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The Magazine for Growing Companies
A 9.9 Media Publication | inc.com Facebook.com/Inc @inc
APRIL 2014 | `150 | Volume 05 | Issue 03
INDIA
JUNKIES
FOREIGN DESIS
ON BRAVING
BUSINESS
IN INDIA
Page 14

SPECIAL
FEATURE
Great workplace
design: are you
built for
productivity and
collaboration?
Page 27
THE WAY I WORK
DIPPAK KHURANA,
CO-FOUNDER, VSERV
THE UPSIDE
OF BEING
UNREASONABLE
Page 44
Laurent
Samandari,
L'Opra
Mark Kahn,
Omnivore
Partners
Kazem
Samandari,
L'Opra
April 2014
CONTENTS
ON THE COVER
Laurent Samandari, Mark Kahn and Kazem Samandari at Studio
21, New Delhi. Cover design by Sristi Maurya.
Photographs by Subhojit Paul.
THIS EDITION OF INC. MAGAZINE is published under licence from Mansueto Ventures LLC, New York, New York. Editorial items
appearing on pages 4, 9-11, 37-43 were all originally published in the United States edition of Inc. magazine and are the copyright
property of Mansueto Ventures, LLC, which reserves all rights. Copyright 2009 and 2010 Mansueto Ventures, LLC. The following
are trademarks of Mansueto Ventures, LLC: Inc., Inc. 500.
14
The Foreign
Desis Club
Doing business in India isnt for
the weak-hearted. These foreign
nationals have shown the stomach
for the guts and gumption
entrepreneurship requires here.
Their journeys are great stories of
survival, adaptation and success in
one of the worlds harshest
business landscapes.
Mark Kahn,
Omnivore Partners
Sean Blagsvedt, Babajob.com
Joshua Bornstein,
Footprint Ventures
Kazem & Laurent Samandari,
French Bakery
Bharat Mitra, Organic India
Rubia Braun, Metro Brava
BY IRA SWASTI & SHREYASI SINGH
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Special Feature
Built with Love +
Smarts
Ditch the thought that great ofces
are the preserve of companies such
as Google and Facebook alone. Let
our story guide you to workplace
designs that understand what you do
and keep your teams happily
productive.
Shella Consultants, Mumbai
INHWA Business Centre, Gurgaon
Only Much Louder, Mumbai
BY IRA SWASTI
44
The Way I Work
Everything about Vservs
Dippak Khurana suggests
purposeful speedhis high
impact exercise regime,
cutting edge ofce and the
steep growth of his mobile
advertising exchange.
AS TOLD TO SONAL KHETARPAL
A Not-So-Easy Ride
Joshua Bornstein has braved
many potholes, hard stops
and roadblocks in setting up
Footprint Ventures in India.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 1
42
12
37
05 Editors Letter
07 Launch
Celebrations at the fth
annual Inc. India 500 Awards
Ceremony
Still disrupting after all these
years: who says innovation is
a young mans game?
Four questions for author
Warren Berger on why
questions are more powerful
than answers
12 Guest Column
By Ajay Wadhwa
Provisions of the new
Companies Act, 2013 explained
in super-simple terms. You dont
want to miss reading this!
48 Founders Forum
Why Sanjeev Chaudhury, MD,
SRL Diagnostics prescribes
power dressing. It cuts a sharp
image for the company.
STRATEGY
37 MANAGING
Understanding neuroscience to
unleash creativity in your company.
40 MANAGING
A micromanagers guide to delegation.
Trust usthis is useful. Really.
42 FINANCE
Think you have the investing game
gured out? Four things every smart
entreprenuer should know about their
personal nance.
CONTENTS
April 2014
2 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO, of 4Gid is awarded the
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Contents
INC.COM
INC.COM / LEAD
What Motivates You:
Calling or Ego?
Do you have a real vocation for what youre doing, or are you just in
business for egoistic reasons? Inc.com columnist Shelley Prevost
shares a few ways to decipher whats really driving you.
1. Ego leads to
burnout.
Calling leads to
fulllment.
You know that
feeling of deep
satisfaction when
youre doing
something you
absolutely love,
thats an aspect of
your calling showing
itself to you.
2. Ego focuses
on the result.
Calling focuses
on the process.
Without a
satisfactory result,
your ego feels that
all your work is
pointless. A calling,
however, comes
from within. It can
handle the stress of
ambiguity.
3. Ego wants to
preserve the self.
Calling wants to
impact others.
A calling might begin with
the expression of the self,
but it moves toward the
needs of others. Author
Frederick Buechner says
that your calling is the
place where your deep
gladness meets the
worlds deep need.
MANAGING DIRECTOR: DR PRAMATH RAJ SINHA
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EDITOR: ANURADHA DAS MATHUR
4 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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Shreyasi Singh
shreyasi.singh@9dot9.in
EDITORS LETTER
The New
Indophiles
Te company builders were from vastly diferent industries
but their angst was unitedagainst labour departments that
could be manipulated into issuing unfair notices,
infrastructure costs that refused to come down even as sales
plateaued or dipped, and compliance formalities that gobbled
up so much management time. Tere was much talk about
moving base to the US or Singapore where entrepreneurs
were actively facilitated for, not fought against. None of what
they said was a surprise, of course. But, it was hard to miss
the massive personal toll and the bitter struggles that
growing a business necessitates in India.
Each year, every year, global indexes state that India is
one of the worst places for business. We rank 134 out of 180
countries in World Banks Ease of Doing Business 2013
report. Te heady growth days of the 2000s had made this
uphill task somehow worth it. Tat has vanished as well in
the past two years as investor sentiment and enthusiasm for
India has waned and other emerging economies such as
Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia have become the seasons
new favours.
You wouldnt think that though if you read Te Foreign
Desis Club, our cover story for this issue. Tese business
buildersall foreign nationalshave chosen to pitch their
entrepreneurial tents in Indias messy and rough landscape.
Be assured, these arent expat entrepreneurs dabbling in an
idea while on a sabbatical, or those running back ofces
stafed with low-cost labour. Armed with a love
(ofen, complicated!) for India, and a strong
belief in its opportunities, they are building
unique, promising and high-growth ventures
that stand out. You might have sampled some of
these brandsthink the classy LOpra bakery
in Delhi or Organic Indias wholesome Tulsi tea.
Te lessons they learnt en route and how they have
navigated through life and work here (most of them have
been in India for more than fve years) is a read that you
wouldnt want to miss.
At the beginning of this year, we committed ourselves to
bringing you stories that demonstrate the impact of good
design on your business. Our special feature Built with Love
+ Smarts lays out a blueprint of ideas and case studies on
workplace designs that can foster team work, productivity
and show (not tell!) what your brand stands for. We truly
hope it inspires.
At a friends party a few weekends
backwith a disproportionate
number of entrepreneurs in
attendanceI was witness to a loud,
agitated discussion about why doing
business in India wasnt worth the
efort anymore.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 5
LAUNCH
News, Ideas & Trends in Brief
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 7
500 Reasons to Celebrate the Year 2013
The fth class of Inc. India 500
inspire our community of founder-CEOs
with peer learning and thought-
provoking sessions. Te presentations
were themed around the key
characteristics needed for entrepreneurial
success. Some of the interesting sessions
were by Vinay Agarwal, managing
partner, PGT Partners, a TOC consulting
frm on leveraging from the constraints
that an organisation faces; and by
Bhawani Singh Shekhawat of Erehwon
Innovation Consulting on thinking
diferently and efectively.
Our relation with the mid-size
community began in January 2010. Since
then we have been privileged to discover
and highlight the countrys most promising
mid-size companies. Five years hence, our
research and methodology might have
changed. But the goal to discover these
hidden gems is a constant.
Estimates suggest these mid-size
companies account for 40 per cent of
exports and 45 per cent of manufacturing.
Despite their growth and their ability to
create jobs and contribute signifcantly,
many of these companies still remain
unsung heroes. And, this is what makes Inc.
India 500 all the more relevant now.
Given the slowing economy, we realised
growth in such a volatile market was a good
enough parameter. So, we focused on the
growth rate of the companys net sales in
the last four fnancial years.
The Inc. India 500 Awards & Conference
2013 was a special event for all of us. Tis
year we completed fve years of celebrating
entrepreneurial success that emerges from
the dynamic, mid-size segment of corporate
India. We were delighted to host several of
our winning companies on March 22, 2014
at Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon.
We were fortunate to have Vinod Rai,
the former Comptroller and Auditor
General of India as our Guest of Honour.
He spoke extensively on the grit and
determination of the mid-size companies
despite the loopholes and corruption that
taint the Indian corporate policy landscape.
Along with the awards ceremony was a
one-day conference. It is our attempt to
The winning companies at the Inc. India 500 Awards & Conference 2013
LAUNCH
8 | INC. | APRIL 2014
What we found out was fascinatingthis
pool of 500 companies is actually a micro-
cosm of Indias economic climate. An impor-
tant trend that came to light when the average
growth rate of our Inc. India 500 companies
for the last fve years was comparedfrom 41
per cent in 2012, the average growth rate fell
down to 37.55 per cent this year. Tis is also
the lowest growth rate of all the last fve years,
which is in stark contrast to the robust 2010
average growth rate of 143.66 per cent.
Same trend is mirrored when the
sectoral growth rate for 2012 and 2013 is
compared. Te share of real estate and other
sectors that fourished during the high
growth years has dropped.
Steel & Ferrous Metal has maintained
its place, and the Textiles & Garment sec-
tor continues to do better. In this years
ranking, the Textiles sector tops with a
total of 59 companies.
Interestingly, almost half (43 per cent) of
the Inc. India 500 fall under the Top 5
performing sectorsTextiles & Garment,
Food & Beverage, Steel & Ferrous Metal,
Chemicals, and IT&ITeS. Tese sectors also
contribute 42 per cent of the total sales of
the Inc. India 500 honourees.
Our this years fastest growing company
is Kolkata-based liquor manufacturing
frm, Pincon Spirit. Tey have a whopping
CAGR of 2,204 per cent for the last three
years and a 2012 revenue of `244 crore.
Incorporated in 1978, this company is
engaged in blending, bottling and
distribution of Indian made foreign liquor.
What is interesting is the No. 1
company for all the last fve years belonged
to a diferent sector in each of our last fve
lists. As always, this years ranking also
demonstrates the high potential and
dynamism of the mid-size Indian
companies. 158 companies from last years
list are still a part of 2013 ranking. And,
out of the fve lists,126 companies have
appeared on our list three times, 47
companies four times, and 23 companies
are on all our fve rankings.
Te number of companies in the
lowest revenue bracket (between `50
crore and `100 crore) has gone down by
20 per cent when compared to our 2012
ranking. Tis ofers a silver lining for the
mid-size segment. It means that these
companies have grown bigger and moved
up the revenue category to `101 to `150
crore. Also, the number of companies in
`501 to `1,000 crore has increased by 13
per cent from last year.
Te persistence and resilience of these
500 companies makes a great occasion to
raise a toast to. With this, we promise to
keep chronicling the success of these mid-
size gems in the many years to come.
Guest of Honour for the fth Inc. India 500: Vinod Rai, the
former Comptroller and Auditor General of India
LAUNCH
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 9
What makes a question beautiful?
A beautiful question reframes an issue
and forces you to look at it in a diferent
way. It challenges assumptions and is
really ambitious. Ofen, these questions
begin with the phrase How might we...
Tey have a magnetic quality that makes
people want to answer them, to talk about
them, to work on them. Tey make the
imagination race. Te Polaroid camera
came out of a 3-year-old girls asking,
Why do we have to wait for the picture?
Tats a beautiful question.
What questions dont get asked early or
often enough in innovation projects?
Tere are two kinds. First, the fundamental
ones. Why are we doing this? What do
people really care about? Second are the
crazy questions. What if we did this
backward? What if we were to subvert all
the assumptions in the feld and do
something that sounds ridiculous?
Interesting ideas can come out of exploring
impossible things. Teres a place for asking
those out-there questions early on, when
you are in the most open stage of thinking.
Companies generally reward people for
coming up with answers. How do you
motivate employees to ask questions?
