My visit to EDII – Ahmedabad

Recently, the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Ahmedabad invited me to take a 3-hour guest lecture at their sprawling campus. The event was hosted by Dr Satya Ranjan Acharya, Director, Department of Entrepreneurship Education. It was part of an Induction Program for PGDM-E batch 2022-24. I had a great time talking to young entrepreneurs at their campus!

EDII Campus boasts of a vast, well-designed learning space, at par with IIM-A. I was accompanied by Nidhi, a senior student of mine, who was really gracious to me with all her help. We strolled around the estate office of EDII and were treated with delicious meals throughout the day. EDII ensured that our stay was a pleasant and comfortable one.

Since it was EDII, I was expecting to meet energetic young entrepreneurs who would benefit from my lecture because they are clear about their goals. That is exactly what I found when I stepped into the lecture hall. The students had an entrepreneurial drive within them. They were self-propelled and keen learners which was evident by how interactive the session was!

The three-hour session with these bright entrepreneurs was engaging and energizing for me! I spoke a lot about entrepreneurial spirit, which I could see in their eyes already! I strongly believe that all smart young people like them should invest their efforts, resources, and time into starting their own ventures. Not only does a happy, prosperous life await them but also a feeling of great pride and satisfaction for having contributed to society at large. In today’s day and age, when a job cannot provide as much remuneration or satisfaction, entrepreneurship is the way to go!

I spoke in depth about how entrepreneurship is not for everybody but anyone can be an entrepreneur. Even the people who might describe themselves as “not-so-qualified” can also start a business. The key is the entrepreneurial spirit! If you have the aptitude to look beyond the obvious, the fortitude to work, the problem-solving ability, an innovative outlook and are a calculated risk-taker, then entrepreneurship is for you!

I think it is very important for young entrepreneurs to reflect on themselves first. Who they are. Who they are not. What does success look like to them? They must ask themselves: Are they doing what they love? Does their business idea create value for society? These questions may seem basic, but they are the stepping stones toward the path to success. I filled my talk with many anecdotes and stories from my own life, and therefore, students opened up in a positive manner.

A frequent question that is asked is: How do I find a business idea? We spent some time on this question, thinking about how the best fit depends on who you are and where you are at. I regaled them with different stories of entrepreneurs who look at the opportunity in the ecosystem they are in, rather than asking an outsider for a formula.

The discussion went on about charting the path of a business from project feasibility to business plan to project execution to operations and profitability. Finally, I gave them some tips as a mentor and encouraged them to think about mentorship seriously as they work on their business idea. A mentor can lend their experience to your fresh business idea, and the combination can create magic.

What I see as a positive sign is that there was student engagement even beyond the classroom. We discussed entrepreneurship passionately even during the lunch break. I also had the chance to further interact with the students as I roamed around the campus and visited their offices. It affirmed the fact that what I had to say to the youngsters had immediate relevance to them!

After the session, the “meet-and-greet” with the author was also successful! The response to my book was outstanding! I would like to make a special mention of my student Nidhi here, who made commendable efforts for the promotion of my book. She not only helped me with the sales but also ensured that I had enough pictures and videos to talk about the whole event!

At the end of the fun-filled and eventful day, I discussed with Dr. Acharya how I could join hands with EDII for more specialised objective-focussed sessions with the students, who had engaged with me so zealously! So hopefully, this was just one of the many forthcoming collaborations with EDII.