Meet Swapnil Dixit, the Executive Director at Jagriti Yatra. From schooling in the Kumaon hills, to giving up a career in the Army, and then, in the corporate sector, and  now running a national train journey to mentor budding entrepreneurs, and inspiring the movement of Enterprise-led-Development, this expert has surely achieved and challenged a lot in his life. His innovations at Jagriti Yatra have shown the light of entrepreneurship to many young guns of our country. Swapnil is an example of new age leaders our generation needs.  I am sure that his words will leave you contemplating about what you want to do in life as your college ends.

What a life you have going Swapnil, no less than that of an adventurer, how did it all start? What is your background? Were you more conventional before and what was the turning point in your life?

Swapnil: When I look back, I figure that I have never been very conventional, but also never knew that it was my tendency to challenge conventions that was causing me so much meanderings! As a fourth grade student, I was supported by my grandfather, a primary school teacher himself, in my decision to stop maintaining a maths notebook. We both went to our teacher together and convinced her that page filing wasn’t the motive of learning mathematics. He also stood by me when I did not want to leave any margin at the top of the page while writing. These are big fights when you are a primary school student. In my adolescent years, my decision to give up a career in Army was a jolt to my family. Again during IIT days, I did not pay any heed to the race for grades, jobs, or scholarships. I pursued my interest in theatre, starting with Banjara Theatre on Campus and for a while I ran my own theatre group.

Then the turning point came, when I and a couple of other mad people, did a stint in ‘selling bags’ while partnering with villages nearby. Our urban-rural team made huge profits. However, what turned out to be the most important was the dignity and confidence this entrepreneurial success brought out in the participating villagers, and that was priceless. Eventually, I took up a job in Delhi so that I could be in the same city as my fiancé.  The company dealt in analytics, and what had attracted me the most to it was that it regularly organized outbound training programs.

I took a leave for 3 days, locked myself up in my one-room accommodation, and thought hard about what to do with my life. This was when I had a satisfying job, good income, and a professionally successful roadmap ahead. This finally led to joining the founding team of the Yatra. Soon I resigned and the very next day of leaving my job, started working out of a 10 feet by 10 feet office in Mumbai. It felt right, and I will confess that it took me only about 5 seconds to make this decision.

First up sir, from a boarding school in Nainital to IIT to a consultancy job to now running an annual national journey that awakens the entrepreneurial spirit in  youth, a resume this diverse, what’s next on your platter? And should diversity be something college students be looking at for their resume?

Swapnil: I’ll answer the latter first. If you aspire to be an entrepreneur, a diverse skill set is an excellent asset as it prepares you to face the diversity of challenges. For other jobs, I personally consider it invaluable, but a lot of people and places might not welcome it. As with all other things, even recruiters are of various temperaments. It’s a call one needs to take individually. Would you want to give up the thrill of diversity if it’s not acceptable to some person looking at your resume? I, for one, would welcome it and regard it as a positive factor, especially in the resume of candidate in early 20s. It has kept me engaged, and has worked out great for me.

To talk about what’s next, I need to set a context. I don’t see my job as a train-running-logistics task. There is a whole lot more to it. I see it as the responsibility to unleash a positive constructive movement of Enterprise led development in the nation. I’ll always want to do this, and even try this concept in the larger developing world. My dream is to build a mother enterprise that can mentor and support many start-ups, – mentoring on legal issues, financial issues, and everything that it takes to run a successful enterprise. I am pro-sustainability.

What is Jagriti Yatra all about? Many candidates across the country are selected, what are they in for and I also hear the food’s great on board?

Swapnil: Ah Yes! Food on board is surely great. (He jokes) We test the food like anything. Being a hosteller always, food has been a pain point for me all my life.  I want food to be of top notch quality – healthy, nourishing, and delicious.  We try our best to match the palette of the different people on board. We even have bed tea, and milk-turmeric, and to serve snacks many times a day. ; it definitely helps to keep our mood up .

Yatra is an exercise to awaken the spirit of enterprise in young people of India especially the middle India (smaller towns and villages).We want to showcase that running a business or chasing a socially useful dream is a viable career option. Let’s develop that quality of being an entrepreneur in individuals. We do it by showing role models who actually did it. With a track record of inspiring about a 100 companies in the last 3 years, we know we have been on the right track so far, and we know that we will have to improve every day. Students meet exciting individuals who also mentor them in every stage of their idea. From role models to getting exposed to such diversity, this journey is a life changing experience. It is also the first step towards unleashing a movement of Enterprise led development in the country.

