In search of something exciting, challenging and different from that of Sweden, Bjőrn Sőderberg came to Nepal as a volunteer when he was 19 years old and lived in Bal Mandir. During his stay, he saw the potential for exciting new things in the hands of the young people in the country. In contrary to the trend of the youngsters finding their way to the U.S and abroad, Bjőrn started off in Nepal with a paper recycling (Watabaran Pvt. Ltd.) and IT outsourcing venture (Websearch Professionals Pvt. Ltd).

Despite the Swedish Government urging its citizens not to travel to Nepal for security reasons, Mr. Sőderberg was determined and he started approaching for loans in banks for the initial capital of $20,000. But through his struggle in the initial days, what he learnt was exciting!

——> Lesson No: 1,  One does not need money to be an entrepreneur, s/he needs customers. You don’t spend money to start a company; you start a company to earn money. And with this learning in mind, he went to Sweden and confirmed two clients by promising them to deliver the same service they were already getting, but in half the price. His first two customers was his market research. In his way of doing things, he believes more in learning by doing rather than trying to focus too much in theory as he says “Most people believe you need to follow a certain process and make business plans to start a company. But the matter of fact is you don’t need websites, business plans or brochures to start your company, just start making money. Once you have your first customer, you have your market research, you have your company.”

Speaking of the struggle people go through to find that one bright idea to start up a venture, he points out that having a good or a great idea is not a guarantee of the success of the business.
—–> Lesson No. 2, Having the drive and the guts is more important than the idea itself.

The passion associated with the work can naturally make any idea a good one. The old formula is if you enjoy your work, you don’t even feel you are working. Adding more on innovation, idea and entrepreneurship, he explains that Entrepreneurship is about getting an idea and working very hard to realize it because it takes time to build up a business. And thus during that time, an entrepreneurs must have two qualities; patience and work hard.

While most people are apprehensive about starting up a business for the fear of failure, he takes a different approach saying,

—–> Lesson No. 3, “Never be afraid to fail. Rather be afraid of never failing. Those who never fail have never tried anything new and never be afraid of creating new things. Because creating new things and translating new ideas to action, even if they are small ones is what entrepreneurs do.”

Some Questions & Answers

What are the problems in starting up a business in Nepal?

Corruption is one of the major discouragements in starting up a business in Nepal. Bureaucrats try to squeeze money out of you here which a different scenario than in Sweden.

Do you think foreign investors are safe enough to invest in Nepal?

Given a few things, a safe environment for foreign investment can be created in Nepal. Some are:
Documents should be in English.
Load shedding should cease.
Hindrances from involuntary Bandhs and strikes should stop.

Have you faced or felt any conflict between the social contribution and economic aspects of a business?

I haven’t faced many clashes as such. I provide scholarships to talented students to study in KU and ask them to work for me for 4 years. Besides, I am always trying to take the middle way in finding profitability and contributing to the society.

In a certain business situation like “If a client asks more and more services and in the end refuses to pay the prices pointing out it was very high, what can one do in such situation”?

To avoid unprofessional situations like these, making everything about the deal clear beforehand is important. Give your client a sample or a prototype of your service and product and ask them to test it. If they like it then mention your prices. But remember some clients are unworkable and sometimes in those cases you have to let them go.

———————————————————

Previous speakers at “E4N’s Last Thursdays” have been:

