"Mansion
of
Glass'
by
KG
Gupta
of
GKB
group,
a
simply
written
book,
but
one
that
captures
the
essence
of
entrepreneurship,
BLOOD
SWEAT
TEARS
and
a
sense
of
achievement,
before
the
next
cycle
starts.
The
author
traces
the
trajectory
of
the
company
started
50
years
ago.
At
no
time
will
the
author
who
started
the
company
inform
you
that
he
has
reached
his
goal.
As
the
51st
year
rolls
on
he
sees
the
next
generation
striving
to
attain
greater
market
dominance
through
better
technology
and
improved
quality
standards.
All
this
for
a
product
already
acknowledged
as
the
world
leader.
So
what
is
this
animal
called ENTREPRENEURSHIP that
so
many
want
to
ride,
that
I
decided
to
mount
although
reluctantly
fifteen
years
ago.
By
GOD's
grace,
hard
work,
a
great
team
and
a
market
I
am
still
in
the
saddle.
Market
though
mentioned
last
is
in
no
way
the
least,
it
is
the
reason
the
world
needs
Entrepreneurs.
As
I
grew
up
in
Mumbai
in
the
70's
my
parents
knew
who
my
friends
were.
It
was
simple,
they
lived
in
the
same
building
or
the
next.
We
played
games
together
so
they
had
a
clear
visual.
Today
parents
cannot
rely
totally
on
a
visual
to
know
who
is
their
kids
friend,
they
could
be
anywhere
in
the
world,
using
an
internet
connection
and
a
software
called
face
book,
even
playing
together
has
a
different
connotation,
it
could
be
in
cyberspace
separated
by
1000's
of
miles
of
physical
space.
Markets
have
developed
similarly.
Earlier
you
picked
your
daily
needs
from
the
shops
around
the
TINTO,
for
your
weekly
needs
you
went
a
little
further,
the
closest
town.
For
Christmas
you
took
a
trip
to
Mumbai
if
you
lived
in
GOA.
Today
the
concept
of
market
is
topsy
turvy.
Anything
is
available
anywhere.
There
are
multiple
choices
for
everything.
It
appears
there
is
a
market
for
any
product,
anytime.
In
KG
Gupta's
story
he
went
from
selling
glass
lenses
in
Agra
to
plastic
lenses
all
over
the
world.
You
will
also
hear
that
while
he
sold
lenses
others
selling
similar
products
fell
by
the
wayside.
This,
phenomena
where
one
entrepreneur
succeeds
in
the
market
and
another
fails
is
due
to
another
ferocious
and
unusual
animal
called
the
CUSTOMER.
I
went
twice
to
business
school,
once
in
Pune,
Institute
of
Management
Development
and
Research
and
the
second
time
after
a
few
years
of
work
experience,
Asian
Institute
of
Management,
Manila.
Therefore
as
an
MBA,
I
have
a
bagful
of
definitions,
but
it
is
in
the
school
of
hard
knocks
that
the
following
definition became
real.
I
think
it
is
the
best
and
very
simple.....U...yes,
a
customer
is
YOU.
Confused.
Consider
this
example.
You
go
to
a
store
to
buy
a
Rs
5/-
packet
of
biscuits.
The
shop
keeper
opens
a
dusty
showcase
and
pulls
out
a
dusty
packet
of
biscuits.
He
passes
it
to
you.
Will
you
take
the
packet
pay
the
Rs
5/-
and
leave
happily?
Most
likely
you
will
ask
the
shop
keeper
to
check
if
he
has
a
fresh
packet
(meaning
clean),
despite
the
fact
that
you
will
not
eat
the
packaging.
If
he
cannot
offer
you
a
fresh
or
clean
pack
you
will
go
to
another
store.
Will
you
for
a
minute
consider
these
facts:
The
shopkeeper
needs
the
sale,
he
has
a
family
to
feed
or
children
to
school
etc.
and
therefore
buy
the
soiled
packet
of
biscuits?
No
way,
you
want
a
clean
packet
of
biscuits
despite
the
fact
that
the
biscuits
inside
taste
the
same
irrespective
of
the
dust
outside
(assuming
the
packet
is
well
within
the
best
before
date).
You
are
spending
your
hard
earned
money,
never
mind
if
it
is
a
measly
five
bucks,
you
want
a
bank
for
every
buck.
You
have
just
defined
quality
as
not
just
the
taste
of
the
biscuit
but
also
the
cleanliness
of
the
wrapping.
Did
we
hear
you
ask
the
shopkeeper
for
a
"CLEAN
PACKET
OF
TASTY
BISCUITS"?
If
for
five
bucks
you
are
so
finicky
can
you
imagine
what
you
will
do
as
the
value
of
the
product
you
buy
increases.
Think
about
it,
the
customer
is
no
more
someone
out
there
locked
up
in
a
definition,
the
customer
is
YOU.
So
there
we
have
identified
the
animal
who
will
make
or
break
a
market,
YOU.
In
my
mind
the
first
person
an
entrepreneur
must
satisfy
is
himself.
Would
he
accept
the
product/service
he
intends
to
market?
We
will
talk
more
on
these
lines,
send
me
your
feedback.
I
will
respond
based
on
my
own
experience
of
building
a
plastic
rotomoulding
business
from
scratch
and
taking
our
brand
"SHAKTI"
from
unheard
to
sounds
familiar.....but
a
long
way
to
go.
(This is the first of the series published in Business Goa)
