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Travails of setting up an entrepreneurial venture in Kerala

by C Balagopal

1. Is Kerala a good place to do business? What kind of business can be successfully carried on in Kerala? Is Kerala a good place to set up a manufacturing business?
2. The picture of the Terumo Penpol Blood Bag factory in Trivandrum  says it all: a vast sea of emerald green treetops stretching to the horizon. Impossible to see such a sight anywhere else in India. A factory nestled in the midst of this sea of green.
3. Infrastructure needed for industry was poor then, and also today, 25 years later! Little has changed on that front. But the world has changed. And elements of the eco system needed to support entrepreneurship are being put in place. This spans the spectrum of needed inputs like startup finance, angel investors, VCs, incubators, accelerators, incentives and support programs of which YES is an important part. While there is much talk about liberalisation, this has mostly happened on the external trade front, and not in the internal processes for setting up or closing a business. On those fronts, there has been little change.
4. But, entrepreneurship is all about problem solving and innovation, of encountering and overcoming problems. Naturally one does not want to waste time and energy and resources solving problems like what I had to face, and continue to face: poor roads, transport, water supply, power, complicated statutory compliances many of which are antideluvian, prior permission approach leading to delays in project execution, etc etc. Litte of this has changed despite all the brave talk of liberalisation and globalisation.
5. Innovation is part of the DNA of the entrepreneur. You need to innovate every day and every time you face a problem. That’s how entrepreneurs solve problems. The key therefore is not to expect freebies and handouts; that’s not the way an entrepreneur thinks, and acts. Every problem is an opportunity to innovate. The PENPOL story is about using local resources to build a world class organisation. It needs more than just hard work, a good team, and a good strategy. It needs above all a VISION to build a world class company. It all begins in the mind. I know many people think that first you focus on making some money, paying off creditors and loans, then growing, and finally talking about Vision and Mission and so on. Completely wrong! World class does not happen by accident. Quality does not happen by accident. It can happen only be design. Time flows from the present into the future. Set your goal high, and work back to what you need to do today to reach that goal. It will involve tough and difficult and unpalatable choices to be made all the time, of walking away from a sure deal because it does not fit in with the Vision, from incurring a financial loss to remain faithful to that vision, etc.
6. How do you learn to innovate? Start by asking questions. The more questions you ask, the sillier they are, the more self-evident the answers appear to be, the more likely you are to stumble on innovation.
7. The greatest innovation does not happen in huge well-funded labs, but in skunk works that are resource constrained. eg J&J
8. Technical expertise and experience count a great deal: as Louis Pasteur said-chance favours the prepared mind! Baxter engineers and oil dosing micro pump story. Inspiration and passion, while necessary, are not sufficient conditions for innovation and entrepreneurial success. You need expertise, experience, and skills and must mobilise them effectively from where they are available. Of course it helps if you possess a core skill like finance, technology, marketing, etc. But this is not necessary. If you have the right idea, and back it with the passion and commitment needed, you will find the resources needed to accomplish what you have to do.