It has to start with leaders asking questions
themselves. Tats a difcult adjustment,
because a lot of leaders are trained to think,
People look to me for
answers. If I start asking
questions, it will shake their
confdence. But great leaders
do ask questions, and as
long as they are interesting
and ambitious, people dont
get freaked out. So it starts
with the leader and fows
downward to create a
culture of inquiry, where
people feel they can ask
questions without
necessarily knowing the
answer. It drives me crazy
when bosses say, If you are
going to bring a problem to me, youd
better have solutions. Great questions
dont get answered in 10 minutes. Tey
may take six months. You want people to
bring you those great questions, and
maybe the whole company
ends up working on them.
You talk about replacing
mission statements with
questions. Why?
I think people can rally
around a question more
than a statement. A
question tells you we are on
a journey together: How
might we use robotics to
make the world a better
place? A statement says
weve done it already: We
use robotics to make the
world a better place. Te statement is a
little arrogant and maybe a little bit of a
false claim. Te question declares the great
thing you want to do with your company.
Its much more empowering.
Want to Be More Innovative?
Ask Better Questions
When so much information is readily
available to anyone online, the key to inno-
vation is not gathering more data but
rather asking more questionsthe ambi-
tious, frame-changing sort that send com-
panies down unexpected paths of inquiry.
So argues business journalist Warren
Berger, author of the new book A More
Beautiful Question: Te Power of
Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas.
Berger supplied the answers, for a change,
in a recent conversation with Inc. editor-
at-large Leigh Buchanan.
In A More Beautiful Ques-
tion, Warren Berger cites
the revelatory questions
that inspired a number
of successful innova-
tions. These are a few:
What if we could
map the DNA of
music?
Innovation: Pandora
Why cant
everyone accept
credit cards?
Innovation: Square
Why arent
football players
urinating more?
Innovation: Gatorade
LAUNCH
10 | INC. | APRIL 2014
Still Disrupting after all these Years?
Who says innovation is a young
mans game?
The Mark Zuckerbergs of the world havent cornered the market on innovation.
New research suggests that middle age might be the ideal time to challenge the status
quo. In fact, the average age that Nobel Prize winners and great inventors make their
most notable breakthrough is 39, according to a study by Benjamin F. Jones, a professor
at Kellogg School of Management.
Why are so many people trying to innovate later in life? Middle age brings conf-
dence, experience, deeper networks, and may be even some cash savings, says Debra
Kaye, author of Red Tread Tinking. Plus, new brain research shows that the prefrontal
cortex, which handles judgement and reason, doesnt fully develop until 25. And the
brain continues to produce new neurons well into old age.
If you keep using these new neurons, you can still compete with younger people,
says Kaye. Here are some innovators who hit their stride afer 40. Jennifer Alsever
Scientist
Gertrude B. Elion
Elion developed treat-
ments for many major
diseasesincluding
cancer, malaria, and
AIDS. In 1959, at 41, she
received a patent on a
treatment for leukemia.
She was awarded a
Nobel Prize in medicine.
Scaled Composites
Burt Rutan
In 1984, after decades of
aerospace inventions,
Rutan launched the Voy-
ager, the rst plane to y
around the world with-
out stopping, at 41. At
62, he launched the rst
privately funded human
space ight, with the
suborbital space plane
SpaceShipOne. Rutan,
70, recently retired.
Statesman
Benjamin Franklin
Franklin began publish-
ing Poor Richards
Almanack in his 20s, but
he did not invent the
lightning rod until he
was 41, in 1749. He
signed the Declaration
of Independence at 70.
Inventor
Nikola Tesla
Tesla had a hand in
many disruptive inven-
tions, including electric
motors and X-rays. One
big breakthrough came
in 1898, when, at 42, he
demonstrated the rst
radio-controlled boat in
New York City, helping to
lay the groundwork for
radio transmissions.
Vanguard Group
John Bogle
After being red from
Wellington Management
in 1974, Bogle, then 45,
founded the Vanguard
Group. Its innovative
approach to fund man-
agement saved share-
holders hundreds of
billions in fees and dis-
rupted the nancial
industry. Bogle, 84, is
now retired.
Age
0 10 20 30 40
45 44 42 41
41
41
45
45
Age of U.S. tech
entrepreneurs at
the time of
founding
0
-
2
4
2
5
-
3
4
3
5
-
4
4
4
5
-
5
4
5
5
+
5%
26%
45%
18%
6%
LAUNCH
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 11
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Mary Kay Ash
After a decade of watch-
ing men get promoted
ahead of her, this sales-
woman set out, at 45, to
build Mary Kay Cosmet-
ics in 1963. Ash brought
multilevel marketing
into the mainstream,
tapping an underem-
ployed army of women
to sell her products.
Apple
Steve Jobs
Though he founded
Apple at 21, Jobs
launched some of his
most successful prod-
ucts later in life
including the iPod in
2001, the iPhone in
2007, and the iPad in
2010. They fundamen-
tally changed how peo-
ple consume media and
use the Internet.
Sikorsky Aircraft
Igor Sikorsky
In 1942, after decades of
tinkering on aviation
projects, the Russian-
American founder of
Sikorsky Aircraft created
the rst modern mass-
produced helicopter, the
R-4, at 52.
Novelist
Toni Morrison
The American writer
published her rst novel
at 39. In 1988, at 57, she
won the Pulitzer Prize
for Beloved. Morrison,
who has received a
Nobel Prize for her
work, continues to
write at 82.
Composer
Elliott Cook Carter Jr.
This American, who
wrote many orchestral
pieces and ballets,
twice won the Pulitzer
Prizein 1967, at 59,
and in 1973, at 65. He
also wrote more than
40 works from ages 90
to 100.
Walmart
Sam Walton
In 1962, after years of
managing retail stores,
Walton opened his rst
Walmart store at 44. He
pioneered the big-box
retail model. With his
aggressive push for dis-
counting, Walton shifted
the balance of power in
retailing from the manu-
facturer to the consumer.
Ford Motor Company
Henry Ford
Ford ddled with auto-
mobile inventions for
seven years before
starting Ford Motor
Company in 1903. At 45,
he introduced the Model
T, sparking the Ameri-
can auto boom. He also
created the rst moving
assembly line.
Chef
Julia Child
Child didnt hit her stride
until 49, when she co-
authored the 3-pound
cookbook Mastering the
Art of French Cooking, in
1961. Through the book
and her cooking shows,
Child introduced French
culinary skills to the
American masses.
McDonalds
Ray Kroc
The McDonalds founder
worked as a piano player
and a paper-cup sales-
man before, at 52, he set
out in 1940 to build what
would become the
worlds largest restau-
rant chain. Kroc system-
ised operations so that a
burger in any city would
taste the same.
Playwright
George Bernard Shaw
Shaw wrote his rst suc-
cessful work at 38 and
continued to write hits
well into his 60s. He
later won a Nobel Prize
in literature and, at 82,
an Oscar.
50 60 70 80 90
90 82 52 49 46
52
57
Mid-size, high-growth companies, and their promoters, directors
and key managerial personnel (KMP) know that legal compliance is a
worthy investment for them. Not only does proper and timely legal
compliance enable a promoter, director or a KMP to concentrate on
growth, a compliant company is also preferred by investors, collabo-
rators and banks. Needless to state, an excellent corporate image of a
legally compliant entity is an additional bonus.
In India, the Companies Act, 1956 is one of the primary legisla-
tions applicable on companies functioning in India. Te position
under the current Companies Act, 1956, is quite liberal vis--vis vari-
ous compliances, as most of the ofences are compoundable in
nature. However, this position is set to change very soon, as the new
Companies Act, 2013, as and when notifed fully, provides for pro-
hibitive penalties and/or jail terms for certain erstwhile compound-
Making compliance simpler
Some key provisions of the
new Companies Act, 2013
explained. Miss reading this
at your own peril.
four meetings of its Board of Directors every year in such a manner
that not more than 120 days shall intervene between two consecutive
meetings of the Board. Tis means that under the new Act, all Board
Meetings will have to be properly planned so that the time interval
between two Board Meetings does not exceed 120 days.
Notice of Board Meeting: In terms of Section 173(3) of the new
Act, a meeting of the Board shall be called by giving not less than
seven days notice in writing to every director at his address registered
with the company and such notice shall be sent by hand delivery or
by post or by electronic means. Until now, the Board Meetings were
normally being conducted without any specifc time based require-
ment of notice, so even a few hours notice would be sufcient. Tis is
now set to change under the new Act.
able ofences. In fact, 98 sections of the new
Act have already become applicable from
September 12, 2013.
Te new Act contains provisions on very
many issues which had been unaddressed till
now. Further, the penalties have been made
quite strict with heavy monetary fnes, and
even imprisonment in certain cases. In fact,
the phrase prevention is better than cure is
more than ever relevant now. Lets go
through some of the important provisions.
Key Managerial Personnel: Under the
new Act, the term Key Managerial Person-
nel has been defned to include CFO, CEO,
Company Secretary and other such ofcers.
Te KMP is now also covered under the def-
inition of Ofcer in default. A KMP may
now therefore, be liable for penalties and/or
imprisonment, as the case may be, for vari-
ous defaults under the new Act of 2013.
Resident Director: In terms of Section
149(3) of the new Act, every company shall
have at least one Director who has stayed
in India for a total period of not less than
182 days in the previous calendar year.
Private companies, especially those having
only two non-resident Directors, such as
Indian subsidiaries of foreign companies
will be most afected by this provision.
Such companies should now seriously
start looking for suitable candidates to be
inducted as resident director as and when
this provision is notifed.
Frequency of Board Meeting: In
terms of Section 173(1) of the new Act, a
company shall hold a minimum number of
12 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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H
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N
K
S
T
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C
K
P
H
O
T
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S
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I
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GUEST COLUMN
BY AJAY WADHWA
Ajay Wadhwa is an advocate, and a
senior partner at Prolegal Universal,
Advocates & Advisors.
GUEST COLUMN
Board meeting through video conferencing: In terms of
Section 173(2) of the new Act, a Board Meeting can be held through
video conferencing, however every director of a company shall
attend, at least one Board Meeting in a fnancial year of the company,
in person. Moreover, the following matters cannot be dealt with
through video conferencing or by a circular resolutionapproval of
the annual fnancial statements and approval of the Boards report.

Interested Director will not be counted for the purpose
of quorum: In terms of Section 184(2) of the new Act, every
director of a company who is, directly or indirectly, concerned or
interested in a contract or arrangement or proposed contract or
arrangement entered into or to be entered into with a related entity,
shall disclose the nature of his
concern or interest at the meeting
of the Board in which the contract
or arrangement is discussed. Fur-
ther, the interested director shall
not participate in such a meeting.
Tis provision may create prob-
lems for companies having a small
Board, of say two directors. How
the business, where one of the said
two directors is interested (for instance, pertaining to fxation/
enhancement of salary of one of the directors), will be conducted, is
a question which requires to be answered, and would require struc-
turing of such Boards.
Board Meeting details will be led to Registrar of Com-
panies (ROC): Details of holding number of Board Meetings, total
number of directors on the date of meeting and attendance of the
directors in each meeting will have to be fled with ROC via annual
flling documents i.e. Board Report and Annual Return.
Disclosure pertaining to associate, holding and subsid-
iary companies required: Even when it comes to reporting, the
newly prescribed form of Annual Return requires much more detail.
Now, information on associate companies which exercise infuence
because they have 20 per cent or more share capital, or control busi-
ness decision by way of an agreement, holding and subsidiary will
also be required to be disclosed.
Secretarial standards are proposed to be made manda-
tory: Te secretarial standards as may be issued by the Institute of
Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) from time to time, are proposed
to be made mandatorily applicable under the new Act of 2013. Tis
would mean that the compliance ofcer of the company would now
have to work extra-hard to ensure that all the secretarial standards
issued by the ICSI are complied with, in letter as well as in spirit.
Alternatively, the outside counsel will have to spend additional time
in understanding and applying these Secretarial Standards to keep
the companies being advised by them, above board at all times,
thereby increasing the cost of legal compliance.
Rule bases Statute: Te new Act of 2013 is primarily a rule based
statute, where most of the sections have to be read together with the
prescribed rules. Each chapter has separate rules, which are to be fully
understood, for the purpose of applying them properly. Further, the
rules may undergo frequent changes from time to time, so it would be
imperative for the Legal Counsel of a company to keep himself
abreast of these changes, in order to keep the company fully compli-
ant from time to time.
