“You absolutely do not have to give away something great for free,” said Michael Dearing, a former eBay executive who is a teacher of the Launch Pad class. “If you build something great, people will pay you for it.”

It’s great how small things turn big in a short span of time. If we rewind few months back we’ll see how a simple college project turned out to be a goldmine for these two young college graduates. Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari were super excited as they would be one of the first few people to lay their hands one of the sought after products of Apple-the iPad. But little did they know that two months later they would be famous; on New York Times, NBC’s Evening News and TechCrunch a powerful technology blog. After their purchase, they had developed software as a part of their college project that aggregates news from various sources. It became a huge success and they were living a dream. Sitting on a goldmine with most companies trying to figure out how to do so, their start has been enviable. While 30,000 iPad users have downloaded their app so far, there are two million users out there. There are soon launching this same application on the iPhone which has an estimated user list of 3 billion people worldwide making this application one of the most successful applications. They have won not only attention but also huge sums of money. A true success!

Kothari is from Ahmedabad, while Gupta is a genius from IIT Bombay. At Standford while studying they got accepted to a programme called “Launch Pad”. The idea of Launch Pad was simple: build a product and launch a company in three months. While they got iPad which was truly enriching for people in love with technology, they discovered that news consumption experience had left them frustrated. So they ventured out to make an application in order to solve their ongoing frustration; which led them to start their college product. So they went about building their product which was difficult at start as many advisors from the Silicon valley told them to “try something else”. But they were not going to be put off by criticisms. “Basically, I think once you set out to do something, you must put your whole heart into it,” Kothari says. It was a great experience. They started to solve this problem and build up a whole new application which would later on shake up the entire technological world. “On day 1, people were like, ‘this is awful’,” Kothari says. By day 5, testers were asking if the app came bundled with the iPad. “Then we knew we were on to something,” he says. It was hard work, they researched, they tried, they tested and they perfected it.

Then came the issue of marketing. “We feel it’s the key. Most engineers think if they build an awesome product it will sell itself. We knew that approach was not going to work in a crowded app marketplace,” Kothari says. They uploaded videos on YouTube attracting attention and finally TechCrunch a powerful Silicon valley Blog reviewed it which went on the top of the list and hasn’t moved ever since. “We have been incredibly fortunate to be in an environment that encourages entrepreneurs,” Kothari says. The lessons they learnt not only taught them to become a tech designer but also taught them entrepreneurship.

“So many of our really smart friends in India opt for some stupid job in a bank after they graduate because of the comfort of a salary. Both of us passionately believe that young people should set out to do something on their own, and if our little success inspires anybody out there, that will be our biggest reward,” Kothari says, with heartfelt sincerity that didn’t seem to care if he was sounding a bit clichéd. Cliched or not we thoroughly like this duo. Small business ideas can be really rewarding if you believe in it, so keep your mind open to everything; you never know what’s next. Here is a toast to the success of these two talented Indian boys. Well, they have truly made us proud!

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Lina Tipnis

The latest innovation on offer, under the brand ‘Linarika’, is what has got her all excited. She is more than happy to speak about d most recent addition to the brand, “I have created a caricature of a frog named ‘Mckay’ and I got this digitally printed on my garments. The frog here is an exaggerated embodiment of the qualities we attach to being a human being. He is created to reflect humorously the society we live in, our environment, its related issues and the frivolous, not so frivolous, irrational and sometimes illogical situations and even more logical emotions. Mckay is conceived as iconic, memorable and funny. He can take on many roles – a socialite, a fixer, bridegroom, an activist, traveler or a politician and maybe sometimes, all rolled into one.”

She further asserts, “This technique is all about creating three dimensional illusions of objects of art and culture that have a story to tell. Mckay is a 2D animated property that can be used to connect with different people, talk about different issues, etc.”

With such never-ending enthusiasm to create something that is far from ‘déjà vu’, the new age fashion entrepreneurs merge their instincts along with innovation to reinvent their thinking to come up with something better every single time.

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Anita Dongre

Time & again, entrepreneurs prove to be a blessing to the society. And, fashion entrepreneur, Anita Dongre, creative director, AND Designs India Ltd. is no exception. The next big thing on her mind is to promote the hardwork & skilful expertise of the poor farmers of the co-operatives of Andhra Pradesh, who are, more often than not, given a raw deal. This is the first time when the concept of ‘fair trade’ in India has been initiated by a reputed retail brand. The initiative ‘Shop For Change’ is touted as her new collection of women’s western wear under her much-in-demand fashion label ‘AND’. The highlight of the collection is the fabric which is 100% Shop for Change Fair Trade certified cotton.

