Prof. Rosie Murray

Case1.

Sanjeev Bikhchandani traces his journey from dreamer to achiever

A graduate of Economics (Hons) from St. Stephens College, Delhi University and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad, Bikhchandani's favourite college moments were not inside busy classrooms but on the lawns doing nothing. In 1990 he quit his comfortable marketing job at GlaxoSmithKline and went on to set up his own company.

His motivation? A passion for entrepreneurship and running his own business. Ten years after he launched his company, Naukri.com became the first Internet firm to be listed on the Indian Stock Exchange. From earning no salary for over six years, to running a Rs.3,000 crore company-Bikhchandani has done it all.

Humble beginnings I grew up in a regular middle-class Indian home. My dad was a doctor at a government hospital and mom was a homemaker. I was always told that one should study hard in order to achieve success. And that's what I did. I studied hard and went to IIM-Ahmedabad.

Then I found a job in marketing at a leading multinational based in Delhi. But I wasn't satisfied with just monetary success. I kept wondering what it was that I was looking to achieve at the end of my career. Did I study so hard just to sell one product? So I decided to stop working for others and start something on my own in 1990.

Starting out a fresh The first 10 years of running the business was the most difficult. The biggest problem we had was money-we were always falling short. I went without a salary for months and worked twice as hard. I bought second-hand computers, furniture and set up my business headquarters in a servant quarter in my father's house.

Looking back I realize that I was lucky that my wife, Surbhi was working at the time. We had been classmates at IIM Ahmedabad. She had a decent salary which helped us scrape through the hard times.

The big break The idea to launch a job portal came to me when I realized that all my friends usually read business magazines back to front because the job ads appeared on the last pages. I came to the conclusion that in those days (this was around 1996) people had no one source for job ads.

We thought that if we could collate job ads onto one accessible platform, then maybe we would be able to attract some customers. In April 1997 we launched Naukri.com with 1,000 ads taken out of various magazines. We were hoping that over time companies would begin to approach us directly for advertising jobs if we could gather sufficient traffic.

On money and dreams I passed out of college in 1984. Looking back at life 30 years later, I can come to just one conclusion. We have only one life, there's no point wasting it living someone else's dream. One should manage risks, get experience and make transitions when necessary. But stay focused on your dreams and passion.

If you do what you love then you will always be happy even if you are making no money. That is another valuable lesson that I have learnt in life. One should look for meaning not money. Money is a happy outcome if you are really good at what you do. It should not replace your dreams and become your sole motivator.

Guiding light I follow no particular philosophy. I believe that one should keep improving on the past. You should be happy with what you do. What motivates me in particular is serving our customers and helping people find jobs.

Working with the right people is important. I also believe in the whole virtuous circle of action, achievement and self-esteem. If you take action, you will achieve something. Once you achieve a goal, it will reinforce your self esteem and vice versa. But I learned this philosophy only in hindsight.