Chatterjee’s Learning Initiation

Choice is a luxury of the privilege. May be. But it’s definitely the best way to make smarter decisions that often yield beneficial results. So it was not a surprise when Sudeshna Chatterjee, the founder of i-Initiate Learning, an organisation to contribute to our country’s growing need for skilled manpower made the smart choice to quit her high-profile job to start her own enterprise.

A masters in English, an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad and a few internships later, Chatterjee bagged a job at British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata. What followed was an interesting nine years, rising through the ranks to become a Trade & Investment Advisor for UK Trade & Investment. She then left the British Deputy High Commission to become the director – South Asia for Bournville College, UK.

In an exclusive chat with Baishali Mukherjee, Chatterjee speaks about her successful entrepreneurial journey.

 

The inception

The idea of i-Initiate struck me as I was completing my final years at IMT. The basic questions like ‘what, how, when,’ kept swirling within me. It took me a while but I finally made a leap of faith in May 2015. i-Initiate is basically about an individual who is willing to take the initiative to improve the quality of his/her life through learning, applying and ultimately achieving success. i-Initiate therefore focuses on the areas of skill development and education, both with government and private partners.

I had always wanted to be my own boss and I was soon on the journey. I felt that working for someone else restricted my freedom and initiatives, more importantly. Finally, with perseverance, love, grit, a supportive family and a great team I made it happen.

The journey so far

As a first-generation entrepreneur I have been very fortunate to receive guidance from people with diverse experiences but I have chosen an independent path. My city, Kolkata, was also very supportive of my new initiative and appreciated my idea zealously. The city has a very cosmopolitan outlook which allows you to thrive. We have very good mentors that could help in the incubation period with valuable insights. What I would like to see change is in the ease of doing business in Bengal. However, challenges are there for women entrepreneurs who have to brave the perception of patriarchal mind-set towards them. The moment we defy or deviate from societal expectations we are frowned upon. Then there are always issues such as unequal pay, harassment, lack of career opportunities, among others.

Challenges for startups also include availability of growth capital. I have addressed that largely through out-of-the-box approaches, maintaining a lean organization and strategic partnerships.

I have worked hard in a smart way by making smart choices. Working smart is all about making the right choice, taking the right decision. You still have to work hard to take those choices, those decisions to fruition. Successful individuals have worked hard and made smart choices to reach where they are. I tried to follow that mantra!

 

What it takes to be an entrepreneur

There are two things that really could influence someone to start their own ventures – opportunity and readiness. Others are:

 

If you believe in your idea, take the leap

Networking works wonder

Don’t be too proud to take help

Don’t try to do everything yourself, delegate

Maintain a healthy work life balance

A dawn breaking

More and more women are becoming entrepreneurs. We work with government departments in skilling and empowering women frequently. We find women, even from the marginalised sections breaking the shackles and starting their own ventures. These are inspiring stories and they in turn encourage more women to become entrepreneurs. Today the environment is very supportive of women professionals/entrepreneurs. The age-old mind-sets are slowly but surely changing. Incentives are better. Maternity leave has been raised recently. The time is now!

What is your take on strategies or initiatives that could help young people achieve their true potential? Please put in your comments.

 

Comments are closed.