By S Yesudas
MD, Vizeum India
When I decided to step down as CEO of the RK Swamy Media Group, the option before me was to become an entrepreneur. I had a business plan with someone who felt he had seen a “spark in my eyes” and was willing to put money into the venture. As things were moving in that direction, a chance meeting with Ashish (Bhasin) changed it all.
Over a steaming cup of coffee at the ITC, Parel, he passionately outlined his vision for Aegis Media, India, which included the launch of Vizeum. In his own words, he “couldn’t trust any other hands” but mine for it. I had always considered Ashish to be a fine man-manager and during our stint as colleagues at Lintas, we had hit it off extremely well. So the prospect of launching a media company for a global group from scratch and that too with Ashish, excited me. But on the other hand, there was a business plan for a company that I would partially own.
While the dilemma continued for a few days, I got a message from Ashish saying that he had already announced the launch of Vizeum in the international system. Don’t know if it could be called emotional blackmail! By then, I had more or less decided on the Vizeum option, anyway. His message actually came as a blessing in disguise and made me act swiftly. I went back to my investor friend and apprised him of my re-thinking on the ownership pattern. However, the only question I had from him was about the ownership pattern I would be looking for! I threw in a weird number, fully knowing it was a deal-breaker. But imagine my surprise, when after a few minutes of silence he said, “Take it!” Oh God, I thought! This was not something I had foreseen and therefore, I had no Plan B in place. Quick thinking made me realize that I should be honest about Vizeum.
Subsequently, Ashish and I met at the Trident coffee shop and actually drew up a business plan on the hotel’s notepad, which I still carry in my wallet. The company was launched on June 9, 2009, with one employee, a laptop and 100 business cards. No clients, no people, no offices. Frankly, I felt a bit lost over the first few days. But I had the conviction and the spirit to keep trying. I remember a discussion with Ashish in which I mentioned that if we were not able to make a mark within six months of launch, we would be history.
My dream of setting up Vizeum without any global alliances in the initial stages, preferring only clients we win in India, and people who would join me based on the merit of the proposition, was slowly taking shape. We started going into the market by the end of July, 2009 as a five-member team and by September, we had our first client, Luxor-Parker. By then, we had three offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Then came the ESSAR win, one of the heavily-contested pitches in 2009. Then, one after the other, clients and people started filling my heart and our offices. I’m truly delighted to lead Vizeum and its wonderful team. What we have touched so far is only the tip of the iceberg!
Feedback : s.yesudas@vizeum.com
