We recently interviewed yet another change maker Dr Sarika Kulkarni – Founder At RAAH Foundation, She shared with us how she is making a difference in the lives of people through her various initiatives. Dr Sarika Kulkarni is a passionate social entrepreneur and a thought leader. Let’s read more about her interesting entrepreneurial journey and her advice for those who want to start out!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with her!
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey, please;
After a PhD in management, I started my professional journey as a professor in a Business school teaching logistics and operations management. A chance to start an ITES company in 2001 made me an entrepreneur. I was on my maternity leave. Coming from a non-entrepreneurial family, I was extremely overwhelmed initially with the responsibilities and the opportunity. I soon quit my job and became a full-time entrepreneur and started every day of being a job creator.
I sailed through numerous challenges and in less than 10 years became one of the leading ITES companies in Maharashtra employing over 300 employees. We were bought out by one of the leading companies in the space in 2010. The entrepreneurship bug, however, had bitten me hard and I decided to become a social entrepreneur and started Raah foundation in 2010 to create income generation opportunities for the underprivileged.
The program has now evolved and Raah Foundation takes an integrated, holistic approach to tribal development that works on core pillars of water, agriculture, environment, women empowerment, health and tribal art revival. I started a for-profit social business Raah creative design to market and sell traditional art products made by the tribal artisans. Both organisations are growing rapidly and creating the desired impact and changing lives and altering destinies.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a job?
While I became an entrepreneur by chance, I am convinced this is what I always wanted to do. I love being a job creator a change maker. Entrepreneurship gives me an opportunity to create wealth which in turn allows me to contribute to nation-building. As a social entrepreneur, my work involves addressing some of the most pressing problems our country is facing today and I would always choose this journey.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
When we started working in the tribal belt of Maharashtra in addressing some of the most pressing problems we saw the poor condition of war artisans who were quitting the profession to work on construction sites due to their inability to find a market for their handmade and hand-painted warli artwork. There were very few artisans left and it was important to provide them with market linkages to not only preserve the art form but importantly put back the art form into their hands. This is how Raah Creative Designs, a social business to market tribal traditional art products was started.
How do you manage to work on both your ‘purpose’ and ‘for-profit enterprises’ at the same time?
Raah Foundation and Raah Creative Designs are a hybrid model that work together to create a lasting and sustainable change. While Raah Foundation addresses all the social problems by taking a holistic integrated view of development and creates a better world for the tribals, Raah Creative Designs provides income generation opportunities without them having to migrate and provides that necessary fillip to put the tribals on a virtuous cycle of growth and development. Essentially they together work in a mutually exclusive and exhaustive manner to achieve the desired sustainable change and thereby also preserve our tribal cultural heritage. It is of course enormously challenging to be at the helm of two fast-growing enterprises and time and priority management becomes the key.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
An ability and an opportunity to increase the footprint of my impact gets me out of bed each day. There is so much to do and the fact that I feel I have barely scratched the surface gets me out of bed each day.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
Business is synonymous with challenges and as an entrepreneur, I face challenges each day. Our production depends on the artists who have their moods and fancies. The biggest challenge is hence to manage the production. Sales, marketing, working capital are all some of the regularly faced challenges.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
My work dictates that while I am emotional about my work, I know very well that I cannot accomplish my goals without the necessary money.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
Spending time with family, friends – my children, my dogs keeps me going. The smile I get to see on the faces of my beneficiaries helps me manage the pressure. Taking holidays at regular intervals, meditation and a relaxing exercise routine help me keep sane.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
Constant learning, reading and networking with the right people and travelling has helped me grow as a person. Another quality that I have developed over the years is listening skills. I have gained a lot and has grown as a person due to great listening skills I have cultivated over the years.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Having a 360 degrees view of the situation and your life is an important key to success. Be constantly aware of your business, your strategy, people around, opportunities, threats, challenges and always have plan B and C ready. Importantly take things in your stride, come what may.
What does it take to make a career in social entrepreneurship?
Empathy, compassion, willingness to work/ live in any circumstances and a huge self-belief that despite all challenges and obstacles there is always hope. While there may be less money, more challenges as compared to a corporate career, the satisfaction levels and happiness quotient that comes from positively making a difference to lives is huge which offsets everything else. This sector needs lots of young minds as there are lots to do and the problems are getting more challenging and complicated than ever before and needs a very different approach and a completely different mindset and skillsets which requires a lot of young professionals and passionate young minds.
What advice would you give to someone starting out particularly women?
While it is important to take a calculated step, too much thinking and discussions with people always either delays the start or completes puts brakes on the dreams to start on one’s own. This is especially true with women as they also are forced to think about their family, children, home etc. Hence my sincere advice is to start – go for it and be firm on your decision and let passion and your talent and your skills dictate your journey.
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