Brick by Brick by Manish Vij is another rather inspiring book which tells the reader how to move along the road of success when dealing with enterprise. It is based on his experiences over the years of setting up, running and selling firms, which involves the entire spectrum of business. The subtitle includes the term ‘middle-class roots’, which is not very common. The author’s intention must be to convey to the reader that ordinary people can achieve and that it is not imperative to have the ‘inherited advantage’ of birth when it comes to shining in enterprise. Or it could be a strong message to say that if one works hard and shows grit when pursuing a dream, the background does not matter.
The author’s story is not very different from several entrepreneurs who have succeeded in what could be startups. Starting from the launch of kabadibazaar.com from a college hostel, the author launched an array of agencies in different sectors, including letsbuy.com, a prominent e-commerce platform. This can go down as an example of a successful entrepreneur in the internet space where value-added services are provided, and to this extent does not require heavy investment in capital, which is the case in manufacturing.
The storytelling in this book is about the different issues that come up while being a founder-entrepreneur. His journey through the different ventures he spearheaded involved all the steps of starting an enterprise to the final stage of selling the same to investors. This would mean having the power to germinate the idea and then get in the requisite inputs in the form of capital and people to make it happen and also ensuring that the enterprise is successful enough for investors to be more than willing to pay money for a share of this success.
There are learnings along the way that are important and this is what the author summarises at the end of each of the chapters. There are around 12 specific chapters having takeaways that are summarised at the end. While his stories about the different enterprises he started are personal, the focus is evidently on the specific challenges in each of these endeavours.
To begin with, he believes entrepreneurship is exciting and one has to get their hands dirty. This means that having the mindset is what matters as this may not be everyone’s cup of tea. After selecting the problem which is appealing, one should pursue it after carefully studying the pro and cons. In his case it was the internet-led industry. Once in, one should be prepared to go till the end and not give up along the way, as there are sure to be challenges. This is why commitment to the enterprise is imperative. This would be the starting point to be successful in any enterprise and it can be inferred that we need grit and resilience to ensure success.
The author also talks of what he calls an irrational self-belief to be the driving factor. One needs to have the belief of being able to do something better than others, which includes not just executing the idea but also bringing out the best service while employing the best team. Any doubt in oneself can put one on the defensive all through. On deeper reflection it can be seen that all successful entrepreneurs in this space have had similar self-belief, which can also border around arrogance at times, as it is necessary to shed modesty to drive one all the way.
At the same time he talks of never hesitating to ask for help when required and hence one should not be overcome by hubris. This has been useful in all his endeavours, especially when encountering quandries.
At the other end he does talk about how he made successful exits from his ventures when he found the investors who paid the right price. How then does one sell at the right price, especially if there is no distress driving such a step taken? His experience shows that exiting in a bearish market or the start of the bull market is not the right time, though admittedly this is a judgment call that anyone has to take, as often getting the right match will be difficult. His advice also is that one must either undertake a minority sale or a full sale. Selling a majority and retaining a minority works only if the founder is able to detach from the business and work as an executive on day-to-day affairs.
But, more importantly, post exit, the founder must retain the mindset and be ready to hit the ‘start’ button again.
Hence Vij does look back at his story and links every step taken to what is needed to be successful in creating successful businesses. His various manoeuvres into different enterprises make interesting reading and can be inspirational, though admittedly the author must have gone through significant turmoil in the course of these journeys. There are little narratives of his moods and emotions as he went around these myriad steps of setting up, running, negotiating for capital and also selling the ventures.
Today it has become incumbent on several successful entrepreneurs to narrate their stories to set some kind of template for others. The issue is while the qualities that are spelt out are clear and sound very logical, the main question is whether potential entrepreneurs really have this mindset.
In fact, there have been more cases of failure in the startup space in India, which still attracts a lot of young professionals who would rather do something different. All may not have the same fighting spirit and grit that Vij had in his journey. But for sure, the little tales narrated would strike the reader, especially if she is also on a similar path.
Book details:
Title: Brick by Brick: From Middle-Class Roots to Entrepreneurial Success
Author: Manish Vij
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Number of pages: 240
Price: Rs 599