IIM-L?s nifty nine out to make history

DARING TO be different, they have made history of sorts and signed out  of IIM-L placements with the aim of setting up their own organisations and being their own boss.

These nine postgraduate programme (PGP) II students of the institute are now being discussed with respect by their teachers and colleagues alike. Like most of their colleagues, they could have started their careers as managers of globally reputed firms and settled into cushy, air-conditioned managerial cabins. There would have been no dearth of takers. After all, IIM-L placement week is on. And it is a time when top-of-the-line companies make a beeline to recruit the best brains.

Six of them, all post graduate programme (PGP) II students—Zerin Rahiman, Dr Anoop Radhakrishnan, Sandeep Ramesh, Shivakumar, Yayati Boruah and Abhisar Gupta—have decided to float Indigo Edge, a company that will deal with the less travelled, but potentially viable field of medical tourism, along with doing consultancy for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Zerin says, “The field of medical tourism has huge possibilities in the country. A heart surgery costs about Rs 40 lakh in the US. In India, the cost is about Rs 4 lakh. India is an attractive tourist destination, too.”

The response of several foreigners and leading hospitals of the country, whom they have already contacted, has been encouraging.

Sandeep, another key Indigo Edge member, adds, “What’s more, we have the necessary expertise and the IIM label.”

Indigo Edge, whose web domain indigoedge.com has already been booked, will become a registered company by mid-April with its headquarters in Bangalore.

Satyajit Sadanandan has a different passion—football. He was a national-level footballer before joining IIM-L, besides having the experience of producing detergent powder and setting up a supermarket in Vadodara, Gujarat, under the label of Providence. It was a startup, he, along with a few others, formed way back. 

He is likely to embark on a trip to Europe on the invite of some prominent football coaches of global repute in April.

During his tour, he plans to learn modern techniques in football, besides understanding the art of generating funds to financially sustain those who often face pecuniary problems after their playing days.

He said, “Actually, even when we produced detergents and set up a supermarket store, the idea was the same: Generate funds and pump them in to create football awareness.” His colleague at IIM-L, Tuhina Singh, is backing the dream. Jaya Jha, among the toppers of the present PGP II batch, too, is expected to pursue her passion and take an independent route to professional success. Confidence and passion were never so well defined.