This young startup is helping SMEs, Startups and Small Businesses with Advisory, Consultation and Business Networking Services

The small and medium enterprises in India are the backbone of the economy. Not only they are responsible for majority of the exports, but also employs majority of the workforce. They presence are spread across the country and are not concentrated in any particular region.
With such vast presence, their contribution towards employment generation cannot be undermined. The growth of the SME sector has the potential to generate employment for millions of people. With adequate financial support, innovation and sustainability initiatives, the SMEs will definitely help in increasing the nation’s exports.
The social dimension of the growth of the SMEs is that it reduces regional disparity in respect to human development. Higher income generation by the people, leads to better health, education, sanitation, lesser exploitation of the natural resources, etc.
Over the years, SMEs have contributed immensely towards development of the nation and their contribution cannot be undermined. They usually are overshadowed by the large corporations and it is necessary for the industry to acknowledge their contribution.
Today, it’s imperative for SMEs to maintain global standards to have competitive advantage. Ethical practices, environmental norms, quality standards and sustainability initiatives are few methods which will help the SMEs reap long term benefits thereby help the nation achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030.
At the same time SMEs also need tons of pocket friendly resource and services for continuous growth. Business Advisory, Business Development, Business Networking & Ofcourse Knowledge sharing are some of the services that an SME needs.
The biggest room in this world is the room for improvement and thus the owners of these SMEs always prefer a tradition of continuous improvement, learning and growth.
Today we are presenting an exclusive interview with Atul Puri, the founder of eGrowth. eGrowth is a company based out of Gurgaon, India. They helps SME at various levels through consultation and advisory services. Lets see what the founder of eGrowth@Biz has to speak about the venture.
1.What is the Name of Your Venture? Any specific reason for this name?
Our brand is eGrowth@Biz. It stands for exponential growth. The thought behind this name was that businesses generally experience growth in spikes or linear growth. We are out to crack the DNA of Exponential Growth


2.Who is your target Audience/clients?
Our target audience is MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises), Entrepreneurs and Startups from any industry
3.Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & What are your geographical target areas?
The company (EBN Learning Private Limited) is registered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. We target business from across the globe
4.What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
The problem we solve is business growth.
Our primary services are –

1. Business Advisory Services – We deliver End-to-End. We leverage our network to advice and execute the business related solutions. We specialize in Scale Up, Market Entry and Business Development related technology services.
2. Business Development Services – We create ample opportunities for you to be in front of your customer through events, advertisements and lead generation services
3. Business Networking Services – Access our portal to connect with professionals of your choice. Participate in our networking events to meet subject matter experts for your business
4. Learning & Development Services – Through our vast pool of trainers and coaches we support you in identifying your learning gaps and fulfil them by positioning appropriate resources.

5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it came to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
eGrowth: The Journey so far

The first conversation for eGrowth went something like this –

Ragesh – So what’s next for you in life

Atul – Productivity at molecular level

Ragesh – Elaborate further

Atul – Ayurveda says a body is healthy if all pores of the body are healthy. Similarly a business is healthy when all aspects are functioning well. This is Productivity at Molecular Level

This conversation happened in the dark of the night on Western Express Highway, Mumbai in July 2014.

Over a couple of weeks we surveyed some small business owners and got that the 3 most important concerns for a business owner are –

• Resource Management

• Opportunity Mapping

• Innovation

This became the premise of the first workshop conducted on 1^st November, 2014. This workshop was called eGrowth@Biz

With this began the journey to build a platform to empower and enable businesses.

 
6.Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
We are operating in a very unique place, we operate at grassroots level we leverage technology to deliver velocity, scale and connections.
7.How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us some thing about your co-founder/s
I am still searching for the co-founder
 
8.How did you hire your first team members? What skills do you want in your employees/team?
The team members showed up. The skills we look for are –

• S/he has to be a people’s person, one who can relate to others and their dreams
• One who is self driven,
• One who is creative and innovative in approach

 
9.What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?

• We will be 4 million strong by Dec 2020 and across the globe
• In 5 years we will have IoT and AI enabled platform which will empower and enable users to the next level
  

10.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?

• Nurturing eGrowth to greater heights. eGrowth becoming a respectable institution
• The Global HQ being in India.
  

11.What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?

• 60000 business owners across 200 cities of India by 31 December, 2018
• 50,000 by 30^th September
• 20,000 by 30^th June
• 10,000 by 31^st March

12.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?

We have not raised funding so far and we are not actively looking for funding

13.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
COLLABORATION is a novel idea and this was an unheard of concept by the business circles

14.What was the most challenging part of your journey till now? How did you overcome those challenges?
The most challenging part is to have active participation from the members. We are using innovative methods to build engagement. Eg we had a breakfast meet at Connaught Place in New Delhi once. We are collecting articles form women authors now. Like this we keep on thinking of new ideas to get the participants to share and contribute
15.Are you married, single or in a relationship?
Divorced
16.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
Reading, debating. I keep on discussing eGrowth in non work time
17.Whats your favorite food & holiday destination?
Local, vegetarian food from any place – Samosa in North India, Vada Pav in West, Poha in West, Dosa in South
Any place where I can drive into is a good holiday destination

18.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
Mahatama Gandhi. He started out into an unknown territory with a resolve. He kept on progressing and people kept on connecting. He was never caught into the conversation whether India will get independence or not

19.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Ownership. The degree of ownership of an entrepreneur defines how far he would go. One who works for someone else and owns the job becomes an intra-preneur, which is not very different
20.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
May be nothing. Its been an awesome journey. Every stage has its own contribution. Had I not sold Mobile Phones on the streets of Mumbai or Pepsi in the depths of Himachal, I would have not got connected to the business owners as I am now.

21.How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & Social life?
Its had a positive impact. There is a lot of warmth at home and a lot of recognition on the field.
22.Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
Creation from Nothing has a lot of energy and satisfaction

23.Tell us something about your education & family background.
My mother is a retired teacher. My father was a businessman. We come from a huge family, spread across North India which is connected for atleast 4 generations now. My brother is a strategy professional working with the largest Paper Manufacturer of India. My Bhabhi is a Dentist, running a chain of Dental Clinics. My daughter lives with her mother at Pune. We have a sister, she is married to a businessman and is living happily in New Delhi
I went to school at Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. I did Engineering in Electronics from Mumbai University, Datta Meghe College of Engineering, Airoli Navi Mumbai.
MBA – International Business from IGNOU while I was on job
I also did a certificate program in competitive marketing from IIM Bangalore


24.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
We work, We listen, We connect. We run with the business owner, entrepreneur or the startup founder
25. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses & Start-ups today?

The founders and the owners are the biggest threat to the businesses and Startups. It is so because a business can go only as far as the business owner can think. And if the thinking gets limited, growth gets sabotaged

26. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
Yes I consider ourselves as successful. When people start to call you by the name of your company, I think that is a great acknowledgement. I was there for an event by IIM Calcutta Innovation Park last week. Atleast 5 people came to me and said that they knew me because of eGrowth. This was a humbling experience
27.Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Name of the Company – EBN Learning Private Limited
Address – #548, Sector 56, Gurugram 122011, Haryana, India
Phone No – 9899116054
Email Id – [email protected]
Website – www.egrowth.biz
Contact Person – Atul Puri, Founder