LESSONS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: FROM BLADES TO VIOLIN BOWS
Projjol Banerjea, Founder & CPO, zeotap tells us how his exposure to different hobbies and activities has guided him in his professional career. Since childhood, I’ve been fortunate to have been exposed to a gamut of hobbies and activities. Each has imparted valuable lessons that have helped guide my professional career, most recently as co-founder of a two-and-a-half-year-old data analytics company with operations in India and abroad. ROWING: Rowing, initially during my school years in Kolkata and later as part of the lightweight programme at Oxford, has taught me the significance of consummate team-work. While team-work in sport is certainly not exclusive to rowing, I believe it assumes a whole new dimension in the synchronicity of four to eight members of a crew not just pulling, but even breathing in unison. This harmony is fundamental to the delicate balance of the vessel and its velocity. A single incongruent move can change the outcome of a race entirely. Indeed, the rowers, as athletically dominant as they might be individually, are entirely reliant on each other for collective victory. Learning: Team-work in entrepreneurship is a multifaceted theme that emerges as a leitmotif across every aspect of organizational development, from hiring the right talent to emphasising individual strengths to aligning on a common vision. Just as on a racing shell, where there is little margin for dissonance and no accommodation for back-ups/ redundancy, fledgling companies are dependent on individual members toiling together for mutual success. JOURNALISM: As an undergraduate student in the US, I was actively involved with the college newspaper, a publication with editorial sovereignty thanks to access to an independent endowment. Over four years, I assumed multiple roles ranging from Design Editor to News Editor to Managing Editor, each with its own set of responsibilities and challenges. A recurrent theme in every case was the importance of precision, from fastidious copy editing to the accurate representation of events/opinions to the adoption of a non-partisan (political/economic) perspective when presenting an independent editorial voice. Learning: Details make or break a business. While eliminating typos, incorrect statistics and improper references in presentations for clients can be pivotal to clinching a new deal, carefully studying and understanding (and even asking ostensibly silly questions, if necessary) the various clauses in investor/supplier/customer contracts is critical to obviating future complications. VIOLIN: My brother and I both took up the violin at an early age. Our parents’ tenacity is commendable, as the first few years were a concerted (pun intended) assault on their auditory senses. Also, after we struggled to arrive at a certain degree of proficiency, it dawned on us that this was much more easily forfeited than attained. An adage about playing the violin, which I imagine also extends to other instruments, goes thus: “When you don’t practise one day, your fingers know. Two days and you know. Three days and the world knows.” Learning: Establishing and running a company demands unremitting ambition and persistence. Especially as a founder, this indefatigable drive needs to not only power you through trying circumstances (of which there are many) but also invigorate a larger team that looks to you for inspiration and direction. Over the years, my brother and I also developed distinctly different styles of playing – mine more clinical and focussed on acoustic accuracy, while his more replete with emotion and sonorous. I often scored higher in examinations, but my brother’s stage performances met with greater approval both from accompanying musicians as well as audiences. Learning: Skill is crucial, but there’s no substitute for passion. The former can be acquired, but the latter needs to be inherent. Modern Greeks use the word ‘meraki’ (translation: labour of love) to describe what happens when you leave a piece of yourself in your work. I can’t think of a more apt depiction. @ FEEDBACK
BY PROJJOL BANERJEA
Founder & CPO, zeotap
Finally, entrepreneurship, though uniquely rewarding in myriad ways, can be equally exhausting both mentally and physically, giving rise to exacting sentiments ranging from dépaysement to dejection. What’s been a lifeline for me personally are my family and friends – those who’ve provided a shoulder to step on when I’ve needed a boost, rest my head on when I’ve been weary, and even cry on when I’ve been down. Behind every entrepreneur is an unseen and under-appreciated support network.
projjol.banerjea@zeotap.com
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