Abstract
When Dr Pallab and Dr Narasimham asked me to guest-edit this issue on human resources (HR) topics in Entrepreneurship, I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland. The idea of meeting the modern rainmakers of India Inc., getting a sneak peek into their people issues and capturing their reflections about their entrepreneurial sagas was very exciting. At the same time, I felt acutely conscious of our ask—given that these people are hard-pressed for time, expecting them to write an article seemed like an imposition! However, there are always those entrepreneurial souls who rise to any occasion. And our authors exactly did so!
If you have been toying with the idea of pursuing entrepreneurship or thinking of taking up a job in a start-up, this issue is a must-read for you. We bring a collection of articles from academia, practicing entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial mentors who give us a 360-degree view of things about how things work in a start-up and the skills required from any incumbent to thrive in such an environment.
If you are eager to ‘experience’ entrepreneurship in a ‘fail-safe’ environment, a start-up incubator could support you. Prof Suresh Bhagavatula, a veteran researcher in entrepreneurship studies, shares some of the extremely lucrative programmes that are offered by the NSRCEL of IIMB. He emphasises that the incubators, with their rich peer and mentor networks, bring clarity that enhances the success of the start-up journeys. Further, he points out that the future of work demands all of us to study entrepreneurship, as this education is about learning systematic problem-solving in an agile manner to lead the change required. Thus, we should embrace the study of entrepreneurship even in big companies to stay relevant and not only to start a company.
The article from Ashok G, a veteran senior executive who has since switched to founder-mentor roles in start-ups, gives us three vital inputs that one must consider while considering an HR position in a start-up—the founder’s deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the business DNA and the stage of the stage of the start-up. These three elements heavily influence the expectations from an HR professional. For those HR professionals who are stepping out of the big companies to explore roles in start-ups, this article is a good resource to self-assess potential fitment.
Dr Ajitha shares how the role of HR has evolved and the expectations of HR in start-ups compared to multinational corporations (MNCs). She showcases caselets of how HR in start-ups practices agile behaviours. In fact, to keep Gen Z employees happy, salaries are revised every 6 months combined with multiple work flexibility options. The HR roles in start-ups demand strategic leadership and creativity to cope with the dynamic setup.
Dr Sudhakar Potukuchi calls out that HR has to be a partner to the founders in the early start-up. He proposes a framework Solution to a problem, Customer Value Proposition, Investors, Ecosystem, Novelty, and Team (SCIENT) that HR professionals must focus on to steer the ventures forward.
It has been estimated that over 60 per cent of start-up failures are attributed to people reasons. Researcher Debleena Deka studies the concerns from the founder’s lens about HR. Given their limited resources, a dedicated HR is perceived cost-intensive. At the same time, the issues of hiring, motivating and retaining the right talent emerge as important HR issues for which they need assistance.
At this juncture, we examine the story of a start-up and its navigational tools.
Hemant showcases how his start-up, Digii, has been cognitive of the HR’s role in navigating critical challenges of a start-up like scaling, leadership development in a non-hierarchical environment, compliance, etc., and some of their unique solutions devised to stay resilient. For example, they implement an Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session with their founders, board members and industry experts, which encourages their employees to learn and grow and promotes open communication.
We now move from the employer’s perspective to the employee’s perspective. Hiring right is critical for the sustenance of any company, and more so in start-ups, which need to maximise productivity with minimum resources. Dr Sreeparna has interviewed B-school graduates who have joined start-ups and continue to thrive in their work environments. Her article provides insights to founders and HR in start-ups about the experience creation required to attract and retain good talent.
As we all know, start-up founders often operate on limited resources and a formal HR function might be difficult to fund. Dr Ramesh Ranjan’s article is an asset for such founders. He provides a list of tools, chatbots and platforms that could be well leveraged for the administrative functions of HR. While exploring the future of digital in HR, he brings up salient points which all HR professionals need to examine as we go digital—integration, data security, employee acceptance, training needs, IT expertise, scalability and related issues.
I have a hypothesis that those who speed-read never miss the first and the last articles in a journal. So, I have positioned my personal favourite article as the last one. This is an interview with the trailblazer, Hari TN. He candidly shares his career journey from a successful intrapreneur, a senior Tata executive to an entrepreneur—celebrated start-up founder of six ventures in different domains (to meet his curiosity and learning need) and now a star-tup mentor. He shares stories to highlight how conventional terms like employee engagement need reframing in context of the purpose of start-up. Thus, in a financial investment venture, it could be upskilling, while in the blue-collar setup, it would mean explaining the reason for loss to the employees! His article distils the fundamental traits required of any professional working in a start-up. If you know anyone who is considering a career in start-ups, I would humbly request you to guide them to this article!
Compiling these articles has been a great learning and reflection experience for me. Once again, I am grateful to Dr Pallab and Dr Narasimham for entrusting me with this opportunity. I am also indebted to all these authors who made time to write and share their experiences. Plus, I want to share a personal learning that I take away. As Prof Suresh mentions, learning entrepreneurship is like learning cycling. There would be those inevitable falls, but you will not even remember them once you are riding smoothly! I hope you enjoy reading.