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Gaurav Porwal
Class of 2010
Co-Founder and Director, Sparsh Nephrocare
Current Occupation: Co-Founder & Director, Sparsh Nephrocare, Hyderabad
Sector: Healthcare
Work Experience: 6 years (3.5 years in FMCG, 2.5 years in Healthcare)
Interests: Organisational psychology, social work, ghazal singing and sports - specifically swimming, tennis and running.
Can you tell us a little about your family background/ history?
My family hails from the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh (the bastion of Mulayam Singh Yadav). My father has been an engineer with the Merchant Navy for the past 40 years, and my mother is a homemaker. I grew up and did my schooling in Kota, Rajasthan. The next stop was IIT Bombay, where I did my B.Tech and M.Tech in Chemical Engineering, after which I joined Procter & Gamble at its Kobe Innovation Centre in Japan as an R&D scientist.
Briefly describe your personal and professional achievements (including recent awards/ special projects)
On the personal front, I’m involved with the IIT Bombay Alumni Association in setting up drinking water plants in rural Andhra Pradesh where the groundwater is highly polluted. We recently launched the first plant at Medak district, which got a lot of press coverage. Pre-ISB when I was in Bangalore, I was involved in setting up computer training centres at nearby villages for underprivileged children. I’m a trained singer and have had the privilege of performing on the radio very early in my life. In fact, it was a ghazal that ensured that my ISB admission interview went smoothly and successfully! Singing is a passion that I still continue to pursue.
Professionally, I’ve won prestigious business plan competitions such as Master Plan (IIMA) and Power of Ideas (Economic Times). My venture has been featured on the popular show “Young Turks” on CNBC TV18. I was the President of the General Management Club while at ISB and received the Torchbearer award for my contributions.
Tell us about your profile pre-ISB, and recap your professional life after ISB, including your career progression.
Pre-ISB, I was involved in product development activities at Procter & Gamble. It was a very unique R&D job where my primary responsibility was to conduct consumer research and also to interact and collaborate with external partners (industry as well as academia) for P&G’s research needs.
Post-ISB, I chose to start my own company in an area that could impact the lives of many people. With that in mind, I ventured into healthcare and conceptualised Sparsh Nephrocare – a chain of dialysis centres focusing on small towns, along with Saurav Panda, my friend from IIT Bombay and batchmate at ISB. Since its launch in 2010, Sparsh Nephrocare has set up more than 20 dialysis centres in its network across the country and is growing fast.
Describe your fondest memory of ISB.
My class at ISB gave me both my life partner and my business partner. That’s something I hold very dear to my heart and I can’t thank ISB enough for it.
In your personal life, how have you changed post-ISB? Do you see yourself doing something differently because you went to ISB? What has left a lasting impression? The two most important changes that occurred after ISB were my clarity of thought and the confidence to go after what I thought was right. I always had a dream of starting my own company, but it was only after ISB that I gained the confidence to take the plunge and be on my own. The exposure at ISB in terms of peer learning, high-quality faculty and industry thought leaders completely changes the way you look at the world and how you choose to respond to it. These experiences help you to look at a problem in many different ways and pursue a solution which best suits your needs.
How do you think ISB has contributed to your career growth?
I would say immensely! First, the academics ensured that I could put together a comprehensive business plan on paper which could be acted upon in a systematic fashion. Second, the network I built helped me in myriad ways to refine my business idea and connect with relevant people in the domain to make the idea a reality. Third, being in Hyderabad, I have the privilege of visiting the campus regularly for interesting events and to build on my learning and networks.
If you have to sum up ISB in one word:
Kaleidoscope.
What was the main highlight of your programme at the ISB?
I always enjoyed listening to and interacting with the industry leaders who regularly visited the campus. One of the really insightful talks I attended was by Manish Sabharwal of Teamlease. It really made me think hard about my life choices and gave me the much needed push towards entrepreneurship
Word of advice for the current class?
Don’t take anything too seriously because everything is overrated.
What was your favourite course/ class at ISB and why?
Managing Teams by Professor Henry Moon. Professor Moon’s unique pedagogical style emanated not just from his academic experience but also from his experience in the armed forces. This made the course very interesting and easy to assimilate.
Was there anyone during your time at ISB who acted as a mentor for you? Tell us a little about this relationship and why it was valuable.
I’ll always remain indebted to Professor Dishan Kamdar for the way he mentored me whenever I faced difficult personal situations. Professor Kamdar helped me to think clearly about my future and to manage the expectations of my family due to my decision to start a venture on my own.
What are the areas in which you can contribute to ISB?
As I am passionate about entrepreneurship, I’ll be very happy to mentor anyone who is interested in setting up their own business. I understand that it is a difficult step for anyone, and as someone who has gone through the highs and lows, I believe that I’m in a good position to advise recent graduates on how they can go about realising their entrepreneurial dreams.
What do you enjoy most about your current career position?
Building a company from scratch is a big responsibility and a great creative exercise. What gives me joy is the freedom to implement my ideas while ensuring that I’m having a positive impact on the lives of many people.
What is the next new thing in the industry or vertical you are working in? Any trends that you can see?
Healthcare in India is going through a very interesting phase. A lot of consolidation is happening, but a lot of strong regional players are also emerging. The market still remains largely fragmented, so it is yet to be seen how consolidation will affect the quality of and access to care. Unfortunately, things don’t move as fast in healthcare as they might in e-commerce or IT. Thus, it will take some time for efforts to fructify although there’ll be corrections ahead owing to massive over investments in areas that are unlikely to give favourable returns. Overall, I think that the industry is in a positive virtuous cycle and people can hope to receive more accessible and affordable healthcare in times to come.