Differentiate between Fake and Real World

"Be smart enough to differentiate between fake and real things in the world" was Amruth Charan's succinct advise to future entrepreneurs. In the ever growing space of Digital Marketing and App Development, Amruth has learnt the hard way how to survive. There are many players in the field- fake as well as real. Amruth's comment reminded me of the old idiom 'Separate the wheat from the chaff'. He goes on to add "You should have a clear idea on What To Do, When To Do and How To Do?"

Amrit Charan was a bit quiet and reserved in the class. In the team assignments, he would always be in the forefront. But when it came to taking group pictures he would seldom be seen in the front row. So much so that I could not locate a single picture of Amruth in the archives of the Class of 2016 at VVISM Hyderabad where he was my student. Even when he came to the Institute for the Alumni Meet in December last year he was his usual quiet self. In the group photograph which was taken after the event, Charan was once again standing quietly in the fifth row. See the pictures appearing later.

From that reserved personality to becoming an entrepreneur is a great transformation. Amruth Charan is the Founder and CEO of  Aresol India Pvt Ltd. Key business areas of his startup are Web Development, App Development and Digital Marketing. 
Here comes Charan's story in his own words.

Can you share your journey after MBA?

After completion of my MBA, I attended many interviews and finally I joined an MNC. After some time I found that my job was not matching my ambitions. I then decided to start my own company which was my lifetime goal. So, I started working for that goal.

Has your entrepreneurial journey been as exciting as you had expected it to ​be?

It's been a crucial journey which made me to acquire lot many interpersonal skills to move on towards my successful career. Finally I can say yes it was more exciting journey than what I had expected. It gave me courage and confidence to face the challenges in today's competitive world.

What are the key challenges in your venture and how do you 
plan to overcome it​?

There are many challenges that I am facing like managing the employees, financial planning and decision making, managing client relationship etc. It's been a new kind of experience in my life to face these challenges. Some of these things I had anticipated before starting a new venture. However, I am learning to tackle these progressively. With a bit of patience I believe I can face them and move on successfully.

What is your message for present students who want to take the entrepreneurial dive​?​

You should have a clear idea on What To Do, When To Do and How To Do? Act accordingly. Try to be smart enough to differentiate between fake and real things in the world.

Amruth's story concludes the series titled 'Proof of the Pudding'. "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" goes the old proverb. For a teacher like Ghumakkad, what is the pudding? 'Pudding' for a teacher is his/her graduating students. Then how  is this 'pudding' in the form of former students, to be 'eaten'? 'Eating' can be symbolically equated with the placements or performance of former students in real life.

This series of stories is about Ghumakkad's former students who have become entrepreneurs. Most of the 2500 or so MBA, PGDM and BBA graduates taught by me have taken up a job. By embarking on the challenging path of entrepreneurship, few of these former students have proven the proverbial pudding beyond doubt! Who are these ten entrepreneurs? Are their business ventures diverse?

Their enterprises may not be huge, but they have followed their heart. They have pursued their passion. It was such a pleasure to reconnect with these former students and to learn their success stories. Thanks are due to each one of them for sharing their journey after graduation.

Name	MBA Graduation	Business Area	Venture Name & Location
Prabudha Saurabh	MBA(HR) IBS(2010)	Career Coaching	HRscope Consultants, Patna
Prashant Jadenavar	MBA(HR) IBS (2010)	Entertainment/ Theatre and Performing Arts	XpressionZ, Bangalore
Kirti Sharma	MBA(Mktg) IBS (2012)	Image Consultant, Corporate Trainer	Tualmagis, Mumbai
Aayushi Kasliwal	MBA(Fin) IBS (2012)	Designer Soaps- manufacture and supply	Soapatite, Indore
Preksha Jain	MBA(Mktg) IBS(2013)	Designer Apparels and Accessories	Preksha Jain – The Fashionate, Kolkata
Anjali Raj	BBA IBS(2013)	Healthy Mother, Healthy Baby	ILove9Months, Kochi
Ishita Raksha and Nidhi Upadhyay	BBA IBS(2013)	A Gourmet Dessert Studio	17 Sugar Street, Hyderabad
Sriram Gundepudi	MBA(HR) VVISM(2016)	Employability Skills Training, Digital Marketing	Digi Freaks,Hyderabad
Amruth Charan	PGDM(Fin) VVISM (2016)	Digital Marketing, Web/App Development	Aresol India, Visakhapatnam

The stories in 'proof of the pudding' series have been very well received by the readers. Numerous comments as well as 8000 page views convey the relevance of these stories. Although it has taken longer than initially anticipated to put all the stories together, it has been a satisfying effort. We once again we thank all the readers as well as my former-students-now-entrepreneurs who took time to share their experiences.

Readers may also browse two related stories posted earlier:

Can Startup Management be taught?
Social Entrepreneurship- Learnings

A friend after reading these stories remarked 'May be they have succeeded despite you'! I tend to agree. Whichever way, I feel proud of my former students and their achievements. God bless each one of them.

Thanks for browsing.

     - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/23rd April 2018

 #AmruthCharan #StartupIndia #Entrepreneurs #ProofOfThePudding #VVISMHyderabad #AresolIndia #GhumakkadHarsh #GhumakkadHB #Entrepreneurship #DigitalMarketing #AppDevelopemnt