Gen next: The hidden leaders

One of them has actually succeeded in turning the tide of paper cheques that threatened to overwhelm clearing houses. He operates in cyberspace. Another prefers the physical product—the company she set up makes 2.5 lakh buns a day. Yes, you read that right. A third has created a service that will give you the contact details of the first two firms for free, if you were to call up a number.

They are India Inc’s new middle-class—not consumers but those finding new and innovative ways to cater to consumer demands. They are entrepreneurs who combine the energy of a start-up with the confidence of a big businessman.

They are the hidden leaders. Each one of them has either scale, or a unique business model, or a unique competitive advantage (or all of these). They are Gen Next, next not in the sense of the third generation of a venerable business family, but that they do things differently, inventing a new sector (iYogi and online tech support for individual PC users) or giving an existing one a new twist (Patu Keswani’s Lemon Tree hotels, which attract five-star clients with four-star prices).

And, as Prof S. Manikutty of the IIM Ahmedabad observes, not only did they succeed in creating a niche for themselves, but some actually succeeded in driving out the vintage families from their businesses.

Business Today went out to round up a sample, looking for two things: the company should be bigger and with a lower risk profile than a start-up, and it should not be a mature business with a stately growth rate.

We looked for people who had made it on their own, without fear or favour. B-School stamps did not matter (as the Cremica story will show). Nor did we go looking for just sexy products (roads are not sexy, but putting up a toll gate is, as IRB Infrastructure realised).

As Technopak Advisors Chairman Arvind Singhal points out, this new “middle class” of entrepreneurs is in many ways, more “genuine” than their counterparts of yore since most of them are starting out in a field that is much more level than ever.

Out of the handful of 25 names gathered, BT chose to profile 10. Obviously there are many more: this is just a platter.

And this is not all that is about Gen Next. In future issues, BT also plans to profile the Gen Next as most people understand the term—the successful inheritors of established groups. Then may be a Gen Next listing of entrepreneurs who set foot in the global markets from the day one. But for now, turn over to India Inc’s emerging middle-class.