Ex-Starcom head Ravi Kiran dons a new hat

Announces a growth advisory focused in 'middle India' along with three partners from corporate sector

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | November 25, 2011

Ravi Kiran, former CEO - South East & South Asia for Starcom MediaVest Group, has moved out of advertising to start a business advisory along with three partners from the ad and coporate world. He has just announced the birth of what is arguably India's first growth advisory company focused on businesses in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns that aims to transform 100 ambitious enterprises in ten years.

Named Friends of Ambition, the advisory will work closely with ambitious enterprises and guide them to achieve their growth goals over a three- to five- year period. Out of a total estimated 35 million MSMEs in India as defined by the Ministry of MSME, the company reckons an addressable market of 51,000 firms in 62 identified towns.

Besides Kiran, the advisory has been established by Suhail Kazmi, former President - Retail Banking & Wealth Management, Yes Bank, Sanjay Barkataki, former India CFO - Publicis Groupe Media, andSubodh Srivastav, former COO - Idea Cellular and MTS. All four opted out of their respective corporate leadership positions between February and December 2010 and founded the venture in July 2011.

Said Kiran, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, “It is our belief that businesses in middle India have a real opportunity to drive the next few decades of dramatic growth in economic value and societal impact. We are strongly inspired by their aspirations, which have risen manifold over the years. At the same time, we have observed a palpable feeling of helplessness and growing frustration.”

Added Suhail Kazmi, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, “The frustration arises mostly out of a real access gap that exists today between middle India and metro India, which forces most business owners to scale down their ambitions. They feel an acute deficit in access to talent, managerial and functional expertise and private capital, which is available more easily to enterprises in the big cities.”

It is this access gap that the company will attempt to bridge in its endeavor to nurture and fuel the dreams of ambitious enterprises. Besides providing a very active, hands-on advisory service and helping implement decisions and strategy, the company will also provide its clients with a growth ecosystem, built on a powerful network of partners under the umbrella of Allies of Ambition, a network comprising several top-notch firms. Friend of Ambition is currently engaged with three clients and 11 alliance partners.

Said Subodh Srivastav, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, “Our allies are an integral part of our value delivery model. We believe their expertise, combined with our guidance, and real world experience in scaling businesses, will work powerfully for our clients.This is classic gestalt effect – the whole being bigger than the sum of parts.”

Said Sanjay Barkataki, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, “We reject the tag of SME. That phrase, no matter how popular and easy-on-tongue, insults ambition rather than respecting it. We describe our client segment as REMI – Rising Enterprises of Middle India, a phrase we find significantly more aspirational and dignified.”

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