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Making India Click: Meet Pankaj Agarwal of ClickIndia the Entrepreneur Who Learnt from Books, People and His Dog

Suresh Chouksey — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 13:37:19 +0000

We start off on a note that Pankaj Agarwal, Founder, ClickIndia has mastered throughout his entrepreneurial journey with his popular portal for classifieds. I ask him, why does he want India to click? To which he replies, “I think India has a lot of potential and resources to tap, be it natural or otherwise. People should have access to tools that can utilise these availabilities and create wealth for themselves and through that, help the country develop and grow.” On being asked to identify the kind of person who Pankaj Agarwal is, he says, “Pankaj is a person that takes pride when his nation does well. He is passionate about building things that help not just an individual but the society and through that country.”

The Origin And Importance Of Quality Education

Coming from the modest rural backgrounds of Nanpara in the Bahraich district bordering Nepal, Pankaj did not have access to quality of education and standard of life he aspired, he knew he had to do something more. On his side was the background of a Baniya family that he was blessed with. The business was in the family and he grew up seeing his generations conducting it. Post his school, he arrived in Delhi for graduation and post-college hours would go to IndiaMart office, a website started by his brothers and learnt as much as he could there.

There on he figured that, while the internet is being utilised well to help the business to showcase their work, the smaller platforms could not find a space. This is where the idea of Click India originated.” However, Pankaj did not start with entrepreneurship directly. He also went through the corporate path like many other entrepreneurs.

After graduating from Delhi University, he joins IIM Indore and from there on, he joins Citigroup. Reputed institutes could always give an edge in the development of entrepreneurial vision. In the end, we do get inspired by great minds and more so in their vicinity. Pankaj remembers his time in Indore, “You are stepping into a place with 100 people and you get the idea that 99 other than you, are smarter than you. You feel like, ‘okay I want to start fresh.’ There are so many driven, inspiring people around you, it just makes you do better. To challenge yourself, update, upgrade and to be corrected if you are wrong, for all, you get the right environment.”

Stigma And Entrepreneuship

Pankaj’s drive to strive in a competitive world also led him towards the path of entrepreneurship and his eventual exit from his corporate job. However, unlike other entrepreneurs, Pankaj sees the best of both worlds. “Corporate is exciting, no doubt about it. For me, the reason for exit majorly was the impact. If I can have a bigger impact utilising my potential to maximum, I would do that. Corporates teach you a lot of things that can be useful in your start-up as well. Like how things work. How large structures like a company are set-up, potential challenges, and it gives you a chance to meet colleagues who could be your next client or cofounder.”

In India, entrepreneurship is still at some level stigmatised particularly when you are bootstrapping it. Often people do not believe in innovation that they later recognise. This is due to different perceptions of dignity in work. “A fellow at IIM started a mobile recharge business and did so well that he funded his semester. I realised that no work is small. Every business has potential if it’s in the right place at the right time. It is about finding market opportunities and making use of it. The dignity of work issue is prevalent in strata where people were doing blue-collar jobs or entry-level white-collar jobs. That has changed a lot in the last twenty odd years. India has moved on to a different idea in terms of growth. I think we will still take more time to change. We now have people going back to their villages and hometowns to modernise the agrarian value chain so I think, a few more years and India’s workforce will be very different from what it is now. No work is small, we’ll psychologically accept that too.”

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While the internet is being utilised well to help the big business to showcase their work, the smaller platforms could not find a space. This is where the idea of Click India originated.

Networking is often considered the linchpin of entrepreneurial know-how. Professional friendships often become imperative as an entrepreneur goes ahead in his journey. For Pankaj, friendships are way above any business interest and it cannot be mingled. “I don’t make friends for business. It takes a very special place in your heart. So, connecting with somebody, just attending an event for business purposes, I don’t do it that way. We don’t think about business when there is friendship.”

In entrepreneurship, easy scaling and early exit are no surprise. Not many CEOs, founders make it to the top with a consistent attitude. Consistency requires discipline. Discipline requires ethics. Pankaj is clear when it comes to what an entrepreneur should do when it comes to ethics, “Shortcuts at the end are shortcuts. They do not pay you in the longer run. And, taking that shortcut might give you a hike in a shorter run but deep inside, you remember what you are doing, consciously or subconsciously.” Pankaj cites the tale of Mahabharata, where Karn had to make a choice between the two sides in the battlefield and he chose what he felt was ethically right. You might judge it in any way but he was ethically correct.” he adds.

