Mr. Chirag Panjwani, Manager – Operations, BatchMaster Software Pvt. Ltd., speaks to students at Medicaps Institute of Technology & Management, Indore
When we talk about some of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs, few top-of-the-mind recalls include the likes of Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg etc. Closer home, in India, we seek inspiration from the likes of great JRD Tata and Dhirubhai Ambani, when it comes to entrepreneurship. While all the great names have a fascinating journey associated with them, names of Jobs, Gates and Zuckerberg particularly stand out. Not just because they are contemporary and the most-likely ones the current generation can relate themselves with, but also because they share one thing in common: all three of them decided to turn entrepreneurs while studying in college.
While they went on to redefine success with their respective ventures Apple Inc., Microsoft and Facebook, it doesn’t make it a set formula or template for success for the aspiring entrepreneurs who are still studying in college. What it does do, however, is gives wings to their dreams of starting their own business while still being a student. There are some obvious advantages too, of starting your business while studying, for you have a network of resources at your disposal, actual networking opportunities with alumni, the industry interface, as well as specialized classes to learn from. Talking about networking with alumni, it helps when someone who was one among you a few years back comes to give a pep talk.
The students and aspiring entrepreneurs from Medicaps Institute of Technology & Management, Indore, experienced the similar feeling when Mr. Chirag Panjwani, Manager – Operations, BatchMaster Software Pvt. Ltd., revisited his alma mater on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, to address them on the very topic of ‘Turning Students Into Entrepreneurs’.
A second-generation entrepreneur himself, Mr. Panjwani spoke about his personal experiences gained from a brief-yet-dynamic career so far. Opening his speech on a powerful note, he let the students know how to overcome the perennial dilemma of what to do with their careers. Giving the example of Kavin Bharti Mittal, son of multi-billionaire entrepreneur Sunil Bharti Mittal, he explained how the Mittal scion chose to carve his own path rather than opting for working with Airtel.
Mr. Panjwani then divulged on how it was not easy for him despite being a second-generation entrepreneur. “When I decided to join my father’s business, I had a clear road map in mind as to how I am going to take it to a different level and what different value I was going to bring to the table,” said Mr. Panjwani. “Joining the company at the lowest rung as a trainee gave me a fair idea about the pertinent issues, as I learnt that our products were extraordinary but weren’t reaching to the target audience in the most appropriate manner. That is when I decided to make Digital Marketing, the ‘in-thing’ these days, as my forte and increasing business through the modern form of marketing. I feel proud to share with you all that after meticulous studying, we as a team got the desired results, with our new business shooting up by 300 percent in last one year,” he added.
Mr. Panjwani also shared a few mantras which could come in handy both for budding entrepreneurs as well as people who pursue other occupations. ‘Never outshining the master’, i.e. never inspiring insecurity in the mind of your mentor through your extravagant display of smartness, ‘learning from your enemies’ (read critics), ‘recreating yourself’ etc. stood out among them. He also used powerful audiovisuals to good effect, in order to drive home his points. Use of clippings from popular Bollywood flicks ‘3 Idiots’, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story’ & ‘Guru’ clicked immediately with the audience, who enjoyed the empowering presentation throughout.
Mr. Panjwani then shared a few more tips on making it big in the corporate world as well as in entrepreneurship. He explained through relevant examples how developing effective interpersonal communication skills, a confident personality, general awareness, and ability to think ‘out-of-the-box’ were particularly important to excel in career. In his closing note, Mr. Panjwani emphasized on the need to be satisfied with one’s career, no matter what you do.
