledged architectural department. When I joined business in 2006, straight out of college, I initiated building this department. I called a lot of people from my college, got them on board and pulled the team together. But just by getting the post of an architect does not make one an architect. In fact one needs to work and understand at the ground level too. A design is just a small drop in the ocean because there are plenty of other things that need to be taken care of as well. I have been on sites to see what happens at the lowest level. I have worked from top to bottom to gain experience that in

turn has carved me to represent and take decisions. Presently, I have a team of 30-35 architects who report to me. A lot of interactions happen while taking the project to the next level. Being an architect, you have to work with construction, technology and procurement departments. Thus, the role is much bigger than just to draw, you have to make it a reality; you have to deliver it to the client.

Open to new ideas If I have made money for the company, I have certainly taken decisions to get and implement new ideas and concepts. Risk taking

is the part of any business. There have been instances in life when things do not go as expected. I remember one such instance when I had designed a college project named Raisina on a piece of land in Gurgaon. It was one of the craziest designs I had created. Being a very passionate architect, I thought I would create a design out of the world, extremely complex to execute. I went to my father, showed him the design and he too liked it. By that time, we had already tied up with TATAs and my design came into reality. Today, that project is called Tata Raheja Raisina. My work in the original design showcased Indian traditional colonial architecture. When the tie-up happened, the decision was made to change the design into something simpler and international. Initially,

373 5,000DIRECT InDIRECT

I did not agree to this change, but later realised that it was a good decision for us.

There have been occasions and decisions when I might have had not completely agreed with my father or vice versa. But then different perspectives help in getting 360 degree views and are always better.

Never give upFor Revanta, the tallest building that we are building in Gurgaon, I remember many years back I shared the same idea with my father but I was asked to hold on to the idea. After three years or so, he himself came with this thought of building the tallest building in Gurgaon. We now share the same vision and are at our best to take this company to the next level.

Initially, when I joined, I was new to the organisation, I was learning but slowly and gradually when things started changing as per my opinion, people realised my calibre as an entrepreneur. I think respect is earned; you have to work hard for that. I believe in leading by example.

All financial information goes through me. There were things and processes that I wanted to change and things have changed. The co mpany has grown a lot in the last seven to eight years. But it has to do more with the economy. The demand is booming. The company has grown in terms of manpower, work, financial figures etc. we have been growing year on year. Today, we deliver projects better, faster and offer value for money.

My achievementsLast week, I was on a site visit at one of my project that I designed, and I myself selected the products to be used

in that. I can challenge that it is one of the best quality projects that exist in India today. My

biggest achievement was to see that project taking shape as I envisioned. It is a small project within our existing projects, which is called Vedaanta Floors.

Today, we are making products better in terms of quality. We are deploying technology to build faster. We are designing better products by working with world’s best companies and by incorporating best practices. We are working on ERP (enterprise resource planning) making it a paperless, automated office.

We are constructing some of the tallest buildings in India like Revanta and Oma. The first slum rehabilitation project in north India is being built by us. We are building a 45-storey building, which is going to be the tallest in Delhi. We are now expanding pan India. But the focus will remain in Delhi and surrounding areas.

EMPLOyEES

If I have made money for the company, I have certainly taken decisions to get and implement

new ideas and concepts. Risk taking is the part of any business.”

SiNGiNG AND photoGRAphy

OTHER InTERESTS:



SiS Group Revenues (Rs/mn)2003-04 3092004-05 4262005-06 6062006-07 9672007-08 1,4662008-09 8,7342009-10 14,6072010-11 18,9292011-12 24,644


Coverstory RITuRAj SInHA

change of Guard

ten years back, when I just finished my studies from Leeds Business School, I started working with Halifax Bank in UK. I realised

that it would be a very long journey to attain senior position in the investment banking circuit where you could hardly make a difference. Around the same time, security industry was changing very rapidly. The 9/11 incident was happened around the same time. The consciousness about security went up manifold. I saw the opportunity and decided to join my father’s business. I joined the business on 7th July 2002.

In 2003, when my father stepped back from the day-to-day operations and moved up to the board level, he brought in a whole set of professionals, including me, in the group management committee. When we got together, we re-engineered the entire business, how we sell, how we train manpower, from where we recruit etc. It was like putting the house in order. In 2005, we decided to expand our presence in India by opening more branches. We also thought of becoming a complete security solution provider company from a guarding company.