One thing that every entrepreneur should know is that the ability to take risk is what will define them in the race. Pankaj has a backstory that amusingly fits the narrative of risks in entrepreneurship. “I got married in December 2006, I started my start-up leaving everything else in 2007 January. So, risk taking has been my life. Risk will only help you to achieve your potential to its fullest. If you just do not take any risk, it is like not walking on the road or driving a car fearing an accident. . So, for things to happen in entrepreneurship, risk has to be life.”

Books, Life and Talk Around Competition

Pankaj is a keen reader. He likes to read about culture and history not just to merely gain knowledge but to practically apply it as well. “My actions, belief system and learnings come from the knowledge that I’ve gained from reading such valuable texts. My wife tells me, that since I read a lot, I should look at not who did what but what we can do now, in order to come to the favourable situations, we could have reached. For example, Britishers came and they plundered our economy. This and that happened and we are not as big contributors to GDP as we were. However, what is the point over brooding what happened? Rather, let’s identify what we can do now to come back to our original place. Similarly, I try to do what I can,” he shares.

Personal life can be an instrumental factor in anybody’s success. In entrepreneurship, support of near and dear ones becomes even more decisive as the field is vulnerable to all kinds of possibilities. More failures than successes, to remember the harsh truth. Pankaj fondly remembers how he met the love of his life while competing against her in a corporate environment, “My partner and I were in the same company, different departments. We were competing against each other basically yet discussing work and learnings at the end of the day. Later, I realised I could find a friend who was pushing me to do better. Ever Since, she has been my pillar of support. She continues to encourage me to do better and strive for better. Life after marriage has been that of two friends, two friends who were competing against each other once to those who are now supporting each other.”

Every idea will bring inspiration to new people. Or there would always be some kind of competition in every sector. In entrepreneurship, you have to be thin-skinned to face the stiff competition while riding on cut-to-cut margins. While some entrepreneurs think of ruling the game by all means, others are able to understand the ecosystem much differently. Pankaj, whose speech oozes prescient wisdom thinks competition is a must, “All of us when we build solutions for the market, in the end, develop the market. The number of small and medium enterprises contribute a significant portion to the GDP. I think nearly one-third of it. So, this is a huge market. I don’t think just one player should cover such a huge base. The problem in itself is so big that we need to have multiple players providing multiple solutions.”

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I got married in December 2006, I started my start-up leaving everything else in 2007 January. So, risk taking has been my life. Risk will only help you to achieve your potential to its fullest.

Clarity of speech and thought are stipulated conditions to communicate as an entrepreneur. This comes with an innate habit of honesty. Pankaj, reiterates this fact, “Honesty to me is priceless. Whatever cost you pay for being an honest person, is a small price. The fundamental of relationships be it with family or a business relationship. With employees, investors and associates, the bottom line is it all comes down to trust you build. It is not about being right. Right is subjective. Honesty will develop trust and that is most important.”

On being asked to share the turning point of his life, Pankaj shares with Dutch Uncles how a mix of personal and professional events can be together pivotal in one’s life. “First would be striving for quality education. It was very crucial. Then meeting my wife. She has been my pillar of strength, my mentor too. And finally, starting the company, that decision was definitely a turning point of life too.” At the risk of breaking his professional thought of line while answering, Pankaj meekly adds, “My dog, my pet, is a super sweet teacher. Whatever you do to him, he will always come back to you irrespective. It is a learning experience if we see. My dog teaches the idea of innocence plus compassion.”

Trap Of Diversification

In any start-up, post the initial funding phase, diversification is one thing that excites an entrepreneur the most. Although, it acts like a lucrative trap if not carried out gradually. Pankaj shares his bit on the same, “We made that mistake. We started with a horizontal approach by targeting many industries. However, that was unnecessary at the start. A product should first grow by itself before diversifying. Though, agreeably, the ability to reject and not do something is very tough to have. First figure out the fundamental solution that your business provides and then don’t compromise on that. Get the best of technology for that solution, a Chief Technology Officer or whatever it takes.”