Substantial increase in the punishments and penalties:
Under the new Act of 2013, the penalties and punishment for non-
compliance have been increased substantially. For instance, default
made in flling of specifc resolutions with ROC, where the current
Act of 1956 provides for a pen-
alty of `200 per day till the
default continues, the new Act
of 2013 provides penalty of not
less than `5,00,000 but which
may extend to `25,00,000. Fur-
ther, any default made in rela-
tion to issue of duplicate share
certifcates, failure to pay divi-
dend within the prescribed
period etc. have now been made non-compoundable with a jail term.
Tis trend indicates that the intent of the legislature is to make the
companies fully compliant with the provisions thereof, and deal with
any act of non-compliance very harshly. Some of the said instances
entailing strict penalties are detailed here under:
Tampering with the minutes of the proceeding of the com-
pany: Any person, who is in default, shall be liable to imprisonment
of up to two years, and fne which may be extended up to `100,000.
Ofences involving fraud: Te ofence covered under fraud are
very wide in nature including but not limited to wrongful gain,
wrongful loss and misuse of any position etc. Any person, who is
found to be guilty of fraud, shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may
extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fne which shall not be
less than the amount involved in the fraud, but which may extend to
three times the amount involved in the fraud. Tere are number of
provisions under the new enactment, which attract a punishment
equivalent to punishment for fraud.
Punishment for false statement: Any person who makes a
statement which is false in any material particular, knowing it to be
false or omission to disclose a fact, knowing it to be material, in rela-
tion to any return, report, certifcate, fnancial statement, prospectus
statement, or other document required by the provisions of this Act
or rules made there under, shall be liable to a punishment equivalent
to punishment for fraud.
The new Company law
contains provisions on
many issues which were
unaddresssed till now.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 13
Ajay Wadhwa can be reached at ajay@prolegal.in
14 | INC. | APRIL 2014
India has hardened
me as a business
person but softened
me as a person. To
be honest, India
beats the hell out of
me but I still love it.
MARK KAHN, FOUNDING PARTNER,
OMNIVORE PARTNERS
ark Kahn says hes been an Indophile
since the age of 13. Growing up amidst
a bustling Indian diaspora in Hous-
ton, Texas, Kahns afnity for India
continued to grow into his college
days at the University of Pennsylvania
when he frst visited India, and later at
Harvard Business School where he
became the frst frang to run the South Asian Asso-
ciation. In 2008, he moved to India to work with
Godrej Agrovet, the agribusiness vertical of Godrej
Industries. In 2010, Kahn co-founded Omnivore
Partners, a venture fund to invest in food and agri-
culture technology companies in India. It was a
dream move for Kahn as it fused his three big pas-
sionsIndia, agriculture and technology (possibly,
in that order). Omnivore Partners has had an excit-
ing nearly four years. Kahn and his co-founder,
Jinesh Shah, have raised a frst fund of `260 crore
(all from India), and have invested in nine compa-
nies, including a farm machines business in Rajkot
and an agri supply chain technology frm in Banga-
lore. His relentless travels across India has given him
an understanding of the country and its agriculture
that would put most Indians to shame. Doing busi-
ness here though has shattered his earlier romantic
illusions about India, Kahn confesses, although he
cant imagine living anywhere else now.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 15
India might be one of the
worlds most difcult
places to do business in.
But, a group of foreigners
seem to scoff at that,
almost saying So
What?!?. Armed with a
love and fascination for
India, they are building
promising, fast-growing
businesses that stand out
in Indias dynamic
entrepreneurial vista.
Their journey of surviving
and ourishing in a
country that consistently
ranks amongst the
toughest business
environments is full of
great stories and
seemingly counter-
intuitive lessons of
entrepreneurship.
By IRA SWASTI &
SHREYASI SINGH
Photographs by SUBHOJIT PAUL
Design by SRISTI MAURYA
My Challenges
Building a business is tough anywhere. Its
only more so in India. First, there is an
incredible amount of competition, a hostile
regulatory environment and massive
amounts of uncertainty. It makes planning
very difcult. Teres also a classic tendency
in India for everything to be illegal unless
specifcally given permission. Tats how
Bharat sarkaar likes things to be. It likes
people to always be on their toes. Ten,
with respect to suppliers, customers and
employees, contractual agreements are
quite callously treated because of the lack
of legal recourse. Ive gotten so used to
being hammered that it has hardened the
hell out of me. Getting stuck in Delhi traf-
fc for two hours? Its fne. Tings being
screwed up the frst six times? Fine.
Nobody ever saying if anythings wrong?
Fine. People saying its 15 minutes when its
15 hours? Fine. When youve been here
long enough and lived through these dis-
appointments, your expectations get cali-
brated by experience.
But, I dont think these things are just dif-
fcult for an immigrant like me. Everyone
from the MD of Reliance to the chaiwallah
is similarly afected. My big personal chal-
lenge is one of credibility. India is not used to
having foreigners who understand its culture
and language. Sometimes it gets frustrating
that afer living here for a decade, people still
ask you if youre going to be okay drinking-
water or if the foods too spicy. Im from
Texas. We eat chillies that would kill you.
Te one thing I feel I have to constantly do is
to reassert my credibility every time I meet
somebody new.
Te India Opportunity: My love for India
since when I frst came here as a backpacker
has become a lot less nave. Actually, its
almost like an abusive relationshipIndia
beats the hell out of me and I still love it. I
would be bored anywhere else.
More than anything else though, India
offers a gigantic opportunity for both profts
and impact. Our fund invests in ventures in
agriculture and food technology. Tere are
nine companies in our portfolio so farone
Mark Kahn says people are
constantly surprised that
he speaks decent Hindi and
loves parallel desi cinema.
THE FOREIGN
DESIS CLUB
16 | INC. | APRIL 2014
in Noida, one in Rajkot, three in Bangalore,
one in Vijayawada, one in Nashik, one in
Guwahati and one in Salem. I am very conf-
dent that India will achieve long-term food
security provided that the innovation
required to realise those yields are allowed to
disseminate. India has 1.2 billion mouths to
feed so were more than okay on the demand
side. On the supply side, the yields are so
atrociously bad that seeing it double and tri-
ple is very forseeable.
To be honest, some things are easier in
India. Te Indian approach to professional
life, which is to say, do your work right and
outsource everything else (cooking, clean-
ing, driving) is something that works very
well for me. I tend to work about 80 hours a
week and travel 75 per cent of the time so I
fnd this set-up personally quite efective.
LESSONS LEARNT:
You have to be more agile and resilient
because of the uncertainty. You have to be
ready to pivot at a moments notice, thanks to
unexpected policy changes.
India is the ultimate free market for talent.
People have no loyalty unless you start
investing in them. Its counter-intuitive but
Ive learnt that upfront investment in people
(training, infrastructure) which is what
Western management prescribes doesnt
work here. You frst let your people perform
and then you invest in them.
Te least grateful people Ive met here are
MBAs from leading colleges. Tey feel enti-
tled. A great HR strategy is to actually fgure
out how to access talent in second tier
schools because those people are happy with
the opportunities you give them.
India is still a culture of people. You cannot
do a meeting on the phone here. You have to
sit across a person and take darshan. Rela-
tionships with your teams arent transac-
tional like it is in the US or Europe. One is
invested in the life events of those around us.
Ive seen this even in large corporates. Tere
is a paternalism that you could say is a bad
thing but it is also a very good thing.
Sean Blagsvedt came to India in 2004 to set up the Microsoft Research Lab.
While working on his research on using technology for social and economic
development in emerging markets, Blagsvedt came across a Duke University
paper that said people can move out of poverty by diversifying their income.
Inspired by that insight, in 2007, Blagsvedt started Babajob, a web and mobile
startup that connects informal sector job seekers such as cooks, drivers and
security guards with the right employers. Since founding, Babajob, which has
investors such as Vinod Khosla, Gray Ghosts Veture and USAID-DIV, has listed
2.3 million job positions from 1,00,000 employers and registered two million job
seekers on its portal. Blagsvedt takes us through the journey of building a com-
pany that has tried to bring some method to Indias vast informal sector.
Would you say India is one of the most difcult places to do business in?
Well, Ive never built a business anywhere else but India. Actually, whether India is
a difcult place to do business in depends on what eld youre working in. In the
internet mobile space, its not that much different from any other country. Our
content isnt regulated, weve never paid a bribe and weve never been asked to
pay one. When I started out, I was sure I wanted to work in an industry where
opportunities for corruption dont exist. Also, weve never pursued contracts with
the government where the possibility of a kickback exists. We dont want the gov-
ernment to be a customer. In every country, you can take a position which helps
you steer clear of odd situations.
Have you faced any unique challenges while running Babajob in India?
When we began, there wasnt a mature ecosystem for capital. That has now
completely changed with several VC funds in the tech space. More than that
challenge, our biggest difculty was illiteracy. Most of our targeted users have
limited literacy; their capacity to pay for a service is also less than in other places
and the availability of digital mechanisms by which they can pay for a service are
limited too. But these challenges are to be expected in any developing economy.
Has it been difficult to build credibility as a foreigner while running a business?
Theres a natural skepticism when it comes to foreigners anywherepeople
might think youre not going to be around for more than a year, and theyd rather
not partner with you. That is a reasonable doubt. By being here for a while now,
we have demonstrated our commitment to building this business in India.
Weve never paid a bribe.
And weve never been
asked to pay one.
SEAN BLAGSVEDT, founder, Babajob.com
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 17
oshua Bornstein
didnt have big India
plans when he came
here in 2001 to work as
a summer intern at
Infosys, Bangalore. He
thought hed gain the
twin experience of
working in a
technology company,
and do so in an emerging
economy which at that time was
poised to turn a corner. Te
emerging economy card worked
and Bornstein soon landed a job at
an investment bank in Los Angeles
in 2002. But, that joy was short-
lived. Bornstein was miserable with
the companys hierarchical
structure and in 2003 decided to
come back to Infosys. His second
stint at Infosys ended in 2006. But,
Bornstein, a US citizen, still hasnt
bought a return ticket home. In
2007, he began an early stage
venture capital fund called
Footprint Ventures with two other
partners from the US. Over the past
seven years, Footprint has invested
in companies such as Canvera,
Mast Kalandar and Hector
Beverages. Bornstein admits doing
business in India has been far from
picture-perfect. He lays out the
good, the bad and the ugly for us.
My Challenges
As a non-native investor in India, I think I enjoy the
advantage of having a long-term perspective towards
business that is otherwise missing here. Te Indian
business environment is about very near-term thinking.
Ive seen many entrepreneurs look at their roles with a
very limited lens. If someone has invested `20-30 crore
in their business, then tend to think about how to
maximise their returns instead of building an
organisation that can scale up.
Also, there is a tremendous amount of operational
friction in India because the existing infrastructure, dis-
tribution networks and payment methods that are pres-
ent elsewhere need to be created from scratch. Tis takes
up a lot of investment and time. You need extreme patience
to navigate through that especially if youre growing businesses in the domestic con-
sumer market like we do.
A big challenge also is the unfortunate situation you will encounter by way of
under the table pay-ofs in a lot of businesses where you can make money in India.
Tis doesnt interest me from an ethical perspective or a Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act perspective. I wouldnt want to get my hands dirty. But I fnd that people here
dont seem to have ethical qualms about sometimes indulging in that. Teres a lot of
family money to put to use. Lets be honest, sectors where real wealth has been created
in India in the past 20 years include resourceswhether it is coal or telecom spec-
trumthings that are in short supply and require government licenses.
Te Indian Opportunity: I think theres a huge opportunity in the two areas we
invest inthe domestic consumer market in India where companies are trying to
shif the system from unorganised, fragmented suppliers to an organised branded
environment. Tats an unflled niche in the market and people are beginning to
look at more branded options as opposed to local options . Te other area is cross
border technology startups that use India as a low cost development base because
you have a highly talented technical base available at a relatively low cost and sell in
the overseas market. Tere may be some initial customers in India but the real
market is outside of India because people do not value technology here. May be its
because the cost of labour is so cheap or because technology breeds transparency.
If you could use the best of both worlds, Indias talent base and markets outside
JOSHUA BORNSTEIN, CO-FOUNDER, FOOTPRINT VENTURES
If you have patience,
there are ways of making
money in this country.
THE FOREIGN
DESIS CLUB
18 | INC. | APRIL 2014
that are willing to pay for value, I think then you can make money.
