Art and entrepreneurship: 3 IIM Ahmedabad graduates dream big

This year, three graduates from Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad (IIM A) have decided to dabble in various forms of art – writing, jewellery and art. Each have their own dreams and destinations. We decided to talk to these three batchmates about their entrepreneurial ventures and unique ideas they plan to pursue.

 

Minakhi Prasad Misra

Aspiration: Full-time writing

 

“I always knew I wanted to write books - there was hardly ever any doubt about it,” says Minakhi Prasad Misra.

Essaying to be a full-time writer, Misra is currently working on his first novel. For the next two years, Misra plans to write full-time, hoping to bring out at least three good titles, besides articles and opinion pieces in leading periodicals of India.

He is also co-authoring a book with Rashmi Bansal, which will bring out inspiring real life accounts of everyday Indians. This book has been commissioned by Zee TV and revolves around their belief of "Har Lamha Nayi Ummeed". Misra is occasionally helping Rashmi Bansal with her start-up called "Bloody Good Book" (www.bloodygoodbook.com).

To support his writing, Misra has taken up the IIMAvericks Fellowship by Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE) at IIM A. “At IIM A, I came in close contact with Sunil Handa, who is a great mentor for budding entrepreneurs at the institute. As part of my application for the IIMAvericks Fellowship program, I had sent in a sample of my work to him. He really liked it and one day soon after he invited me over for a dinner with Rashmi. You can imagine how thrilled I was. At the dinner, Rashmi and I spoke more about my writing and my future plans. When Zee TV approached her with the proposal for the ‘Ummeed’ book, she asked me if I would be interested in working with her. I was simply too thrilled not to say an immediate yes,” he recalls.

Misra spent the first 18 years of his life in Berhampur (Odisha) in a house full of books. “I was fortunate enough to have been born into a family of teachers: my father is a retired Professor of Physics, while my mother is a Reader in Zoology, both at the Berhampur University. The best part about my family is that everyone is an avid reader of books. There is always active discussions around the dinner table, which usually run late into the night before someone realises that people have to go to office the next day,” he says.

But not everyone in his family was happy about his decision to write. “I first bounced the idea off my brother, who was pretty pleased with my conviction of becoming a writer. My parents, on the other hand, did not like my idea one bit. In their opinion, I should write on weekends along with a day job for the other five days. I understand their concern when they said this. They wanted me to be financially secure and independent. However, when I told them about the IIMAvericks Fellowship and my association with Rashmi Bansal, their immediate concerns were put to rest and they started supporting my idea. As of now, it's all good on the home front,” says Misra.

Speaking about his first novel, Misra says, “The novel I am working on is a coming of age story of a young girl who has been brought up at a rehabilitation center for women. Having been surrounded by stories of pain all her life, she initially tries to run away from this identity when she gets admission into the sociology department of the state university. However, as the years roll on, she comes realises that her identity is deeply rooted in where she comes from, that her life is intricately intertwined with the lives of all the women who have found an uncomfortable closure with each other. This novel charts out her journey through love, separation, guilt and love again, in knowing who she is and what she eventually wants to do.”

When asked that becoming a writer after MBA from IIM A is quite an unusual choice of career, Misra is quick to dispel myths.

“One has to understand that today to become a successful author, one needs more than just writing ability. Authors have to think like businesspeople - designing their products keeping the target segment in mind, selecting the correct channels of promotion, strategising about their personal brand and building an ecosystem of associated media around their primary work. To borrow a term from The Economist, a writer has to be an "Authorpreneur" to compete in the fast-evolving media industry. Now, my two years at IIMA has equipped me the skills and tools that would help me develop this thinking about the business of books and help me establish myself in the sector of my choice. If you really take my word for it, becoming an author after an MBA in IIMA would not be that unusual in a few years,” he says.

 

 

 

Arthi R

Business Plan: E-commerce portal for affordable fashion jewellery

online venture selling affordable fashion jewellery.  “I wanted to start my own venture in fashion jewelry after my internship. Hence I opted out of placements,” says Arthi.

The two main objectives of her start-up venture, ‘Fashion Jewelry’, are:

• To bring in very good collections of affordable, modern and trendy fashion jewellery to youngsters and professionals in India and abroad
• To provide customers a unique and satiating shopping experience online and through mobile app
  
  
  

“I always believe that jewellery to women and men is a means of self-expression. I feel that jewellery adds beauty and makes a person look and feel complete. There are lot of avenues to buy jewellery, the most popular being offline mode. Lately online mode is also picking up pace, with some websites selling gold and silver jewellery getting recognition across the country. But fashion jewellery does not have significant presence except for online market places like Amazon & Flipkart. I plan to sell affordable fashion jewellery online with the luxury of having more choices,” says Arthi.

She further explains, “As of now my only objective is to provide affordable jewellery. Gold and diamond jewellery are expensive and many people cannot afford to buy it. Most of the middle class families keep the gold jewellery in bank lockers and do not even use them properly. Jewellery is a means of self-expression not only an investment!”

Arthi has been offered IIMAverick fellowship as a support for the start-up venture. She is currently looking for investors and launching the business.

 

 

Kulothungan B.

Business Plan: WelkinCanvas.com - online marketplace that links artists to customers

 

“Is it possible to make a product out of Art? This is the fundamental question which gave rise to Welkin Canvas, an online marketplace that links portrait artists to the customers. Customers will be able to upload photographs of their choice and select an artist who will then draw/paint the photograph on the chosen style. The artists’ effort speaks to the viewer in a manner no professional photographer can imagine. We believe, handmade portraits transcend the mere digital images,” says Kulothungan.

Kulothungan pursued arts right from his school days. “I have personally seen many artists who were not getting the attention, opportunity and rewards they deserve. It’s mainly because they are unable to reach a larger audience. I felt I can do something to change this situation. This lead to starting Art to Share – a Facebook community – in November 2012, with the sole purpose of giving artists all around the world a platform to display their work. 

While interacting with the artists and art lovers, Kulothungan realised that there is an opportunity to take it to the next level. This is led to the creation of Welkin Canvas. “Hand drawn and painted portraits are a rare commodity these days and it is an art form worth reviving. So, I am trying to personalize these types of art forms such that it will be interesting for the current generation,” he says.

When asked if he intends to step into the corporate world, he says. “I believe we will become a corporate one day. ‘A Corporate for Arts’.”

The venture has already raised the necessary capital and will go live on March 27. They are looking for a second round of funding to expand Welkin Canvas and explore new markets in the art sector.

“Welkin Canvas is a marketplace for artists. Any artist who is interested to work with us, please write us through ‘Art to share’ or ‘Welkin Canvas’ Facebook page. More importantly, we welcome all your suggestions on our venture, on process, on development of arts, etc,” says Kulothungan as a parting note.