There are some vital qualities that when they are missing in a person, can lead to failure as an entrepreneur. Pankaj explains in his words, what kind of an entrepreneur can fail, “I think there is a fine line between being persistent and being a fool. When you are doing a business, which is bringing something new to the market, maybe a solution, then you should persist. Don’t pull out that early, for a start-up at least look at the first two years. Then take a call. If it still doesn’t work out, then it is time to stop. Entrepreneurs who give up early, generally make their whole execution plan based on expected positive outcomes. That is not always going to happen.”

Don’t Gush Funding A Lot

What has changed in entrepreneurship over the years? Pankaj replies with his insight from the last decade, “The glorification and fascination for companies that raise funds. I see this happening a lot. Without even thinking about their model, their product and other factors. I see for this reason a lot of founders just thinking about the next round of funding. A founder should not be always completely involved and be responsible for raising funds. It is good to celebrate the fact that you have raised money. At the same time also look at the sustainability that the market and your business entails.” There is a good side to the trends observed in entrepreneurship as well, “I see a lot of acceptance about start-ups too. It was tough back then. It wasn’t really taken well. Today I see, fathers proudly saying my son runs a start-up. It is being celebrated.”

Finally, as I ask, Pankaj, if he has any regrets, anxiety that keeps him awake, he shares. “Well, my wife complains that I sleep as soon as I rest myself in bed. I sleep that well (giggles). There are hectic days, this and that but usually when my work ends, there is a sense of calmness. The moment my work gets over be it in the evening or late at night, I sleep peacefully.”

For more such interesting stories do visit our Inspire section.

The post Making India Click: Meet Pankaj Agarwal of ClickIndia the Entrepreneur Who Learnt from Books, People and His Dog appeared first on Dutch Uncles.

Prabhu Ram: The One Who Wanted to Change Lives

Suresh Chouksey — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 13:19:39 +0000

“No, I don’t eat breakfast. I want to be effective in my day and dependency on the three meal a day regime reduces my energy. I want to add more working hours,” replies Prabhu Ram, Co-founder and CEO, Payswiff when I started the interview with his morning routine. On being given the chance to describe Prabhu Ram, he summarises, “I would like to be not known or called as an entrepreneur, to be honest, but someone who tries to make a difference in people’s lives and guide them. I’m from southern Tamil Nadu, I lived next to Thanjavur. There, from a small age, I was fascinated by leaders from all walks of life. The ability to change people’s lives is quite big. Hence, ideally, I wish I can be called a leader more than anything else.”

The Early Days

Necessity is the most righteous drive for any goal in life. For Ram, when he saw that it was the time for him to do something different, he took it more as fate than as passion, “See it would be a lie, if I say here that, I was super passionate about entrepreneurship and that is all I wanted. After a certain age, I decided that things had to be changed for me and my family and so did business happen.” A keen observer often finds his inkling at the earliest. Ram, back in the days, visited a get together of families of employees of a corporation. It was a Diwali meet. He saw them having dinner together, exchanging gifts and smiles. He was quick to conclude the powers of starting something big that can potentially lead many lives to a prosperous future. Mind you, Ram back then was just 14.

In 1995, a wedding invitation card came in the hands of Ram. He found it ‘very colourful, very different’. He tried to then understand how it was made and got to know that the whole process is rather cheap. With all his friends from college, he formed his first team. Then with Ram, the whole bunch toiled day and night to make it a successful business. “From childhood days, I had a liking for every business that had ‘scale’. I researched a bit and saw that not many people were involved in the printing business in the neighbouring towns. That means, people around me can become a part of what I want to do and it can be expanded.”

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Taking time in finding yourself is like choosing the right battle to fight for. My mother used to say, never pick a small fight. She would convince me every time in different languages that I am meant to do something big.

Networking in its classic form was never Ram’s cup of tea. He believes in trying out new things, new kinds of business ideas which will eventually bring people together. He does not believe in the hype of networking as the core of one’s business. He asserts the kind of networking he would rather prefer, “Coming together of people for ideas is a natural process. You attract people who are like-minded. The market is always on the lookout for such scalable businesses. You build one, people will notice and they’ll connect you to other important people.”