Secondly, in the US, because there is far more capital than there is
in India, there is far more competition as an investor. While you have
less operational friction there, there are 10 guys shooting arrows in
your back or trying to take you down. Tere is no guarantee that
youll be the winner because technology and consumer preferences
are quick to change. Because of the dearth of capital in India, if youre
able to build a brand with a unique distribution here, you have a high
chance of creating proftable properties that will last for a long time.
You get a much longer gestation period in India if youre investing in
building brands.
On the other hand, its interesting how you can make money in
the cross border technology sector in India. Because valuations are so
high and money is so free fowing in the US, as an early stage investor,
you may not get much in a $75 million or $100 million deal. Because
these companies require so much capital, unless youre the last inves-
tor or you have some liquidation preference or other rights, youll get
cramped down. So the advantage that India brings on the tech side is
that costs are lower due to a solid tech base, so even if a company has
$75 or $100 million acquisition price, everyone in the food chain can
make money because the place is so starved for capital.
LESSONS LEARNT
Never do a deal because everyone in the industry is jumping on the
bandwagon. Tere are 12 to 18-month waves of hot sectors such as
mobile VAS, education, microfnance, e-commerce, F&B and now its
health care. If something is in vogue, be a little skeptical because India
is actually an extremely shallow market. People tend to get carried
away by the 1.2 billion-market, 300-400 million middle class people.
But if you look at the numbers, say GDP per city, its Mumbai, Delhi,
Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and then it falls of the clif. Its easy
to get seduced by the law of large numbers but this is a very value con-
scious country.
If youre working in the domestic consumer market, distribution is
the key to succeed. Tis is difcult to accomplish because your gross
margins are low, thanks to being hammered on price by your
customer base, and high operational costs because of the friction.
You need to have a long term horizon on your investments here. As
an early stage investor, it becomes important to maintain your stake
in the company from Series A to Series B to Series C if the frm does
not have an outrageous valuation. You quickly get diluted otherwise.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 19
Joshua Bornstein feels
doing business in India is
far from picture-perfect.
LAURENT SAMANDARI, MD, FRENCH BAKERY
There is no perfect country. If it
was easy, everybody would do it.
KAZEM SAMANDARI, CHAIRMAN, FRENCH BAKERY
The Samandari-Nicolliers are the
French version of a big business
family. (from left to right Camille
Nicollier, Fabienne Nicollier, Clement
Nicollier, Christine Samandari, Pierre
Nicollier, Kazem Samandari and
Laurent Samandari)
THE FOREIGN
DESIS CLUB
20 | INC. | APRIL 2014
Our Challenges
Kazem Samandari: Entreprenuers are driven
by discovering an opportunity, understanding
the challenges and difculties, and then sys-
tematically following an objective without
being discouraged and defocused. So, in the
beginning itself, we decided on certain guide-
lines. We wanted to do things perfectly, and
decided not to take shortcuts even if things got
delayed or more expensive. We are not here to
make a quick buck. Of course, it took us an
eternity to register the company, to get the
papers, get the licenses needed and the authori-
sations but instead of trying to complain, we
tried to learn how to do it right.
In most other economies, you know you
will have the basics such as power, water and
suppliers that can guarantee you a standard,
consistent quality of supplies. Tis was an
enormous challenge in India. One of the frst
things we did while setting up our 9,000 square
feet bakery facility in India was to install a
water treatment system, and a power standby
unit. Its also been a big struggle to identify reli-
able partners to import supplies for usyou
cant imagine the nightmare, the absolute
nightmare of getting a four which is of a difer-
ent gluten or moisture content. I exaggerate not
that your croissants can change up to 50 per
cent if you use the incorrect fourthey just
wont rise. Plus, all our raw materials are
imported. Our butter and cream comes from
Normandy. When they go through customs
here, it is difcult to make sure that they are
properly stored and handled. Such infrastruc-
tural issues are very, very difcult in India.
Another bizarre challenge that is unique
not to India, but to Delhi in particular is that
you cant have commercial cars that run on
anything but CNG. But, engines in CNG vehi-
cles arent very strong. Tere are no commer-
cially available cars that are powerful enough
to have sufcient cooling for chilling the pas-
tries when we transport products during the
day to our outlets. Delivery is therefore such a
challenge for us. We deliver four or fve times a
day. We had to fnd a solution to do thisso we
got individual chilled transport units. Tey
hen Laurent Samandari,
managing director of French
Bakery, the company that
runs the upmarket patisserie
and boulangerie, LOpra, says
he feels at home in India, he
more than means it. Saman-
dari, who is from France, lives in a corner bun-
galow in a leafy Delhi neighbourhood with his
maternal grandmother, mother (Christine
Samandari) and father, Kazem Samandari, also
the companys chairman. Not very far from
there live Laurents frst cousin, Pierre Nicollier
(the companys CEO), his wife Fabienne Nicol-
lier and their three young children. Together,
the Samandaris and Nicolliers are building the
family business into a popular patisserie
brand which in a little over three years has
grown to nine outlets in the Delhi-NCR region.
LOpra is known for its macaroons, French
bread and choux pastry, and kneads in monthly
sales of `1-crore a month (approximate average).
Tis is no small task considering its high price
points, and the high mortality of restaurants in
Delhis competitive F&B space which is plagued
with prohibitive real estate costs and labyrin-
thine license requirments. Interestingly, Lau-
rents India sojourn is courtesy his older sister,
Caroline Avanzo, who spent more than seven
years in Delhi with her husband, a McKinsey &
Co Partner who was stationed in the Gurgaon
ofce from 2005 till late 2012. Laurent frst
came to India as a management student in Janu-
ary 2008 to put in a six-month internship stint
with Usha International, the consumer durable
and manufacturing company. He craved French
desserts during his stay here but the pastries
available at Te Imperial, Te Oberoi and stand-
alone outlets such as Choko La lef him unimpressed. So, Laurent set
to work to make a detailed business plan for a high-quality French
bakery chain in India. His father who had spent three months in
India as a backpacking college student in 1967, and has worked in
more than 60 countries, was very encouraging. Now, the father-son
duo are in the happy throes of building a company. To borrow bak-
ing parlancethings have risen fast from their frst outlet in DLF
Golf Club, Gurgaon in January 2011. Tey have already invested
nearly `12 crore into the business so far, and are working on expan-
sion plans to take the brand to other cities outside of Delhi NCR.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 21
cost a hell lot of money but were now able
to deliver chilled products, and keep
them at 5 degree-6 degree Celsius for up
to 10 hours.
For all these challenges, we took a very
pragmatic, systematic approach to go to the
root cause, look for solutions, and set them
right before we moved ahead. We spent
nearly a year all of 2010to create this
infrastructure before we even baked our
frst croissant. Other than all of this, the rest
is the same as running an F&B business
anywhere elsebranding, service and the
look-and-feel of your outlets.
The India Opportunity:
Laurent Samandari: In 2008,
when I frst came to India, every
day in France there was a big story
about the potential of business in
India. I havent been disappointed.
With LOpra, we are in for the long term.
We want to build a strong brand across
India and the fact that so much of my fam-
ily largely lives out of here now shows our
next several years will be spent building the
brand in India. Every person of the family is
involved in some way in running the busi-
nessmy mother takes care of the cus-
tomer experience aspect, Fabienne helps
out with our event catering vertical. Of
course, the business environment has been
difcult in the past 12-18 months. But, we
are not distracted by a year or two of slow
growth. Yes, we feel the pinch of the general
economic condition too. So, weve tweaked
our expansion plan. Instead of organic
growth in each of our outlets, weve opened
new stores to grow at more than 15 per cent.
Personally, India has been great. I think
theres a lot in common between French
and Indian culture. Tey are both very rela-
tionship driven. Plus, there is a so much to
discover in India. If you take just food, there
is so much you can sample. Ive lived in Sin-
gapore too. It was an interesting experience
but I feel more comfortable here. Obviously,
infrastructure bottlenecks and little respect
for punctuality are pet peeves. In fact,
recently, I was travelling in Holland and I
was so surprised that the train arrived at the
station at exact second it was scheduled.
Tese things surprise me now!
The story of Organic India, a Luc-
know-based organic and herbal agri-
cultural products company, seems
straight out of a novel or a movie.
Yoav Lev came to India in the late
1980s for a journey that had nothing
to do with business. He had traveled
from the United States to meet H.W.L
Poonja, the spiritual teacher. The
time Lev spent at Papajis ashram, as
Poonja was fondly called by his disci-
ples, changed his journey for life.
Along with a group of people, and
encouraged by his spiritual teacher to
start a busines in India, Lev, who has
since changed his name to Bharat
Mitra (friend of India) set up Organic
India in 1997.
The idea was to establish a sus-
tainable business model to support
the livelihood of thousands of impov-
erished farmers by providing training
and education, and opening markets
for herbal products, such as tulsi.
Over the past two years, Organic India
has grown to a rm with annual sales
of `150 crore and 300 people. The
popularity of its family of herbal prod-
uctsits agship tulsi tea, herbal
supplements, spices and edible oils
which Organic India exports to more
than 35 countries including USA,
Canada, Germany and
France has given way to
what Mitra proudly says is
a sustainable, holistic business built
on being both environmentally sus-
tainable and socially responsible. All
its products meet the stringest test-
ing standards of the many European
countries it exports to.
It has demonstrated that organic
(the practice of growing crops without
the use of chemical pesticides, herbi-
cides and fertilisers), biodynamic
farming (built on crop rotation and a
planting calendar that use the cycles
of the moon, the sun and the seasons
to determine the best time to plant
each crop), and ethical wildcrafting
(the practice of harvesting plants from
the wild in a sustainable manner,
without depleting the population or
damaging the habitat of the plants
that are being harvested) can help
create solid companies. Organic India
is now looking at an annual revenue of
`220 crore by 2015, and has continu-
ously grown at an average 35-40 per
cent over the past three years. In early
2013, William Bissells Fabindia
invested in Organic India, and now
owns nearly 40 per cent of the com-
pany. This equity partnership is help-
ing script a new chapter of growth.
Mitra credits his companys success
to the ancient wisdom of India. But,
wonders why even as con-
sumers across the world
are beginning to make buy-
India can show the world a
business model built on both
ethical values and prots.
BHARAT MITRA, founder, Organic India
THE FOREIGN
DESIS CLUB
22 | INC. | APRIL 2014
THE FOREIGN
DESIS CLUB
If you always need to be in
control, India is not for you.
Rubia Braun landed in India from Australia in 2007
to intern with a sound recording unit in Hyderabad
to fnd that the opportunity didnt actually exist.
Undaunted, Braun found ways to stay on in India
and work in the Indian flm industry, frst as a spot
girl and later as a flm producer. By then, she was
hooked and in love with the country and its poten-
tial, Braun claims. In 2009, she co-founded Metro
Brava, a flm production company, with her friend
Kranthi Varma to make low-budget feature flms.
Today, Metro Brava spans the entire gamut of the
content businessdistribution and exhibition of
flm content, social media marketing, talent matching, study tours and guest
speaking. Braun shares her rules for doing business in India.
Be Prepared to Never Be Fully Prepared: India is a place full of endless adventure and
opportunity as well as chaos and complications. But, its true that whatever you have planned,
doesnt necessarily happen that way. Once you accept that youll never be fully prepared for
whats coming, it gives you a sense of freedom. You will become the most adaptable version of
yourself which is an incredible skill for an entrepreneur. If youre the sort of person that needs
to feel totally in control, India might not be the place for you.
An Open Mind is the Only Mind: One of the hardest lessons I had to learn while conducting
business here is that your past expectations and opinions might work very nicely overseas, but
mean very little in a place as charismatic as India. You need to learn that its not so simple as
right and wrongits just diferent. When I frst came over I was very confused by the lack of
progress on some of the projects I was pushing with all my heart. My local counterparts kept
pointing out how hard they work but all I could see was that our deadlines were not being
met. Tis was the diference between my Germanic expectations of meeting deadlines versus
the set-process oriented Indian work ethic. I started to focus more upon the processes in place
and we met deadlines!
Learn and Learn Quickly: One of the best things about being an entrepreneur in India is
that its an environment where you can aford to make mistakes and move on. Youll learn
that you are resourceful, passionate, trustworthy and you possess a whole plethora of skills
you never knew you had.
