Stay Hungry Stay Foolish Review free essay sample

Introduction A catchy title is one of the prerequisites for any ‘saleable’ book. Hence to that extent, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal, has a great title, it being borrowed from Steve Jobs’ famous speech made to the 2005 graduating class at Stanford University. The header on the front cover says, The inspiring stories of 25 IIM Ahmedabad graduates who chose to tread a path of their own making. And this is an apt preview of the jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring stories of different entrepreneurs, the only common thread among them being that they simply believed in the power of their dreams. Written in a racy uncomplicated style, the book captures how these individuals overcame the odds to realize their dreams of being their own masters as they ventured into new territories, some with little other than their beliefs in themselves. Section-wise Review The book is divided into 3 sections, namely The Believers, The Opportunists and The Alternate Vision. We will write a custom essay sample on Stay Hungry Stay Foolish Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the Believers section, the author has captured the tale of ten people who always knew Entrepreneurship was their Chosen Path and persevered until they made it big within a couple of years! Rashmi Bansal explains that there is a desire among these people to be different and keep on doing things continuously till they achieve success. Mr. Sanjeev Bikhchandani setting up 3 companies-Indmark, Info Edge and naukri. com is the case of getting a thrill out of his work which is the focus as mentioned by the author. The author next acknowledges that to be successful it is necessary to base one’s work on deep consumer insights, the way naukri. com was formed. She next cites the story of Educomp whose founder is a guy having that spark to do things on his own. She mentions that the IIM-A degree sometimes acts like a feather in the cap. Next the author brings up the story of Vinayak Chatterjee who persevered determinedly to save his Feedback Ventures three times from extinction and finally took it to new heights. In this context, the author stresses on the importance of relationships in any business, which can help the new business to start on a life and even grow it into a tree. Next, the author elucidates the story of R Subramanian who first set up Viswapriya Finance, got bored with its success, took the challenge of opening organized retail business Subhiksha and challenging Reliance. Through these and the other mentioned stories of entrepreneurs, she remarks that these entrepreneurs knew that the DNA for each company is different and hence they tried their hands out in different forms of business and on re-inventing the existing wheels. In the Opportunists section, the author includes those 10 enterpreneurs who seized the opportunity, when given a chance and who never looked back since. Through these stories, the author shows that ability matters, determination matters, but ultimately so does destiny at least to some extent. Rashmi Bansal gives the case of Deep Kalra who she mentions as a lucky fellow getting a venture capitalist to fund his dream, but who had to toil hard to give it a second life when dotcom bust happened, and eventually made makemytrip as India’s leading travel portal. Next she states the story of Rashesh Shah citing that despite various bumps, detours and hardships, he was successful in creating company Edelweiss Capital. She has included his story to cite the example of a guy with business family background, who could not live in the secure job environment of ICICI. Also, she observes that the best part of this case was the work-life balance he still enjoys. Next, the author includes another online portal story portraying Nirmal Jain, the founder of India Infoline, India’s biggest online trading platform. She explains that while working in HLL, he realized the opportunity when liberalization happened in Indian financial sector. Another focus of author’s inclusion of this story was the fact of adapting to situations when the company starts living from hand to mouth and when faith is all that matters. The author next gives the reference of EXL Service where she stresses on the sacrifice, understanding and tolerance needed when working with a partner. She next discusses Jerry Rao who started his career at Citibank, started Mphasis, made it profitable and then sold his business to EDS because business is about passion as well as knowing when to let go. Next, the author gives the instance of Deepta Rangarajan who after working in American Express and CRISIL, started IRIS, a financial information management service. The author here mentions that this is one of the most challenging of the stories to express the instinct, challenge and the courage to stand up to face the challenges. In the ones gifted with Alternate Vision, the author includes 5 entrepreneurs who either strive for the betterment of society or have a need to express creativity. Rashmi Bansal introduces this section with Venkat Krishnan who started off his career in newspaper, television channel and principal of school, but then launched GiveIndia because of his being passionate about teaching. Next, she reveals the case of Anand Halve having a unique story of starting a brand consultancy named chlorophyll, keeping it small and having the joy of being hands-on and personally involved with every aspect of his business. She describes such enterpreneurs as being happy in fulfilling their dreams by reporting to their own conscience. And then she brings up the unique story of S B Dangayach who is not the owner of Sintex, but has treated it like one of its own for 34years. She mentions that he still has all the fire, the feeling and all the fondness of a Founder. The author thus shows that there is nothing like a born entrepreneur and that bent of mind can be developed at any point of time and at any age. Moreover, through the conversational tone of the book, the author shows that the entrepreneurs do not have a sense of false prestige in them; rather they show great humility in telling their stories in between their busy schedules. Conclusion The author had a reason to include such diverse array of stories because each of the stories are at least slightly different. She included the stories beginning in childhood, observing parents, going through an education – most which were brilliant but several bloomed late – and then the real entrepreneurial dance, dealing with continuous rejection, the blood-and-bones efforts to pay salaries month after month, partnerships that went sour, and all kinds of astonishing patterns which emerged as they uilt something out of nothing. Describing the ground realities of each person’s life, exploring their backgrounds, their fears and ambitions, and the steps they took to achieve what they got, the author brings out the rough press of pain that stories of triumph seldom reveal and showcases mundane daily preoccupations rather than glamour. But at another level, the author mentions that the stories are all the same. The entrepreneurs had belief to do something on their own, took a leap of faith, struggled, strived for years and finally achieved a size and scale which made the effort what we call a success. This book is a must read for all those budding entrepreneurs who desire to leave the security of a corporate job and tread the road less travelled.