When asked about her brainchild, ‘Shop For Change’, Anita is more than happy to explain, “Contemporary designers are not only fashion forward, but also experimenting with fabrics, colours and textures. The fashion industry is always looking for the next big thing and provides enough room for innovation for entrepreneurs. My latest innovation is a first-time initiative of a retail brand bringing the concept of fair trade in India. Working closely with Shop for Change gives me a chance to make a difference in the fashion world and the society at large. Having visited the farmer co-operatives in Andhra Pradesh, I see the importance of introducing this concept into the fashion industry and hope that my fellow designers will also bite the bug.”

Well, for all we can say, we wish her all the very best for her new venture and that the world follows in her footsteps to make earth a better place to live in!

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Mehra chirps in, “By borrowing a dress, one can save a tremendous amount of money, have access to good quality of clothes, flaunt a ‘designer’ label and never have to worry about being seen in the same dress twice”. She further adds, “The idea of Dial-A-Dress came to me after watching my younger sister worry about buying an expensive outfit for a wedding. Here was this girl who was willing to spend a good portion of her salary on a dress which she was going to wear just once or twice and I thought there has to be a solution to this dilemma. The idea of this concept is to not spend thousands on something you probably will never wear again. You can simply rent a designer dress, wear it, return it and you are all set to rent something new for the next event. Even better, you still have plenty of money left in your pocket,” grins Mehra.

And the uniqueness of the idea doesn’t end there. It takes an almost unthinkable humanitarian turn! She makes it a point to make a contribution of a sum of Rs.500 for every dress that she rents out to the customers which goes towards research on breast cancer. Following the sad demise of her mother after a harrowing battle with the deadly disease, Soniya was more than willing to extend her support and reach out to those cancer- affected women in the city who go through the same ordeal as her mother did. Keeping this in mind, she took it in her hands to hear out their sorrows & make a difference to their lives by allocating a regular contribution towards their betterment, both personally & monetarily.

Way to go, Dial-A-Dress!!

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Shobha Murthy

With a story that would inspire people to do their bit for the underprivileged section of the society, this Vashi -resident played the good Samaritan, who took it in her hands to bring about a change in the lives of slum children and women by imparting education and computer training to over 1,200 slum children and making provisions for education and empowerment of women.

The drive to play the role of a responsible citizen was always persistent when she worked as a Cost Accountant for a span of 12 years with big names in the corporate world. However, it took her some time to realise that there was something amiss.

It all started with her getting the much – awaited opportunity of joining a US-based funding agency as a project officer on a social service project, which brought out in the open the plight of the tribal living in the rural areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, MP, Bihar.

After the jumpstart in the social sector, she joined CRY as a finance manager and quit in 1997 in order to set up ‘Aarambh’ for the upliftment of slum dwellers.

With no proper qualification in social work and just a little experience to guide her in the new arena, she commenced work in the urban slums and is proud to be associated with six centres of Aarambh operating in various slum areas and also imparting education and computer training to over 1,200 slum children from Navi Mumbai.

Not only this, Murthy is also playing her part in providing tailoring classes to women hailing from financially weak background through Aarambh.

Shobha Murthy is now a happy and content woman with all the satisfaction she had ever strived for!

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Manav Mishra

Blogger’s Name: Manav Mishra

About Manav: I am not someone about whom you there is much to know about, quite a simple man. Apart from blogging I love photography, driving, cooking, and Urdu Shayari/Gazal (reading, writing and listening).

Age: 29

Occupation / Profession: IT Professional

Blog name and URL: We have a network of two blogs and a Forum
Technospot.net (www.technospot.net), Technospot.in (www.technospot.in) (Co-author and Partner), and Technospot.org (A forum)

Blog Focus Area, domain: Computer, Mobile and Internet on Technospot.net, and any Indian Stuff on Technospot.in

Blog launched on: Technospot.net was launched in October 2006, by Ashish, I became a part of Technospot.net in Dec 2007, and later We launched Technospot.in on August 15, 2009

Monthly visits (page views) on website: Sorry, Cannot disclose it.

Do you have team of bloggers?
Yes, Me and Ashish are the authors on Technospot.net, and We have two more authors who joined our team for Technospot.in (Shweta and Nidhi).

