Page 69 - #letter to son

#SangamNiti EVENING REFLECTIONS
Plus, someone who can raise a small battalion within a matter of a few
hours spoke to me of the belief the media army had placed in its general.
It indicated that Atul had created his imprint in the media business.

When I sit back and recall these times, I thank this gentleman for
making me see something that I could have never seen in a business
plan. Resourcefulness. However convincing the industry macroscape,
however much the quantum of investments, however rosy the financial
projections, the people management capabilities of a business leader is
all about ‘show and never about tell’. I was a witness to this at that event
in Delhi.

Convinced, I called Atul to Bangladesh and took him around. I was
subtly convincing him about my strengths and my conviction in him.
I was delicately putting forth my serious intent in investing in the
business. It is about show and never about tell.

Once the nitty-gritties were done with, I told him that he should first
fix a place for business. The sanctum sanctorum that my father used to
speak about. I also told him not to worry about the running expenses – I
would take care of them. I knew this would free him up so that he could
then just focus on the business, strategise to take matters forward.

To his credit, Atul chose an almost subterranean cavern as his office,
which came cheap. This helped diminish fixed costs from the word
go. Good sign. I also knew he tidied the office himself. Another good
sign. Good beginning is half done. After that, he spent a few months in
turning his business plan into reality, and we soon had a high-quality
studio, state-of-the-art OB vans, modern edit infrastructure and a
strong technical and news production team. We were ready to go live!

I’m happy that today, within a span of a few years, we have emerged as
a strong homegrown success story in the media space. This is rare in
an industry that is controlled by deep-pocketed media moguls. Though
we continue to remain bootstrapped, the experience has been fulfilling,
more so because we fell, got back up on our feet, learnt fast and moved
forward with speed. Today, the venture sustains as many as 200 families.

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