When I joined the company, we had 14 branches. By the end of 2008, we were close to 50 branches. On the other side, we opened our cash management business, and electronic security business. In 2008, we were a Rs 150-crore company. We were growing at the rate of 50 per cent per year. In the same year, we decided to look at avenues beyond the obvious. We decided to look

at allied services, i.e. products and services that were similar to security. So, facility management was an obvious diversification. Simultaneously, we also decided to expand our operations beyond India.

In 2008, we acquired Chubb Australia, which was the largest manpower security company in Australia. It was a great achievement because we acquired a company that was seven times our size in terms of revenue. However, in terms of operations, we had 30,000 guards and they

had only 5000-6000 guards. In the same year, we launched our collaboration with Service Masters, which is the world’s largest facility management company based out of US. Services Masters and SIS tied up to launch facility management venture in India. That rolled out in 2009. We also went into cash management in a big way. Then, we ventured into pest control with Terminex, which is the world’s largest pest control company.

Traditionally, security business is a very hands-on business. So, we brought in a lot of technology into the business. All of our business operations like accounting, people management, cash flow are now run on an ERP platform that was created in-house. We have PE investors of the class of De Shaw, which is one of the largest hedge funds in the

world. They invested in our firm in 2008. With their exit, we have a new investor on board. Moreover, we will also be looking at an IPO very soon.

Over the past 10 years, my role has evolved greatly in the sense that when I joined the business, it was a Rs 25-crore company. As on 31st March 2012, our group has closed the balance sheet at Rs 2449 crore. From one company we have a portfolio of eight companies. We are operating 103 branches across India. In terms of businesses, we went from guarding to multiple

security businesses. We have SIS in India and MSS Security in Australia. Moreover, we have Tech SIS that is the electronic security wing of SIS Group. We have SIS CNI that is a consultancy business. With consultancy, we do all due diligence and investigation works. We set up a security training business also.

According to me, the first generation entrepreneur has to put a lot of efforts to convert his ideas into reality. But I am fortunate that I got a platform. As an entrepreneur, my goal was to set a vision as to what the company could be in the coming years and make other people follow that vision. I learnt that people make the difference. You are only as good as your team is. I am happy as I have been able to contribute in a significant way.

I learnt that people make the difference. You are only as good as your team is.”


Deepinder Singh Bedi, Executive Director, Tulip Telecom Ltd

I earned my bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from Nagpur University as well as master’s degree in science

(MS) in Information Systems and MBA from Boston University. I joined the company in 2000 as a management trainee and have been associated with the company since then. Prior to joining the company, I started a small showroom in South Extension, Delhi, where we were reselling PCs. It was like a half-hearted exercise, so that did not continue for long. I also worked in different roles for EMC Corporation and did projects for State Street Bank in the US.

When I finished schooling, my father was in the army. As a child, I was always interested in the technology side of the business. He started the business then. Earlier, he was doing a lot of computerisation work in the army.

One day, my father told me to start as a trainee and if I kept getting more profits than my manager, I would keep getting promotions. As I kept getting more business, I kept getting growth in the organisation.

In 2000, my first goal was to bring back customers that we had lost in the beginning. A lot of my customers did not even know that my father was the owner of the company. I realised that customers did not respect you because your family owned the company but for your skills.

After this, I was a part of the new initiatives that the company took for its expansion. In terms of pure network integration player, we are moving towards data connectivity space.

I was appointed as the Executive Director of Tulip in 2005, and since then, I am serving the same post.

Initially, I was only handling

Ten years ago, I joined the business as an executive. Earlier, I was working in the manufacturing

department, and then in IT department, and after this, I purposely got into marketing and then into sales and distribution.

When I joined the business, we decided to get into new categories. We have to change the image from hawai to fashion footwear.

Flite was my brainchild. Now, we have started getting the super premium range in India and are competing with all international brands. Earlier, we were a north Indian company and to get into east, west and south was difficult.

Deepinder Singh Bedi, executive Director, tulip telecom ltd Gaurav Dua, executive Director, Relaxo Footwear

Coverstory CoverstoryDEEPInDER SInGH BEDI GAuRAv DuA

connecting the dots Following father’s footstepsimplementation of the strategy and search for new geographies for expansion.

We entered into international market, but it was not successful given the overall economic scenario. But we learned a lot. The international expansion initiative was also taken by me.

My father advised me that one should be very conscious about profitability; that was why, our individual and professional growth from that day was also based on profitability. Revenue was really not important it was cash and profits that were important at the end of the day. That is what defines our core value even today. We want to make sure that our customers remain happy. If you do not take care of your customers somebody else will. In the long term, customer decides the strategy in place. I think that is one key message given by my father.

