Interviewer- How did you think of engaging financers, investors, mentors all in the same platform?
Devesh Chawla - “Way back in 2009 I actually wanted to start something which is quite similar to what OLA is doing today. But what happened during that time was that I went to meet a few people in the industry who were into tours and travels and taxi business to take an advice from them. All of them discouraged me saying you should not do his because at that point of time there was only one radio cab called as Meru and they told me that its lot of political money involved and you should not even get into this because there will be unions breaking your legs. So, don’t do this until you have a political background. So, I met another set of people, again very powerful and influential so-called mentor and I realized that even they discouraged me saying that it is not meant for you its only for people with a political background, have deep pockets etc. Then I got back to my job and I had a nice job there.
Then in 2012-13, I see in the news Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola cabs entering 1000 crores club. I was like this is not fair. Similar age group, similar background, similar model and he has no political background, no deep pockets, nothing and he can make it, I thought there was some problem that I was not guided in the right direction. So at that point of time, I spoke to Mr Dheeraj Batra, he has been the director of the IDEO, the director of Innosight Ventures, runs an incubator in Hyderabad and he is in the industry for last 20 years doing this. So, I talked to him that- ‘Don’t you think we should create an ecosystem where we can get entrepreneurs, mentors, investors altogether.’ He said- ‘Yes it’s a good idea, you go ahead I’m there to back you ‘. Those words were more than enough for me. While I was working with prime associates, I started building this model offline where I was mentoring few startups, investing in a few and connecting them with a few of them and creating an entire ecosystem of what Chatur is doing today. After 4 years of hard work I finally put down my papers and started off Chatur Ideas.”
Interviewer- What steps do you take to provide consistency in your efficient work to give the best outputs?
Devesh Chawla - We follow 3 things to provide consistency in our output.
One is we FOCUS on the work at hand and ensure that we keep PERSEVERING it until we achieve success and make sure there is 100% DISCIPLINE till its entire journey. Hence FOCUS, PERSEVERANCE and DISCIPLINE are our 3 PILLARS to excel.
Interviewer- Do you have any plans of expanding the services your company provides?
Devesh Chawla- Currently we have all the services that startups need viz. Mentoring, Fundraising, IPR, Market Survey, Growth Advisory, Digital Marketing, Corporate Innovation, Training and many more.
We are currently one of the largest one stop solutions for Startups in India and wish to create more and more positive impact in their life
Interviewer- What are your motivating suggestions to young business corporations?
Devesh Chawla- First, Focus, if you know Mahabharat, Dronacharya was teaching archery to the Kauravas and Pandavas. He first called Duryodhana and asked him ‘What can you see?’. He said, “I can see a bird hanging in the air, I can see some clouds, I can see some leaves and some trees.” He said okay fine you move aside. He called Yudhishthira and asked the same question. He said, “I can see the bird’s eye, I can see the bird’s face, I can see the bird’s feathers”. He said okay even you move aside. He then called Arjuna and asked the same question. He said, “I can see the bird’s eye”. He again asked him “What all can you see?” He again said, “I can only see the bird’s eye”. He said “Shoot” and he hits the bird’s eye. So, focus is very important and we all know that Arjuna was the best archer of his time and today also startups can actually focus and that is very important.
Second, perseverance, if you look at Colonel Sanders, at the age of 65 after knocking 1009 crores he could actually start KFC, Walter Elias Disney knocked 313 crores. So, I feel perseverance is another thing if magzone continues doing it will make them achieve heights.
Third, discipline, when you get your funding, I feel discipline has to be important because what I am seeing in a lot of startups is that when they get funded, they lose the frugality and they start spending heavily and they just forget the discipline what they should follow earlier before funding which is completely different.
I think if these 3 things can be followed then it is going to take not only magzone but other startups to different levels.”
Interviewer- What are the virtues that sets your company apart from all other competitive firms?
Devesh Chawla- Communicate Boldly - There is no such thing as 'perfect solution!' There is always 'the solution' that fits the best for your problem.
Always be Grateful - It's important to be grateful all the time because nothing is permanent. So always be grateful for this life, the relationships you hold, job you have, and the technology you use.
Faith is imperative - We believe and trust that there is something bigger than us. We are not in control of all the things that goes around. So, it's important to acknowledge the unperceivable power that holds the dominos together.
Be the social change - "Be the change you wish to see in this world" were the golden words spoken by our 'Father of the Nation,' M.K. Gandhi. We at Chatur Ideas expect everyone who works with us to believe and deliver tangible work that makes our society a better place to live in.
Nurture creativity - People who see closed doors before an open window do not think out of the box. We nurture creativity. We firmly believe that 'One should always paint a new story,' as there is no point in following what others do.
Stay passionately committed - Success is rarely an accident! With intelligent ideas and unflawed strategic planning, you require an inexhaustible commitment and passion to achieve the big hit.
Be the collective voice - Staying true to our mission will always be our utmost priority. In order to achieve this, we need to not only understand what we want for our people, but what people want from us. We believe in what our esteemed users believe in.
Seek disruptiveness - We at Chatur Ideas will always seek disruptive thinking because we understand that the only thing, which will be constant in this world, would be the change in the way people live, think, hear and understand.
These are the virtues of Chatur Ideas that sets the company apart from all other competitive firms.