The High

Performance
Entrepreneur

Subroto Bagchi

Of all entrepreneurial activity, less than 5% are likely

to be high-potential. High-potential companies are
called Gazelles. In the 90s 70% of all US jobs were
created by these companies and in Sweden 7 in 10
of all new jobs are created by them
High Performance Entrepreneurship does not
happen accidentally. It is designed that way. To
begin with, start with the right reason..

All the wrong reasons

We are three good friends and we want to start a

company
I have this great idea for a new gizmo
I hate my company and my boss
My time is running out
I want to help India

Now, do you have the right profile?

Profile of an Entrepreneur

Love for money

Self-confidence
Sense of freedom
Hard work & goal orientation
Flexible, opportunistic and emergent
Egoless

How do entrepreneurs get the right idea?

Sometimes entrepreneurs work futurebackwards and sometimes they work in a

present forward mannerthe MindTree,
Caf Coffee Day, Deccan Aviation and Biocon
stories..
High Performance Entrepreneurs get excited
about the big picture, a larger vision and then
the pieces begin to fall in place

After the right idea, it is time to build

the A Team

Choosing the A Team

Look for proven competence, ability to pull
weight
Complimentary in the parts but collectively
exhaustive
Ability to multi-task
Shared Vision
Transparent

Choosing the A Team

Personal integrity & mutual trust
Ability to question each other and disagree
Resilience
Sense of humor

The next issue: DNA, Mission, Vision &

Values

 DNA It is who you are

Mission It is where you are going
Vision A set of time-bound and measurable
goals
Values It is the shared code of conduct

Now, how will you be different?

 Domain
Tools
Methodology
Quality
Innovation
Branding

Next Step: Writing the Business

Plan

Take the Business Plan seriously..

Executive Summary
Business Context
Company & its Objectives
Core Values

Positioning & Business Overview

Take the Business Plan

seriously..

Sales & Marketing

Delivery & Process
People & Structure
Risk Factors
Financials

Now you are ready to seek the

investor. Choose the right investor

Choose the right investor.

Smart vs. Dumb Capital

Color of money
The lure of Non-interference
Mutual expectations
Family & Friends

It is now time to think of

attracting and retaining the
right talent

 Pay attention to the first 40

Write the job description
Sell the job yourself
Explain the downsides
Run with defined objectives

Have a transparent Compensation and Benefit stru

Invest in a Performance Management System

Devote time to talent & leadership development

Communicate with the 95:95:95 principle

It is time to think of building a

Process-centric organization

Build a Quality organization from the start

Focus on the People, Process &Technology
triad
Choose a framework but look beyond
compliance
Have a roadmap, be practitioner-led
Listen to the voice of the customer and
involve everyone

You are now ready to seek your

Customers. But choose Customers
right

 Angels come through providence

Build processes to get your early wins
Choose your customers wisely. Look for
reasons such as:

Techno-managerial value - add

Trust
Sense of equality
Commercially win-win

Manage your money wisely

 Love money there is no other reason to get into

business
Be frugal do not pay yourself out of business
Install an accounting package from the word go
Know what to measure and measure it
Respect the bean counters
Get the best auditor in town

Keep overheads low

Raise money before you need it

Do not fritter away equity

Put in place corporate governance from the

start

Report accounts to your investors on time,

without window dressing ever

Focus on Building your Brand

 Brand is the communication of your intrinsic

worth
It must be consistent with your DNA, Mission,
Vision and Values
Choose the name and visual identity right
Focus on the message map, based on the
companys positioning

 Spend energy on the website and the intranet

Get a PR agency
Build affection for content
Use the workplace as a brand ambassador

Lets us now talk about emergence,

willingness to change & managing
adversity

An enterprise is like a river. Seeing the source,

you cannot imagine the confluence

Be emergent bend and flow

There is no one way of solving problems,

sometimes it is better to simply stay ahead of
problems

Long-distance runners must bear segmented pain

In difficulty, be transparent and communicate

Publish decisional rules to the organization

Reasons Start-Ups
fail

 Founders break-up
Enterprise runs out of cash
Deadly embrace of a customer or a product
Technology/Customer/Geo over-dependence
Founders do not let go

 Poor governance
Founders get carried away with their image
Try to be too big, too soon
Wrong choice of investor

Lessons from the Indian IT Industry

 To be world-class, begin and end with quality

Focus on what you know, not who you know
Build an abundance mindset
Pay your taxes right
Be hierarchy-free

 Leaders exemplify personal integrity

Set up hairy, audacious goals
Build deep inclusion
Organization resources are not my resources
Austere leadership

It is about ordinary people delivering extraordinary results

Play it by the book

Thank You