My father is leading the business, and I am assisting him. He has been able to build a very strong business over the last 20 years. Once the base is set, it is slightly easier to grow the business. After reaching a certain level, you can diversify into other businesses. There is another company that I have started around social media communities. There are some business ideas that I want to put into practice in the long run.

Earlier, various departments of our organisation were running in an old manner, i.e. not using technology. But, now there is a lot of automation in what we do.

We are looking at a bigger portfolio. So we are moving from pure play connectivity to all services

related to Information and Communications Technology.

Our aim is to be a one billion dollar company in the next two years. Rs 870 cr

PRESEnT TuRnOvER

Rs 2,700 cr5,000

PRESEnT TuRnOvER

EMPLOyEES

People in south did not know the Relaxo brand. First of all, we started having distributors, and then we started doing the placements. It took us three years to be into new markets. We never wrote as “From the House of Relaxo”, as we wanted it to be looked as a separate company. Our TG was different. We got the products styled from China and Taiwan.

I faced my own set of challenges, such as people did not like working under younger generation and with newer models. You had to explain them why we should do this, why we should enter into new areas. It is a team management, you have to keep telling people to shift focus from one category to different

categories. My father and other senior team

members also did not want to get stuck to one category. Everybody wanted to grow but in a systematic way. Thus, we launched the first sparx footwear brand in Bombay. Then, we launched it in Bangalore and Hyderabad. We thought instead of targeting all India at one go why not to target single town first and then move to other cities.

Earlier, the business was less complex, we were having less than 2000 people, and now, we are having 10,000 people. There are more Chinese goods coming to India nowadays. Earlier, the government restrictions were there. But now, the competition is really high. To be in competition, you need innovation, new designs, proper strategy and proper placement.

It knew that I had to join my family business to make it grow. There is a lot of scope in the footwear market. Thirty per cent of the Indian population need footwear. In a country like India, last year, we made 10 crore slippers for 120 crore Indian population. The size of the Indian market is huge. India needs 500 crore slippers, and we have just touched 25 per cent, so there is a huge opportunity.

If you have a readymade platform, you can grow. It was easy for me as I got the platform. There is too much of competition to start from zero. These days, there are so many established brands, earlier there was hardly any brand.

We have around 160 shops across India. We aim to double it up and make it 300 shops. They are all company-managed stores. My younger brother is taking care of the production, the elder one is taking care of financial and legal matters.

Gaurav Dua, Executive Director, Relaxo Footwear

marketing operations. Then, I moved to certain regions where our business was just starting up. We were predominantly a north-focused company. Currently, I am involved in the company’s various operations like fund raising, overall sales and marketing, overall


I did not work anywhere before joining my family business. In fact, as soon as I graduated from Medical

College, I joined my father’s business in February 1991. It has been an exciting 21-year journey since I joined the business.

My involvement with Elder started with pharma business. In 2004, we commenced our Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) arm under Elder Health Care Ltd. Entering the FMCG business was a risk at that time owing to its competitive market that needed huge spending.

Elder Health Care Ltd has major international collaborations with companies from many countries like the US, UK, Germany, Italy, Japan and Greece. It has all India marketing and distribution operation with around three manufacturing units at Nerul (New Bombay), Poanta Sahib and Patalganga.

Elder Health Care Ltd is a part of more than Rs 1,300 crore Elder Pharma Ltd that was incorporated in 1987 and is one of the leading pharma companies in India.

My father still advises me and my siblings on every issue, and I am more than happy to take his advice as it only helps me to grow both as a professional and as an individual.

I am still trying to follow my father’s footsteps. It is easier said than done, and it will be a long way before I can emulate his legacy.

Coverstory Dr ANuJ SAXeNA

maintaining health with wealthDr Anuj Saxena, managing Director, elder health care ltd

Rs 1,300 crPRESEnT TuRnOvER

Dr Anuj Saxena, Managing Director, Elder Health Care Ltd

I joined my family business in my early 20s. It was like a job for me, as I have gone through stringent

parameters, which were there for other employees as a management trainee, and over the years, I worked hard to get the post of managing director.

During my journey, I have introduced revolutionary products according to market requirements. We were the first one in the helmet industry who raised their voice for a complete ban on spurious products.

The journey was full of ups and downs. Steelbird happened to be the pioneer of branded helmets in India. Hence, the biggest challenge was to

lead the industry as Indian helmet industry was scattered, technology was not available in India, raw material issues and the absence of stringent laws were also there. To convince people to go for branded helmet is still a big challenge as people tend to compromise with their safety.