Never Compromise on Quality: One of the great things about coming from a foreign
country and working in India is that people expect you to be good at what you do. For some
reason, you get credibility if you happen to be from the overseas. You get branded as some-
one who will deliver in quality and have excellent fnishing skills. Tis may or may not be
true, but I suggest that you do whatever you can in your power to make sure that quality is
one of the things that you consistently deliver. Because its ofen missing in business here, it
is much appreciated.
ing choices based on ethical
values and sustainability, Indias
business community hasnt
kept pace.
My spiritual search led me
to start business in India. This
country has given me so much
peace but it also tests my love
on a daily basis! There is no
doubt that there are many,
many challenges especially the
bureaucracy and corruption.
But, equally, there is much to
guide you if you so want to be
steered. More than the chal-
lenges of business, what has
dismayed me most over the
past decade or so is the enthu-
siasm with which corporate
India is embracing Western
values, and ways of operation
and approach that doesnt do
justice to India. Its devastating
to see how big, global compa-
nies have changed Indian soci-
ety; and why we are so willing
to bring to organisations inter-
ested in making a quick buck
here. There was much talk
about India being a global eco-
nomic leader. India can play a
major role only if it connected
to its core value, if it respects
its ancient wisdom, and learns
how to integrate that with busi-
ness. If India will allow globali-
sation and MNCs to wash over
everything it should hold on to,
it wont work. India is destined
to provide the world with a
whole new model of doing
business where there is a focus
on making prots but by being
value-based and ethical. We
can teach the world that there
is no contradiction between
those two.
RUBIA BRAUN, CO-FOUNDER, METRO BRAVA
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BYIRA SWASTI
GREAT WORKPLACE
DESIGNS THAT HELP YOU
STAND OUT, AND KEEP YOUR
TEAMS PRODUCTIVE
Smarts
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 27
BUILT WITH LOVE + SMARTS
IF YOU DONT WANT
YOUR EMPLOYEES TO
BEHAVE LIKE FACTORY
ROBOTS, STOP TREAT-
ING YOUR OFFICES AS
FACTORY ASSEMBLY
LINES. EVERYBODY
NEEDS INSPIRATION AT
WORK AND YOU CANT
GET THAT IN DRAB
WHITE AND BEIGE
OFFICES. HERE ARE
THREE THOUGHTFULLY
DESIGNED WORK-
PLACES THAT NOT ONLY
BREAK EVERYDAY
MONOTONY BUT ARE
DESIGNED TO REFLECT
EMPLOYEES NEEDS,
RESPONSIBILITIES AND
INTERESTS. SO,
DEBUNK THE BELIEF
THAT GREAT OFFICES
ARE THE PRIVILEGE OF
THE LIKES OF GOOGLE
AND FACEBOOK. READ
AHEAD TO SEE HOW
YOU CAN BUILD A DIS-
TINCTIVE WORKPLACE
THAT IS ALSO PRODUC-
TIVE AND EFFICIENT.
Ofce entrancesoftenmake
themistakeofmirroringhotel-
likelobbyreceptionsgivingvisi-
torsampleopportunitytoget
lost.Thiscouldbeespecially
intimidatingforasemi-literate
workernotknowingwhereto
gonext,saysSagane.So,she
createdapathwayentrywith
oorlighting(insteadofonthe
ceiling)togivevisitorsasense
ofdirectionandguidethem
straightintothecompanys
receptionarea.
Thewhitelaminatedwall
ontheleftreectingtheoor
lightstosaveonenergybillsis
actuallyafullheightdeadstor-
agespaceforShellasunend-
ingpaperworkandemployee
recordles.The16x8x10space
hasshuttersthatopentowards
theoutside.
COMPANY:Shella Consultants
PEOPLE:21
AREA:1,750 square feet
COST:`3,428 per square feet
Shella is a Mumbai-based manpower recruiting frm with operations
in India, the Middle East, Europe and the US. Its Mumbai ofce receives a
diverse range of people looking for jobs everydayfrom carpenters,
plumbers to accountants, salesmen and more trained professionals. To be
aligned with the companys business verticals, Shella has two distinct
teamswhite collar and blue collarto cater to this wide spectrum of job
seekers and prospective recruiters. Architect Madhavi Sagane takes us
through the challenge of designing a workplace that caters to the needs of
both these groups without disrupting the companys employee structure.
Sagane can be found on the curated network of interior designers, Dwll.in.
How
Walls Can
Closer
Bring Us
28 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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Its usual to use steps for
seating in public places
especially while waiting for
someone, chatting with a
friend or watching a play in
an amphitheatre. But
imagine a conference room
that has steps as seating.
Instead of the standard six-
feet-table and chair
conference room, Sagane
designed an informal
arrangement of stepped
platforms that could
accommodate 40 people at
a time without taking up a
lot of space. This room is
used to hold orientation
discussions with Shellas
registered job seekers. You
can see a projector and a
folded pull-down white
screen to hold presentations
in this rather easy going
environment where people
can actually choose to stand
or sit. Wait, theres more.
The top-most step has a
shutter that doubles up as
storage space. Motivational
messages, for customers
and employees, are also
spread across the entire
ofce space.
The right wall oftheingeniousori-
entationroomhasaworldmap
highlightingthecountriesand
industrieswhereShellahelpsin
recruitmentofmanpower.Kapil
Gupta,thedirectoroftherm,had
asmallworldmapinhisroomto
briefhisclientsaboutthecompa-
nysreach,recallsSagane.That
ideamorphedintoawallmap
whichalongwiththecolourful
visualonthewalloppositethe
receptiondeskactsassmart
brandingtohighlightthestrengths
ofthecompany.Theductsonthe
tophavebeenkeptexposedsoasto
gowiththegeneralconceptofa
transparent,openofce.Ofcourse,
ithelpsthatexposedductsalso
saveonoperationalcostsascom-
paredtohiddenones.
As you entertheworkingofce,thespace
isdividedintoawhitecollarworkstation
areaandabluecollarworkstationarea
withtwolowheightcabinsinthecentre
segregatingthetwo.Thesecabinsare
meantfortheheadsofthetwogroupsof
theworkforce.Thissegregationofthe
workplacewasputintoplacebecauseof
thetwoteamsdifferentfunctionsand
styleofworking.Whilebluecollarwork-
ersspendmostoftheirwriting,ling
papersandmeetingsemi-skilledmanual
labourers,whitecollaremployeesare
busyattendinginternationalcallsoverthe
phoneallday,explainsSagane.Theblue
collararea(asvisiblehere)hasarowof
seatswhilethewhitecollarareaonthe
othersideoftheyellowcabinshaspaired
seatingbecauseofshortageofspace.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 29
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Shella employeesmaybeseparatedwhen
workingbutbreakareassuchasthis
libraryareaandthecommoncafareaare
designedtobringallworkerstogetherfor
lunchandencouragecasualconversation.
Thedirectorsofceontheleftisalso
encasedinglasswallstoinstillthefeeling
oftransparencyamongemployeesi.e.from
thebossofcetothelowestrungdesigna-
tioneveryonesvisibleinthiscloseknit
ofcespace.
Thoughthedesignarrangementmay
notseemidealinanagewhereworkplaces
areincreasinglyfollowingaatstructure,
thissettingisamarkedimprovementfrom
thecompanyspreviousofcewherework-
ersfromthetwodepartmentsnevermet
underthesameroof.
1.
Not paying enough attention to
light and colour:Yourofceshould
beasnaturallylitaspossible.Also,
addingtoomuchcolourortoo
manybrightshadesatthesame
timecanbedistractingandactually
hamperproductivityatwork.Therefore,
coloursshouldbeusedveryselectivelyto
enliventhespace.VIMIRATH,founder
anddirector,StonehengeDesigns,
NewDelhi
The two centre cabins meant for
the heads of the blue collar and
white collar teams are partly made
of glass and partly yellow solid wall.
These cabins have been designed in
such a way that the glass side of
each cabin faces their respective
teams work stations while the solid
yellow walls faces the other team.
Yellow was strategically used on the
walls of these central cabins
because the colour is associated
with alertness in decision making.
These vinyl print banners on the
cabin walls have proverbs the
heads of departments want their
customers to read when they visit
the ofce. Some of them are in
Hindi so that workers not so
procient in English can connect
and feel inspired.
2.
Ignoring the ofces brand
value:Itisimportantforwork-
placedesigntohelprepresent
andenhanceyourorganisations
ethos,branding,typeofwork,
aspirationsandotherintangibleaspects.
Mostofceswecomeacrossaresosimilar
itbecomesdifculttodistinguishonefrom
theother,regardlessofindustryandsize.
SNEHAOSTAWAL,principalarchitect,
SourceArchitecture,Bangalore
Five crucial
mistakes you
must avoid
whendesigning
your ofce
30 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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3.
Being too now:Mostofces
endupdesigningfortheir
currentneeds.But,adynamic
organisation,asmostsmalland
mid-sizeenterprisesare,
shouldfactorinexibility,andscopefor
expansion.Aestheticallyalso,itisgoodto
balancecontemporaryinuenceswitha
certaintimelessness.AMRITHABALLAL,
foundingpartner,SpaceMatters,
NewDelhi
4.
Neglecting employee work
patterns:Theworstmistake
youcouldmakeisnotcommu-
nicatingwithemployeesto
understandtheirneedsanddif-
cultiesinthecurrentworkplace.Work
patternsshouldbestudiedmorecarefully
toachievecosteffectivedesign,especially
whenitcomestoinstallingservicessuchas
airconditioningandlighting.MADHAVI
SAGANE,independentdesigner,Mumbai
5.
Shying away from professional
help:InIndianmetroswhere
realestatepricesarehigh,one
shouldusespaceefciently.Alot
ofofcestrytottoomuchstor-
ageortoomanypeopleinalittlearea.
Thereareinnovativewaystousespaces
thatadesignercanhelpdiscover.Inspiteof
that,peopletendtosavecostsbyhiring
localservicemen.ELRICADSOUZA,
founder,ZykDesignStudio,Mumbai
The INHWA business centre is a
shared workplace catering to a
range of companies such as Track
My Beat, Shopical and Infoshark
working together under one roof.
Based in Gurgaon, the centre has
companies with Asia-Pacifc
clientele. INHWAs designer
Amritha Ballal was driven by a
challenging objectiveto ensure
her design provided fexibility and
diversity of choice for its various
users yet did not become a generic,
monotonous place. (Ballal is also
registered at Dwll.in)
COMPANY:INHWA Business Centre owned by AIHP
PEOPLE:A seating capacity of 160
AREA:15,000 square feet
COST:`2,000 per square feet
Asia Folded
Into a
Flexi Module
YoucanndworksofthesevedesignersatDwll.in,acuratednetworkofinteriordesigners.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 31
Given the primarilyAsianclienteleforthe
businesscentre,Ballalchosethetraditional
Japaneseartoforigamitocreatevarious
designelementsaroundtheofce.So,when
oneentersintothereceptionarea(asseenin
thephoto),youaregreetedwithabacklitwall
behindthereceptiondeskdonnedinwhite
steelblocksthatgiveanimpressionoffolded
paperusedtomakeorigamiart.Ballalsays
thewallalsoremindsheroftheChinesegam-
eTangram(wheresmallgeometricelements
combinetoformaninnitevarietyofshapes
whenseenfromdifferentangles).Thisplayof
light,texturesandshapesissuretoleavean
impactonrsttimevisitors.
Inordertohaveseparateprivateandpub-
licareasfortheofce,ameetingroomwas
createdrightattheentrancesothatofceson
theinsidearenotdisturbedbytheowofvisi-
tors.Thismeetingroomisthewhiteangular
roomontherightofthereceptiondeskwhose
structureisinspiredbyfractalgeometry
intrinsictoAsiandesign.Theangularwalls
allowformorefreespaceinthereceptionarea
ascomparedtostraightrectangularwalls.
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The shell of the ofce is a 20 feet high oor space. To maximise
efciency, a spacious mezzanine oor was introduced. But, the
distinction between the two oors is broken (as seen in the
photo) in some places, mainly to allow for interactions among
employees of different companies. The ability to network and
forge new contacts is a key advantage of shared workplaces so
the design had to cater to that need.
Again, the dominant palette of natural materials, namely
stone, wood and a prioritisation of crafted elements carry
forward the Asian feel.
