“The business gene is alive and kicking”

Both are small in stature, known to be tall in achievement. The scientist-entrepreneur is, in her own words, "driven” by technology, innovation and the ability to "turn a business model on its head” if need be. The adman is an "elder statesman,” one of the biggest names in the Indian advertising and media business who believes in small but sure steps towards success. Both have been founders, nurturers and consolidators of their respective organizations.

Felicitating Dr Villoo Morawala-Patell and Sam Balsara at the Hotel Diplomat on February 16, 2009 was the Bombay Chapter of the World Zara­thushti Chamber of Commerce — India (WZCC-I). The new global president of the WZCC Kersi Limathwalla, who was vice president earlier, was also honored. Limathwalla has taken over from Bomy Boyce who has stepped down for reasons of health.

Morawala-Patell is the chairperson and managing director of Avesthagen Limited, Bangalore whose cutting edge research and business operations in biopharmaceuticals, bionutrition, bioagriculture and science and innovation make it a leading integrated systems biology platform company. She had been declared Outstanding Zarathushti Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 at WZCC’s global annual general meeting (AGM) in Houston, Texas in December last year. Balsara is chairman and managing director of Madison World, a diversified communication group functioning in 10 specialized fields — advertising, media, outdoor, entertainment, rural, retail, events and sports, etc. He had been declared Honorary Member for 2008, an annual distinction conferred by the WZCC on outstanding personalities in the business/professional world.

"I’m totally emotionally moved,” Morawala-Patell said as she received her award to a standing ovation from the gathering of WZCC members from Bombay and outside, a majority of them senior to her in age and experience and well aware of the trials and tribulations involved in building and sustaining an enterprise. "I’m just an ordinary, very humble person. I’m overwhelmed by all this love and affection.” Earlier, Bombay Chapter chair Pheroze (Phili) Kharas, who is the promoter-director of Ecoplast Limited and non-executive chairman of the board, had requested the two awardees to give the audience a sense of what, according to them, were the three critical factors responsible for their success and what organizational culture they had created in terms of shared values, beliefs and norms of behavior.

Sam Balsara (top left), Villoo Morawala-Patell receiving Outstanding Zarathushti Entrepreneur Award from Kersi Limathwalla (right) as Phili Kharas looks on

"I believe in change and innovation. It is a huge task, bringing in change in a copycat kind of country, which does not believe in innovation,” Morawala-Patell stated. Saying smilingly that she always had "a big agenda” and that her parents Dara and Daulat Morawala thought she was too ambitious "though they never tried to stop me,” the entrepreneur acknowledged that the right opportunities came to her, the right doors opened, avenues built. "Dream big from your heart. Courage is not a matter of muscle,” she continued, citing the examples of Mahatma Gandhi and Steve Jobs (Apple co-founder). Working through a combination of brain and heart forms the true test of mankind, she believed.

Morawala-Patell touched upon the fact that her company prepared for an IPO (Initial Public Offering) within seven years of inception. Unfortunately, the economic downturn prevented the IPO from being released in November 2008. Tapping the upside of market economics and displaying the ability to be flexible, she turned the business funnel upside down, combining IP (Intellectual Property) and product development for long-term revenue generation. Partnering with global groups such as Danone and Limagrain of France, Nestle Nutrition of Switzerland, Cadbury Schweppes of the UK, Cipla (India) and academic institutions like Imperial College, London, and focusing on R&D (Research and Development), Avesthagen has a range of biosimilars (in biopharmaceu­ticals) and bioactives (in bionutrition) for prevention or treatment of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, bone health, etc. Plant genetics and seed transmutation and the human genome project are among the company’s several services to remember which the chairperson touched upon in broad strokes.

Morawala-Patell enumerated what she believed were the three critical factors that have contributed to Aves­thagen’s success — building a global model and reaching global standards, sustaining the right type of funding ("it’s good to know that the business gene of Zoroastrians is alive and kicking in me though I am a scientist”) and right positioning. "Monetize your IP, license out, 40 products in parallel can be licensed. This will keep your fundamentals intact. So what if Avesthagen’s bioactives go into Danone’s yogurts? You are patent protected. You have the freedom to go out and sell.”

"It’s time for all Zoroastrians to think big,” she added. Regretting that there was a large pool of young people, particularly in places like Navsari, who were languishing without the right opportunities in education or the marketplace, Morawala-Patell exhorted the WZCC to "pull them out of ordinariness. We are looking at a large number. Something needs to be done.”

