Management Education Weds Entrepreneurship - LST
January 19, 2008

Today, entrepreneurship is gaining critical mass as a viable career option with the GenNext in India. This is clearly reflected in the growing numbers of students at India's top Business Schools who are forgoing lucrative job opportunities to pursue their own entrepreneurship ventures. However, what acts as a road block for most would-be entrepreneurs is the question of ‘how do I get started’. To address this issue and many more, SPJIMR and the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) organised Lock, Stock and Trade (LST) 2008 at SPJIMR.

Reflecting the growing stature of the event, LST 2008 attracted global participation from reputed international business schools like Thammasat University, Thailand and S.P. Jain Centre of Management, Dubai. In keeping with the entrepreneurial theme of the event, the keynote speaker was the renowned entrepreneur, Captain G.R. Gopinath, Executive Chairman, Deccan Aviation.

Lock, Stock and Trade is a unique event due to a trinity of factors - The Mock IPO simulation concept (made available by Ms Laura Parkin, Executive Director, NEN), the real life investable businesses and the presence of business analysts from the MBA program. These factors combine to provide budding entrepreneurs with a one-of-a-kind platform to understand entrepreneurship. Says Prof. M. S. Rao, Chairperson, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SPJIMR, "As an executive in a reputed company, you have HR to develop you, Finance to fund you, dealers to respect you and your boss to direct you. As an entrepreneur, you are HR, Finance, Salesperson and Boss, all rolled into one, which is very challenging. The Centre for Entrepreneurship at S. P. Jain helps you meet this challenge.”

LST 2008 provided guidance on how to anticipate business risks, handle professional and personal life and pull through all this with limited resources. It also showcased a wide range of business-worthy ideas, that not only made sound financial sense but also a deep social sensitivity. This was endorsed by Capt. Gopinath who said, " Businesses in India today have to obviously be profitable and scalable. But additionally they must also be inclusive both demographically and geographically. This is why I did not build just a "Bombay-Delhi" airline. India lives in its small towns and villages.”

Summing up aptly the synergy between the entrepreneurial spirit and the future of India he said, " Dare to dream, but dare to begin as well. It is not enough to just dream. It is the courage to realise this dream that will take India into the Golden Age that awaits it."