Unlike many shared workspaces,thisisahigh-endbusiness
centre,whereeachcompanysuiteneedstofunctionindepen-
dentlyandwantscompleteprivacy.Thus,thesuitsaredesigned
asunitsoffourandsix.Somehaveadedicatedexecutivecabin
alongwiththemwhileothersdont.Thedesignalsohadto
makeroomforexpansionwhenacompanydecidestoincrease
thenumberofteammemberswithminimalintervention.Ballal
didntwantnewstructurestobeconstructedorbrokendownto
enablethat.Therefore,thesesuitescanbeclubbedintomod-
ulesofthreethatcanbeintegratedintoawholebyremoving
theseglasspartitions(asseeninthephoto).Thereisalsoa
smallmagazinestandcreatedattheendofthecorridorasa
meetingspaceforcasualconversation.
BUILT WITH LOVE + SMARTS
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 33
This caf areaintheofcewhichactsasthepubliczoneforeach
businessunittofeelapartofalargerwholeandabiggercommu-
nity.Thecafalsoactsasasecondentrypointfortheofceandhas
beendesignedtogetgoodamountofnaturallight.
Theoveralldesignoftheofceissuchthatindividualworkareas
aregivenprivacytoworkwhilecommonareasrequiredan
understatedluxuryandinteractiveatmosphere.Multipleentities
hadtosharethespacewithoutintrudingoneachothersspace.
Thus,thereceptionandcafplacedwithmeetingspacesareplaced
ateitherendorthecirculationcuminteractionzoneactsasthe
connectingelement.
Instead of a traditional ofce
spacethatislinedwithaseriesof
doorsalongcorridors,Ballal
emphasisedoncreatingtheideaof
astreetwherepeoplecould
emergefromtheirsuitsandinter-
act.Thesestreetsopenoutinto
smallandbiggersquaresandhave
couchestogivethefeelingofa
lounge.Itessentiallyactsasthe
public,interactivezone.
Ratherthanintroducing
artefactsthatmayormaynotsuit
tastesofthevariedbrandsworking
together,provisionsweremade
withcoves,nichesandcountersfor
individualstopersonalisetheir
spaceandreectthediversityof
occupants.Incommonareassuch
asthiscorridor,indoorplantsare
themainaccessory.
What stops
business owners
from indulging
in ofce design?
Three interior
designers
debunk common
myths
1.
Not enough money:Itisimportantforabusi-
nessownertoputintoperspectivethecostof
havinganinteriorarchitecton-board.Often,the
costofatrained,seasonedarchitectislessthan
thecostoftilingorcarpeting.Investingood,
ergonomicfurniture,soundairconditioning,lighting
andservices,andthenonaestheticeffects.Spending
smartlyonanofceinteriorcansavetheowneralotof
moneywhenitcomestomaintenanceanddeprecia-
tion.Itcountstospendwheretherewouldbemaxi-
mumimpactandwherequalityshouldnotbe
sacriced.Moreover,aspacecanbedesignedforafew
thousandrupeesorforseveralcrores,dependingon
theneedsandmeansofanorganisation.
Sneha Ostawal,SourceArchitecture
2.
Not enough time:Alotofbusinessowners
shyawayfromdesignbecausetheythinkits
tootimeconsuming.Yes,itstrue.Youhave
toinvesttime.Whenwedesign,wespenda
lotoftimetoplanproperly.Manyseethisas
unproductive.But,oneneedstounderstandthemore
plannedthingsare,theexecutionisfasterandmore
accurate.Vimi Rath, StonehengeDesigns
3.
Not enough value:RenownedAmerican
designerCharlesEamesfamouslysaid
Whoeversaidpleasurewasntfunctional.
Designisnotjustrelatedtohowthingslook,
buthowtheywork.Whatmanybusiness
ownersmissisthatgooddesigncanpositivelyreinforce
brandidentityforcustomersaswellaspromoteinter-
actionandinnovationwithintheorganisation,help
employeeretentionandproductivity,andintroduceex-
ibilityandfunintotheworkplace.Designismostlyper-
ceivedassomethingofanindulgence.Infact,good
designisthemostcreativeandefcientsolutiontoreal
issuessuchaschoosinggoodchairsoverexpensive
wallpaperandgoodlightingoverexpensivenishes.
Amritha Ballal,SpaceMatters
COMPANY:Only Much Louder
PEOPLE:65
AREA:5,800 square feet
COST:`1,379 per square feet
Only Much Louder is a music events and artist management company based in
Mumbai, and are behind the popular properties such as the NH7 Weekender Festival
and the popular show Te Dewarists. Te company has four divisions that cater to
TV production, an online music and alternative culture magazine, an online music
store and a music festivals division. Designer Ipsit Patel, founder, Patch Design Studio,
takes us through the companys new ofce next to the very chic Caf Zoe in Lower
Parel. Beyond the great vibe, the OML ofce is also a great lesson in cost innovation.
Have Fun.
Be Cool.
Build Cheap.
OMLs new ofceatMathuradasMills
CompoudinLowerParelwasactuallyan
oldprintingpress.Pateldecidedtoretain
theindustrialfeeloftheplacetogowith
themusiccompanysbriefofcreatinga
fun,quirkyenvironmentforpeoplewhose
averageageis27.Patelandhisteamcom-
pletelyscrubbedoffthepaintfromthe
ceilingsandthewoodentrussesthat
framethestructuretogivetheplacea
bareandexposedlook.
Northlightisnaturallightthatcomes
fromtheskyratherthandirectlyfromthe
sun.Theoldfactorystructurehadthese
north-lightwindows.Patelsteams
retainedthemsothatemployeesatOML
dontneedtoswitchonanylightsduring
theday.Thisleadstosignicantsavings
onelectricitybills.Itisalsoahugeproduc-
tivitybooster.Accordingtoastudycon-
ductedbyscientistsattheUniversityof
MichiganandtheSwissFederalInstitute
ofTechnology,peoplewhoaremore
exposedtonaturallightatworkaresignif-
icantlymorealertinthebeginningofthe
eveningandlesssleepyattheendofthe
eveningthanthoseexposedtoarticial
light.Notjustthat,ourcortisollevels(our
bodysanti-stresshormones)dropwhen
weworkforlonghoursinarticiallight.
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Because OML hasvedistinctteams,theofce
hasbeendesignedtoincludeseparateteam
zonesfortheirdifferentworkplacedemands.
Forinstance,thevideoeditingteamoften
spendsseveralnightsatastretchworkingin
theofcesotheeditzonehassixbunkbeds
installedforcomfort.However,eachteamzone
isanopenroomwithnodoors.Theyallopen
intothemaincentralcorridoroftheofce.
Giventhenatureoftheworkwhereemploy-
eeshavetoconstantlycollaborateandwork
withoneanotherthebiglongtablesinthe
roomhavebeenkeptpartitionfreetoallow
unhinderedcommunicationamongteammem-
bers.Justbringinyourlaptops,sitanywhere
andstartworking.
Theold-worldstyleswitchesandsockets
ofthefactoryhavealsobeenretainedand
placedinthecentreofthelongworktablefor
pluggingintheirlaptopsormobiles.Notonly
dotheseaddtotheaestheticsoftheroom,
theyarealsoeasiertorepairastheyarenot
xedintothewalls.
The room partitions aremadeupofcorru-
gatedtinsheets(thatareusuallyusedtomake
roofsandceilings,thussavingonsubstantial
costs)andold,reclaimedglass.Thefrosted
glassthathasalsobeenusedinplaceson
thesepartitionsdoublesupasawhiteboard
forjottingdownthoughtswhilebrainstorming.
ThecompanycultureattheOMLofceis
non-hierarchicalandtokeepcommunication
open,thesepartitionsarenotsolidwallsbut
havesmallwindowstospeaktoothersin
adjacentrooms.Thewindowshavebeenplaced
suchthattheyareataheightoffourfeetso
yourenotdistractedwhenyouresittingand
workingbutcanseethoughintotheotherroom
whenyourestandingandwanttointeract.
The mezzanine oor on top has
the pantry, the breakout space
with a foosball table and small
table tennis tables and the
directors workstations. Given
the at company structure, the
directors dont have a cabin or
cubicle for themselves either.
They simply have two different
work tables (one yellow and
another green) supported by old
cot legs. Sometimes during
lunch, the OML team is known to
call local chefs to cook pasta and
other delicacies in the pantry, to
be served hot.
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This is the mid-landing stripbetweenthegroundoorandthemez-
zanineoor.Itisoftenusedasasmallermeetingspacetohaveone-
on-oneconversations.Butremovethechairsanditalsoactslikethe
pulpitorthepodiumfromwhereall-companymeetingsortownhalls
areheld.Fromthisvantagepoint,theentireofcegatheredonthe
groundoorandthosechillingoutonthemezzanineoorcanbe
addressedatthesametime.Toaddafunelementtothisspace,the
designteampaintedtheoorwithagiganticHreferringtoahelipad.
Having an open,interactiveatmosphereatworkwasessentialforOML
employees.Soalong,broadcorridorhasbeencreatedthroughthecentreof
theofcewithpottedplantseatingononeside.Theseseatingareasmakefora
greatplacetorelaxorhaveinformalmeetingswithouthavingtogotothe
conferenceroom.Theplantsalsoaddfreshnesstotheworkplace.Inastudy
undertakenin2013,scientistsfromtheUniversityofExeterfoundthathaving
realplantsattheworkplacehelpsimproveconcentration,productivityand
employeewellbeingbyasmuchas47percent.
Theothersideofthecorridorhasslightlydifferentzones.Theworkstations
herearemadeupofplyandblacklaminatewithawoodenborder.Woodencot
legshavebeenusedtosupportthesetableswhichalsoaddadashofcolour.As
therearenodemarcatedworkstations,whenmorepeoplejointheteam,its
easytoscoochinmorepeopleonthesametable.Theyellowpatchlineonthe
oorandtheyellow-blackpaintedcolumnsonthesideaddfunelements,and
makesthecorridoroorlookmorelikeastreetorarunway.
36 | INC. | APRIL 2014
Painting the
town red. Or
blue, yellow
and green?
Choosingtherightcolourforyourofce
dependsonthekindofbusinessyourun,the
peopleyouworkwithandtheclientsyou
expecttocomevisiting.Heresaguideto
choosingtherightcolourstocreatetheright
moodfordifferentspacesinyourofce.
Blue:
Thecolouroftheseaandthe
skyisknowntohaveacalming
effectonpeople.Itisalsoknowntocreate
anenvironmentofcondence,securityand
highmentalconcentration.Thiscouldbea
greatcolourtouseinspacesthatrequirea
lotofmindworkandhighlevelsofstress,
say,bankers,accountants,lawyersand
nancialadvisers.
Yellow:
Thisisoneofthemostdif-
cultcolourstoworkwith
becauseyouhavetomakesureyouusejust
therightamountinyourofce.Itisconsid-
eredanoptimisticcolourthatupliftspirits,
andthereforeagreatchoicetousein
spaceswhereyouwanttostimulatecre-
ativityamongyouremployees.Buttoo
muchofyellowcancauseeyefatigueand
someresearchstudieshavealsoshown
peoplelosetheirtempermoreofteninyel-
lowrooms.
Green:
Greenisconsideredtobe
thecolourofbalance.Itis
alsoknowntobringfreshnessandcanbe
usedtoopenupaspacetomakesmaller
ofcesseembigger.But,itworksbest
whenpairedwithamorestimulatingcolour
becauseonitsown,itcansometimes
appearstagnant.Thatsdenitelynota
goodthingifyoudontwantyouremployees
tohaveaslumberpartyatwork.
Red:
Redisknowntoinduceenthusi-
asm,energyandaction.Italso
hasthepotentialtomakearoomlook
smaller.Soitisbesttoavoidthisshadefor
alreadysmallofces.Redisthebestcolour
tobeusedinspaceswhereyouwant
employeestodophysicalwork.Itisalsoa
goodcolourtouseinthepantryordining
areasoftheofceasitstimulateshunger.
STRATEGY
Tactics. Trends. Best Practices.
That breakthrough idea you had that
doubled sales? Your incredibly funny
quip at the strategy meeting? Dont get
too full of yourselfyou were probably
just having a good day chemically.
Or so says Baba Shiv, a marketing
professor at Stanfords Graduate School
of Business. Shivs research focuses on the
role neural structures play in decision
making and economic behaviour. He has
also long been fascinated by the
biological roots of creativity.
