‘Being an entrepreneur is about pursuit of freedom’
“What I feel is, even if the startup is a failure, don’t forget it comes with a value for others, which is called an asset. It could lead to a buyout, merger or selling the technology. At the end of the day, remember that you are creating something that has a value”
He has an eye for any and every opportunity that comes his way. And once he identifies the right one, he makes sure to encash on it. Meet Sashi Chimala, a serial entrepreneur, who has not only set his foot in several businesses but aced it too! One of the reasons he was able to run three successful companies and exists, is because he loses the concept of time when he is at work. In a tête-à-tête with Corporate Citizen, Sashi opened his heart about his love for being an entrepreneur, mantras for success and much more
Sashi Chimala is someone who would never get easily bothered by anything. However, while he was just beginning his career, he was working for an IT Solutions company where he got frustrated knowing he wasn’t creating or building anything worthwhile. Which gave rise to a new Sashi, who now is a serial entrepreneur. “I was born to be an entrepreneur,” smiled Sashi. Currently, the co-founder at Stealth Startup he also co-founded companies like CrestPointe Crop, Paypod Qwiky’s Coffee, Indigo Technologies. An angel investor, Sashi has guided and mentored several startups. He completed his Industrial Engineering for NITIE. Soon he moved to the States to pursue his dreams, he now is a US citizen.
One wouldn’t hesitate to say that you have flared pretty well as an entrepreneur. Considering that you always wanted to be a tycoon, and now that you have reached the epitome of success by starting several successful ventures, what does being an entrepreneur mean to you?
To each their own. Everyone has their reasons for being an entrepreneur. For me, being an entrepreneur means freedom of expression. Being an entrepreneur is a purist of freedom. Which indeed acted as a driving force for me. When I’m working on a concept or starting a venture or plotting plans to flourish it, I feel a sense of belonging. It was as if I was born to be an entrepreneur.
Since the beginning, I decoded that I was a misfit in the corporate world. That always frustrated me. But then I decided to make use of this frustration and create something meaningful. And this is one of the reasons that led me to become an entrepreneur. One of my USPs is to find the gap or opportunities and convert them into a large possibility. When I began my journey as an entrepreneur, I realised that there are several gaps in various sectors and none bothered to mend it. That, in turn, became a golden opportunity for me.
Initially, of course, it was difficult for me. Because I gave up the safety net of getting a monthly income. Resources and funds also worried me a bit. But I once I got into the grove and once I got the taste of being an entrepreneur nothing could stop me. What I realised is, if I won’t try, I’ll never know. And if I don’t go after what I want, I’ll never get it. Which is why I tried and chased the thing I wanted the most. It’s is a learning process. You need to fall down a couple of times, face a few failures and only then you’ll understand how to function as an entrepreneur. I made mistakes and learnt from them. And I made sure to never repeat those mistakes.
Not all of my ventures were a hit. Two of my startups did not survive. Cribbing about the downfall wasn’t an option for me. What I feel is, even if the startup is a failure, don’t forget it comes with a value for others, which is called an asset. It could lead to a buyout, merger or selling the technology. At the end of the day, remember that you are creating something that has a value. The value can be multiplied the numbers of clients, contacts, stakeholders, app downloads or online hits. All this counts as a treasure if not for you, then for someone else.
Of course, you must have had jitters while starting your first venture. But surely the outcome must have been amazing, right? Tell us about that first idea that you dared to change into reality.
It doesn’t matter how big or small your idea. What matter is how well you executive it. Earlier, I was working with an IT solutions company, which was a service based organisation. What got to me was, when I realised that I wasn’t ‘creating’ anything productive. Well, that was exactly the thing that pushed me to start my own company. We focused on creating and developing our technology based products.
When you are launching your business, timing is everything. Of course, a lot of things have to be considered, however, if you fail to consider the time element, the startup will surely crumble. While starting my first venture, if I had kept thinking about the situations around me, I would have never hit big. Incidentally, it was the time when technology was just booming. The venture picked up really well, so much so that a lot of people wanted to join us.
Who is Serial Entrepreneur?
A serial entrepreneur is someone who continuously comes up with unique ideas and converts them into reality. As opposed to a typical entrepreneur, a serial entrepreneur, often comes with an idea, gets things started and once it settles down, they then hand over the company to a trusted person. The serial entrepreneur then moves on to a new idea.
Characteristics of a Serial Entrepreneur
- Efficient time manager
- Ability to set concrete goals
- Consistent
- Optimistic
- Creative and innovator
- Prolific leadership
“Movie making and startups are exactly the same you are telling a story, assembling a team and you selling your story. And in a few days or months, you’ll get to know how your movie or startup has flared”
- Sashi Chimala
Starting a business is not often considered that scary, but what follows after that diversification of the business is dreading which happens to be a critical stage. So how can one diversify their business?
