By T. Sreeram | PGP 1987
A candid look at my career, with all its ups and downs
First, the Scripted part
After campus, I joined an MNC, Castrol, in Bombay, as an MT, 1987. After 5 years in Retail & Institutional Sales, I moved into Marketing for another 9 years. I chose to leave on the last day of my 14th year: SreeRam’s Corporate vanvas, over! Not that it was a vanvas, but it makes a good story!
A book changed my life!
Sometime 1996, my wife Jayashree and I were at a bookshop. I skimmed through ‘How to find the work you love’, by Laurence Boldt. I recalled my Castrol friend Raymond Moses (my business partner of 25 years) had another book by Boldt. So, cost-cutting, kept it back! 5 minutes later, Jayashree picked it up and gave it to me, saying I may like it! I thought it was too much of a coincidence, bought it, read it, and did some exercises. Borrowed the larger book: Zen and the Art of Making a Living; devoured the 400+ pages over one weekend! Thanks to the books, it was clear to me that I wouldn’t want a lifetime in Corporates; understood my Calling: would rather do something on my own related to Sales, Selling, Training
The catch? I was an unlikely entrepreneur, living comfortably in a company house and a good job! So, I decided to give it a try at Castrol itself. Well-wishers warned that Sales Training’s for the soon-to-retire; not for any self-respecting Marketer at 33! As luck would have it, a 9-month Project role came up in the UK; would I like to take it? Yes, but only if I get the Sales Training role on my return!!!
Meanwhile, Raymond, who had read the same books and more, whom I often spoke to on matters of life, abruptly decided to quit and move to Pune! On return from the UK, I still couldn’t for 4 years take the call to quit: It did not help that I now had my best-ever boss from whom I was learning much. The company was good to me; I was in a senior role as Head-Brand Marketing…
And then one fine Sunday, the script changed!
I was at home; a Castrol friend called from Singapore: Had I heard the latest news? No, I hadn’t. BP has taken over Castrol (I thought Castrol had taken over BP!). Jayashree tells me I was smiling when I heard this over the phone! My mind was made up that instant! I had not had the heart to leave Castrol, but why not take the plunge now? But soon, there was another temptation offered: My best-ever boss offered me a role in Singapore: Why wouldn’t I build a nest-egg before going on my own? I told him I was honoured, but if I did so, I may never be able to leave Corporate life, what with the temptations of life and money as an expat! His response delighted me: “Whether in or out of the company, I have much work for you. Go ahead and do what you wish to do!’ What more could I ask for! I called Raymond to check if he had a place for me; ‘Any time!’
I called my dad, a retired Railway Officer: he said, “Assess the pros & cons, decide!’ That did not help! I asked Jayashree: She said that “I know you would have given enough thought (I had not!). If you want to do this, let us”. How trusting! I asked my father-in-law, and he said: ‘Don’t leave a good job in a good company’! I promptly did the opposite: I resigned!!
I made calculations to understand the base min I had to earn for a family of 3; it was a very reasonable sum. If I cannot make this much money, what’s my Engineering & IIMA education worth?
We packed our bags for Pune, where we had no relatives, no friends other than the Raymonds, and joined the Consulting & Training firm he had recently started, The Alchemists Ark, as an equal partner. We are still at it, 25 years down!
Alchemists Ark & more, 2001 onwards
Raymond had just started operating in a 2BHK flat. I rented a flat 3 mins walking. That’s 2.5 hours of life saved every day! The first few years went by in a breeze, Referral businesses flowing in from Castrol Global, AsPac, and Mahindras. Toyota, Tata Motors. We added eLearning
Two unscripted things became part of us: Raymond wanted a more scalable, Internet business. With his Jewish instincts, he decided on an Equity Advisory, www.Moneyworks4me.com, in 2009. It’s pivoted a few times: now a SEBI-registered Investment Advisor. He runs it, a part of Alchemists Ark. I don’t have day-to-day involvement there. I run the Consulting + Training + eLearning business
Again, in 2010, another unscripted opportunity turned up: First Energy Pvt Ltd! Two good friends of ours in Castrol’s parent BP were running a rural-India focused biomass- stove & fuel business for rural households. With Tech from IISc, (earlier) big investments from BP, it was cruising well as per the parameters set by BP. But the 2009 Financial meltdown led to a BP decision to shed all ‘non-core’ businesses: BP decided to shut it down!. We had been very impressed by the work done by our friends in a business that was good for society. With help from friends, we managed to convince BP to hand it over to Alchemists Ark, to be run by our two friends! So, suddenly we were in 3 unconnected businesses in the course of 2 years! Something was waiting to happen!
In late 2012, we had an Equity Advisory business that was guzzling money. A biomass business which had good and bad months depending on global LPG prices. That was no good time for the core business to go turtle, and it did! Two big, long-standing projects ended; in a third, a result-linked Consulting Project, a CEO change led to the plug being pulled halfway through, with us not having the wherewithal to fight it! The Perfect Storm! We were hemorrhaging! 2013 turned out to be a nightmare in every way: I had visions of losing my shirt and almost lost my mind! With great support from Jayashree, sane and stern advice from my counsellor (‘I can only teach you to swim; it is for you to flap your arms, stay afloat, and cross to the shore ‘), I managed to pull myself out from the deep.
We shed people. Things started turning around in 2014. We sold the improving biomass business to a large public limited company, so that it did not have to stay bootstrapped. After the earlier crisis from trying too many things, we haven’t tried any new stunts!
Lessons learned: Follow one’s passion! Have a clear Vision! Don’t take on too many big things requiring Management attention at one go!
So where are we now?
The 25-year core business of Alchemists Ark: (Sales & Distribution) Consulting, Training & eLearning, keeps me young, engaged (though at times exasperated), working with youngsters and referred customers who value me and our work. I still love going to the field with last-milers, the only people who sell in a Sales Organization. 40 years of walking the markets gives me faster access to valuable insights where others get facts at best. I still love to train. I think of myself as a Walking-talking Persuader honing his Persuasion skills with every encounter. We have consulted/ Trained for 50+ large businesses, on 100+ Projects, trained 7500 + Salespersons in 15+ countries
MoneyWorks4me.com continues to strive to help people grow their wealth!
MSME still, but no regrets whatsoever! I am my own boss; they are our own businesses, and I am still wanted!