According to Shiv, creativity resides at
the intersection of two primary pathways
in the brain. Along one pathway, the
Managing
Using
Neuroscience
to Boost Your
Creativity
To really
unleash
your
companys
creativity,
look to the
squishy place
it all begins:
the chemistry
in the brain.
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APRIL 2014 | INC. | 37
STRATEGY
neurotransmitter serotonin governs
whether you are operating from a
sense of calm and contentment or
from a position of anxiety and fear.
On the other pathway, dopamine
moves you from boredom or apathy to
excitement and engagement.
Te right neurochemical cocktail for
your best creative work, according to
Shiv, is a high level
of both serotonin
and dopamine.
Tis will produce a
condition in which
you are calm but
energised, he says.
How do you
achieve this
blissfully creative
state? For starters,
you can reduce
stress in the ofce.
Spikes in stress
hormones such as
cortisol counteract
the creativity-
boosting efects of
serotonin. Plus,
stressed-out people
tend to be closed of
to new ideas, says
Shiv. Studies of
baboons have
shown that when
experiencing stress,
they refuse to seek
out new territory
(or mates, for that
matter). For humans, that means
people are more likely to stick to
familiarity when they are under too
much pressure.
Poor sleep can also have negative
efects on creativity. Shiv says people
need up to two hours of deep, non-
REM sleep each night for the brain to
restore the proper levels of serotonin.
Tis sort of deep sleep accounts for
less than 30 per cent of the average
persons slumber, but it can be
diminished by sleep interruptions as
well as by consumption of alcohol
and cafeine.
Serotonin levels tend to be highest in
the morning, making it an optimal
time to schedule brainstorming
sessions. To make the most out of the
mornings elevated levels of serotonin,
Shiv suggests mixing carbs in favour
of a high-protein breakfast. Tats the
best brain food, he says.
Te proteins produced
from it in the body are
converted to the much-
coveted serotonin and
dopamine. And cafeine?
It acts as a physiological
arouser, says Shiv. In
other words, it will
magnify whatever
emotion youre already
feeling. Translation: If
youre on a hot streak of
developing new ideas,
have another cup of
cofee; if youre anxious
about meeting your
budget, skip it.
Cardiovascular exercise
also enhances the
neurological conditions
for creative thinking, by
releasing a peptide that
helps produce serotonin.
If you have an afernoon
brainstorming meeting,
Shiv recommends frst
taking a 10- to 15-minute
brisk walk. Or, better yet,
walk and talk, he says.
Maintaining a variety of intellectual
interests also keeps the creative juices
fowing. Shiv says its important to talk
to people in other disciplines and read
widely outside your feld to develop
knowledge nodesbits of unrelated
information that can come together to
produce an unexpected solution. Tis
is how Steve Jobs operated, Shiv says.
His wide-ranging interests allowed
for a creative lifetime of connecting
the dots. Ryan Underwood
Four
Creativity
Boosters:
Schedule
morning
meetings 1
Eat a
protein-rich
breakfast 2
Walk before,
or during
meetings 3
Reduce
workplace
stress 4
Improv Classes
Method, a San Francisco-based
maker of cleaning products,
offers employees training in
improv actingnot to check the
box on some management fad but
to give them an understanding of
how small performance details
such as stance, breath, or
mindset can help improve
creative thinking. Method also
attempts to shift employees
perspectives by requiring
everyone in the company to serve
as the ofce receptionist for a day,
all in an effort to keep people
weird, creative, and humble.
Brain Breaks
The New Jersey-based startup
Caktus makes the Hug, a device
that keeps tabs on how much
water you drink. But once a
month, the companys four
Finnish co-founders set aside 24
hours to let their brains run wild.
Theyll start brainstorming over a
drink (or a few) on Thursday
afternoon and give themselves
until Friday evening to come up
with a dirty prototypeor a really
good blueprint. Its just a way to
give our brains room to breathe,
says co-founder Panu Keski-
Pukkila.
Hackathons
At Animoto, a New York City-
based startup that converts
photos and video clips into online
movies, money is on the line in a
quarterly hackathon, meant to
spark new ideas from the
companys 65 employees. Cash
prizes of $500 are given to the
winning teams in three areas:
most technically challenging,
most useful, and peoples choice.
A recent winner improved the
services synchronisation of
images and music, a x that will
be included in an upcoming
software release.
Creative
Cultures
Heres how three
companies break
from routine to help
promote creative
thinking.
38 | INC. | APRIL 2014
STRATEGY
Go Natural
Employees are more creative (and less
stressed) when they can look up from
their work and see trees and natural light.
Even if youre in a city, try to give everyone
window views. Or at least buy your poor
employees some plants.
Think Paris
The ideal ofce layout? A system of quiet
side streets and grand boulevards like the
Champs-lyses in Paris. Employees have
quiet to think, but theyre still forced to
mingle withand bounce ideas off of
their co-workers.
Raise the Roof
If you want to promote blue-sky thinking,
you should increase employee headroom
at the ofce. Studies suggest that higher
ceilings in the workplace encourage
abstract, conceptual thinking.
Built for Creativity
Your ofce design can help kindle employee creativity. Here are three pointers
from Scott Wyatt of NBBJ architects of Seattle, which has designed ofces for
Google, Reebok, and the Gates Foundation.
STRATEGY
Managing
Just Trust
The power to
delegate may
not come easily.
But your
company and
employees need
you tolet go.
Liam Martin can laugh now. A few years
ago, he was overwhelmed by the work he
faced as founder of VTA Method, a tutor-
ing company. So he asked an assistant to
handle refunds. Not a good move, as it
turned out.
For example: A customer asked for
$1,500 back; her child didnt need the
extra sessions. Easy enough request,
right? But the assistant, instead, refunded
the entire semesters payment of $10,000.
Says Martin: I almost had a breakdown.
Now, he is the owner of Staf.com, an
Ottawa, Ontario, temp-employee frm.
You might think he maintains a tight grip
on everything, given the refund debacle.
In fact, he has gone the other way. When
you delegate tasks to others, the orders
shouldnt be easy to understandthey
should be impossible to misunderstand,
he says. At Staf.com, Martin came up
with a novel solution: He created a wiki
that describes how to handle some 500
operational issues. How can I lead a
large company if Im still doing credit
card refunds? he says.
Of course, tales of micromanaging
entrepreneurs messing up and fnding
redemption seem to date back to the
Jurassic period. But as the economy
improves and the pace of business picks
up, it doesnt hurt to take a look again at
how youre spending your timeand
how to manage it more efciently. In
other words: Relearn what you already
know. As Harvard professor Linda Hill
points out, understanding something
intellectually and actually acting on it are
two diferent things. Some entrepreneurs
just cant let go.
Many company leaders wont delegate
until theyre so exhausted and burned
out that they have to, says Hill, who
deals with the topic in two of her books
(the most recent being 2011s Being the
Boss: Te 3 Imperatives for Becoming a
Great Leader).
Inc. talked with business owners who
found religion and came up with ways to
become better delegatorseven if their
frst instinct was to do every last thing
themselves. Teir advice:
Be patient.
As you get a clearer sense of how your
employees work, you get more peace of
mind around the idea of shifing more
duties to them, says Alfredo Atanacio,
CEO of Uassist.me, a Miami company
that provides online personal assistants.
For instance, Atanacio teaches a course
on entrepreneurship. At the beginning,
he delegated research to an assistant. But
the assistant delivered such a huge pile of
potentially relevant material that it took
Atanacio longer to go through it all than
it would have taken him to seek out the
best sources himself.
But I liked her work ethic and her
thoroughness, he says, and over time, I
showed her how to fnd exactly the kinds
of things I wanted and how to efectively
summarise them for me. Now, this
delegation saves me a ton of time.
Follow the 80 per cent rule.
Trevor Sumner, founder of LocalVox, a
New York City marketing frm, takes a
close look at every one of his employees
40 | INC. | APRIL 2014
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STRATEGY
Time Troubles
Only 9 per cent of executives are satised with the
way they spend their time. The others? They fall into
four time-management categories: crisis managers,
cheerleaders, online junkies, and schmoozers.
Where they go wrong
67% 17% 36% 45%
Crisis managers spend Schmoozers spend Online junkies spend Cheerleaders spend
spend more
time on short-
term,
unexpected
issues
compared with
the satised
9-percenters.
more time with
clients and
customers at
the expense of
communicating
with their
colleagues.
more time on
email and voice
mail at the
expense of
face-to-face
communication.
more time on
pep talks with
staff, but 39%
less time with
clients.
1. Keep a diary
Jeffrey Pfeffer, a Stanford busi-
ness school professor, is a big
fan of keeping track of tasks in
an organised way. Take notes
daily. From there, you can gure
out the best use of your time
and empower your best employ-
ees as well. You may discover
that you arent really involving
other workers in decision mak-
ing, he says.
2. Have more people
report to you
By increasing your so-called
span of control, you can force
yourself to delegate, simply
because you cant micromanage
the activities of so many people.
The result? You will have more
time to get your claws into the
tasks that really matter.
3. Know your people
(really know them)
New York City consultant John
Beeson recommends assessing
the skills of each team member
and determining where training
may be needed. (Or decide to
hire someone who can do the
job right away.) Also, he says:
Look for things that take a lot of
time but you dont do well, and
give those tasks to someone
else. Then, of course, get the
heck out of the way.
4. Be a good coach
Each employee is different,
right? So delegate differently,
and evaluate your talent much
as a good coach would. One
employee may excel the rst
day on the job. Others may need
you to stay involved longer.
Think of delegation as an
investment, says Beeson.
Youre making a capital outlay
of your time now in order to reap
benets longer term.
and assesses his or her skill level. If you
have a direct report who can do a task 80
per cent as well as you can, you need to let
them do it, says Sumner.
Take a hike.
Tat may be the hardest thing for you or
any chief executive to do, but its a great
way to fnd out who on your staf really
has the chops. Train your employees,
then go on vacation, says Vanessa Van
Edwards, founder of Science of People, a
Portland, Oregon-based consulting frm.
Sometimes, we need to get away to prove
that people can do it on their own.
If you dont have it, buy it.
Says Chuck Cohn, founder of Varsity
Tutors in St. Louis: If you realise you
arent doing a great job managing your
team, bring in a professional manager.
Adds Clay Hebert, co-founder of
WorkHacks, a personal-productivity
company in New York City: Great
leaders hire amazing people and then get
out of the way.Scott Leibs
The Micro-
managers
Guide to
Delegation
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 41
Youve heard the advice before: Diversify, make time
work for you, and embrace stocks. For most folks,
those are the core pillars of any investment strategy.
For business owners, thats true only up to a point.
You are diferent and need to invest accordingly.
Tat assumes, ahem, that youre investing at all
and havent fallen for the old misconception that your
company is the only investment you will ever need.
Says Jefrey Levine of Alkon & Levine, a Newton,
Massachusetts, accounting frm specialising in small
business: I want entrepreneurs to know that the odds
that their company will become a huge success
enough to meet all their fnancial needs through
retirementare against them.
So its important to put something aside on a regular
basis. In other words: Build your company as if it will
last forever, but invest your personal wealth as if
everything will collapse tomorrow. We talked with
experts such as Levine and Allan Roth, of Wealth
Logic, an investment-advisory frm in Colorado
Springs, Colorado, about the other mistakes business
owners make.
Here are some ways not to be your own fnancial
enemy.
STRATEGY
Finance
4 Money Mistakes
That Entrepreneurs
Must Avoid
A lot of business
owners think they
have the investing
game gured out.
But heres some
money-management
advice that may save
you from yourself in
the long run.
BONDS 10%
AGGRESSIVE PORTFOLIO
STOCKS 90%
1.Be a conservative
You already believe that you arent like regular
wage earnersand when it comes to investing,
youre not. Your salaried peers, even at the same
age, are going to be more aggressive in their
investments. There is no single magic metric for
entrepreneurs, Roth says. Adages like Subtract
your age from 100 and thats the percentage of
your portfolio that should be in stocks just dont
apply. Its highly situational. That said, Roth sug-
gests that entrepreneurs who have substantial
assets invested in their companies should favour
more conservative options. Moshe Milevsky,
author of Are You a Stock or a Bond?, says launch-
ing a company is like investing in an ber-growth
stock: When it comes to your portfolio, you should
be a little more bond-centric as a hedge against
your risky line of business.