Identity Crisis And Entrepreneurship

Till he was 24, Ram’s life was harried by two emotions adults face when the decision taking phase in their life takes over. Peer pressure and Identity crisis. “I think we all carry something like an identity crisis for a long time. Let’s say I was facing the same situation in that time. And to couple that, people started telling me, ‘he is going outside for this course, he is doing that course,’ and that leads to peer-pressure as well.” Ram believes that such moments of stress are necessary for the personality in an entrepreneur to shape up and come out. For himself, he wanted to be seen as someone who is into the business. Ram remembers his mother’s words regarding the same, “Taking time in finding yourself is like choosing the right battle to fight for. My mother used to say, never pick a small fight. She would convince me every time in different languages that I am meant to do something big.” I ask him back if he still chooses his fights conscientiously, he promptly replies, “I very much do it every time, yes. Not the fistfight like childhood but the real ones (chuckles).”

After the printing business reached a saturation point. Ram moved to Chennai. He started working in a computer assembly business. Him leaving one well-set business to another has a clear logic behind it, “I think an entrepreneur has to have a thirst for one thing that is the scale of a business and second, the visibility of the future. Future has to be here at least 12 to 36 months. Not having the ability to think this way, cannot give you success.” says Ram. He also advises the entrepreneurs to have a clear differentiation from becoming a businessman in the process. “It is also about what kind of journey you want to take as an entrepreneur. An entrepreneur who just wants profit or the one who realises that entrepreneurship is just a level below leadership. So, the opportunity is big, that should be realised.”

Till 2003, Ram kept himself with the computer assembling business in Chennai. Just like the printing business, the saturation point was approaching as well as competitive advantage started declining. At this point, Ram decided to move ahead in life as he believes that anything lacking a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) will anyway mushroom into many small similar businesses. To the same fact, he now looks back with contentment. He voices, “I’m very satisfied. People remember us for that time. They call me from the US and Europe, even today. See, even employees starting up with their own businesses is an inspiration that you provided. It is a pleasure to see them doing well. Seeing people take interest in entrepreneurship is a different kind of peace.”

Ram exited the business with a sense of satisfaction and moved on to a journey that catches on to the technological advancements India was going through. His childlike curiosity about the modern communication systems resonated in his voice as he says, “I don’t know about you but the sound that comes from the modems is quite different. The connection of a dialling modem on connection gives a sound, I liked it. All this had so much potential, it was so fascinating.” This statement of Ram are words of a person who absorbs himself in his work and related culture. 14 years from then, I asked him, if he is still curious and updated, he says, “In fact I’m better updated since I’ve a team now. I get time to read. Also, information dissemination is so rapid. I think it is essential to know what is happening around you.”

Ram’s Digital Payment Conquest

Next, Ram finds his way to the e-commerce transactions world through another of his businesses, a website building company. Website building again as per him did not have the USP but the e-commerce requests that he was receiving intrigued him. He tried to fulfil those requests through payment gateways that were already available in India but they were charging exorbitant charges. “Then we decided to start a payment gateway company. I met one of my partners in Chennai. And we were all new with the idea and thought of a company. We did not know how to raise funds. Or fetch venture capitalists. We simply posted an advertisement in the newspaper. We are a payment gateway company; we need capital of 3 to 4 crores.”

As fate would have it, their shot in the dark did create the buzz they wanted. And through that Ram came in contact with a realtor from Mumbai, Kanu Bhai Shah. That was when Ram finally had that one mentor every entrepreneur needs to learn the walk of life. “He took a bet on me. Two guys from South India with no previous experience in entrepreneurship get a check of 2-3 crores on the basis of vision. I learnt a lot from it. The idea of risk.” Ram shares.

