Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, Clix Capital, and previously CEO of GE Capital, Asia and India market is considered a pioneer of backend outsourcing industry in India. In his keynote address at Global Hospitality Conclave 2018, he shared his experience of watching a billion-dollar industry unfold in front of his eyes and detailed what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. He urged innovators to take risks and be willing to face failures, enthusiastically pursuing goals.
Take risks to innovate
Pramod Bhasin claimed that the Indian industry often tended to look for innovation in the west while much of innovation was actually unfolding in the Asian region, specifically China. “What is happening in China on the innovation front is actually incredible,” he said, predicting that, eventually, Alibaba was going to take over Amazon.
He egged Indian startups to take more risks, asserting that if an entrepreneur could not take risks, he should not be in the business. “Twenty years ago, Sony had more technology than Apple did. It is not about having a thousand ideas, but what matters is getting it done,” he said.
He lamented that despite tremendous talent, Indian companies were yet to acquire global footprints. He expressed hope on changing times, noting that growing number of startups were beginning to take risk. He reasoned that there could be no innovation without the appetite to take risks. “Entrepreneurs must be willing to enthusiastically peruse goal, facing failures for a long time,” he said.
India to become second biggest startup market
Pramod Bhasin forecasted that India was going to be the world’s second biggest startup market in the next five years. “We are currently on the third spot,” he informed. He was quick to add that India had not ruled services industry the way China had come to dominate the manufacturing industry, calling it a “missed opportunity.”
He reflected on business trends, noting that the concept of shared economy was globally on the rise. “Look at Airbnb and Uber. Concepts like those where unthinkable twenty years ago,” he said, stressing at change in the business landscape.
Big data, computing and data analytics unprecedented opportunities
Pramod Bhasin argued that unprecedented computing power, data analytics and big data had given entrepreneurs previously unattainable possibilities. “Computing power is going very far, very fast. Very soon, artificial intelligence will be available in bite size pieces for everyone to use,” he said.
He took a dig at investors, who only focussed on financial viability of any project, stating that “financial matrix was the biggest killer of innovation.” He addressed innovators and entrepreneurs, exhorting them to remind investors that money was the “most commoditized item in the world.” “Money does not get the real work done,” he said.
Saw the story unfold
He briefly described his experience working with GE Capital and ushering a new industry in outsourcing in the country, sharing that “it took brave business decisions by GE and the talent of amazing Indians to make it happen.” “We saw all of the Gurgaon story unfolding right in front of our eyes” he said, adding that, since its inception, the company ended up with a staff of over 76ooo thousand, functioning in dozens of countries.