There’s of a misconception or a myth to treat startups as big companies. In reality, a startup should be treated like a newborn baby who needs to be nurtured with love and care. Start-ups have very specific needs and every stage requires a different set of people, processes and talent to help it grow. Its inception is very exhilarating where everyone is ready to do whatever it takes to make the company grow. The real test begins in consecutive years. That’s when you need to have processes, departments and other things in place.
As per my experience, to diversify your business, one needs to hire employees who have ‘been there and done that’. This practice is called hiring ahead of the curve. Hiring the right employees is a crucial step in determining the level of the company’s success. So, for instance, if my company is worth a million dollar and I envision to become a Unicorn company. What I need to do is, hire people who have worked for such companies.
You’ve touched upon various segments like e-commerce, IT, education, F&B and others. Any specific reason why these segments caught your attention?
There are two types of entrepreneurs, one is someone who looks after a niche area. And then there are people like me who just love to chase opportunities. What I love doing is coming up with a concept, assemble the best team, create an opportunity and see my business blossom. When you lose track of time doing something you love, it’s your passion, and for me, it’s my work.
Certainly, your experience speaks for itself. You must have used the trial and error method and worked on the mistakes to reach this far. Can you tell us about your three mantras for success?
If you want to grow and climb up the ladder of success, you need to dream big. And then plot a plan accordingly to achieve. Over the years, I realised that working on these three mantras can lead you on the path of success provided you are ready to give your heart and soul to your business.
Enjoy the journey: As cliched as it might sound, the best part always happens to be the journey which leads us to our destination. It doesn’t mean that the journey will always be honkydory. There will be ups and downs and you must learn to face it. If you lose track of time while doing something, it means you are investing in the right thing.
Built the right time: It’s a work of art to assemble the right team. Hiring the right team is one of the most critical elements of leading the business to the epitome of success. And once your team is assembled, make sure to treat everyone equally. Each member of your team is important and they should feel a sense of responsibility towards the company. You need to make them realise that the company is their baby as well. That sense of attachment towards the company will do wonders. Every person in the organisation should have a feeling of ownership the company belongs to everyone.
Timing: The number one reason, why a start-up or a company fails to sustain, is because of the time when it was launched. Any idea could be a million-dollar concept and getting funds to encash on that idea isn’t that difficult. However, if the idea is launched at the wrong time, be sure to see the startup crumble. For instance, one ofthe reasons why MySpace lost to Facebook, is not because of its interface or technology, it was because of the time when it was launched. Even God cannot make the company successful if it was built at the wrong time.
That is why stalwarts like Ratan Tata, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs started their companies at that time. That’s because they had a keen eye towards the underlining trends. In the same way, each generation will have a different trend and unique opportunities. In today’s generation, everything is digitalised. Such opportunities were not available for the earlier generation. So, one must encash on this and build something exceptional.
Who is an Angel Investor?
Someone’s whose net worth is quite high and who is ready to invest their personal income in other startups or MSME. Angel investors encourage entrepreneurship in the country by financing small startups at a stage where such startups find it difficult to obtain funds from traditional sources of finance such as banks, financial institutions, etc. Further, such investors provide mentoring to the entrepreneurs as well as access to their own business networks. Thus, angel investors bring both experience and capital to new ventures.
You are a serial entrepreneur, does not that mean you run short on time to do things that you love to rejuvenate? If not working how do you like to spend your time?
When want something badly, you will figure out the art of time management. I love reading and travelling. When I’m not at a work, I would be either reading at home or on the run exploring the paths unknown. Other than that, I’m a true Indian who loves watching Bollywood movies.
A while back, I had a fascination towards making movies. With me, the thing is, if I’m sure of what I want or what I’m doing, I’ll see to it that idea lead to fruition. I have written, directed and produced a few documentaries as well. Help Fight EPD and That Four Letter Word are a few of the documentaries that I’ve worked on.
Movie making and startups are exactly the same-you are telling a story, assembling a team and you selling your story. And in a few days or months, you’ll get to know how your movie or startup has flared.
As an angel investor, what do you look for in the startup while you agree to finance it?
As an angel investor, I look for the following:
Founder Market fit: Do the founders bring any unique experience or insights to the market that they are addressing. In other words, how are the founders suited to build the product or solution in the particular space or will they have a steep learning curve?
Complementary Skills: Do the founders have complementary skills? If founders have same or overlapping skills, then that’s a cause for future trouble.
The ‘go for it’ attitude: I look for founders who prefer to take action (do it) instead of over analysing it. An analysis is important but the best way to test any hypothesis is to go to potential customers and test it.
Last but not least, the order of priority for me is team, market, uniqueness or defensibility of the solution.