Advice From Two Lifetime Entrepreneurs

Here are words of wisdom given by two successful entrepreneurs in an interview at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai; Sabeer Bhatia and Yogesh Patel who were both in town to announce the formation of VoiFi Technologies Corp., a company they have set up jointly.
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Yogesh Patel:
"My advice to young Indian entrepreneurs who want to get ahead would be: Make sure, first of all, that the team is good. Without that, nothing is going to happen. Make sure they follow through and not give up the first time they see a sense of failure, because that will come along. If you look at all the things that failed in 2002, the companies that survived are the ones that are shining right now. You need to make sure you have lasting power and the markets will change."


Sabeer Bhatia:
"Entrepreneurship is about making a difference. It's not only about making money. There are lots of ways to make money – you could go buy land, building apartments, open coffee stores -- all legitimate businesses. Those are interesting, but it's not what a hi-tech entrepreneur does. A hi-tech entrepreneur thinks of creating products that have never been created before. Of offering a combination of services to the end user in such a manner that, over time, there is a potential to make profit.

I have been a lifetime entrepreneur. The advice I would give them, first of all, is believe in yourself. Hire the best quality people. They cannot do it on their own. No one can win a war on one's own; a general is only as effective as his army. So, make sure you build a great army. It needn't be the largest army in the world, but it has to be the most effective army. Find people who believe in what you're doing."