Vritaanta December 2014

6
White Collar
Entrepreneurial
Spirits
In conversation with Mr. Pradeep Gidwani, Founder – The Pint Room and an alumnus of SIBM Pune (batch of 1987). We talk to
him about what it means to be an entrepreneur in today’s world — the attraction, the risks, and the reward.
You’re an alumnus of SIBM Pune – the 1987 batch.
What was your greatest learning while here?
How to do everything yourself. I think that’s something
you get out of here that you don’t get any place
else. Whether you’re part of the cultural committee or
you’re part of sports, it’s something you have to
organise yourselves. As students, there are no funds
available, and you have to do everything yourself.
That’s the most important thing, I think, that I picked
up.
What was one thing that changed in your life once
you left SIBM Pune?
The big change in my life was Foster’s. It was not a
multinational, it was a multinational abandoned baby.
And we built it pretty much as an entrepreneur would.
I think that was one real big change in my life, because
it forced me to think like an entrepreneur. Today I
think I’m strong in my own company because there, I
had to worry about where my money was coming
from. I had no money, so I had to make money. That
was the changing point in my life, where I really learnt
to work as an entrepreneur.
That actually leads me to my next question: Between
being a part of a large company entering a
new market, and starting up a completely new
business of your own – what’s the real difference?
The difference is that you are the owner. If I was
working for Carlsberg, there was a parent organisation
to support me and look out for me. I didn’t
have to worry about money, I knew there was a
team to fall back on. Starting up, you’re alone. It’s
scary. You don’t have a Board to correct you or
guide you, you have to take decisions in your own
There’s no one to guide you
when you’re starting your
own business. That’s the real
difference between
entrepreneurship and a
corporate career.
December 2014