THE ENTREPRENEURS PORTFOLIO
BONDS 50%
STOCKS 50%
HEDGING
Age aside, startup
owners should
lower risk and
have more bonds.
*Source Morningstar
42 | INC. | APRIL 2014
STRATEGY
2. Save something, please
Its almost a cliche in the small-business community: You
take every last dime in your pocket or every last dime from
your friends and family and plunk it right into your business
until death do you part. But as you can see from the chart
(right), the return on that investment is far from a sure thing.
Simply put, sinking your every last cent into your company
isnt a good idea. In fact, treating your business as your sole
investment is the ultimate anti-diversication strategy. Says
Levine: To me, it always makes sense to save for a rainy
day...build your business and your portfolio. PERCENTAGE OF BUSINESSES FAILED BY YEAR OF OPERATION
LOOK OUT BELOW
The odds aganist a startups
succeeding are high.In other
words: Keep some of your
cash out of the business.
0
2
4
6
8
10
25%
36%
44%
50%
55%
60%
63%
66%
69%
71%
Y
E
A
R
S
4.Dont fall in love with your own
expertise
One common mistake that entrepreneurs make
when investing, says Roth, is to invest too heavily
in the industry that their business is in. They feel
that because they know that sector so well, they
stand a better chance of success. Far from guar-
anteed. Sure, you might get lucky, and your sector
could leave the S&P in the dust. But keep in mind
that such outperformance can also reverse.
Remember those banks a few short years ago or
tech in 2000?Scott Leibs
RISK LEVELS
The S&P 500 was less
volatile than two pop-
ular sector funds,as
seen here.
S&P 500 INDEX FUND
12
TECHNOLOGY SECTOR FUNDS
16
FINANCIAL SECTOR FUNDS
17
*Source Morningstar
*Source Small Business Development Center
3. Startups have their own tax privileges
Especially in the startup years, you may have tax-savings options that employees dont. Heres one sometimes overlooked move
that has helped owners who are booking losses. Wealth Logics Roth suggests a RothIRA conversion strategy. Normally, when
converting from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA (no relation), investors pay tax. But an owner suffering a loss can often make the
conversion tax freeby offsetting losses from the business against income from the conversion.Bottom line: You move tax-
deferred IRA funds to a tax-free Roth IRA without paying taxes, or by paying only a low marginal rate.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 43
STRATEGY
THE WAY I WORK | Dippak Khurana, Vserv.mobi
Being
unreasonable
is my work
mantra
how much
can I stretch
myself.

Dippak Khurana, 41, began his entrepreneurial journey in college by selling t-shirts of rock bands
which made him quite popular. His business forays since then have been quite varied thoughhe
began a poultry farm venture in Jamshedpur and then spent 17 years in new media, rst helping
Times of India launch its online portal and then building mobile platforms for Yahoo and Mauj
Mobile. Through his corporate life, the entrepreneurial itch was a constant. So, in January 2010,
he co-founded Vserv.mobi, a mobile advertising exchange, with Ashay Padwal, a former
colleague. The past four years at Vserv have been exciting. Last year they served 386 billion ad
requests across 200 countries, a rise of 56 per cent from their rst year. Khurana believes his
penchant for the unreasonableunreasonable ambitions, unreasonable effort and unreasonable
expectations have coded Vservs steep rise.
AS TOLD TO SONAL KHETARPAL | PHOTOGRAPHS BY JITEN GANDHI
44 | INC. | APRIL 2014
I am super paranoid about discipline. My daily schedule and my meal timings are all fxed.
Lunch is at 1.15pm and dinner at 7pm every day. Also, I get up at 6.45am and spend the frst 45
minutes to get my 9-year old daughter ready for school. As she leaves, I also leave for my morning
ftness regime. It is always a mix of three thingswalking, running and swimming. I round that up
with climbing up the stairs to my home on the 17
th
foor. Tis whole routine takes up to an hour and
ffeen minutes and I am usually back by 8.45am. By that time my younger daughter has also woken
up so I play with her for sometime. Mornings is the only time when I get to see my kids because
when I get home at 10pm, they have already gone to bed.
Afer this, my day passes very quickly. Everything happens at a very fast speed, even my meals. I eat
milk and cornfakes at home. Te other half of my breakfast, bread and omelette, I carry with me. I eat it
on my way to work to save time. Sometimes I walk the 10 minute distance to ofce, sometimes I drive.
On Top of His Game
Discipline, detailed
planning and a strong
dose of ambition keeps
Vserv going, says
Dippak Khurana.
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 45
STRATEGY
when I am not present, everyone uses this approach and it
becomes the culture of the organisation.
To promote this culture, I also have to keep myself in check. It
is very easy to tell others what they should or should not do. But, I
do not want to come across as the fnal decision maker. So, what I
always do is present a problem to my team and ask them for steps
required to make it happen. I never use the phrase as soon as pos-
sible. It is always we. And we collectively decide by when the par-
ticular goal should be achieved.
ut, once we decide on a goal or a time-
line I am very rigid about it. If something
has been committed, it should be met by the
confrmed date. Tis is because an efort is
rewarding only if it is fnished in a certain
period of time. If it gets done afer that, the
law of diminishing returns kicks in espe-
cially if youre a fast-growing company.
Te growth at Vserv has kept things excit-
ing for us. In the past four years, we have
already opened ten ofces outside of India
in Singapore, London, San Francisco,
Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Cape Town, Ho Chi
Minh City, Dubai, Tailand and Philippines.
We are now targeting markets in Latin America, especially Bra-
zil, Mexico and Argentina. It is to study these emerging markets
and meet people from diferent associations there that I travel for
around 15 days a month. Another agenda for ofcial trips is
attending conferences and events. A lot of times we exhibit at
such conferences or I just attend those to be aware of the new
trends. I attend around 20 conferences and exhibitions in a year.
Te reason for this large number is because each of the four dif-
ferent entities that we cater totelcos, app developers, publish-
ers, and advertisersare present at diferent events. To be
updated in each of these spaces, it is essential to attend their
respective events. It is also a good opportunity to explain to
potential customers the work we are doing at Vserv.
Te efort to be current with business trends especially in an
ecosystem as dynamic as mobile pays rewards. Uptil 2012, we
As I reach ofce, the frst thing I do is to categorise my work
along two cutsstrategic versus operational, and urgent versus
important. To me, urgent work is what matters most at a given
point of time and gives results in near short term. Important
work might not give results now but will be extremely critical in
the coming two or three monthssuch as, doing the ground-
work before signing a big deal so I am able to navigate through it
efciently when that happens, or talking to diferent people
before narrowing down on the best one to hire. People generally
get caught up with things that are urgent in
nature and not important. It is essential to do
urgent things but not at the cost of ignoring
important ones. Tis habit helps me divide my
time efciently and put the tasks to be completed
in a day in perspective.
Te next thing I do is look at my calendar for
the day. Even before my day starts, it is already
locked with several meetings that were scheduled
earlier. I usually have four to six meetings on any
given day. It is also open for everyone in my team
to access so they have a fair idea of what my day
looks like. And, in case they want to block it for
some discussion, they are free to do so.
As we have entered the ffh year of our opera-
tion, most of the internal meetings are to determine the key focus
areas, discuss problems and review the work done. Whatever the
meeting is for, the underlying rule we follow is that we see our-
selves as a football team. Just like the game of football, each team
member for every new project wears a diferent hat. So based on
the skill set required for the project, we decide who will be the
captain, vice captain or the person sitting on the bench. Just
because I am the CEO of the company, doesnt mean I will be the
one taking all the fnal decisions. I can be the person sitting on the
bench too. Really, it doesnt matter what title or designation each
of us carry. Titles are more to tell the external world what we do
for the company. Tis non-hierarchical strategy works for us.
Due to the diferent accountability lines for diferent projects,
people learn how to work with each other and start believing in
one another. I follow this practise across all the teams so that even
I am very rigid about deadlines. If work
gets done after that, the law of
diminishing returns kicks in especially if
youre a fast-growing company.
B
46 | INC. | APRIL 2014
STRATEGY
with them personally.
I wanted to be very sure of the people we were hiring for
the company. We are not a large organisation where all you
need is people with the relevant skills. In a growing company
such as ours, we need passionate people who have been
through the grind and are good at problem solving. I didnt
spend much time on asking people about their work profles.
My favourite question to gauge passion and problem solving
skill is to ask people to tell us about the three biggest
challenges they have solved in their professional career. Tis
massive hiring process was toughbut, weve done it. We are a
180 people company today.
Meeting targets like these is exhilarating. I am a big believer
in unreasonablenesshow much can I stretch myself whether it
is my morning exercise regime, or the targets I set at work. Tis
guides my personal and professional life, and ensures I always
set higher benchmarks for myself.
worked with mobile app developers in the emerging markets by
helping them monetise their apps. We did that by integration of
advertisements in the various apps through our product,
AppWrapper. Tis way advertisers could reach out to the audi-
ence through mobile. But last year, to enable our advertisers
reach a more targeted audience based on demographics and
usage pattens we introduced another platform, AudiencePro. To
do that, we partner with telcos to get privacy complaint user
information to reach the right target audience and we charge our
advertisers a premium for this targetting, which we also share
with the telcos. Now, telcos can also leverage the mobile advertis-
ing opportunity.
Innovation and development requires speed. Te high pace at
which we work means there is always a huge line up of things to be
done on any given day. I usually work for up to 12 hours a day and
always, almost always, end up setting up larger targets for myself.
World Ready Vserv has seen a steep
growth. Khurana says they have
opened 10 global ofces in four years.
In 2013, we had set the target to get
110 people on board before the year end.
We were a team of 70 then and needed
people to fll in diferent functions
including technology and product devel-
opment. Since we wanted to become a
$100 million company by December
2015, we had to start hiring to scale up
fast. Getting 110 people meant a new per-
son joins us every third day. Tat is a
humongous task.
So, our business heads along with the
human resource team decided to play
multiple roles. We divided amongst our-
selves the functions we would hire peo-
ple for. Initially, we did get bogged down
with the idea of 110 people. But, then we
divided the target in smaller milestones
of 15 days. And, afer every two weeks
we would decide the next plan. What we
also committed to each other was con-
stant communication and feedback.
When you work on a phenomenal pace
and seemingly impossible goals, you
cant do it without tight coordination.
We put that coordination in place. For
40 per cent of the people, I was the frst
person to interview them. For key posi-
tions such as business development
head, national sales manager I wanted to
make the pitch myself. So, I would go
through several profles on LinkedIn
everyday and schedule interview or calls
APRIL 2014 | INC. | 47
FOUNDERS FORUM
TEN QUESTIONS FOR DR SANJEEV K CHAUDHRY
His children joke that he was born wearing a tie because he wears one every day. Tis is counter-
intuitive to todays relaxed ofce wear trend. But Dr Chaudhry, MD of SRL Diagnostics, believes
being formal and sharp gives his company that added power edge.

What part of
your job would
you gladly give up?
Managing the day-to-
day operations. But,
what I would never give
up is being the ethical
champion of the
company.
Whats
the one skill
you want to improve
upon, personally?
To read between the lines
and hear what is not being
said. These skills are
essential to be a good
leader.

Whats the
toughest part of
being in charge?
That I am accountable for
the 1,00,000 diagnostic tests
we perform in a day, even
though Im not involved in
the physical process of
performing the
tests.
If you
could time
travel, where would
you be right now?
Would love to move 50
years ahead when health
care delivery would be
highly automated.
What
company do
you not want to start
but wish someone
else would?
BlackBerry. It was a
company that had everything
going right and is now
losing its momentum.
I want it to do well.
Whom
would you
trade places with
for a day?
With the Prime Minister
of India. To rectify the
medical policies in
the constitution.
Which
TV or movie
character you would
like to go into
business with?
I would like to collaborate with
Aamir Khan for the television
programme Satyamev Jayate to
voice out the unethical
practices in the medical
fraternity in India.
Whats
the best part of
the day?
The rst two hours after
I wake up at 4am. I spend
this time in reecting and
thinking about what
needs to be done
today.
Gut instinct
versus expertise:
which is more
important, and why?
I used to rely on expertise.
But, with experience,
expertise evolves into
gut. Today, gut
rules.

What would
your employees be
surprised to know
about you?
How closely I monitor
the business without
rufing feathers.
48 | INC. | MARCH 2014
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