Kerala is suitable for entrepreneurship, says young generation in business families

Kochi: There are a good number of people who are skeptical about starting a business in Kerala and the chances of its success. However, four young businesspersons – all of them belonging to traditional business families which started a venture in the state and are enjoying success – have no doubts about the matter. The four young people, who are now heading their family businesses, took part in a session on ‘New face in legacy business’ at ‘Manorama Sampadyam Kerala Business Summit’ at Grand Hyatt in Kochi on Thursday. All of them have clear ideas on facing challenges and utilising opportunities and technologies, which they shared with the delegates at the event.

The four corporate leaders are Tina Muthoot, executive director of Muthoot Capital Services Ltd., Arun Chittilappilli, MD of Wonderla Amusement Park and Resorts, Nazneen Jehangir, executive director and CEO of NeST Software Business and Ashok Mani, MD and CEO of Integro Foods and Beverages (Kitchen Treasures).

Nazneen Jehangir, who leads NeST, a company which registered remarkable success in Kerala, explained how the group diversified into different sectors. NeST was launched in the state in 1990 and currently deals with a wide variety of businesses, ranging from IT to food, pharma and technology. The success in the diverse sectors could be attributed to the farsightedness of the people who launched the company. Those people were aware that Kerala is a business hub and this realization contributed to the growth of the company.

“Success is achieved when the strength of tradition is balanced with our decisions. The formula for success is a merger of the old generation’s mind and the ideas of youth,” said Nazneen. “Similarly, employees are the strength of our business,” she added.

Nazneen also explained the differences between the old and new generations. “Running a traditionally-acquired business in a sustainable manner is a big challenge,” she said.

About the future plans of her company, Nazneen mentioned a leap in AI and expansion to new countries.

Tina Muthoot spoke about the 130-year-old history of her family business. Muthoot is currently led by the fourth generation of its owners, she said. “I am proud that there are six women among the seven heirs,” Tina added.

Muthoot has grown into a company with 50 lakh customers and assets worth Rs 50,000 crore, she said. “The young generation of Muthoot family learnt the business by engaging in all the work carried out by the staff such as examining gold and dealing with money,” said Tina. “We closely observed all the upheavals in the business,” she added.

On the goals of the company, Tina said that it was targeting the credit gap of the country. “We seek to issue credit in a responsible manner. This is our motto now as well as in future,” she said.

Along with the changes in technology, minor alterations could happen in business.

“My grandfather told me that the old and new generations should work together. He also said that when you decide to start a new venture, you should never retract. It would be a learning experience, whether you succeed or fail. The new generation has to utilize the vast experience of their seniors,” said Tina.

Arun Chittilappilly spoke about the success achieved by his company in a sector where only a very few businesspersons have ventured into in Kerala. He explained how his father Kochuseph Chittilappilli established and expanded the family’s diverse business ventures overcoming big challenges.

Arun joined the family business two years after the Veegaland amusement park was opened. The park was started with a small investment and currently employs 3,000 people. It is planned to increase the staff strength to 5,000 by 2030, said Arun. “My father asked me to consider the interests of employees also while making any new plan,” he said.

“The future will bring huge challenges. We have to find out what people need and how to sell it,” said Arun.

He also felt that a conflict between the old and new generations could not be avoided. “My father and I have different opinions on various matters. Similarly, there are challenges in introducing changes in a system established by my father,” he said.

Arun revealed that a new amusement park of the group will be opened in Chennai by the end of this year. “We will then have Wonderla parks in five locations,” he said.

Regarding the future plans of the company, Arun said that changes will be introduced based on how new technologies could be made available to the people. “We are targeting the children visiting amusement parks. Starting new attractions that would hold the children’s interest is a challenge. We also have to earn a profit,” he said. Yet another hurdle is finding the suitable talent, Arun added.

Ashok Mani of Kitchen Treasures said that legacy is a challenge for youngsters joining a family business. “Synthite, our business, entered B2C from B2B with Kitchen Treasures. The senior-most members of our family and others running various ventures offered the necessary advice and provided space to air our opinions. Family tradition has had a major influence on business,” he said.

Comparing the different generations, Ashok said that the young people took decisions more quickly than the seniors. “This does not mean that the decisions of the old generation were bad. We have to find the common factors in both. We shouldn’t evade the truth. It is natural that the old and new differ. However, it is important to accept criticism with an open mind,” he said.