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abhishek1711 (shah)
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 Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 10:31 pm Post subject: Prakash Mundhra-Entrepreneurship Experiences |
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We are pleased to have a short writeup on entrepreneurship experience of Mr Prakash Mundhra, Founder Sacred Moments. We believe such real experiences would give us students the "wings to fly" , the belief that B plans are dont end with the B plan competitions.
Company: Sacred Moments
Founded: May 2006
Age: 27
Educational background: BMS (Sydenham college), 1 year work ex with family business, MBA from SCMHRD
CEO of ‘Sacred Moments’ manufactures ‘Blessingz’ Diwali Puja Kits company
How it All began
| Quote: | | It started with his participating in various b plan contests including ITC 'Mera Gaon Mera Desh' contest.He also participated on Zee TV's Business Baazigar & won the 'mini Baazigar title !In my 2nd year he entered many business plan contests and won several - notable among them IIM Lucknow, TAPMI, IIT KGP, IIM Calcutta. WIth his prize money of Rs 50,000 which ZEE Tv provided him, he created a designer puja kit. The idea was a puja kit as 'gifting' item - for corporates and export market. |
Giving up on Job
| Quote: | | Prakash did sit for placements @ SCMHRD, bagging two offers -ICIC Prudential and Essar. After the placement he took part in 6 b plan contests and won 5 of them.That boosted his confidence but gave him a dilemma. Was it to be the job or my business? He was to join ICICI Pru on 11th May 2006. On 7th he sent them an email declining the offer. Writing a two-line email never takes more than a minute but it took him more than 2 hours to write a mail that send shivers down the spine of 200 people… |
The Journey
| Quote: | Today when I look back, I can only be proud of my decision. My company ‘Sacred Moments’ manufactures ‘Blessingz’ Diwali Puja Kits, and my products have been appreciated not only by my clients but also by the likes of Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhavat, Mr. Ashok Hinduja and Smt. Rajashree Birla.
My concept of designer Puja Kit gave corporate clients a novelty gift, yet an ethnic one. It was far away from the clichéd Dry Fruits or Mithai as well as different from gifts picked up from the flood of Chinese gifts available. The kit has 32 items essential for the Diwali Puja, packed and labeled in a way people could not have imagined. It also had a booklet describing the puja process. I managed to get sales of close to Rs 34 lakhs in my first attempt. I can say that I have earned less than what I would have got in my job, but the satisfaction of achieving it on my own surpasses everything else.
In the coming year I have expanded production and shifted it to Ahmedabad which is cheaper as a manufacturing base. Yes this means I constantly make trips up and down but one good thing is the items I am packing are not very high value ,so I don't have to worry about pilferage. I also have a godown now in Mumbai.
In the following year I have plans to launch a 'grih pravesh puja kit' and a 'vehicle puja kit' also. |
The Experience
| Quote: | Many times I have introspected on the point: Does an MBA degree help you to become an Entrepreneur? The answer I have always got is the trademark MBA guy answer: ‘It depends’. In my case, business plan competition played a very important role in shaping my idea and winning 10 of them gave me enough confidence to pursue my dream. But I still feel Entrepreneurship could be inculcated in a better way than it is being taught in B-schools today. We have guest lectures on Entrepreneurship by either a pure academician or a high profile Entrepreneur whose talk starts with Rs 100 crore. How can a young mind that has not earned a penny think of such fancy sums? It is good to be ambitious but only after you have proved your worth. I do get invitations from several B-schools to share my experience. I find it hard to say ‘No’ to them as I feel it is an opportunity for me to bring young minds closer to reality without nipping their budding ideas.
One thing, which an aspiring Entrepreneur should be ready to do, is ‘Walk Alone’ as he cannot wait for someone else to join if he has to realize his dream. And once you decide to take the road less traveled with a positive energy, you would get support from seemingly strangers too. I got immense help from the Symbiosis Society, SCMHRD Director Mr. K.S. Subramanian, my suppliers, my designer besides my family members.
Jim Collins rightly mentions in his bestseller ‘Good to Great’ that ‘Good is the enemy of Great’. An Entrepreneur cannot succeed without continuous innovation in his efforts. I soon plan to come out with an array of Puja Kits like Ganpati, Satyanarayan, General Puja, Durga Puja etc. I also plan to move beyond Hindu Puja Kits. Presently, I am increasing my production capacity to reduce my response time. Meanwhile, exports have picked up very well in countries like US, Canada, UK, Australia and South Africa. |
Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs on IbsRocks
| Quote: | | i would only say.. look for simple solutions to common problems and you may discover a business opportunity |
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krishnan (-=hidden=-)
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harish_govardhan (harry)
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| Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 3:51 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, what a grandeur!!
Thanks a ton for sharing his experiences with us abhi! Great going!
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D.Harish Govardhan
Quality Manager, IBS Rocks
ICFAI Business School, Gurgaon
Before posting, please read through this!!
http://www.ibsrocks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=114 |
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rahii (rahul sharma)
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| Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject: really gr8 personality... |
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The best part of this person is he believes in simplicity and easy way out to difficult problems and this is what practical solution is all about.... 
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