At the age of 35, I am confidently running this venture. I take the decisions independently, but of course, I always consult my father for the same. I plan to open more number of retail shoppe across India. Recently, we have entered into a strategic tie-up with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

Rajeev Kapur, mD, Steelbird

Coverstory RAjEEv kAPuR

Securing lives, making success

Rajeev Kapur, MD, Steelbird


My father never asked me to join the family business. When I was a kid, he used to bring

me to his office and asked me to solve a problem like an ad or a newsletter. He always maintained a very positive image about the business at home. So, all business challenges I realised only after joining the business.

When I joined, I was given a decent amount of training, and it was made clear that I had to keep my people happy. First thing I learned after joining the business was that when you argue with people you would be wrong. My father told me that being his child would not be an advantage for me.

I was given a challenge to develop myself using the given platform. In the first few years, I was working independently so it helped me define my own management style. I learnt a lot from my mistakes.

I got my first cabin after five years of working, as earlier I was made to sit outside with everybody else. I joined the business in 1995. After my MBA, I worked for six months for another company. While working there, I realised it was better to put my energy into my family business.

When I joined, we were a direct to client institution. We had started a new business called Bajaj Capital Advisors Network, which was to empower other financial planners using our skills, knowledge and scale to be able to do business. So, we started selling to third parties leveraging the skills of other professionals or other entrepreneurs using their systems to distribute our products. In the first four years, I worked on that. I was lucky that the department I joined started doing very well. I gained the confidence of the

people. That certainly built a lot of respect for me in the company.

When I joined, we had 18 offices with 200 people. Today, we have 200 offices with 4,000 people.

I looked after the relationship management and took the league in a different direction in terms of institutions we were representing. At that time, business was done in an unstructured manner. So, I started making presentations and putting in systems and processes in delivery and reporting. So, I was able to portray Bajaj Capital as a much more professional organisation. I was always very IT oriented. So, I played a role in improving the technology functions of the organisation. Today, Bajaj Capital is rated as a good institution in terms of the technology it offers.

I understood that knowing your clients is going to make a difference in the future. We researched the product before calling the customers. I started insurance into the company understanding the product, what is required in life insurance and general insurance.

I also look after education, training and real estate part of the business. Most of the things I am doing are quite new; most of them were launched by me. Sixty per cent of my time is consumed by the things that were totally developed by me. The things, which were there as a part of the legacy business, consume 40 per cent of my time.

Coverstory AkSHAy BECTOR

I was 25 when I joined my family business. I preferred to get into manufacturing. I joined the business after my studies and put up my own factory. As I was from a business family,

the entrepreneurial spirit was there in me. I never considered taking up a job.

We started an ice-cream plant. My mother had already set high standards. My uncle told me that only a small could become big. So anything small but innovative has the power to become big. The business practically was started by me. My mother did in terms of taking it to a hobby stage. I started my career by setting up a bread plant in 1989. Thereafter, the process continued, and my brother also joined in.

I remember the sheer excitement that I saw in customers’ eyes when they were served with the quality product, and this encouraged me to develop this business further. At that time, Indian economy was gradually becoming an open economy, and we were setting new standards in the market as far as food products were concerned.

I started the liquid condiments business and formed other joint ventures. We were already into bread business when I joined the business. I had to professionalise it and make it a heavy mechanised unit. Thereafter, we set up a biscuit

unit. Then, McDonald’s happened in 1996, and after that, there were a couple of more joint ventures for various products and supplies.

I am happy the way I have been able to lead the business so far. I am satisfied that I have been able to take it up to the path of innovation. I am happy that we have started vegetarian mayonnaise in India. It was a big starting point. After this, we started developing curries. The products developed by us are now being used by restaurant chains in many parts of India and some countries abroad.

Everything, which my mother started, is still being continued. We are into breads, biscuits and sauces businesses and all of them are growing at about 30 per cent. I have been able to contribute because the basics were already set by my mother. What I brought to the table was a lot of reengineering.

The challenge was in terms of raising the money. There was grit involved. If you do something new and succeed, you can create much more value than the earlier generation.

A successful recipeAkshay Bector, managing Director, mrs Bector’s Food Specialties ltd

Sanjiv Bajaj, managing Director, Bajaj capital

Coverstory SAnjIv BAjAj

capitalising on the legacy

Rs 700cr

4,000EMPLOyEES

PRESEnT TuRnOvER

Akshay Bector, Managing Director, Mrs Bector’s Food Specialties Ltd

Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Capital

coverstory - raheja developers bector’s food specialties ltd sanjiv bajaj, managing director,...

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