Interest / Activities: I don’t have any particular interest, I do whatever I feel like doing at the moment, however me and some friends, once a month collect some money and we either donate it to some organizations dedicated to help poor and needy, or by distributing food and other such stuff.

Located at: Pune

Contact Details:
Twitter Id: Manav1
Email ID: manavmishra@technospot.net

Q: When and why did you start blogging?
A: Ashish started blogging and later persuaded me to join him, I was not sure about if I can really write, and he kept telling me that I can, finally I decided to give it a shot, and my first ever post was published in December 2007, this was how I started, later, I fell in love with blogging, making an Identity for myself is something what I am looking forward too, I am planning to take blogging as a full time profession, provided things go well.

Q: What topics do you generally blog about?
A: Software and Internet Tools are the main parts of my domain; however now I try to write about anything (about India) which I think is worth a mention on Internet.

Q: What do you think is the best part of the blog?
A: This is something which is huge to talk about, however, it is easiest mode to express yourself, moreover, it is bliss to get a comment from a person whom your blog post helped, one such comment belittles thousands of comments who just say ‘Good Job, Very-well written’ etc. like comments.

Q: Do you ever get stuck when writing an entry? What do you do then?
A: If I am stuck with something specific, I put it on hold, and search for something else, and if I am not able to write at all, I take a break (this could be something ranging from few minutes to few days as well).

Q: What promotional techniques work best for you and why? Do you use social medias & Which?
A: We haven’t started promoting it really but Twitter and Facebook are ones where we do most.

Q: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?
A: Readers are more like a customer for a blog, hence interacting with them and listening to them is damn important in my opinion. Yes we try to reply all the comments, however sometimes the comments ask something which has been answered in the previous comments, in that case we skip.

Q: Share your favourite five blogs.
A: Digital Inspirations, Mashable, Ghacks, Life Rocks 2.0, Read Write Web.

Q: What do you find to be the most gratifying aspect of blogging?
A: As I said earlier about a comment which gives you real sense of appreciation, and the satisfaction you get to read it is awesome, I used to read the same comments several times a day when I had hardly 20 posts online.

Q: Do you generate income through your blog? If yes, how other should monetize their blog?
A: Yes, I do, I think Adsense, Impression Based Ads and Direct Sales are best.

Q: What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog?
A: Decide your domain carefully, first make a list of first 20 posts and outline ready, else the biggest problem which I have seen people facing is, after writing first 5 posts you fall short of the ideas, and slowly you lose interest and finally one quits. For the first few months, only one rule is worth keeping in mind, ‘Content is King’, everything else, later.

Q: Let’s conclude off with a few favorites.
Color: Black
Movie: Into the Wild.
TV Show: None, I generally keep switching channels when in front of the TV.
Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.
Time of Day: Whenever I make a call and hear my Mom’s voice over the phone.

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Blogger’s Name: Vikas Ghodke

Age: 21

Occupation / Profession: Webdesigner

Blog name and URL: http://acrisdesign.com

Blog Focus Area, domain: Design Blog

Blog launched on: 20th August 2009

Monthly visits (page views) on website: 3,00,000

Do you have team of bloggers? Yeah i got 3 guest writer who regularly write for me.

Interest / Activities: Everything related to internet and computers.

Located at: Baroda, Gujarat

Twitter Id: @acrisdesign

Email ID: vikasghodkester@gmail.com

Q: When and why did you start blogging?
Started my blog on 20th august 2009. I work as freelance web designer, i have lots of clients to work with but sometimes there is problems with clients, and that time i need work and blog helps in marketing your work. People comes to know you and this way you can increase your business with blog. That’s why i started blogging.

Q: What topics do you generally blog about?
I am very attracted to design world. So i mostly blog about design topics on graphics and webdesign. Write tutorials on webdesign trends and new technologies of web and graphics design. For example jquery, html, css, photoshop, mostly my blog post consist of list posts.

Q: What do you think is the best part of the blog?
Meeting new peoples is the best part of my blog. I interact with lots of people daily and that’s possible because of my blog only. Plus Money lol.

Q: Do you ever get stuck when writing an entry? What do you do then?
Yeah its challenge to wirte unqiue posts and me to stucks sometime, but world is a best place to get inspire, carry a notebook with you every time and note down anything new you see and think that it can be helpful in writing a blog post. For example once i went to shimla and then i thought why not to collect snow photography collection for my blog post and then i wrote it. So this way you can get inspire from anything so from now start carrying a notebook with you.

