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Vaibhav’s Interview in Economic Times – Dec 15th, 2008

VAIBHAV TEWARI, CEO of AeNwis e-Systems and co-founder of iSeva, a leading BPO, has many entrepreneurial success sagas to his credit. He talks to Vanisha Joseph of ET about the opportunities for entrepreneurs in the IT/ITeS sector today.

How fertile is the market for entrepreneurs in the IT sector today?
The market has significant opportunities for entrepreneurs today. Problems in many verticals can be solved with strong IT solutions. Health care, retail services and some sectors where intelligent solutions can be helpful. The India 2.0 success story since 1990 can be attributed to the explosion of the entrepreneurship spirit. This is an irreversible trend. Whenever market has higher risk, value judgment becomes more realistic. New ideas get more scrutiny. But good, scalable ideas which have the potential to create value will have buyers and funding.

What are the challenges you face as an entrepreneur?
One challenge is the tightening of easy VC money, as valuations across IT, ITeS and internet or mobile space have fallen manifold. This means new businesses need to find creative ways of stretching the rupee that much longer and push for profitability more aggressively. Few ideas in India can survive solely as an online in the short or medium term — given the poor penetration of internet and low usage rates. So, blending online and offline models will be required for some time to come. Finally, Indians are brought up to minimise risks. An environment like this pushes talented people who want to venture out into a shell.

What skills would an IT professional need to take the entrepreneurial dip?
The most important skill in a high risk market is to optimise your resources so that you get maximum value. Continue to build on your vision to ensure that you tide over the downturn. Most start-ups close because of lack of funds and good teams and this becomes more pronounced in a downturn. Any professional looking to take an entrepreneurial dip at this time should plan for the right resources to last enough time and only then start. Building the right team is a critical skill.

Comment on the growth opportunities for IT professionals today.
With the availability of open-source, low-cost hosting and proliferation of web-based delivery model, it is much easier for a small team to build even a global product. The recent story of Scrabulous is an example of how much ‘flatter’ the cyber space is compared to the real world. Ability to keep it simple, create something that works for consumer rather than overload the application with features is an art. That’s what one needs to focus on to be successful.

What advice would you give IT professionals?
Technologies, languages, platforms and tools go in and out of fashion. But the ability to design and effectively deploy technology to solve real world problems never goes out of fashion. The latter requires a level of performance and understanding that goes beyond being a good programmer. If you want to be an entrepreneur, believe in your dreams, plan it well and then go for it.