CCD Siddhartha and the learnings :

CCD Siddhartha and the learnings :

Let’s go beyond hanging the convenient villian
The tragic episode of Siddhartha of CCD is very tragic, indeed.  I recall meeting him for
the first time almost 15 years ago when he was taking-off as an entrepreneur and he
has always come across as one with a lot of energy and creative ideas.
An episode like this could be very tempting to find the most convenient villain of the
piece.  Greater wisdom lies in soul searching and introspection by each stakeholder as
the shifts have to be made oneself and not just stay prescriptive towards other
stakeholders while absolving oneself entirely.

Entrepreneurs :
Entrepreneurs need to stay firmly grounded and be guided by the wisdom towards long
term value creation and also be smart enough to separate noises from the true,
valuable music. Success, fame and wealth are unavoidable outcomes of impacting the
society and delivering value on a sustainable basis. No success anywhere in the world
has escaped this fundamental rule of entrepreneurship. Of course, funds, board
members, mentors, technology etc all are important enablers. However, they are just
that.
Unfortunately, far too many entrepreneurs including successful ones fall prey to the so-
called pressures somewhere along the way. I meet a dozen a week who fall in this
category. I try my mite with them and I also helps me in my own journey.

Investors :
Investors are going to be abused for a few weeks beginning today. In my own view,
there are as many rogue investors as entrepreneurs. Not more. Not less as they all
come from the same society.
At the same time, both kinds of investors (whether with or without experience of having
built business hands-on) need to be humble about what limited purpose capital can
achieve or enable. Capital is not a Panacea. If any, it could even be a distraction or
nuisance if wisdom and clearer thinking are in short supply. Also, practices based on
IRR guarantees, side letters, backseat driving belong to a different era and is rearely
found in the practices of truly great investors.

Government :
Government and government agencies have their own reflection to do. India, as a
Startup economy, is still in her adolescence. If we need to to build a society with a
million entrepreneurs and with each giving jobs to about a 10 or 100 or a thousand
youngsters, we need to embrace 21 st century governance models in a hurry. If we
dream of solving the problem of the society through innovation and education,
education, the government systems need to wake up and reboot once again. Wealth
creation through creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation can only be aspired for by a
government that practices these on a day to day basis.

Finally, I would only pray for the family of Siddhartha. May god bless them with enough
courage and wisdom to deal with the loss of a dear family member and also to deal with
the challenges on the business front.

Satya

"Hope this does not bore you to death. This is my effort to stay relevant by honing a skill or two with respect to the webworld" - Satya

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