Together we can

A young duo, Vaibhav Jaiswal (23) and Amardeep Bardhan (22) believe entrepreneurs are born and not made. They didn't spend sleepless nights cramming management lessons or discussed avenues abroad over a cuppa coffee. The two prioritised what they wanted to achieve in life and how. The answers rolled out, one after the other. Vaibhav who is originally from Varanasi, UP met Amardeep in the business school where both are studying for their final year. "I wanted to start an enterprise that wouldn't harm the ecological balance. I met Amardeep from Assam who had a similar idea. We explored the options and concluded what we wanted," he says looking at Amardeep for a nod. Amardeep takes over talking about the product that gets them the first prize. "Both of us had participated in many business competitions before. BYST was something different. They not only offered us assistance in terms of counseling, their mentors gave us a good hearing, taking us through the entire process of how the idea would materialise."

Areca nut Leaves Kitchen ware and decorative gift items is what the duo plans to come up with. How and why, they explain. "Industrialsation has left us yearning for time when we would eat food on banana leafs. We thought on the similar lines and came up with the idea of making plates and other household items out of Areca nut leaf," they echo.

A business enterprise is suppose to serve three purposes- it would offer a win-win situation for the initiator, company and society. Vaibhav and Amardeep's business idea does just that. "Disposable plates prepared from the leaves are eco-friendly, odourless, bio degradedable and can be used in refrigerator and microwave.

This is something called an idea, which business schools cannot provide or can they? Provides Vaibhav, "Degree can only enhance capability but it cannot gift you with an idea. It can provide the basic knowledge to strategize, understand market, but it definitely cannot make an entrepreneur out of a regular B school students," says this young lad, who admires Ratan Tata for his leadership abilities.

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