Entrepreneurs are no less creative than artists, says writer and journalist Shobha Warrier. Like artists, they too begin from an idea, which is then transformed into something much bigger that contributes to the lives of many others.
It is her fascination with the creativity and drive of entrepreneurs that inspired Ms. Warrier to write her latest book Dreamchasers - Entrepreneurs from the South of the Vindhyas , which chronicles the journeys of 28 entrepreneurs from the southern States of the country.
This includes entrepreneurs from across different generations — the ‘Trendsetters’ of the 1970s and ’80s who set up their own enterprises despite a rather unfavourable social and economic environment, the entrepreneurs of ‘the next wave,’ which lasted from the late 1990s up to 2010, and the new generation, which includes recent college graduates.
Ms. Warrier has chosen to recount the stories of those who strayed off the beaten track to do good to society, such as A.G. Padmanabhan whose start-up collects untouched food waste, and Tibin Parakal, a networking professional who took up organic farming.
Many of them overcame the confines of their underprivileged backgrounds. Sarath Babu of FoodKing was raised by a mother who sold idlis for a living, and P.C. Mustafa, who had failed the 6th standard but went on to set up ID Fresh, a company that sells fresh idli and dosa batter.
All these entrepreneurs think in remarkably similar ways, she says. All had a simple idea for making a positive impact, which they executed in innovative ways.
For example, just like how Dilip Kapur of Hidesign started designing leather bags to promote the environment-friendly vegetable-tanned leather back in 1978, last year, 25-year-old Siddharth Mohan Nair set up the Khadi denim store Desitude to popularise Khadi among the youth and thereby help villagers who produce the material. Their stories show that entrepreneurship is a trial-and-error process that takes much effort before bearing fruit. Yet, none of them gave up, determined to see their dreams come true.
It is hoped that these tales will inspire as well as educate the next crop of entrepreneurs, she says.