Everyone wants to know, many apply but few get through, how does one make the cut?

Swapnil:Let me give you two cases. First, think of an academically excelling student with great marks, grades and scholarships, this is undoubtedly a good case for us. Second, think of a young person, who has been organizing the village function with some funding and now breaks even and may be, makes some profit too. This is a very exciting case for us! With our story spreading to remote corners of the country, we’re now reaching out in different languages via dailies and rural cyber cafes. We find it extremely difficult to get rural women to participate, but those who do get in, go back changed, and further cause change.

The candidate’s honesty and sincerity in filling out the paper application shows through; they are two values we definitely look for. Also, your language skills don’t matter, what matters is the juice you’ve got. Overall, we are looking for people who have the entrepreneurial spark in them.

For those who couldn’t be a part but still applied, we’re working on a model to bring the yatra to them too. The challenge we face is finding the universal method to do this and brainstorming is under way.

How easy or difficult has the ride been for you so far, what has it taken to come this far?

Swapnil: Three things have been important in the ride so far!

First, many people of our generation seem to live in fear, not able to execute what is truly on their mind.  Example, as kids, many of us never understood the theory behind division, but knew how to perform its procedure, nor did we ever ask in fear. I have tried my best to speak my mind out without being under the fear of getting thrashed, or not being accepted, all at the expense of being called foolish, impractical and other names, at times.

Second is the ability to realize the difference between apparent risk and real risk. Overestimating the risk and not saying what you feel inside, in fear, is what keeps people from unleashing their entrepreneurial dream.

Third has been Board of Directors who have advised us at every single step, and the dream team I work with. We are extremely fun loving, and super-serious about execution of stuff. I couldn’t have asked for better people around me.

For me, the ride has been both easy and difficult -  difficult because what I set out to do was definitely a new task, and winning credibility was a challenge, and easy because I had full support of my family, and friends. My home environment, my grandparents who allowed me to be myself, and the fortune of never having any questions left unanswered, built me up as an entrepreneurially inspired person.

Parents looking for a quick fix for their children, students at PG level, being referred to as “bachcha” at their colleges, to colleges having low trust in students, such outlooks need overhauling.

Some have termed you a Social Entrepreneur any comments?  … And how’s your experience been with people on your yatras so far?

Swapnil:I am going to be slightly provocative here. I find it difficult to accept these very popular demarcations between social and business entrepreneurship. Enterprise is one effort which is capable of being sustainable, and runs on a revenue model, or a support model that ensures volunteerism. What is the difference when the work involved in building a so-called business system is just the same as that involved in building up a so-called social system? Working without any revenue or support model, and giving away fish without teaching how to, is not enterprise.  So the big question here is what is and isn’t Entrepreneurship? I feel I’m surely an Entrepreneur. It has been fulfilling, difficult and a risk taking experience but I had an excellent system from family and friends, and most importantly the Jagriti team. For me, it’s absolutely possible to do well while doing good, creating social value by doing good; it is very much possible to, create social while earning revenue and profits.

With other ‘yatris’, I’ve had a fabulous experience, with the spectrum of people we get, to role models, such as Anshu Gupta of Goonj, my resolve to create a system of this excellence is getting stronger, I’m believing more each day in the concept of enterprise led development.

How has your education in IITKGP helped you, what are the learning cues one should take from their college life to help them in the world that’s waiting for them?

Swapnil:The rural location, of Kharagpur, in sharp contrast with state of the art facilities inside the campus, threw sharp disparities right in my face. I was enrolled at the department of architecture, which was quite multi disciplinary with IT, civil engineering, humanities, and management bundled to it. I think that is the best combination I could have received at UG level. Location and discipline aside, the people I went to college with mattered a great deal. What you learn from your classmates is beyond everything else – each one of my batch mates was a gem of a person, and they still continue to be an excellent support mechanism for me. We have drawn a lot of peer-to-peer learning in the yatra as well.

To the UG student of today, I would say that you should always have a grip on the fact that college life is great but it will end soon. Have those leadership skills etched in firmly. Know that your expectations from your college may or may not be met. So realize that this is what you have for the next 4 years. Accept it and draw the best out of it and get out fast, and don’t lose out on the fun at all, but realize the truth.