Balsara began his speech with a charming smile: "My achievements would not have as far-reaching implications as what Villoo does. But we can’t live without soap and biscuits! I guess it takes all kinds of people to make this world.” Enumerating the three reasons which have contributed to the success of Madison World, a 20-year company employing over 600 communication professionals across nine cities in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with gross billing of Rs 20 billion as per its website, Balsara put "total transparency, integrity and honesty” at the top of the list. "When there is greed and downright robbery going on in the corporate world, a lot of success in the last few years has been thanks merely to the fact that I am a Parsi. There is trust…be it a large MNC (multinational corporation) or Indian company, there is no ulterior motive behind the quality of advice you get from Madison. Daresay you can’t say that of some others.”

Rapt attention (top); intellectual capital on stage (from left) Zarine Commissariat, Yazdi Tantra, Phili Kharas, Villoo Morawala-Patell, Kersi Limathwalla, Sam Balsara, Rustom Engineer and Vispi Mistry

There should be lack of fear, Balsara continued. "I don’t fear failure so much…One day everybody fails. Stick to values and principles in a humble way, not in a way that can change the world. The community around you begins to recognize that.” Balsara narrated how the company lost 70 percent of its income and business when an MNC, with whom they had an agreement, wanted to alter the terms to its advantage: "We allowed them to walk away.”

"Lara (his daughter, who is business development and diversification manager at Madison World) and I have decided on our area of focus. Ours is a service business. Every rupee spent of Madison money must directly help our client. It is not necessary to travel from Bombay to Bangalore by executive class. For the size I am, economy is good! There is no need to impress or indulge in fanciful, wasteful expenditure,” the ad- man stated.

Entrepreneurship is all the more difficult for Zoroastrian youngsters than for others probably because Parsi children are very comfortably provided for, Balsara analyzed. "Passion, ambition, vision, blueprint, plan… are these the words we associate with Parsi youth?” he queried. "There must be some degree of unrest, discomfort, undying desire (for youth to succeed). It slightly upsets me when at Parsi gatherings we talk only about the past rather than what we will do in future. Our forefathers did a wonderful job of building the Parsi brand so we can freely partake of it. It is a stronger brand than Surf or Sunlight or the Taj. We need a quality brand manager to look after our brand,” he quipped. "Do we need to look any further than Sam and Lara?” Zarine Commissariat, international board member and corporate secretary who was master of ceremonies, queried smilingly. "We are hoping you will help us build the WZCC brand.”

Commissariat mentioned that the Bombay Chapter is the most important one based on population strength. Yazdi Tantra, technical director on the international board who was described by Commissariat as an extraordinary member who manages an extraordinary website (www.wzcc.net), stated that thanks to Limathwalla, founder of WZCC’s India Chamber, the Bombay Chapter has the unique concept of life members as well as patron and vice patron members, which other chapters do not have.

"The WZCC has been working as facilitator and will continue to do so. But that is not enough. We must provide more opportunities for networking. The Bombay Chapter is looking to set up a special networking group and other chapters will follow,” said Limathwalla whose term as global president is for a year. "The year 2009 has been declared the Year of the Youth. There should be a youth representative on every board. The Bombay Chapter already has one.”

A business advisory board and a global competition for best business plans are other areas being worked upon. In November last year a proposal for an independent asset management company run on commercial lines had been mooted. "We need people, we need them to devote time and expertise,” he asserted. Limathwalla said "he would be failing in his duty” if he did not name the people who had helped him set up WZCC in India and the Bombay Chapter — Minoo Shroff, Dinshaw Tamboly, Rohinton Rivetna, Kersi Commissariat, Minoo Mody, Homi Mullan…

With WZCC’s next AGM scheduled for December 2009 in Dubai, Commissariat stated that it promised to be as exciting as the previous one in Houston and exhorted members to visit the website and register at the earliest. She expressed special thanks to Rustom Engineer of Houston, director on the international board who was present on the dais, and to the several "warm-hearted Zoroastrians of Houston” who made so many personal and business-related sacrifices to give the delegates a "thrilling fun-filled week,” with delegates housed in homes or hotels they owned. Acknowledging the appreciation, Engineer mentioned that they were especially pleased that 11 Zoroastrians from Iran managed to get visas for the US and attended the meet. Also welcomed were Zenia Lawyer and her son Rustom of Bakhtawar Construction Company Private Limited and Dadi Mistry of Delhi, a "leading force from inception of the WZCC who can always be counted on to get things moving at government levels in the national capital,” stated Commissariat. After 50 years of living in Delhi, if you don’t know everybody then you are a nobody! quipped the venerable gentleman.