06/10/2021
The Grind behind the Glory!!!
While capabilities and charm of first-gen entrepreneurs is the driving force behind a family business, the next-gen brings in a complete new scenario to the business. In this era of technology, continuous change and unimagined variables, time may pose greater threats and put more pressure. It is a prerequisite, that all members of the next-gen develop their skills to suit the changing times, along with the strong commitment to move the legacy forward. They need to be on their toes continuously and calibrate innovatively the products, services, and processes of the organization. One such success story is that of Amit Ghaisas, the Managing Director of YashPrabha group.
The Pune based YashPrabha Group was founded in 1964 by the technocrat and visionary Yashawant G. Ghaisas. It was the first to introduce single phasing preventers, LED based fault annunciators, powder coating technology, electrostatic painting, power and free conveyors and was the only company to provide end to end solutions for surface coating. The group has diversified into three major verticals Electronics with the brand name Minilec, surface coating with the brand name Intech and painting applicators and materials handling with the brand name Statfield Equipments.
The next-gen leaders Amit and his wife Swati Ghaisas consolidated and scaled up these multiple businesses into a conglomerate with a strong binding culture that thrived on evolving indigenous technologies and innovative engineering solutions. It has grown fivefold, not just in volume or turnover, but also in terms of several new products and new verticals that have been set up. The company has grown from 50 employees to 350 employees and a customer base of more than 8000 from a few hundreds. The group now exports to 16 countries.
Gone are the days of silver spoons or entitlements
While the glory in the success is seen, it is an outcome of the daily grind of hard work and menial or boring jobs. It needs grueling hands on experience to become a domain expert, to understand and appreciate nitty-gritties of business.
“I started working on the 2nd day of my engineering degree examination as design engineer and I was working under one of the toughest bosses. For first 5 years I worked on anything and everything that was asked of me. I was at my wit’s end working 14-16 hours a day without a break. There was no option of going home, because home was also another boardroom meeting. The first break that I took was after 8 years. But those days were the making of me. What is required to get from point A to point B is different from what is required to get to from Point B to Point C. And trust me the latter is harder, you have to work multiple times to reach your goal and justify it,” recalls Amit.
Customer expectations have changed
The biggest challenge of the current times when compared with the 80s era is customer expectations; the key indicator of customer satisfaction being the care and the speed with which their issues are dealt with. If you don’t deliver you are going to perish. Holding on to the personal touch like the old times is not possible with a customer base of 8000 plus. New methods and artificial intelligences need to be worked on to sense the market; and to understand the pain areas of your customer. As such, it is the customer need which has driven product differentiation and created new areas of business growth.
Buy-in of team is required
Another harsh reality is that top down directives do not work like in the times of earlier generation. The ability to operate among multiple generations and different viewpoints in a family business is certainly challenging. The continuously changing industry and its requirements can be absorbed only if the team is bound by a strong and vibrant culture. A healthy mix of traditional and progressive thinking that is both open and accommodative is essential. The why, what and how need to be understood in order to respect and implement decisions. Team cohesiveness is a key ingredient in generating better financial returns, and in doing so, innovations can be nurtured as an ongoing process rather than in spurts. This is something that is amply apparent while talking to Amit, an extremely charismatic person; with a warm aura, who is very approachable and friendly. A true people’s person; who can make you feel at home at once, who can explain technology to the layman in a story form. What he considers his biggest achievement is that people from his father’s time are equally comfortable working with the next-gen. “Today I feel proud of myself when I see them giving me the same respect. I am able to carry forward my father’s legacy.” Amit says with a smile.
Learning the hard way
In the 80s, the technology was discussed with customers which helped one understand their needs, and then the product was launched. Year 2000 onwards the speed with which technology has been coming and becoming outdated, and with the number of copycats in the market, scaling up needs to be delicately handled in terms of swiftness and confidentiality. Amit says being the first in the market is scary, you train people and then on the same technology a new brand comes in the market. While with time the opportunities of scaling up are growing, a very different skillset is required that ensures the sustainability of the business enterprise, while matching up the speed, because premature scaling can affect the lives of your employees and their families who depend on you. Business is scalable only with the right processes, people and right time. Though failure comes as naturally as success, Amit says reminiscing about his Biodiesel business into which he had put all his heart in as a young entrepreneur. Over years he worked on the product, making it viable for the market, waited for years till the market was ready, but when all things fell in place, there was a change in the Government policy and he had to close down the venture.
Innovation isn’t an individual activity anymore
“Innovation is what keeps me going”, says Amit. Though he relies on his strong and hard grooming into business when it comes to innovating new ideas, he takes it the next level ie through teamwork. “Once I am convinced with why and how to innovate, the same cascades down into my team, and then putting processes in place is a piece of cake, making our business innovate faster and in diversified areas simultaneously. For us innovation and launching new products has become a regular activity”.
Entrepreneurship is always Social Entrepreneurship
“Business should bring in societal benefit”, says Amit. He has imbibed the sense of social entrepreneurship from his father, who had worked with several social organizations towards common benefit. And now Amit is a Maharashtra state executive council member and Convener of Banking Finance and Taxation committee of Laghu Udyog Bharati . He was actively involved in the “Tribal Economic Upliftment through agricultural Development”, a program funded by the group working in 4500 villages in 6 states of India.
When asked, what would be his message to the potential entrepreneurs? Amit replied with a firm steady look, “Entrepreneurship is not a part time job where you can try, you have to risk it all. It needs to be your Plan B, Plan C and Plan D. And for the next-gen all the way more, a lot more is required to succeed. It is continuously adapting and evolving your skillset to draw a longer line every single time.”
