NASSCOM chief shares tips to build a billion dollar enterprise

Offering the mantra for success in life to students, NASSCOM chairman Dr BVR Mohan Reddy said, “Dream big, be paranoid about success; but stick to your values.” He was delivering the convocation address of The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education (IFHE) at Shilpakala Vedika.

Tracing his 40 year entrepreneurial journey of building a billion dollar company with business in 31 countries, employing 12,000 people, Dr Reddy explained the five big lessons he learnt during his successful journey. “Dream big, look for the right timing, be persistent, take calculated risks, be ambitious and be paranoid about success,” he explained as the first lesson for an entrepreneur.

He iterated the importance of a sound business model and how he built an institution around Sustainability, Predictability, De-risking and Profitability (SPDP). He highlighted the innovation brilliance as one of the elements of success of Cyient where he is the executive chairman.

The fourth big lesson he explained was the importance of an inclusive approach – i.e., understanding the needs of customers, employees, suppliers, shareholders, society and the environment – and incorporating them into enterprise strategy and sustainable value creation activities.

Finally, stressing the importance of values as priceless for an enterprise, Dr Mohan Reddy explained how at Cyient the ‘Values First’ principle guided the behaviour and actions: fairness, integrity, respect, sincerity and transparency.