17 young women leave IIMB with MPWE certificates in hand and a twinkle in the eye
'To improve customers' lives so profoundly that they can't imagine going to the old way'. This according to Vijay Anand, India Head, Intuit, is the thumb rule of any successful venture. At the valedictory of the Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) at IIMB on May 17, 2014, Vijay Anand observed that entrepreneurship had to be nurtured as a way of life.
Vijay Anand, India Head, Intuit, at the valedictory of Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE)
on May 17 (Saturday) at IIM Bangalore.
Addressing the gathering that included 17 women entrepreneurs, he said: "Engrave the word 'delight' into your mind. The only way you will create a mark on your customer base is to solve their problem with 'delight'. Think about the problem from the perspective of your customer. This will surely solve the tiny fractures that may arise in your relationship with the customer."
He cited the example of three women entrepreneurs in Intuit and said: "Ideas arise from everyday nuances. Think of everyday problems and 'Eureka', you have the perfect business-idea! First, try to delight that 'one-person', and then move on to a cohort, then the market and finally look at the financial angle. At every stage, the feedback will help you better your product. So, when the actual product is launched, it will be a perfect piece," he explained to a rapt audience.
Earlier in the day, Professor Padmini Srinivasan, MPWE Director, said: "The women in this programme are from diverse backgrounds and have reinvented themselves as entrepreneurs. They have created startups and new ventures - mostly on a wing and a prayer. Meeting these women was akin to taking a virtual journey through their lives; empathizing with their hardships in setting up their own business and reveling in their joys. It was a great learning experience for us too."
One of the participants, Sujata Mukhopadhyay, said she had quit her high-paying job because she was bitten by the 'Entrepreneur-bug'. "I want to do something significant in health-care and my dream is to set-up a diabetes management centre. The MPWE at IIMB gave me insights about marketing and finance, and de-bunked some clichés about the way of doing business," she said.
Ramya Sriram, a cartoonist and a programme participant, dreams of setting up her Illustration firm. "I specially want to thank the mentors here at the MPWE, who offered me a perceptive learning experience and lent an ear to my loud thinking."
Professor Sabarinathan G, Chairperson, NSRCEL which delivers the MPWE, said: "The newly re-designed MPWE is doing its bit for entrepreneurship, slowly but surely, not just in the city of Bengaluru, but across the world, with many alumnae living and working across the globe. The homogeneity of the group - women entrepreneurs - who are in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey, is what we focused on." He thanked the evangelists - Professor Padmini Srinivasan and Professor Ramya Ranganathan for their commitment to quality when it came to selecting candidates for the programme.
The IIMB-NSRCEL run Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) encourages, empowers and educates potential women entrepreneurs to create their own business or social enterprise, as well as enable women entrepreneurs to grow their existing enterprises.
17 young women leave IIMB with MPWE certificates in hand and a twinkle in the eye
'To improve customers' lives so profoundly that they can't imagine going to the old way'. This according to Vijay Anand, India Head, Intuit, is the thumb rule of any successful venture. At the valedictory of the Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) at IIMB on May 17, 2014, Vijay Anand observed that entrepreneurship had to be nurtured as a way of life.
Vijay Anand, India Head, Intuit, at the valedictory of Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE)
on May 17 (Saturday) at IIM Bangalore.
Addressing the gathering that included 17 women entrepreneurs, he said: "Engrave the word 'delight' into your mind. The only way you will create a mark on your customer base is to solve their problem with 'delight'. Think about the problem from the perspective of your customer. This will surely solve the tiny fractures that may arise in your relationship with the customer."
He cited the example of three women entrepreneurs in Intuit and said: "Ideas arise from everyday nuances. Think of everyday problems and 'Eureka', you have the perfect business-idea! First, try to delight that 'one-person', and then move on to a cohort, then the market and finally look at the financial angle. At every stage, the feedback will help you better your product. So, when the actual product is launched, it will be a perfect piece," he explained to a rapt audience.
Earlier in the day, Professor Padmini Srinivasan, MPWE Director, said: "The women in this programme are from diverse backgrounds and have reinvented themselves as entrepreneurs. They have created startups and new ventures - mostly on a wing and a prayer. Meeting these women was akin to taking a virtual journey through their lives; empathizing with their hardships in setting up their own business and reveling in their joys. It was a great learning experience for us too."
One of the participants, Sujata Mukhopadhyay, said she had quit her high-paying job because she was bitten by the 'Entrepreneur-bug'. "I want to do something significant in health-care and my dream is to set-up a diabetes management centre. The MPWE at IIMB gave me insights about marketing and finance, and de-bunked some clichés about the way of doing business," she said.
Ramya Sriram, a cartoonist and a programme participant, dreams of setting up her Illustration firm. "I specially want to thank the mentors here at the MPWE, who offered me a perceptive learning experience and lent an ear to my loud thinking."
Professor Sabarinathan G, Chairperson, NSRCEL which delivers the MPWE, said: "The newly re-designed MPWE is doing its bit for entrepreneurship, slowly but surely, not just in the city of Bengaluru, but across the world, with many alumnae living and working across the globe. The homogeneity of the group - women entrepreneurs - who are in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey, is what we focused on." He thanked the evangelists - Professor Padmini Srinivasan and Professor Ramya Ranganathan for their commitment to quality when it came to selecting candidates for the programme.
The IIMB-NSRCEL run Management Programme for Women Entrepreneurs (MPWE) encourages, empowers and educates potential women entrepreneurs to create their own business or social enterprise, as well as enable women entrepreneurs to grow their existing enterprises.