Following the cue, I asked him about risks, on which he shared an excerpt from an army general’s interview, “I read somewhere, that you don’t always have the luxury to take the right decision. Sometimes you need to do your own math. Which is, if I’m 40 percent sure about something. I do it. So, entrepreneurs should always take this measured risk and have multiple approaches in mind. Hence, risk-taking is part of an entrepreneur’s life. As the business will scale and more data is at hand, this math will change. 60 percent data reliability, 40 percent of gut instinct. 70-30 and even when we have all the data, there should be some show of guts, be it 10 percent.”

With this powerful guidance at his disposal, Ram started his first major platform of e-commerce payment integration, E-billing Solutions or EBS.

Ram quickly summarises for his first three years at EBS, “They were very tough on us. What did I learn in that time? Hmm, how to survive.” He continues with his journey by sharing what it takes in initial years, “Building an organisation is like wanting to be a cinema hero. Now you need to have an enormous amount of perseverance for this success to come your way. Eventually, acceptance of our solutions started increasing. Banks started trusting us when we improved our system to avoid payment failures.”

Exits are confusing for an entrepreneur when the going is good. Entrepreneurs often get attached to the idea of leading one company for long. For EBS and Prabhu Ram, by 2011, that time had come in terms of offers. To Ram’s good fortune, he had the life-long leadership of Kanu Bhai Shah at his disposal at every step.

“It was a tough decision. Kanu Bhai told us, despite the emotional efforts you’ve put in, it is about scalability at the end of the day. He says, ‘There is an offer on the table, you’ve age, you’ve life, start building something with it. Take it.” he shares.

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Risk-taking is part of an entrepreneur’s life. As the business will scale and more data is at hand, this math will change. 60 percent data reliability, 40 percent of gut instinct. 70-30 and even when we have all the data, there should be some show of guts, be it 10 percent.

As per Ram, weaknesses need to be strengthened since fundamentally we all have them. He states, “Personally, I feel I’m good at planning but not really good at execution. So, I have members in the team whom I recognise, who can do things better than you. So, being an entrepreneur you need to realise your forte and make sure the people who can do better than you do, perform those respective roles.”

Shortcuts, Ethics and Gratitude

Shortcuts are often lucrative. However, few of them ask you to go over the line of ethics. Ram gives a prompt, resounding, “very much” to my question- are you an ethical man? He further explains, “Kanu Bhai always told us that when you build an organisation with ethical uprightness, it will last for decades. I also strongly believe that ethics and the idea of righteousness is instrumental. I’m not against street-smartness but never by crossing the grey area.” Ram beautifully shares his turning points of life by mentioning two events in his life, “Meeting my wife had a huge impact on me. It brought discipline in my life. Professionally, the turning point was meeting Kanu Bhai, the most important individual to have impacted my life. He is my godfather.”

Ram today is Group CEO of Payswiff, India’s leading payment gateway service provider. Ram started working with Payswiff as founder with the same set of people he had been working with since 2005. This long association with each other, per him, played a role in their success. “Between the co-founders, there is no ego, there is complete understanding, an ease of communication and as I said earlier, you know who is good at what.” So, it’s like working with friends? He’s asked, “No we fight a lot, like cats and dogs (chuckles). Though, as in arranged marriages, you still fall in love, right? So, you always see good for the company in the end right,” Pankaj answers.

Values To Excel

Lack of integrity, articulateness and perseverance in entrepreneurship can all three in combination or individually could prove to be a spectacular failure as per Ram. Which is the most important out of three? Ram says, “Integrity, which leads to humbleness. People around you should feel confident that what you are speaking is what you are thinking too. There’s no time to play around.”

Entrepreneurship in India has witnessed several changes in its culture but there’s scope for more. “I talk to entrepreneurs here and they talk about what they’ll do in the next three years or five. That is very narrow. I have talked to some entrepreneurs from countries like say China, and they tell you beautifully where they see the company in 30 years. That is vision. We need vision in entrepreneurship,” Ram adds.

Ram ends with a recollection of his packed schedule and tries to amusingly explain why he isn’t sleeping better, “Well, I try to be in bed at 11 come what may but I get up at 4 and I read. I sleep again and get up again at 8 o’clock. So, 4 to 5 at night, it is best for reading. Also conscious wise, at times, like any human being, I have fears and anxiety of what is going to happen and what not. That is life, isn’t it?”

For more such interesting stories, follow our Inspire section.

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