• leadership

The beginning of any entrepreneurial endeavor is always the most challenging, as we take the first steps on the journey, feeling our way forward through unfamiliar territory. However, facing these challenges with ingenuity and determination to blaze a trail is an infinitely rewarding experience.

When I started Biocon in 1978, I was a pioneer: not many people in India had heard of biotechnology, leave alone envisaged it as a business. The obstacles I needed to navigate in the first two years of building Biocon were manifold–ranging from infrastructural hurdles to issues related to my credibility as a businessperson. I refused to let them intimidate me and decided to chart my own path.

I was trying to sow the seeds of a biotechnology enterprise in India–which was, at that time, an underdeveloped economy where business was bound by red tape, gagged by sub-optimal infrastructure, and held hostage by a precarious foreign debt situation.

With no access to venture capital, money was scarce and high-cost debt-based capital was all I had. What I required to start my business was collateral security, a demonstrated business track record, and a well-understood business model. I had neither of these: I was a 25-year-old entrepreneur, a woman at that, and one with no business experience, and no collateral to offer.

To make matters worse, I was promoting a high-risk, unknown business based on a relatively unknown science. It took me three months to obtain a Rs.5 lakh credit line in 1979 which saw me knock on the doors of five banks before one brave banker finally decided to fund me.

Beyond the financial challenges was the business of biotechnology itself. Enzyme extraction and production, the biotechnology with which I started, was a new concept and there was skepticism about the commercial viability of eco-friendly but expensive enzymes to replace cheap chemical processes.

My challenge was to get the market to accept biotechnology and change old practices. Moreover, enzyme manufacturing for industrial application involved sophisticated deep-tank fermentation which demanded uninterrupted power supply and precision process control.

This was not something I could manage to do in India given the unreliable power supply situation and the limited resources I had. However, I went ahead with the idea and succeeded in building a green business model and provided a boost to environmental sustainability by doing away with chemical pollution in the process. I opted for specialty low-volume, high-value enzymes for the food and beverages industry as I felt that this was more doable for a small entrepreneur just starting out in business.

My journey of building Biocon has been about experimentation and learning—trying out ideas and defeating the challenges that are part and parcel of a developing country’s business environment and benefiting from the learning and improvement that follows. Several factors have contributed to Biocon’s growth. One was my single-minded determination to see the venture succeed. I have never been one to give up easily; so, when I faced the initial hiccups that any startup in India faced during the pre-liberalization period, I simply became more determined to succeed.

What gave me the courage to pursue my ambitious aspirations was my ability to attract some of the best scientific talent—people who were as excited as I to create a new business model based on a new science.

Another key enabler was the fact that I had an Irish joint venture partner who was willing to support me through my starting phase.

It also helped that in the initial two-year period market pressures were low; so, we could do a lot of experimenting.
I knew then we could make Biocon work if we followed a strategy of differentiation by leveraging our early mover advantage. Instead of being hampered by what we did not have, we tried to use what we did have to our advantage and, through home-grown innovations, maximized results.

Take for example our tryst with enzyme technology which needed sophisticated deep-tank fermentation and, thus, uninterrupted power supply and precision process control. Since this was not possible, we created a radically different approach.

We opted for a less sophisticated solid-state fermentation enzyme technology based on tray culture. This meant that we could only restrict ourselves to the fungal enzymes. However, it also meant that we could produce specialty enzymes even with India’s unreliable power supply. Thus, we saw hurdles as opportunities to change for the better and move up the value chain.

Even as I learnt that all challenges can be surmounted with perseverance and ingenuity, I got another significant lesson in entrepreneurship: That business visions evolve and change over time.

Over time as opportunities beckoned and better prospects for growth were found, I have changed my business model. I steered Biocon to morph into improved versions of its older self over and over—while keeping our core values intact.

I have also found it essential to always challenge myself through innovations. At Biocon, we never forget that our sustainable success is because we have made innovation the cornerstone of everything that we do.

Businesses must be driven by a sense of purpose and the spirit to take on challenges to ensure sustainable success.
When we started Biocon, our resources were limited, the available infrastructure was primitive and we had to function in a fairly hostile business environment.

But we succeeded against these odds because we believed in ourselves and our ability to succeed.

Entrepreneurs must challenge themselves and the status quo and keep trying to differentiate—that will determine their success.

Kiran Mazumdar shaw is Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd.
©Entrepreneur September 2011

Tags:
Biocon, business, entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw