Name: Sudeep G. Samanta & Shailesh B. Lad
Company: Photodilse.com
Facebook/Twitter Id: https://www.facebook.com/Photodilse
https://twitter.com/photodilse
Sudeep Samanta:
Shailesh Lad:
- Tell us something about yourself?
About the founders:
Photodilse is co-owned and maintained by Sudeep Samanta and Shailesh Lad, two friends, classmates and now business partners. Both of them have been working on several projects together ever since their days at A.E.S. High School in Mumbai, however the major breakthrough came with the inception of s2chem.com while pursuing their Bachelor’s Degree from the Wilson College, Mumbai. S2chem was just an attempt to create a chemistry portal to discuss current issues from the world of chemistry. The concept clicked and provided both of them with the much needed confidence to create something even bigger and the founding stone of Photodilse.com was laid.
After a few hiccups Photodilse went on the web on 25th May, 2013 and there hasn’t been any looking back since then.
- Tell us something about your business.
Photodilse is a Mumbai based international web based photo sharing community which offers its viewers with photoart of some of the best photographers from all around the globe.
Our prime focus is to share the work of amateur and upcoming photographers with several others like them from various parts of the world and in our view, doing so will help them learn and develop their art even more.
Also Photodilse houses a range of exclusive interviews with more than 100 photoartists from various countries such as India, Indonesia, U.S.A, Germany, Israel, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, U.A.E., South Africa, Portugal, Russia, Thailand and France.
Photodilse since its inception has been able to publish photographs of more than 100 photoartists from all over the globe. Our club of photoartists’ include from amateurs to those who are renowned all over the world for their work. Some of the elite photographers on Photodilse are Mr. Sudhir Shivram (Wildlife), Mr. Shikhei Goh (Macro), Mr. Gian Mark Quidasol (Fashion), Mr. Rohan Reilly (Monochrome), Mr. Caras Ionut (Fine Art), Ms. Elena Kallis (Underwater) and many more.
Photodilse has amassed over 5,000 photographs, 100,000 visitors, and 750,000 page views in just over 5 months since its inception.
Apart from the figures, the fact that we are creating a club of photographers is what gives us utmost pleasure. A community where a German photographer is mentoring and guiding a Delhi based amateur artist and an artist from Israel is sharing his work and gaining fans and followers from India and Indonesia.
- What is your philosophy towards work?
Work is equivalent to dedication, hard work and most importantly passion. Working is not just about making big bucks in life, it is all about how much devotion one can put in while performing the same task each and every day. To put the best foot forward on every given occasion it is quintessential that one is driven by his or her passion and not merely motivation.
- Whom do you admire as your role model? And why?
There haven’t been any role models or mentors till this point but yes several established firms in the same field have been a source for learning and establishing ourselves in this arena that is being ruled by several national and international giants.
- “Management is core to every individual, organization & society.” Give your views on it.
Yes, indeed management is a pillar of every organization, be it a multinational company or a small start-up like ours. To manage individuals around you and to extract the best out of them is an essential role that a leader has to perform. Entrusting the ‘right’ person with the ‘right’ job is a quality that one learns with experience.
- Name 3 qualities of prime importance that a businessman should possess.
1. Creativity,
2. Adapting to changes (Market conditions, consumer demand & marketing strategy) and
3. most importantly SELF-BELIEF.
- According to you, what are the challenges for Entrepreneurship today?
Challenges are a part of every field and entrepreneurship is no exception. Youngsters need to be trained and motivated to take risks and become entrepreneurs rather than being told to complete their degrees and ‘hunt’ for jobs. Students especially should be encouraged to take up a ‘business’ as their profession and this is only possible when the educational institutions and the government is allowing the students to devote a part of their study time in developing newer ideas and business plans.
In the above context I would like to bring into light the initiative by Government of Kerala and Top Executives (The Startup Village) which allows students with mentorship, infrastructure to work in and the much needed investment. If similar platforms and provided to students from all over India, it won’t be too long before the problem of unemployment is solved by ‘self-employment’.
- Can Entrepreneurship be taught in B-Schools/Management Institutes/Colleges?
Well, I firmly believe that no school, university or institute can teach you entrepreneurship. People from humble educational backgrounds have made it big in life without even knowing how a management textbook looks like. The likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have been college drop-outs and still reached the place where they are today.
Yes, B-schools and management degrees can help you learn the basic ways and manners in which one should go about a business but application of that knowledge in a practical situation is dependent completely on the skills of the individual.
- 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?
Not at all!
After all you are the one who will run your business and not the principal of the B-school you graduated from. Even if one graduates from the best institute in the world but cannot cope up with the real life challenges of building up a business it would be pointless, right?
- Do you think today’s economy is conducive for a new venture to start upon?
I would ask why not? Yes, the economy is in a state of slowdown but that also leaves us with a lot of free talent around us. People- experienced individual and fresher’s are in need of employment and if one can utilize the talent of such individuals, we can harness a lot of manpower at the cost of almost nothing.
- “Earning more & more is the motive behind any business.” Is it justifiable?
No it is not. Earning and earning big is the ultimate goal of every entrepreneur but it can’t be the sole motive behind a business. Enjoying the success, building up your team that comes along as you spread your wings is very important.
The journey matters much more than the destination.
- Share with us the most enjoyable moment you had experienced on work.
There have been a lot of moments in the short journey so far but some have been really special. Being appreciated for the hard work that we have put in is really a moment worth enjoying. Every e-mail or message that brings with it a word of appreciation for the website is special moment for us.
From being ordinary college students to being called International Photoartist manger is another moment of pride and happiness.
- Your feedback for BMS.co.in?
BMS.co.in is a great initiative for sharing knowledge and real life experiences of entrepreneurs. We believe it will definitely help provide youngsters to learn and grow as they march towards becoming management graduates.
COMPANY PROFILE
History- Photodilse is only a six month old enterprise which has amassed photoart of more than a 100 national and international photoartists.
Vision/Mission- To build a platform for young, upcoming photographers to share their work at the highest level and learn from some of the best in the business.
Products & Service- Photoart from around the world, personal interviews with world-class photographers, dedicated photography articles and tutorials.
Marketing Strategy- Use of social networking websites to spread the word about our startup is the sole “marketing strategy” till now.
Existing Market Presence- One of the top Indian Photoblog.
Future Plans- We aim to transform Photodilse into a stock photo website in the years to come. Launching our own photography magazine is the first step in that direction and our team is currently working on the prospects.
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