Definitely been long since I wrote in! And though still not in the writer’s mood as of now, part of my application for Jagriti Yatra is something that gives me a good starting point to validate my obsession with the word “entrepreneur” – it appears so many times there! It has started becoming a part of me now. Read on, probably you’ll start knowing why this occurrence in my life just doesn’t seem to fade ! ;)

Do you have role model/models in your life? (Mention not more than 2) Why do you admire her/him/them?

Not actually any role model, but any successful entrepreneur has been a huge influence in my life – be it Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs or probably the local students’ group founder who has started out to make a difference in his own might. What makes me in awe of them is the zeal & the ideas and the creativity they are brimming with. And the best part – they don’t once stop from doing things in the direction of their dreams or their goals ! Imagine – the combined potential of all these awesome people if put together – it would be a magical land of everything-that-you-think-is-possible ! Fortunately these people have left or leaving a legacy for people to follow and be able to replicate every bit of their ideas to actually make huge impacts all over the world. A true leader in any case is the one who creates hundreds more – that is what these thought leaders have done – created a generation of people who now believe that nothing’s impossible, the world is hugely connected to enable you to make differences anywhere, in your best potential & that there’s power in simplicity !

Would you like to be a Social or Business Entrepreneur? Why?

In the times to come the line between a Social Entrepreneur & a Business Entrepreneur would definitely fade. I say this because by the basic definition of an entrepreneur, only working & earning money is never the desired end-result. Until we are able to impact an appreciable part of the world around us we have not done justice to our being entrepreneurs. I have been an advocate for entrepreneurship for a significant part of my life now & would definitely be running a business 5 years down the line – creating more entrepreneurs to multiply the passion of bringing change.

Which do you think is the single biggest challenge India/your community (choose any one) will face in the next decade? How would you address this challenge?

We are already working on the education sector in India & hope to have a good number of literates in the country by the next decade, but what we still don’t have in place is a platform for them to utilize their education to have the essentials of living – food to eat, a roof to live under & clothes to wear. While there are many Indians still below the poverty line & education seems the most likely solution to bring them above the poverty line and make them a part of the skilled work force of the country, there seems to be a lack of the entrepreneur culture in India – something which wholeheartedly supports the growth of an entrepreneur, growth of jobs. Because frankly it is a vicious cycle – no work, no money, no interest in educating the children, no skilled manpower. Our next big challenge is unmistakably to utilize the potential of our young generation to the optimum, to generate the country’s GDP through the crores of educated individuals. And what better way than promoting entrepreneurship & enabling a huge part of this workforce to self-sustain the increasing challenges given by the world at large.

Would be happy to know what you think about entrepreneurship & the culture in the country. :)