Interview with Ashok Gairola, Managing Partner, Socialert.in

• Tell us something about yourself?

I did my graduation in Physics, Chemistry & Math’s and PG in Computer Application and completed multiple leadership programs from Cornell and other universities. I worked for multinational companies for 20 years in leadership roles in setting up, growth strategy and business transformation in Finance, IT & ITES sector. I have worked for GE Capital, IBM, GENPACT, Zenta(acquired by Accenture) before starting my own venture.

• Tell us something about your business.

 In last one year I have invested in multiple companies and also actively running, mentoring & guiding businesses for growth, currently I am building network of companies which will fit into the future supporting role for Venture fund I am creating towards the end of the year. My current portfolio consists of

www.socialert.in – IT Consulting, Social Media Management & Analytics

www.OMyDocs.com – Important documents stored online

www.valuekojen.com – India Entry and Registration services

www.aslhr.com – HR Solutions, Hiring & Consulting

• What is your philosophy towards work?

 My philosophy is remove the term “work” from my dictionary – Work means doing effort to earn money, Do not do that! Just do things that makes you happy and “Always put your heart in everything you do” and “Do not aim for success, aim for excellence” and success will follow.  You need to create positive effects not just for your own self but for the good of your employees and the company itself…thus, this will make everything and everyone fulfilled and contented while working making positive results afterwards.

•  Whom do you admire as your role model? And why?

Jack welch ex-CEO of General Electric and Steve Jobs ex-CEO of Apple are my role models

• Jack welch is a great leader and has motivated a generation and below two quotes are reflection of why I like him – “The best way to support dreams and stretch is to set apart small ideas with big potential, then give people positive role models and the resources to turn small projects into big businesses” and “I wanted to change the rules of engagement, asking for more— from fewer. I was insisting that we had to have only the best people…If you wanted excellence, at a minimum; the ambience had to reflect excellence”
• Steve Jobs was always a hippie from heart and attitude; I admire him for being master of simplification, class and excellence in creating products and design perfect for customer needs. He has faith in what he was doing and implemented without fear of failure

•  Name 3 qualities of prime importance that a businessman should possess.

 Businessman needs to have multiple qualities but three I will highlight here are

• Persistence – A good business person must be persistent. When there are questions to be answered that can help her business grow, the entrepreneur pursues those answers until she finds them. If a decision-maker denies a business person an opportunity, then that business person must continue to pursue that opportunity until all possible decision-makers are approached.
• Independence – A successful entrepreneur must be able to rely on herself to get the job done when it becomes apparent that no one else can help. You’ll encounter situations where you have a deadline and you’ll need to do something completely on your own to meet that deadline. You must learn to manage and run your company on your own to sustain success in the business world.
• Confidence – A businessman may have to make quick decisions each day that can affect the future of his company and his career, so self-confidence is important. Spend time developing your knowledge and understanding of your industry so you have a basis for confidence. Delivering decisions with conviction also helps your employees, customers and business partners have faith in your choices.

• According to you, what are the challenges for Entrepreneurship today?

The only challenge I have come across repeatedly is crunch of good resources for start-up companies – people are so comfortable working for MNCs and big companies that they are not willing to risk career for start-ups or less paying job which are more satisfying in nature but with huge potential payout and profit sharing opportunities.

• Can Entrepreneurship be taught in B-Schools/Management Institutes/Colleges?

I firmly believe everything can be taught in institutes and colleges but success should be measured on execution – how many of us become engineers after doing B-Tech? Ultimately it is individual’s background, choice, vision and risk appetite which defines if you can be an entrepreneur or not.

• Is the Name of the Institute from where a student pursues his/her Graduation/Post Graduation or other courses important while setting up your business?

No – What matters is your passion towards the business you are going to setup

• Do you think today’s economy is conducive for a new venture to start upon?

Entrepreneurship is about finding opportunities in different economic situations and you always need to align your “BIG IDEA” around the current market conditions, if you start waiting for right economy you will wait forever.

• “Earning more & more is the motive behind any business.” Is it justifiable?

For me yes – otherwise I would have preferred to live in a communist country, does anyone know a pure communist country today? What is important is how you use the money earned and can share for important social cause.

•  Your feedback for BMS.co.in?

BMS has created a niche for itself in the market with very well managed website and great information and learning platform for students…all the best.