The one mantra for young entrepreneurs, according to Compaq’s ex-India head

Photo credit: Kantver / 123RF

This article has been heavily revised from the original transcript of the interview. To watch the full interview, go here.

In this interview, Som Mittal (former chairman of Nasscom, the trade association of India’s IT industry) talks to me about his journey in the tech industry. He also shares some perspectives that young entrepreneurs and the tech scene today should take note of.

What has happened in India’s tech industry during your time?

I was fortunate that I found opportunities as they came. Nothing was planned. Way back in the 1960s, there were only a couple of choices for students: take up medicine or become an engineer. There were very few professionals, but there was a lot of energy. I was fortunate to have had experience in engineering, finance, manufacturing, design, sales, and marketing. Today, young people get into hyper-specialized areas and don’t get to experience all of these.

I joined the tech sector in 1989. It was Wipro that gave me the foundation, and then I went to a multinational company—Digital Electronics. Life is interesting because I got to see how mergers happened when Compaq bought out Digital Electronics. It was an interesting navigation. I personally believe that leadership is more needed not when things are stable but when there is crisis. When everybody looks up to you for guidance, that’s when all your faculties get tested.

So, the merger resulted in an organization with very different cultures. I decided to not just work on hardware (which I had been doing for a long time) and see if we could do something on the services side. We grew within four years, and then HP bought out Compaq.

We had been through all the cycles, whether it was a client server or ERP (enterprise resource planning) coming in at that time. We had to navigate these waves rather than resist them.

And then there came a point in my life where I realized that I had done enough corporate work. Nasscom was looking for a leader, and I thought it was an opportunity. Young people today try to plan their careers like they are all programmed, but it doesn’t go that way. My advice would be this: when an opportunity comes, take it. It’s a risk, but it’s entrepreneurial.

Is there any mantra for young entrepreneurs?

I would say that I wish life was black and white. But it is not, and it will never be. Young entrepreneurs are going to face more and more uncertainties. Will the funding come tomorrow or not? Will my revenue model work or not? We have to live with it.

There is only one mantra: put yourself out there and do your best. Have a vision, a goal, and a problem to solve to start with. If you don’t have any problem to solve, then what you are trying to do has no value. So, the first thing for startups is please attack a problem, look for a solution, and focus on getting that done. Then, be flexible enough to change your course rather than dig your heels in.

Many also worry about valuation, even at the early stage. I think valuation will come because people value anything good that comes. Your focus should be not on putting a spin on what you have but actually delivering that good value.

I know many youngsters who come to me and say, “I have three failed startups. Now I’m back in a job.” It’s fine. It’s not a stigma. In fact, we would prefer to hire a guy who has failed twice because I’d be getting all the experiences free of cost.

But you know, I think these young entrepreneurs are all bright. They know they are putting their life behind it. They will find their way.

What can you say about the tech ideas today?

Google and Facebook are known because they are so successful. But there were many Facebook’s and Google’s. There were many things that didn’t work for Google or Microsoft. So, the ideas in the tech industry today should be treated like froth. They will come and then vanish. Not all ideas are worth working upon, and not every idea will fructify.