BW Businessworld Disrupt, an inaugural event launched by the Business World magazine, celebrates achievers who are disrupting the field of entrepreneurship under 40. BWBusiness World recently honoured Tanuj Shori, CEO of Square Yards, with Achiever of the year for ‘40 under 40”. He was unanimously chosen by the jury as one be the most powerful young leaders of the year in the Startup space. In an exclusive interview to the magazine, Tanuj explains the idea that led to the creation of Square Yards, the importance of seamless execution and pushing the boundaries of excellence. He also has some critical business advice for budding entrepreneurs planning to venture into. Here’s the full text of his interview: Success mantra: Strategy is an overrated concept. What sets apart a leader or an organisation from the rest of the pack is execution and the people behind that execution. Excellence in execution and that burning passion to always do more and push the envelope even further has been instrumental in my success as an entrepreneur and in the success of the Square Yards’ team. The driving force behind your journey : It was our personal experience with the asymmetry that existed in the Indian real estate market that led us to start Square Yards. To add, we were truly nonplussed at how huge this market opportunity was and no one had tried organising the industry. From that initial stage, through our growth journey, the motivation and the driving force continues to evolve with the business. Business advice: Chasing money will only take you so far, but if the foundation of your business is based on creating a real change, your success is guaranteed. Tips for budding entrepreneurs: Treat starting out on your own as you would treat a new job. Remember whether you are your own boss or working under someone, you are fully responsible for profile, deliverables and profitability. Government support: Specific to real estate, the introduction of RERA has given a redressal mechanism to the average Indian home buyer, which was missing in the country so far. RERA has the potential to be a game changer, and consolidate the fragmented industry. I believe much more could be done, and single most important step could be opening up of debt capital markets. The government should look at rejigging various tax regulations for first few years of operations. For real estate sector as whole, long term capital gains tax has to be relooked at, as current slabs of 20 per cent (one of the highest in the world) deincentivises long-term holdings and promotes cash transactions. The team: It is all about people. If one has the right set of people who don’t just have a great skill set but are also highly enthused with the vision of the organisation, I would say half the battle is won.
Focus on Creating a Real Change, says Tanuj Shori on Business World Magazine
