S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT Madras faculty authored book ‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ aimed at helping grassroots entrepreneurs enhance the success of their businesses was launched yesterday.
IIT Madras Research Park turned cynosure of all eyes veteran film actor Kamal Hassan went ahead to launch the book authored by IIT Madras faculty.
Thoduvanam Thedi by IIT Madras faculty will inspire first generation entrepreneurs raring to reach greater heights to realize their dreams, said actor Kamal Hassan.
‘The book by IIT Madras faculty has easy to understan narrative, will inspire the first generation entrepreneurs raring to reach greater heights to realize their dreams.’
This book by IIT Madras faculty will also help business students and common man to understand the nuances of running a business, said Kamal Hassan.
IIT Madras faculty brings out great book for entrepreneurs
It is interesting to note that IIT Madras faculty, namely, Professor A. Thillai Rajan, Professor G. Arun Kumar and Professor Saji Mathew from Department of Management Studies conducted a pioneering programme in 2016 to to train micro and grassroots entrepreneurs as a part of socially-relevant projects of the institute.
It was implemented in partnership with ‘Hand in Hand India,’ a non-profit organization, with around 400 entrepreneurs in and around Kanchipuram district near Chennai having benefited.
The objective behind conducting the programme involving IIT Madras faculty and Hand in Hand India was to pioneer a social concept to enhance the creditworthiness of micro, marginal women entrepreneurs through training and development.
The program had several unique features such as being conducted in Tamil, with experienced faculty members, successful entrepreneurs as mentors and a credit facilitation process as well.
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As a part of this IIT Madras initiative, participants were provided hands-on high impact training on various functions of business and management to enhance the growth and profitability of their businesses run by the entrepreneurs.
That was followed by a six-month mentorship program to ensure the implementation of the program learning in their own business practices.
That was followed by a credit facilitation process for motivated entrepreneurs from various financial institutions and banks.
Now with an objective of reaching out to more entrepreneurs at grassroot levels in Tamil Nadu, IIT Madras faculty have come out with this book which is an edited collection of articles written in Tamil by faculty members and mentors who interacted with the participants in the programme.
The book brought out by IIT Madras faculty is titled ‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ which in Tamil means ‘In Search of the Horizon’ and is being published by Vaanavil publications.
IIT Madras faculty Professor Thillai Rajan said the objective of ‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ is to synthesize and consolidate the lectures of the entrepreneurship development program in print form so that it is easily accessible to the large number of entrepreneurs who could not participate in the program because of locational or other constraints.
‘We believe that by publishing the contents in a book form, we will leave behind a legacy for the entrepreneur community.’
IIT Madras faculty brings out great book for entrepreneurs
Dr. Kalpana Shankar, Chairperson, Hand in Hand India said they have seen thousands of men and women who want to create history as entrepreneurs.
‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ by IIT Madras faculty will be an excellent guide to realize their dreams.
It is laudable that the book presents a path to success in a way that can be easily consumed by a micro and small business entrepreneur, she said.
Lauding the efforts of IIT Madras faculty for bringing out this much-needed compilation, C. Nagarajan, director, Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute (EDII), Government of Tamil Nadu said micro and small business entrepreneurs play a huge role in the economic growth of the country.
‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ shares several strategies to overcome the challenges faced by medium, small and micro business entrepreneurs to lead their enterprises to success, he said.
‘Thoduvanam Thedi’ by IIT Madras faculty makes a unique attempt at concisely presenting in a book format, relevant business concepts applicable to this segment of the entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs into any form of trade, irrespective of their educational background and size of their enterprise can benefit from the business basics addressed in this book.
Apart from entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs and business students will also find the contents useful for a clearer understanding of the concepts.
Traditionally, the mention of the term ‘entrepreneur’ is associated with founders of fast-growing innovative and technology companies that have turned household names in due course of time.
However, beyond the limelight, there are nameless, faceless entrepreneurs at the bottom of the pyramid who play an important role in delivering the essential products and services that are used in daily lives.
Much of the innumerable need-based products and services that we consume – groceries, vegetables, hairdressing, foods and snacks, pharmacy, mobile phone repairs and servicing, dairy products, courier services, bottled water distribution, tailoring, and equipment servicing, among others, are offered by the micro-entrepreneurs.
These entrepreneurs have moved beyond viewing their enterprise as just livelihood support to bigger aspirations of generating jobs and scaling up, to create a bigger impact with their broader business outlook.
Post release of the book by IIT Madras faculty, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala took Kamal Hassan on a brief tour of IIT Madras Research Park and Incubation Ecosystem.