Q: What promotional techniques work best for you and why? Do you use social medias & Which?
Twitter :- Its real time and you can create a great network on twitter very fast.
Digg :- Good for long term run
Stumble Upon :- Major source of my traffic but you guyz need to work hard on it to get something back from it.
Mixx , Reddit, Slashdot, etc etc.
Use of social media play a vital role in web promotion but before starting a blog try to create a good network on there under you niche.

Q: How important is it for the blogger to interact with their readers? Do you respond to all the comments that you receive?
No personally i dont respond to all the comments which i receive over my blog. But i respond to all the tweets is receive over twitter. Its very much important of interact with your readers this way you can built a strong relation with your readers and this way they will come back to visit your site regularly.

Q: Share your favorite five blogs.
Mashable
Smashing magazine
Techchrunch
lifehacker
and offcourse my own Acrisdesign

Q: What do you find to be the most gratifying aspect of blogging?
Exposure to internet world.

Q: Do you generate income through your blog? If yes, how other should monetize their blog?
Yes i generate income from my blog. Adsense is the best source of earning money. But try to use affiliates program to earn more from your website. Search on google to learn more about affiliate programs or go to digital point forum to learn more.

Q: What is your advice to someone who wants to start a blog?
If you are passionate about something, and if you are ready to dedicate time and hardwork for it. Then what are you waiting for start blogging.

Q: Let’s conclude off with a few favorites.
Color: Blue
Movie: Lock, Stock and Smoking Barells
Book: The Godfather

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Naheed Hafiz

‘Best out of waste’ seems to be the mantra at ‘The Paper Shoppe’ located at the plush Tardeo in Mumbai. ‘The Paper Shoppe’ was founded by Naheed Hafiz, who rejoices in the fact that there is a lot more awareness about handmade paper today, as compared to the yester years. However, Naheed confesses that it was her fascination towards handmade paper that pushed her into learning the art as well as taking it ahead by making it her field of business.

She has indeed come a long way with something that started as a mere hobby 15 years ago to the mass awareness and demand for handmade paper that prevails in the market today. And, if the present scenario is anything to go by handmade recycled paper has a promising future.

The best part about handmade paper is the ‘eco- friendliness’ of the materials used like old papers, used exercise books, cotton rags, onion garlic peels, corn husk, banana stem, mulberry stem, dried flowers and grated orange peel to make paper, while cardamom flakes or even kadi patta are added for fragrance. Some of the wares on offer include jute paper, banana stem paper and moon rock-effect paper.

In the beginning, exhibitions paved the way for Naheed to take her passion for paper to the next level– making it into a serious business seven years later. Naheed also makes it clear that she not only makes handmade paper herself but also sources it from various places of India to stock the best variety in the market.

The cost of each sheet ranges from Rs. 10 to 50 depending on the variety of sheets of different colors and textures which can be acquired by using enhancing techniques like embroidery block print and tie-and-dye technique. She also sells envelopes, bags, folders, dairies, note pads all made of handmade paper.

The most appealing aspect of making handmade paper is the convenience with which it can be made with easily available materials, even at home.

Naheed has also made sure that the art of handmade paper- making has a wide reach which will enable handmade paper to become the ‘it’ thing among the Indian masses today and tomorrow by conducting workshops for kids and adults on making of handmade paper and its products. She has held workshops for various schools, NGOs and even at the Kala Ghoda Festival.

She has more feathers to her cap with an NGO – ‘Handmade Foundation for Environment and Recycling’ running under her guidance.

Last, but not the least she has a little nugget of advice for her fellow countrymen -“It is in the hands of each and every individual to make a difference by reducing and recycling paper at home.”

Materials needed
1. Mixer, sieve (One used for flour- it has to be a detachable sieve)
2. Cloth/towel pieces 4-5 inches bigger than the sieve size.
3. Old notebooks two blocks of wood
4. A tub/bucket and water

The handmade papermaking process involves seven steps

Soaking
Tear the sheets of old paper in small size and soak the paper in water for an hour. Till they become soft and easier to grind.

Pulping
The soaked paper is ground in a mixer with water (paper:water ratio – 1:3) for 5 minutes or till it turns in to a fine pulp .The mixer is to be cleaned thoroughly after use and see that no small shreds of paper remain.

Sheet forming
Fill the tub half with water, and empty the pulp in this. Take the sieve dip it in the tub, lift it gently, you will see that a thin layer of sheet settles on the sieve, tap lightly to remove excess water.

