Secret sauce of entrepreneurs: It's never a solo performance

By Yonathan Benyamini

Renowned authors, CEOs and entrepreneurs met at the Nehru Center in Mumbai this weekend for India’s first festival dedicated to Non-fiction. Discussions ranged from the perils of dynastic politics to standup comedy and unconventional cinema, around the theme “Be bold, Stay Real.”

If you are a professional and have nursed aspirations to start your dream venture, here’s some advice from the experiences of people who’ve trodden the path.

Rashesh Shah, co-founder and chairman, Edelweiss.

[caption id=“attachment_904511” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Constantly adapt[/caption]

#Constantly adapt. You should always start with a plan, but you should be ready to adapt. I think that constant evolution is the only answer. There is no static answer.

# Be financially prudent. Be profitable. There are a lot of entrepreneurs who are very savvy on the product side and the business side, but who ignore the financial side of the business.

# Sell your vision to customers, clients, everybody. You have to sell to higher employees. All entrepreneurs have to sell. Their ability, willingness and capability to sell is very important.

Nirmal Jain, founder and chairman, IIFL.

# When you try to seek advice from people, they will give you different answers. Your decisions have to come out of your heart and must be based on knowledge and what you have learned.

# Humility, particularly for people who have good educational qualifications and background.

# It’s never a solo performance - only a team performance. You have to understand other people’s problems, aspirations and empathise with them.

Paresh Sukthankar, ED, HDFC Bank.

# If you want to achieve something which takes you to a new level, you have to go out of your comfort zone. An entrepreneur needs an idea which he believes in and actually makes happen. If you trade your comfort for better things, you achieve much more. It’s like breaking an egg and making an omelet.

# This pertains to failure. Learn to cut your losses. It’s true that you should be willing to make mistakes and learn from them. Entrepreneurs need to figure out that you need to drop out of certain ventures.

Yonathan Benyamini is an intern with Forbes India