Samir Allawadi, a young boy with the zest to live life and live it in a way that puts everybody in awe. He dreamt big and was sure that his dreams would come true. It is this belief that made him take on every problem, headlong. He believes he is the only one who has the key to his success.
Born in Hisar and brought up in Surat, he completed his Chemical Engineering from Gujarat University in the year 1998. By this time, he had identified an independent streak in himself and knew he could not work for anybody and was born to carve a niche for himself as an entrepreneur. He decided to pursue formal training in entrepreneurship.
When Samir first broached the idea of becoming an entrepreneur to his family, they tried to dissuade him by citing the risks associated with entrepreneurship, and pitting these against advantages of an administrator’s life. But Samir was determined, he asked his parents to allow him sometime to prove his worth as an entrepreneur. They could not be convinced and continued highlighting the insecurities associated with the profession; however, Samir refused to budge. His sixth sense told him that he was on the right track.
Samir wanted to learn before venturing out but had no idea about existence of a course specially on entrepreneurship. He believed that an MBA degree would equip him sufficiently and thus started preparations for Common Admission Test as well as other management entrance exams. During all this, through one of his friends, he learnt about EDII. He did his research and finally enrolled for the EDII’s Post Graduate Diploma in Business Entrepreneurship and Management in the year 1998, after clearing the entrance exam.
“I remember I hadn’t slept the entire night thinking how the new college would be and whether my decision would prove right or not. The whole night was spent twisting and turning in the bed but the next morning when I entered the college, my anxiety instantly vanished. Something seemed to be telling me that I was at the right place.” Samir dedicatedly attended classes, seminars and workshops and regularly interacted with faculty. “The lectures, activities, group discussions, and training sessions, inside and outside classroom, gave me a sound understanding of life and business,” says Samir.
Samir remembers how EDII gave him several opportunities to showcase his new found skills, learn more through interactions with practioners and get exposed to a world of business opportunities.
During his course duration at EDII, Samir toyed with several business ideas. After deliberations and enquiries into market potential, Samir settled on organic food product business and decided to float a partnership firm. Samir floated a company that offered a range of organic and locally grown products to customers. These were chemical and preservative free groceries and eco- friendly body care products. As a first-of-its-kind, his company also introduced organic bakery products. But as fate would have it, despite all the ground work that had gone into it, Samir could not sustain his business. Being organic and especially curated for customers, his products were slightly higher priced than those in the market and for this reason he went into huge financial losses.
As Samir puts it, “I had experienced financial loss of Rs. one crore. This had shattered me completely. I remember the times when I had to sell even my furniture as I didn’t even have enough to buy groceries.”. He consulted EDII faculty and was counselled appropriately. He learnt how entrepreneurship is filled with unexpected challenges, failures and sacrifices but these definitely came with a solution. His mentors showed him the path.
Samir rose back stronger and wiser. He, once again, pulled up his socks and started scanning the environment for opportunities and this time at every step he was more cautious, sought expert advice and left nothing to random calculations. All his decisions were carefully evaluated and assessed. He founded Utkarsh Agrochem Pvt Ltd. This company started growing from strength to strength and today it is one of the leading manufacturers in non- toxic biological, plant extract, chelated and PGR based products. Gradually his company also started importing different kinds of fertilizers, plant growth regulators and various products for getting different results like root formation, healthy growth of leaves, excellent flowering etc. Today his company has 80 variety of products ranging from biofertilizers, plant growth regulators, composting cultures etc. Samir’s products are sold through well- established dealers’ network like Amazon, IndiaMart, TradeIndia etc.
Samir has come a long way. Reflecting over his past, he says, “My failures taught me the best lessons of my life. I was over ambitious and ignored certain critical assessments. The journey has been amazing; from closing a loss making company to owning a profit –making, progressive enterprise. People are appreciating my products and giving me five-star ratings. But trust me picture abhi baki hai dost!!!!”
Samir signs off with a message to budding entrepreneurs, “Success comes through ambition, hard work, ethics, inspiration and motivation. So, take the plunge and never shy away from taking risks.
