We invited Manoj Das, Founder and CEO of InventON for an interview with Most Popular Stories to know more about his entrepreneurial journey.
Manoj Das has a total corporate experience of twenty-two years, out of which twelve and a half years into some of the best medium to large companies and more than seven years as a first-generation entrepreneur. InventON is accredited by CRISIL since 2014. It is into solutions such as Sourcing and Selling through the smart use of technology. InventON works pan India with some of the finest financial institutions and manufacturing companies on board.
- Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey as an entrepreneur.
I was born and brought up in the hilly industrial town of Rourkela. For me, it was always studying with sports, writing, music and whatever else I could pick up along the way. Slowly they became intrinsic parts of my student life and beyond. It took a bit of time for me to understand the meaning of the word entrepreneur though, after engineering, I wish I could become one! But, as a first-generation entrepreneur, it was pertinent that I learned the ropes working for some years.
Working in manufacturing right after engineering gave me a head start in understanding the intricacies of supply chain and more crucially people management. Manufacturing undoubtedly makes you learn and practice the best in people management. Then I learned other aspects of the organization when I went to pursue my master’s in management.
While my stint in manufacturing taught me the importance of the first set of people, that’s your own team, my stint in sales and client relationship taught me the importance of the second set of people, that’s your customers. If you love, respect and give your everything to these two sets of people, you are home. I worked with five organizations of hugely different cultures, sizes, sensibilities and all. They taught me every day.
But, the thing that stuck to me was my first stint and my last one. As both of the organizations belonged to arguably one of the best in business anywhere in the world, the Tata Group. I spent two-thirds of my career there and grew up with the great stories of JNT, JRD, and RNT. I realized the importance of wealth creation and its purpose. You learn there how the purpose should reach out to the entire stakeholders and not only the shareholders.
Meanwhile, ten years into the job and I was like I am done with this. It was a gradual process of amalgamation of those thoughts after that. Everyday. You think and your thoughts coalesce into a concrete shape. The random childhood trial and error of doing small stuff of making paper packets, selling the surplus milk of our cows, gardening with my father all came into play. It took another two years to figure out the specifics and there you go. InventON was started in June 2012 and it has been a wonderful journey so far.
- Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
It basically needed three things – courage, conviction and common sense. Courage comes if you are brutally honest with yourself. You got to give a damn to people as mostly they would intimidate you with a lot of imaginary situations and throw their own fear on you. You just have to ignore them if you can’t avoid them.
Conviction is to do with a firm belief that you can do it as you are ready to give whatever it takes. It’s a madness of sorts, no shortcuts, no cheating. Long drives with empty stomachs, barely any sleep and ready to hit the dusty lanes in the scorching sun, then only you can drive your way.
Well, common sense, they say it’s not so common, after all. The problem with us is that in the guise of education, we leave common sense at home and go to the world. And, guess what, the world helps you be in that state for a really long time. Common sense is earned after a lot of unlearning and relearning.
This is the way I summarised which took a bit of time, though. And, you need that time. After a certain point, I realized how true is that the salary they pay you is the bribe to forget your dreams. I loved work but I hated jobs. I couldn’t switch on at 9 am and switch off at 6 pm for long.
If you are passionate about your work, you see many opportunities in working for a decade or so. You don’t have to spend donkeys’ year in just repeating the same stuff. Opportunities come and keep knocking your doors. You just have to gather the three C’s.
- What was the vision behind it?
The vision was if you create wealth, then only you can distribute it. And, wealth doesn’t mean money only. Wealth means opportunities for young people, care for their families, huge learning for young students who come and intern with the organization, able to be part of causes for your communities like planting trees, feeding animals, helping young team mates with sports for better health et al.
The collective strength though an organization gives a boost to these and more such causes. Of course, the amount of wealth you earn after the initial challenges of building an organization is enormous. The challenge is more, the opportunities are bigger.
Specifically speaking, at InventON we have given opportunities to more than five hundred people in direct and indirect roles in at least fifty small and large cities across the country, sponsoring many sports events for teammates every year now, be part of lots of social causes, giving opportunities to young students and counting.
- Describe the services that you offer to your customers and in what way they are unique?
Our clients typically are manufacturing companies and financial institutions. They constitute our sellers or clients. And, as a marketplace, we have got buyers, users, investors, brokers and traders as our customers.
We, at InventON, have a five-point strategy as our core competence as follows:
- Minute detailing of the assets including all valid points of price & relevance
- The complete details of the customers and the value proposition
- The deep relationship with market associates & fulfillment agencies
- A geographical spread of at least 12 states and 60 cities of all sizes
- Using technology to reach out to prospects & help them with a decision
- What difficulties which you have faced or you are facing?
The first challenge is the people. We don’t have the problem of unemployment as it’s made out to be. We certainly have a problem with unemployability. People have wrong perceptions and expectations of their jobs here. They want all the comforts and give a damn on making things happen. They come from difficult and challenging backgrounds, yet their resolve is just not there. It’s a herculean task to build a great team here. Building an inspired and incredible team is 90% of the job done.
There would be other challenges while scaling up in terms of good quality investors, right buy-in from clients, fighting the competition however the blue ocean it may be et al. But, then these are the very challenges that make one an entrepreneur at the first place. These challenges lessen the competition of being an entrepreneur.
- How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Three things – sports, music, and laughter. Go for a run, it gets the stress out. Sing, play some instrument or whatever else and the sound gets the better of you. And, I see a lot of comedy shows while sharing good jokes with great friends.
If after proving your worth to the world for a good three decades since schooling and working, we still get into pressure and stress or whatever else, then we probably haven’t figured out what we want in life. We just have to remember we started the journey to be happy in every situation.
- What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person/startup?
Attitude. It would consist of humility and optimism. Humility keeps you rooted. If there is a desire to listen to people, learn something from everyone, stick to a great purpose with a clear intention, things fall into place.
Humility is not a weakness as it’s perceived to be, it’s a huge strength. Being optimistic, you think positively and about a solution. It helps solve your problems and helps get you out of difficult terrains.
- How your company is helping India to grow?
We are solving the problem of unused, surplus, obsolete inventories of manufacturing companies and non-performing assets of financial institutions. That’s a huge problem in terms of size and complexity to be solved. Organizations become lean and more competitive when there is a mechanism for these sorts of assets to be liquidated with a specific timeline.
It helps the economy when money changes hands and assets go for better usage by the new customers. It helps create many opportunities down the line for our thousands of associates and buyers as they get assets through a fair and transparent negotiation mechanism with a robust process in place.
We have got at least a total of 3,000 and more small businesses, traders, buyers, users while we are adding more of them every day on our platform.
- What advice would you give to someone starting out as an aspiring entrepreneur?
PURPOSE – This is the most important aspect. People set out on a wrong purpose and go the wrong way. Set a great purpose to build a lasting organization.
PEOPLE – Take the best ones you can. Give them challenges, be with them, help them, test them, groom them and make them better people. They will do miracles.
PROCESS – Build an organization of robust and ruthless processes. It will build a strong check and balance system on its own. The process should take precedence over anything else.
The other P’s such as Product, Price, Place and all will take care if we build the first three P’s.
Manoj Das, Founder and CEO of InventON
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