Couching
The process of placing the paper sheets between wet cloths is called ‘couching’. The sieve is detached from the ring and the sheet formed on the sieve is carefully inverted on a cloth/towel and pressed firmly, once the sheet has settled firmly on the cloth ,the sieve is gently separated from the sheet (start from the corners). Cover the sheet with a cloth/towel. It is important to note that there should be a cloth below and above the sheet formed.

Continue making sheets this way till you have a pile of sheets. The pile of sheets is then pressed.

Pressing
The pile of sheets is placed between two blocks of wood, stand on it in a steady posture till the water drains out. Place heavy weight or trunk on it and allow it to stand for a few hours.

Drying
After pressing each sheet is gently removed from the cloth and dried on the floor or in the sun .When the paper is dry you then iron it.

Ironing
To give a finish to the paper and remove the creases it is ironed. This also gives the paper a shine.

The paper made is round; you can cut it in square.

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Kartik Raichura

Today, Kartik Raichura needs no introduction to the conscious, all- knowing breed of youngsters vying to make the best out of their careers by making a mark in the field of management education. It was the concern to bring about a change in the life of a student who nurses the wish of pursuing MBA that pushed Karthik to provide a common platform to all the students regardless of their educational background and their existing knowledge about the much – in – demand management education.

With a modest beginning to the massive popularity gained on a consistent basis, Kartik has pulled out all stops to make sure nothing deters the big plans in place for the website.

1. What made you go the ’less travelled’ way rather than taking up the routine 9 – 5 job?
Taking up entrepreneurship wasn’t a conscious decision. I was very confused about what I wanted to do, but was equally sure-footed about what I won’t do. Working at a company doing mundane jobs that do not make a difference to anyone is something I clearly detested. On the contrary, I enjoyed this small venture that I has started, it seemed to make a difference to students, changed the way BMS students pursued education and was doing well in the MBA space, too. It was only logical to work on something that interests you.

2. Challenges are a part of an entrepreneur’s journey. In your case, what were they and how did you cope with them?
Management Paradise (MP) has been in existence since November 2004 when I was still a student in SYBMS. I had a strong urge to do something big, to change the way things worked and to better the education system. With this in mind I founded MP, which flourished with the help of many like-minded people. However, we faced a lot of problems initially because it was difficult to make professors, who were not tech-savvy, understand that web is all about sharing information. A few even spread unfavourable opinions about the forum in the beginning, but the same people asked me to refer them students for coaching classes after the forum showed signs of success. The forum is still misunderstood by many as a place where project reports can be copy-pasted, but most of the members know that it provides an ocean of information and is a double-edged sword that can be used either ways.

Getting people when we were not making enough monetary gains to pay them but still expecting the same of amount of commitment and passion was another challenge. But I am lucky to have found people who like gems and have stood with me like pillars.

The initial months were very arduous. I was only 19 then and we only had one computer for our venture. Moreover, it required a lot of manual work through telephonic Internet connection, which was very expensive in those days. But it’s all paying up now. What started with less than 10 hits a day is now running with over 10 thousand people visiting the site every day and over a million page views every month.

3. What are the most important virtues required in an entrepreneur to become successful?
So, there are no set mantras that work for everyone. Just like Philip Kotlers marketing mantras work on a general level but not necessarily in a niche. For me patience and the naiveness of everything is possible has worked well. Its said that want to do something you should have done extensive research and on the other hand, its also said that by the time you have done an extensive research you would miss the market. What has worked for me is gut feel and plunging in the market with self confidence.

4. What is your success mantra?
Self belief is my success mantra. Your customer may not know what he wants, you need to innovate and come up with features that are path breaking. If you are sure of your value proposition, your customers will love it sooner or later.

5. Did you, at any point, feel like it was not worth the effort?
Quitting was never an option. But honestly, I did think of taking up a regular job many a time during a years’ gap between my graduation and MBA. I even applied to a few companies but they also believed I was meant for business. May be I was aiming at the wrong companies but a BMS graduate did not have many job options back in 2005. Now, I’m thankful to those who rejected me; it has got me this far.

6. What keeps you going?
The passion to reinvent management education and helping people keeps me on my toes. For instance, our BMS exam results were due and got delayed because of riots in Mumbai. I, along with a friend Pratik Mehta, went to Kalina University where the results were put up. We manually typed the whole list of over 5,000 students and delivered it online. We got innumerable calls thanking us for our efforts. It’s the joy of making a difference to a student’s life that drives me.

