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Starting Up Tips from Fmr GE, Wipro exec Vivek Paul

The Corporate Exec-turned PE Investor-turned Startup founder has some insightful tips in an article appearing in Economic Times.

Keep your own counsel
Before I joined Wipro, I used to run GE's global CT scanner business. I made a big bet on a breakthrough technology while at that job. Everybody I asked for advice told me not to venture into it. I listened to their reasons. I then gave a solution to every reason that was raised. By doing this, I became confident. What I learnt most through this was that you can seek suggestions from everybody, but keep your own counsel.  

Envision the future
My stint at Wipro taught me to envision the future. This is not because you want to live in a fantasy land. You can actually work backwards to figure out what you need to do today to build that future. You also need to inspire others. It is not enough that only you have this belief. Everybody else needs to have that belief. It is not just empty words. You need to translate this into action.  

Plan for success
Another lessons that I learnt was to plan for success, as much as for failure. When success comes your way, you should not feel that you were not ready for it -- that your system cannot match that scale, or you were not able to figure out how to hire so many people while retaining the company culture. It is about making sure that when success does smile your way, you are ready for it.  

Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of data and analysis on private equity, venture capital and M&A deals in India. Click Here to learn about Venture Intelligence products that help entrepreneurs reach out effectively to the investing community.

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