TANCET 2020 Solved Papers

Question Numbers: 11-20PASSAGE - IIIf religion be the opium of the masses, Prakash Mundhra is enjoying giving them a high. His company, Blessed Moments, makes "puja kits' for Diwali, an idea he conceived as a student at ABC Centre for Management and HRD in Pune. "My marketing Professor Raguram Shinde, rejected the idea totally." says Mundhra . We had long arguments- he didnt think there was a market for it. "Prof.Shinde was wrong. In its first Diwali season during October 2006 - Blessed Moments sold more than 10,000 puja kits and achieved a turnover of INR. 35 Lakh. "I took a risk grins Prakash. "But it has worked out."The seed of successful idea was sown when, as a first year student, Mundhra entered the "Mera Gaon, Mera Desh", business plan contest sponsored by ITC. Participants has to develop strategies linked to ITC brands. Mundhra chose "Mangaldeep Agarbattis' and suggested branded puja items, such as haldi (Turmeric) and roli. That did not quite catch ITC'S fancy but he refined his plan and submitted it to more contests, including Zee TV'S "BUSINESS BAAZIGAR". The idea of a branded puja items retail outlet (along the lines of Archies) won Mundhra the "mini baazigar" title and several prestigious business plan contests- IIM Lucknow, IIM Calcutta and IIT, Kharagpur, to name a few.Yet, he was in a dilemma. He went through the placement process and accepted an offer from ICICI Prudential. "In the meantime, i entered six business plan contests and won five, "he says. "I became more and more convinced about my idea- which was now a "puja kit" - and four days before i was to join my new job, I sent the HR Head an e-mail declining the offer. "Thus,Blessed Moments were born. The INR.50,000 cash award from Zee helped in the initial research and formulation stage of the product. "I calculated that another INR.3-4 Lakhs would be enough to start off." He already had half the amount in hand- prize money from business plan contests. The balance, he raised from family and friends.Armed with a few samples of his wares, Mundhra set up a stall at the Giftex exhibition in Mumbai in August 2006. "The response was tremendous. When I won the "best product award" at Giftex, I knew I was on to something big." Based on enquiries alone, he took the decision of producing 12,000 puja kits. Eventually, corporate bookings and exports orders came in, and in the run-up to Diwali, the kits were stocked at retail outlets such as Asiatic and Akabrallys. "Strangely, 500 kits sold after Diwali," he says. Requests for kits for more occasions and more religions, have been puring in. A "Grih pravesh puja kit" and " vehicle puja kit" are already on the cards.For a 27 year old with just one year's experience in the family business prior to his MBA, this is quite an achievement. But he is not the only dreamer. He belongs to a new bread of MBAs choosing the entrepreneurial patch right after graduating from a B-school. A one crore salary be damned, the buzz is about the guys who opted out of placement, because secretly, almost everyone craves to be in control of their own destiny- to be an entrepreneurial rock star.But, like the proverbial struggling artist, you may need a "day job" to support yourself, Anoop Radhakrishnan, Zerin Rahiman, Shivakumar R, Abhisar Gupta and Sandeep Ramesh all graduated from IIM Lucknow in 2006. They formed Uni Axess Healthcare, which focused on the relatively on the unorganised field of medical tourism. However, in its first nine months, UniAxesss had no revenues. "We decided to go a little slow and analyse the market, "says Ramesh. "No one has really cracked this business yet, and we wanted to avoid pitfalls."Meanwhile, the bread was buttered by taking on consulting projects through another company they had formed called IndigoEdge. "Solvency is the key to survivial," says Ramesh. "Do anything that will pay the bills (for the first year at least). "The team is quite kicked, though, about the quality of projects it has executed - from an impact study in public health in Karnataka, to a market estimation and entry project for a German Manufacturer.Things have picked up steam on the medical tourism from now. UniAxesss Health care received USD 1,000,000 (INR. 41 lakhs) from an angel investor based in Bangalore and opened up an office in Abu Dhabi. The company has handled 50 clients so far and expects to open offices in four countries by JULY 2008. But the bread, butter and even the jam continues to come from management consulting. "We are now in the private equity space, helping a furniture manufacturer raise INR. 100 crore for retail expansion", Ramesh says. As PE deals work on a commission basis (4 percent being the standard), the potential gains from such assignments are huge. The INR. 2 Lakh earned as commission so far on the medical tourism side pales in comparison.The team had divided roles and responsibilities - while three members handle consulting, two concentrate on the medical tourism side, with three employees handling day-to-day operations. "The medical tourism business does not require expertise", says Ramesh "But need to trust you. That is something built over a period of time, through word of mouth. "Meanwhile, if consulting assignments are coming from unexpected quarters, no one is complaining , IndigoEdge or Uniaxess, the team is willing go play chameleon if it makes sound business sense.That is the sentiment that Mansur Nazeemudeen certainly identifies with. The 28-year old IIM-A graduate (Class of 2006) made headlines when he spurned a $\text{100,000 pre-Placement offer from the Deutsche bank to start a mobile gaming company. Tiger tail studies remains Nazimudeen's merry muse and his dating dream. But for now, he is poured his energies into a different kind of proposition- "Brewhaha" - a real-world hangout that marries the fun of playing board games with the flavor of excellent food. Situated in the Koramangala area of Banglaore, Brewhaha, is a joint venture with Mansur building in his love for games and Sreeram Vaidyanathan (IIMA batch of 2005) providing the passion for food. The café has achieved quite a buzz among the Yuppie set in the city with over 65 board games on offer a menu where no item costs more than INR. 70. (Vaidyanathan highly recommends the chocolate and chilli concoction - 'Artic Chilly Brew'). Brewhaha was born in September 2006, when Sreeram had just quit his job with Microsoft and was toying with the idea of opening a deli. Brainstorming with Nazimuddin, a whole new concept tooks shape. It took five months to get the project up and running, with real estate being one of the biggest roadblocks. "We invested our savings into Brewhaha. Hoping to break even in six months," says Nazimuddin. We may get there ahead of time, thanks to the tremendous response. However, the 'breakeven' is a bit of a mirage as it does not include salaries for the promoters. "Entrepreneurship is about postponing short-term gains for a long-term bonanza," grins Sreeram. A home and family support in the city means basics are taken care of, thankfully. "We have really enjoyed the process of creating something that users are so passionate about. It is a labor of love. But at a fundamental level Brewhaha fulfils the need to 'do something', which is potentially a very big business." The duo are seeking to raise}$1 million (Rs. 4.1 crore) in venture capital funding in order to scale the business rapidly.What if that does not happen? Will they stick it out and grow organically or seek out new pastures, or paymasters? Vaidyananthan does not rule out' any possibilities'. This is, infact, his second fling - he ran a doomed B2B dotcom venture before joining IIMA in 2003.The bottom line is, entrepreneurship is all about dealing with surprises. Bowing to the winds of change, yet standing tall and proud through the storm. You might hit a boundary with your first shot. Or stand at the crease with your eye on the ball and determination in your heart. You might return to the pavilion, but return in style in a second innings. Anything can happen - but at least you lived your dream. The question is, are you willing to die for it?