Month: January 2010

A VC who nurtures entrepreneurs

Prasad AjinkyaLeave a comment

Just read this on the Wall Street journal, that there is a venture fund by the name of Pacific Lake Partners who actively seek out young entrepreneurs, give them enough money to scout around for the right organization to takeover. Then help them acquire that organization for a healthy return.

You can read the rest of the article here. An excerpt –

Pacific Lake will provide between $300,000 and $500,000 to entrepreneurs to cover living and travel expenses for two years while they search for a business opportunity – generally an established business with revenue between $10 million and $30 million. There’s no sector focus; it all depends on the opportunity the entrepreneur finds.

It feels good to know that there is a venture fund who values someone who can not only boot strap an organization but take on an already running organization and turn it around. This is the stuff of what legends are made up of. All of the awe-inspiring case studies that we used read in our b-schools have suddenly come real. I wonder if any VC or angel investor follows a similar policy in India. As a developing economy, we need increasing number of such folks.

JK Rowling at HBS

Prasad Ajinkya4 Comments

I was unaware of the fact that JK Rowling (the author of the very popular Harry Potter series) holds an honorary degree from the Harvard Business School. So it came as a surprise when I chanced upon her Commencement speech at the HBS Alumni meet.

An excerpt –

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

JK Rowling talks about how she looked at her failures to give her strength. To give her the courage to follow the road less trodden. Failure takes away all the unnecessary things, giving the individual focus and clarity. No wonder they say that failures are the pillars of success.

A parting note (quoting JK Rowling who was quoting Seneca)  –

As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.

I think everyone who is aspiring to make it big should go through that speech. Success is not something that happens overnight, and without a certain clarity of purpose, it is very hard to succeed.

3 idiots & i-become

Prasad Ajinkya11 Comments

3-diots I read Chetan Bhagat’s novel, enjoyed it … but sadly the book lacked a certain message. It’s either that or it’s been 3 years and I dont remember the book very well. 3 idiots is a stark contrast.

The basic plot is the same, but once you go in the details, both the stories are distinctly different.

One of the central themes of the movie is about following one’s passion. To aim for excellence and not for ability. The scene where Aamir Khan talks about being well educated and not well trained is a must see. I can really identify with that, since its very much related to a vision that I am currently working on.

This is i-become.

i-become is about realizing your career not as a place just to earn money, but as a place for following one’s passion by utilizing one’s full potential. The way Madhavan decides to follow his passion for Wildlife photography, so should each one of us aim for our aspirations. Without a purpose, a goal, an aspiration … life is nothing but a empty shell.

What do you think?