7. What is your business model like? Elaborate.
Everything that touches management education is our kingdom. We cater to BMS, BBI, BAF and MBA students to handhold them in their journey from being a Bachelor in management to obtaining a Masters degree. We bridge the gap between education that an IIM student receives and one that is imparted to St Francis MBA through research dissemination. With over 1,80,000 members, MP is revolutionizing management education on all fronts.

MP helps students in their research reports. If a person is confused about what he should include in his report on “Venture Capital”, he can log on to MP website and place a request. We then provide help on the subject and person has to post the report on the forum once his project is completed. Another student working on similar project can use this same report as a reference point. Our TG started from BMS and we expanded into MBA. After knowing that the market for Banking and Insurance has become lucrative, we spearheaded into it and now we are weighing our options with BAF and BMM courses as well.

8. How can the entrepreneurial drive be nurtured among the youth, as a tool towards economic development?
Follow the western model, glamorize entrepreneurship and celebrate failures as a stepping stone to success. Media is largely responsible for change movements and if they can help youth get over the fear of failure and failed enterprises, it can boost the entrepreneurial drive.

9. How can one overcome the various problems faced by a budding entrepreneur?
Developing a network of entrepreneurs and like- minded individuals is a must. Your network will help you sail through thick and thin.

10. How do you maintain an edge over competitors?
Believe there are no competitors. You are unique and so are people in the same business. People can be in the same business but have different core competencies. Take time to discover your core competency and strive for excellence in it, you will not have any competitors.

11. How do you see your firm after 5 years?
I vision it to do what it does best, empower students and professionals in multiple ways across verticals.

12. How do you manage to take accurate decisions and avoid mistakes during the course of running your business?
Experiment, commit mistakes and learn. There’s always a learning cost that you have to pay before any major decisions. Just ensure you do not repeat it.

13. Do you regret any decisions of the past?
No, there will always be things you expect you shouldn’t have done, but if not for those you wouldn’t be where you are today as each step is a learning experience and you don’t regret on your learnings.

14. What is the future of entrepreneurship as seen by you?
Entrepreneurship is what entrepreneurship does. Its infectious and absorbing. I dont know frankly how else to put this except to say the future is entrepreneurship.

15. Any advice for the new generation of entrepreneurs?
Believe in yourself. If the world calls you crazy, be happy. If you are a dreamer, live the dream. You are different and only different people make a difference in this world.

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Vibha Narshana

India is in a state of revolution of sorts; courtesy the emerging and ever- expanding class of budding entrepreneurs. With the benefit of world-class education at hand, these entrepreneurs are bubbling with enthusiasm to put the acquired knowledge to much use and give themselves a sense of independence and responsibility at the same time. A case in point is of the young yet immensely talented, Vibha M. Narshana.

The hallmark of her services being offering a specialised approach coupled with her trademark personal touches that add a whole new dimension to her self- owned business, Solitaire Events, an event management firm that has already gained an edge over the ‘me too’ competitors in the market. With services ranging from BTL Promotions, Mall Promotion, Club Events, Public Relation and related activity to all India tour events and even wedding events, Solitaire Events aims to bring to life the dreams of its clients, in the words of its founder.

A very positive outcome of such entrepreneurial activity is the availability of opportunity to freelancers which can be explained through the association of more than 600 freelancers with the firm to date. With the nature of services on offer, it is no doubt that work begins after the normal working hours which offers scope for flexibility to its employees. But, by no means, does this imply that Event Management is a bed of roses. To elaborate on this, Vibha recollects an incident when electricity played spoil sport with not even a generator at hand. Being the tough cookie that she is, she popped up with the idea of making it a darkout party with zigzag lights using torches! What a show of taking problems in one’s stride!

However, mistakes do happen during the course of running a business, and sometimes they might just not be avoidable, as in Vibha’s case. Vibha recounts one such instance when she had to bear the outcome of trusting a fresher, while in the other, trusting a deceptive supplier meant loss as he fled away after accepting advance for the still pending order!

Despite the seldom happening bottlenecks, Vibha sees a bright future for Solitaire Events with a workforce of 500- 800 freelancers and 200 associates and plans to go national & then global.

She believes ‘being prepared is half the battle won’. However, Vibha is quick to advise her compatriots to prepare the groundwork first through a thorough research and then laying the foundation. For now, she is taking pleasure in being the ‘Mistress of one trade’ rather than the ‘Jack of all of them’.

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