Ambica Shrestha of Dwarika’s Hotels and Resorts

Ajay Ghimire of Vibor Bank

Ashutosh Tiwari of Himalmedia

Bal Joshi of Thamel.com

Gyanendra Pradhan of HydroSolutions Nepal

Ichhya Raj Tamang of Civil Homes Group of Industries

Jonas Lindblom, a Swedish investor of Isadora Cosmetics on Durbar Marg

Karna Sakya of Kathmandu Guest house

Kiran Bhakta Joshi of Incessant Rain Animation Studios

Mahendra Shakya of Momo King

Min Bahadur Gurung of Bhatbhateni Supermarkets

Tashi Sherpa of Sherpa Adventure Gears

————–

Mr. Kiran Bhakta Joshi, the founder of Incessant Rain Animation Studios, left his job of 18 years at the Walt Disney Studios at age 46 to create his own studio in Kathmandu. With a background in computer software, Joshi was working as a graphics software developer for Disney. He was in the team that developed the animation system used for “Beauty and the Beast”, which went on to be nominated for Best Picture at the 1992 Academy Awards. Leaving an 18 year old job, the post of Head of Production and a team of 250 artists and technologists under him was not easy for Kiran. There were doubts among his friends in Walt Disney if an animation studio in Nepal would deliver the quality and turnaround they were seeking.

The year 2007 was the turning point in his life. When he had come to Nepal for the funeral of a relative, his friend Sanjeev Rajbhandari suggested opening a studio in Nepal. He then spent three weeks in small animation boutiques and was impressed to see the portfolios of skilled and passionate young artists. He met a 19 year old boy who showed his portfolio and said that his passion was animation but due to pressure from his parents, he had been studying management. He asked Kiran for help, so realizing the level of this boy’s passion, he decided it was time to open an animation studio in Nepal.

Kiran opines that employees are the most valuable assets of a business. He says that it is very important to coordinate with every individual differently because even a single person with an ego can jeopardize the work process. While working with his employees, the first lesson he learnt was that it is easy to train young people rather than old ones. He feels that young people are very creative, more adaptable and energetic about their work once they are convinced. Since experienced people are more resistant to change, he feels that it is better to have young supervisors and employees in the business. He shares that it is important to make sure the employees are having fun during work but at the same time there should be proper enforcement of discipline. Salaries at his studio are based on the productivity and the quality of the animation that his staffs can create. He even helps his staff to go abroad if they want because he believes those people will gain better knowledge and return back. He admits that hunting for talent is an arduous process and he would love to collaborate with the universities here and start an animation academy to nurture fresh talents inside Nepal.

Kiran shares that setting up of a business is easy but execution is difficult. Since he shuttles between Nepal and the US, is it difficult to execute all the ideas due to time constraints. Challenges he is facing now in Nepal include bandhs (strikes) and load-shedding. He also feels that as his company is growing bigger, the fun element is reducing. Even though he doesn’t have any marketing person, his personal one to one networks and visits to several networking programs contribute to his business development. He stresses that networking is very important for entrepreneurs and no one should underestimate its power. His focus is on brand building and creating their own intellectual property.

He sees bright hope for Nepal as we have cheaper labor force, untapped resources, rich cultures and diversity. His studio’s goal is not just to outsource work from USA, but take the rich folk stories of Nepal to the world. He cites the example of “Jungle Book”, a story from India that became a famous animation. He finds Nepal rich in tales of Yaks and Yetis and he has successfully used the yaks and the one-horned rhino for the animation advertisements of World Food Program (WFP) and Ace Development Bank respectively. He believes these would help to showcase our local identity.

If your house stinks, u can either clean it up, or ur neighbors will clean it for you (or tear it down). All depends on you.

just a crude and tiny example of how easily information are carried forward. A Video.

this is how your message gets carried across fast and heard around the world , not through the headlines of paper newspapers anymore

Just predicting the inevitability in Nepal where mobile penetration jumped 6% from 20% to 26% in the last 6 months

Ujw

बनेको छ पहराले यो छाती मेरो
बगेको छ छहरा रगतमा मेरो
पखेरुमा जन्मी पाखुरामा खेल्ने
म झुक्दै नझुक्ने नेपालको छोरो (छोरी)
म झुक्दै नझुक्ने नेपालको छोरो (छोरी)

खोसेको रोटीले मेरो पेट भरिन्न
मागेको धोतीले मेरो लाज छोपीन्न
खोसेको रोटीले मेरो पेट भरिन्न
मागेको धोतीले मेरो लाज छोपीन्न