The most important bit is to never lose contact with your gang as you leave the campus, and life hits you hard. They’ll always accept you and be there when you need them. Do network with them by being ready to help them out, develop deeper relations with their families, and be good to people in general.

It worked out great for me because I found my life partner during college years; she wasn’t from IIT but ‘being good to people in general’ counts. (He exclaims jokingly.)

Internships today are catching on very fast and becoming competitive too, what is your take on this, what are the types of internships one should aim to do when they’re in college?

Swapnil:Five years back, this trend wasn’t there with so much speed and weight. People would just go through the mandatory internships as part of their curriculums. The way it exists today is a great opportunity.  Everyone should utilize them well and experiment as much as possible. Work like a slave and don’t buy comfort for these times, and get into good organizations where you can really squeeze the expertise out of your trainer. Even in vacations when it is not mandatory to train with someone, cash in on the opportunities floating. There are a number of fellowships and internships in the market. I shot a film while working with an Ad firm during one of my summers, worked on scheduling using CPM and PERT for a construction company, and headed a marketing team in another one. So basically if you give your hard work to it, people are going to love you. It might sound silly, but please don’t ever let the issue of stipend being more or less bog you down at least as UG students.

Your sector of work, could you shed some light, what’s expected, what’s the USP and trends?

Swapnil:I am a bit confused about what really is my sector. Some people say it is non-profit, others tell me that it is operations management, while some say that I am into sales. I think that I’m an entrepreneur and my sector is enterprise.

The biggest USP of my sector is fast growth, leadership position right at the start and a taste of how the world works. Right now I’m heading, if I can put it the way it is, a team unleashing a national movement. It’s not at all true that for doing good work, you have to earn less. Why should I not pay myself more if I am doing good work?

The trend is also fast changing and for good. The ideology of charity is evolving into one that is supported by Enterprise. Social as well as business investors are looking forward to put the money into self-sustaining, and even revenue generating enterprises. Even with CSR, there is a greater chance of winning an investment for a plan that is focused on generating social wealth, as a result of business activities, and is sustainable. A great example would be that of a young man starting an ambulance service in a small town – doing great service while keeping it profitable.

Alright sir, ending it with some words of wisdom from the “expert of infecting the young with the enterprise virus”, what’s the career advice you would like to give to the undergrads of today?

Swapnil:I want to dispense a very simple piece of advice. You’re an undergrad; you’ll be about 22 to 24 years of age when you will graduate. Say you want to start up and put in all your energies into something for the first 5 years of your career. It’s certain you’ll learn a lot, definitely much more than a guy in a cubicle somewhere, and if you fail, you’ll learn even more. And after five years, how old will you be? 27! That’s it! And if you don’t feel like continuing, you can write your management entrances, join a college and get back into the corporate world. The corporate world is going to love you for your enterprise and the very fact that you failed will bring great opportunities on the table.

So my message is that at 22-23 years, as an undergrad you have nothing to lose and only way in life is upward. The huge pay packages at the start of the career are just expressions of mirages.

Having said that, I understand that, for many of us, there are obligations towards our parents. Well, as long as you earn something and can support them a little, they’ll be happy, for they’ve invested in you and it’s important that you find a job you like.

However, I am against the nagging parents who have a mindset of comparing based on successes of others. You should be strong enough to respectfully challenge them by saying that it’s your individuality at stake here, not that of others. At the end of the day, make your parents a part of your team, and possess risk-taking, shrewd bent of mind when you work. It is needed.

Do listen to this song by Buz Luhrman; it is called ‘Everybody is free (to wear sunscreen)’. It has some great insights for people passing out from colleges.

Check out Jagriti Yatra 2011 to find out more about the Yatra this year and apply for it!

Follow these Links to know more about Swapnil:

http://www.jagritiyatra.com/ngo/

http://twitter.com/#!/Swapnildixit

http://in.linkedin.com/pub/swapnil-dixit/4/b88/346

The Expert Speak series features successful individuals who have made an outstanding impact in their respective professions. Powered by Twenty19, this series aims to bring out their influences and insights which can be shared with the students to guide them towards making the right career choice. You can nominate an expert who you want to be featured here.