"Avoid Mind Blocks & Artificial Boundaries" - Pandia Rajan & Latha Rajan of Ma Foi

Cross Posted from the Venture Intelligence Entrevista blog:

Latha Rajan & K. Pandia Rajan of Ma Foi ( Bios)

In conversation with K. Satyanarayan, Co-founder of regional language publishing firm New Horizon Media. (Recorded on August 15, 2012 in Chennai.)

Highlights:

Takeaways for Other Entrepreneurs: (Click on the links for the video segments)

• Don't add artificial constraints when it comes to entrepreneurship
  
  KPR: Separating home and work, politics & business - we tend to have many boundaries where none need to exist. These are Western notions and mind blocks that we can revisit.
  
  Being a Husband-Wife Entrepreneur Combination was never a major hassle for us. In fact, as Latha says often, we would have probably fallen apart but for Ma Foi!
  
  Latha Rajan: In the early days, he used to travel 25 days a month and I used to travel 10 days a month. But since I was there within the system, I could understand (the pressures and issues). Both of us knew what we were working towards.
  
  Entrepreneurship has given me a lot of flexibility mentally. I used to take my daughter and son to office if it was required. In fact, the 30th day after my son was born, I was in the office and I took him along.
  

• Employees as Members: Everyone who joins Ma Foi is referred to as a "member" (as against an employee).
  
  Latha Rajan: "Employee sounds so transient".
  
  Even if someone leaves the organization (as an employee), he/she still remains a Ma Foi member (and hence an ambassador for the firm).

• Innovation in funding: Converted the company into a public limited one very early and raised small amounts from over 275 well wishers, employees & ex-employees and clients. Made sure to pay the shareholders a decent dividend each year. (Ma Foi paid 20% "religiously".)
  

• Vision and Values; Transparent Measurement

• Growth, Diversity, Transparency and Integrity
  Everyone knew how much everyone else was producing

• Role of Scale, Scope & Depth
  

• Decision making structure
  Management through "Operating Board, Management Council and Institutional Member" meetings
  
  
• Don't seek valuation ahead of value creation

Other Highlights (The Journey & Lighter Moments)

• The Early Days: "Our Aspirations always exceeded our resources"

• Ma Foi the name
  


• Struggle for Early Stage & Bank Funding
  Banks would fund someone with 20 Buffaloes rather than a business like HR Services with 20 MBAs. "Buffaloes won't run away, but your people might. Then what happens to the collateral?"
  
  
• Early Employees: They joined us to co-create Ma Foi; not to earn a living

• Defining the Roles: "I earned and she spent"


• VC Funding, online dreams & dotcom crash


• Sale to Vedior


• Vision for Ma Foi Strategy ("Ma Foi Version 6")
  Leveraging the Triad of Consulting, Research & Education to Create a "Big 5" League Consulting firm out of India
  

The Full Length Interview Video

Video Of The Q&A Session

Click Here to Download The Full Interview Audio Podcast - 69 minutes, 32 MB. Use Right Click & Save As to download to your desktop

Click Here to Download the Audio of the Q&A session - 8.54 minutes, 4 MB. Use Right Click & Save As to download to your desktop

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