A platform created by IIM Bangalore, Anusmaran 2015, brings together the alumni and presents them an opportunity to revisit their glorious days on campus. Professor Pranav Garg, Assistant Professor, Corporate Strategy and Policy, Class of ’02, Faculty Fellow, kick-started the programme throwing light on the importance of the alumni bodies in the lives of IIMB’s students. Harish Mittal, the President of the IIMB Alumni Association, Bangalore, made an announcement about the upcoming Alumni Conclave IIMBUE.
Sharing of experiences
The event saw distinguished panelists sharing their entrepreneurial journey. The panelists included: Vivek Prabhakar - CEO and Co-founder of Chumbak Design.
Naga Prakasam, Angel Investor, Mentor NSRCEL IIMB, Fund Advisor, was the moderator and led the panel discussion. Stuthi Vijayaraghavan, CEO of Agilestrat, Alumna PGP’96, IIMB, spoke about her experience in developing low-cost housing.
Failure is the ladder to success
The brand custodian of Chai Point and founder and CEO of Mountain Trail Foods, Amuleek Singh Bijral shared his thoughts on how venturing into the unexplored chai business has opened up new windows for business ventures. He said, “We’ve made a lot of mistakes, but we got into it to build a brand, which is inspirational”.
Srinivas Krishnaswamy, the Co-founder of Krya, an alumnus PGP’01 IIMB, who took a leap towards sustainable growth, built his company by championing the cause of sustainable urban living. He produces eco-friendly and mindful products, that strike a balance between traditional Indian knowledge and modern needs.
Another venture, Punch Tantraa, a radical mime theatre group, performed their award- winning spoofs of various well-known advertisements and had the audience in splits.
Look for a problem
Arunachalam Muruganantham, CEO, Jayaashree Industries, the man who started the silent ‘Pink Revolution’ was the keynote speaker at the event. Muruganatham created the world’s first low-cost machine to produce sanitary napkins at a time when 88 per cent of Indian women were compelled to use ash, newspapers, dry leaves, sawdust, and the sort, during their menstrual periods.
Being a social entrepreneur, he said, “Don’t look for an opportunity, look for a problem and then be a solution provider.” He is the perfect example of an entrepreneur who has relied on the trial and error method to provide innovative solutions and create a job market in rural areas.