ABP Ideas of India | 'Adaptability Is Key': Businessmen Harsha Vardhan Agarwal And Kulin Shah Thrash Out Legacy Vs Start-Up Debate

In conversation with Chetan Sharma during the session Agarwal and Shah have shared their opinions in running a legacy business and start-up on Day 1 of ABP Ideas of India summit

Harsha Vardhan Agarwal (middle), vice-chairman and managing director, designate of Emami Ltd, and Kulin Shah (left), co-founder, Onsurity, were at the ABP News Idea of India summit in Mumbai on Friday. Image: ABP Live

Mumbai: Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, vice-chairman and managing director, Emami Ltd, and Kulin Shah, co-founder, Onsurity, a leading employee healthcare platform for small businesses, may not share the same business background, but have one thing in common — their business acumen.

Agarwal, who heads Emami, one of India’s leading FMCG companies, comes from a legacy business that was started by his father Radheshyam Agarwal and his friend RS Goenka way back in the 1970s. Shah's Onsurity is a start-up, which was launched in May 2020 during the time of Covid-19.

Both were present at ABP Network's Ideas of India Summit 2022 that got underway in Mumbai on Friday, and spoke on their entrepreneurial drive.

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In conversation with senior journalist Chetan Sharma, who chaired the session titled 'Legacy vs Start-ups: Building on the Past or Reinventing the Future?', the two entrepreneurs stressed that nothing can be achieved easily, whether you are a start-up or inherit a legacy business. 

Adaptability In Business

There is no place of complacency in a business. “No organisation, no business leader should enter into complacency. Times are changing, needs are changing too. It is very important for us to forecast the future. We have to embrace the change and move forward. Companies like us can’t be complacent. As a company, we are comfortable and at the same time we are agile and adaptable,” said Agarwal.

Shah, who co-founded Onsurity, said legacy is the mother of all disruptions.

Family-Run Business & Professionalism

The legacy business, which is mostly called a family-run business, has its pros and cons, Agarwal said. “Family doesn’t mean we have the right to manage the firm. In a family-run business, the difference between ownership and management is tricky. However, right professionalism between ownership and management can balance the two. The right balance of professionalism and family ownership can grow the business much faster, but one has to keep these two things separate,” he said.

In reply, Shah pointed out: “Any new business is on a tightrope, you have limited resource, time. If you don't act fast, you are definitely doomed, you need to keep optimising, learning, optimising as fast as you can.”

Failure Is A Way Of Learning

How hard-hitting is failure in a business?. Both the panellists were of the opinion that failure is actually a learning curve.

“Fear of failure is always there…for any organisation. We need to learn from failures. Only with failures you learn, rectify, and proceed and don’t repeat the mistakes,” Agarwal said, adding that a lot of things are at risk in a larger organisation. Hence, that fear of failure reduces flexibility. It is important that without giving up flexibility how organisations adapt to changing needs.

Shah said that one needs to keep on learning as fast as he can from failures.

Team Building

Building the right team in a business is vital. “Sometimes the trust factor comes into the scene. For any new organisation, building the right team is the key to success. Hence, having the right people in the right organisation is important,” said Shah.

Agarwal, who comes from a legacy business, expressed similar views.

Staying Wealthy Or Becoming Wealthy?

“Nothing comes easy. Staying wealthy and becoming wealthy; both have their own challenges,” Harsha Vardhan Agarwal said when asked if it is easier to get wealthy or stay wealthy.

Shah said: “It’s all about perspective. It’s a continuous journey… a process. We are always on the journey of getting wealthy, not staying wealthy.”

ABP Network’s two-day 'Wild Stone presents Ideas of India' Summit will have thought leaders from various fields — culture, sports and cinema to technology, business and politics — talk about the journey of India so far. 

Among the keynote speakers at the ABP Ideas of India on Friday were Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi, innovator Sonam Wangchuk, and motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das. Saturday's session will see renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, and West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar share their vision.