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- Economic Times Mumbai:2008 Nov 18
- Moving Ahead With Conviction -
- Moving Ahead With Conviction - Leading In The Technology Distribution World — Sayanti Banerjee
TODAY, Mediaman Infotech Pvt Ltd is one of the leading distribution houses of technology products in the country. Founded in 1987 by Dushyant Mehta, who was then just 20 years old. In spite of having a degree in commerce, Mr Mehta was always passionate about technology. Drawing an interesting parallel, the Chairman and MD of Mediaman, Mr Mehta explains, “My case is similar to those actors who have never been to acting schools but have had a successful career.”
While recalling his earlier days when the going was uphill, he refers to ‘The Apple Way’, a book that inspired him to dream big. Mr Mehta was motivated by the projection Steve Jobs had made in the mid 1980’s that in the next 25 years the IT business would grow by leaps and bounds. Thus, with the zeal of a true entrepreneur, Mr Mehta started chasing his dream.
Also, it is interesting to note as to how the name Mediaman was decided upon. With a smile on the face Mr Mehta remembers, “In 1985, floppy disks were the only storage options and were called ‘media’. At that time, I used to distribute floppy disks to corporate like HDFC and ICICI. So I simply put the two together, and came up with the name ‘Mediaman’ for this venture.”
The journey has certainly not been a bed of roses. There were a lot of challenges to overcome along the way. Mr Mehta elucidates, “In our distribution business there is cut-throat competition. Brand recall is as important as capturing a good market share. But given the vast expanse of our country, market penetration becomes an issue, for instance – how to reach the customers via the quickest route. Also, in this context the focus of the entrepreneur has to be right.”
The name of the company almost personifies the man himself. On a lighter note, Mr Mehta discloses, “I spend two hours everyday reading various facts, information, articles and findings about upcoming technologies. I am excited about technologies like Wi-fi and Wi-max. Moving ahead, soon we will have data packets that will make some of our day-to-day activities even simpler. For instance, this will enable us to watch moving images like movies in real-time without the need for a local storage. Also, then everything will be online.”
Yoga and Pranayama are Mr Mehta’s primary stress busters. “I do my asaans religiously every morning. I also swim and take time out for social work and other leisure activities.”, he quips.
According to him, an ideal entrepreneur should set goals for the future and work backwards in time in order to achieve them. Mr Mehta admires Narayan Murthy and Warren Edward Buffett for their humbleness even after founding great companies and creating immense wealth for themselves and the society. He feels, “Mr Murthy is the ‘Corporate Gandhi’ who has been successful without having to indulge in foul play .”
His advises budding entrepreneurs to sharpen their skills. He believes, “It is very important for the entrepreneurs to be approachable. They should be able to talk the language of their employees and consumers. Also, straightforwardness is as important as the focus and the vision. You need to move ahead and believe in yourself.”