What young entrepreneurs can learn from Mukesh Ambani

Mumbai: Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani who has disrupted Indian telecom market with launch of Reliance Jio was not very sure about what was in store for him at his father late Dhirubai’s business empire.

The young Ambani when returned to India as a Stanford University graduate had many questions in his mind, Ambani told a gathering last week at Nasscom Leadership Summit.

A curious Ambani then asked his father, “What is going to be my job? What do I do?” In response, the late Dhirubhai gave an interesting reply that was, “If you are seeking a job, roles and responsibilities, then you can be a manager,” The Economic Times quoted Mukesh Ambani as saying.

"And, if you are an entrepreneur, then you will figure out what you want to do," Dhirubhai said. Deriving an inference from his late father's pep talk, Amabni told the gathering that he was not going to tell them anything as they themselves have to "figure out what they want to do".

Ambani while exhorting the wannabe entrepreneurs said that failures should never bog them down however adverse circumstances confronted them. "Failures are normal. Even in my own case, I have failed several times before succeeding," ET quoted him as saying.

For Ambani, investors' money was much more precious than his own money in a venture and the A-team that leads from the front in a business set up was of utmost importance.

"You can't do anything without the right team. And it is very important to align the team passionately to your own passion," he told the paper. He went to tell the Nasscom gathering that an entrepreneur was the one who always remained optimist about his venture.

There were a lot of people who think negatively. For an entrepreneur, this should not be a practice, he added.