घोटिऐर हात पाऊ झरी जाऊ नौला
तर कोई अगाडी यी हात जोडिन्न
यी हात जोडिन्न

बनेको छ पहराले यो छाती मेरो
बगेको छ छहरा रगतमा मेरो
पखेरुमा जन्मी, पाखुरीमा खेल्ने
म झुक्दै नझुक्ने नेपालको छोरो (छोरी)

आ आ आ आ आ आ आ आ
आ आ आ आ आ आ आ आ

म आगो सहन्छु, अन्याय सहन्न
म ति्ष्ना सहन्छु, तिरस्कार सहन्न
मेरो शिर उडाऊ, बरु त्यो सहन्छु
तर कुनै परायाले टेके सहन्न
टेके सहन्न

बनेको छ पहराले यो छाती मेरो
बगेको छ छहरा रगतमा मेरो
पखेरुमा जन्मी पाखुरीमा खेल्ने
म झुक्दै नझुक्ने नेपालको छोरो (छोरी)
म झुक्दै नझुक्ने नेपालको छोरो (छोरी)

A nepali song/poem by गोपाल योंजन

1. Learn to Delegate – But learn everything still
2. Regroup quickly after a crisis -the end is only when you end.
3. Stop comparing . Do what you believe is right.
4. Bet on your heart. But go slow.
5. Improve your product/service each day.
6. Make it fun.
7. Write a blog.
8. Maintain your relationships.
9. Do small experiments often.
10. Often say No.
11. Celebrate small successes.
12. Focus on creating “culture.”

For more on my thoughts, I invite you to visit “whynepal.com“

Ashu (Ashutosh Tiwari) and I are both fans of Acumen Fund. And we believe what we are doing in our group, “Entrepreneurs for Nepal”, complements their efforts by setting up a “patient systemic process” that helps in the effective implementations of “patient capital”. In our frequent brainstormings, we found ourselves always coming back to this central theme, “being patient, being persistent, and  building organizations with this combination of patience and persistence.”

A “patient systemic process” involves spending time patiently but persistently building systems in place in your organizations, into your career or into your businesses. In the context of Nepal, we have got to invest more time and energy into learning how to make  resilient  systems with processes built by patience but persistence. This means building system of processes in almost every end goal in your business/organization, whether it is  dividends, team-building, organizational growths,  profits or career growths.

Once you have processes in place, the system will be resilient.

Please post your comments in whynepal.com and continue the discussion in our facebook group, “Entrepreneurs for Nepal”

• Take the bloody foreign ministry somewhere else first.
• Get a bid for building a hybrid limited storied business- commercial shopping complex all around the Palace. This way new businesses will have a new address to attract nepalis and foreigners alike. Cap the design to be more architecturally Kathmandu’s Malla period architecture. Let there be a open plan/competition for architects for a design that incorporates tourism complex with a big park in the middle.  Use this to attract responsible tourism related business into the complex. (plan is to extend and upgrade Thamel’s charm there in a more cultural plus natural framework).
• Let most of the revenue go towards building an impecabbly well maintained park not unlike the “Garden of Dreams” next door in Thamel. This will be our ‘Central Park of New York.’ Build a park where people can walk, children can play and pets can be brought in safely. Ban Big gatherings. They can go do that out in the streets of Kathmandu where they belong.
• Also make it a space for morning/evening walks, outdoor running, and peaceful meditation spots.
• Make another small space  within this,where Artists, musicians, dancers, creative teams (not political) can hold open gatherings (without too much disturbances – architects can design this within the huge space of the Former Royal Palace.
• Make the park vehicle free but build a underground parking area though that will generate additional revenue and people can park their vehicles in peace.
• A Question: Make it open but with strict enforcement to keep out the law breakers around ? ” or keep it closed and with an affordable fee -easier to manage? catch-22?

Add your own ideas in the comments below at whynepal.com

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