Solstice 2007 was the homecoming of over 350 alumni. The usually quiet and sombre corridors of the ISB buzzed with cheer, laughter, exclamations and chatter. The red and green flowing banners vouched for the festive spirit that stretched across the campus. A medley of fun activities and interactive sessions was organised by the Class of 2008. Mock interviews helped thaw the ice between the old and the new, as alums interacted with the present batch, sharing tips and memories. The alums also interacted with the various professional clubs here at the ISB. An insightful session by alum entrepreneurs, a motivating address by Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the ISB Board, and an update on the school by Savita Mahajan, Associate Dean, helped crystallize many proud moments that the past batches were witness to.

“All of you are at a wonderful confluence of events, and at a time full of opportunities. Gupta addressed the alums at the packed Khemka Auditorium. He urged the students, past and present, to use the capabilities, which they have acquired while at the ISB, and give back to the community. “The earlier you decide to give back, the more fulfilling your careers will be,” he suggested. Gupta also threw light on the future plans of the ISB growth story. “It is a transition time for the School. A time to grow bigger,” he said. Gupta informed that the ISB is set to expand the scope of the school in many areas – one is to broaden and deepen various fields of study at the school. Public policy, public administration, law etc are possible areas of specialization, he suggested.

A live concert by ‘Indian Ocean’ and ‘Musafir’ (the alum band), provided a live-wire tempo to the event. A party, aptly themed ‘the never ending night’, heightened moods, and the crowd wished that this magical moment of coming together never ended. The quintessential inter years sports fight, saw the present batch and the alums vying to be the best, and the bonding kept on getting better.

“The Class 2008 has taken Solstice to a different level,'' says Rohit Kapoor, Class of 2006, now working with the McKinsey at Delhi. “Solstice is a good way to stay connected with the School,'' adds Anuradha Agrawal, Class of 2003. “This memento is special to me,'' she says showing the specially crafted tabletop watch that the Class 2008 presented to all the alums.

Postscripts
“Ten years of life squeezed into one,” so summed up Kanishka Sinha, from the Class 2003, about his ISB days, while sitting in the old favourite School Atrium, during Solstice 2007. On a self-assigned task of promoting the ISB at all forums, Kanishka, now with The Work Partnerships, a training company, says ISB is ‘the’ place to study. Innumerable little things to recall, but one thing Kanishka remembers distinctly is the sound of the water fall on campus. “When you go near the rock and clap your hands, you can hear an echo,'' he said, recollecting the countless night-strolls through acres of the rocky-green campus.

“I used to sit on a bench here and study for hours. The place is ever breezy, and a great spot to rewind,” said Subramanyam Vishwanath, popular as Subbu, a student of Class 2007, pointing in the direction of a solid wooden bench in the School Atrium. Subbu went on to be the winner of Economic Times Wharton Business Plan Competition. He recently sold off his Fruition Morgen Soft unit to ICICI Infotech, and is biding his time to join McKinsey at Delhi in February. Subbu described the `Quad Life' (living with three others in an apartment), as “first-rate”. This is the place where Subbu and his friends Kuljeet, Sourabh and Siddhath grew ideas, finished assignments and played cricket with softballs, using umbrellas as bats. “We believed that lack of place and equipment cannot ever suppress the spirit,'' he recalled.

There are so many high points at the ISB, so many memory tags, so many sources of inspiration to do things differently. Rohit Kapoor, from the Class 2006 wearing a McKinsey hat now, simply cannot forget the classroom interactions with the faculty. “I am inspired by the information capsules the faculty kept shooting at us,'' he said, marvelling at the quality and quantity of inputs that he was equipped with in just one year. What does returning to the campus mean to him? “The atmosphere simply refreshes me. I get back to work with more vigour after an interaction with the faculty or just mixing around with the current class,” he said.

There are also people who regret not being in touch with the ISB, as often as they would like to. Venky Natrajan, Batch of 2003, who left a senior position with the ITC to turn an entrepreneur at Coimbatore, admits that he missed a lot a by not being in touch with his Alma matter after the course. “I realised that connecting back with the ISB will help me with fresh insights into business issues,'' he said, vowing to make frequent visits to the campus.

Alum Entrepreneurs on Stage
Venky Natrajan, Class of 2003, gave up a plush job with the ITC to start an Equipment Design service. Entrepreneurship is no cake walk, he declared at the talk by Entrepreneur Alums of the ISB, during Solstice 2007. Natrajan does get frustrated by the clients who keep their decisions pending for too long. Experience has taught him to focus on the domestic markets, while also catering to international markets. “Decide what motivates you to work,” was his message to the budding entrepreneurs at the ISB.

It is not all a fairy tale, he disclosed to his friends and counterparts. In his case, he is earning a fifth of what ITC was paying him, has moved out to a smaller house in Coimbatore and sometimes travels on a two-wheeler or in a bus.

The forum of Alum entrepreneurs shared with the audience their journey - from idea to enterprise. During the panel discussion they relived their experiences and travails of getting started with entrepreneurship.

Ashish Sonal, founding alum from the Class of 2002, formerly Armed Forces officer, is now into Risk and Intelligence Services. According to him building a team is the toughest part of entrepreneurship. “There is risk in entrepreneurship, but if surmounted, it will convert into an opportunity,'' he said. For him entrepreneurship is a furnace that eats up the money faster than one can think. A tight financial discipline and work attitude is a must to survive in the market, he tipped.

Entrepreneurs should also be prepared with an exit strategy. After all businesses might fail – that was the suggestion from Ritesh Tripathy, from the Class of 2005. “It is not a sin to sell a company. You should just see that the exit has a milestone,'' said Tripathy, now on an IT project for the government. There is no such thing as a salary for entrepreneurs, cued in Gunjan Agarawal, Class of 2004.

Present at the discussion forum was Ajit Ragnekar, Deputy Dean ISB. He informed the audience that ISBians taking to entrepreneurship have something to cheer. Plans are afoot to setup an Entrepreneurship Advancement Centre at the ISB, informed Rangnekar. The funding venture capitalists will support at least two teams from the ISB with their ideas. The arrangement will take care of the loan repayment, mentoring and other aspects related to entrepreneurship, for the teams.

Drawing a parallel between the travails of building the ISB to its present form and starting out as an entrepreneur, he asked the students to execute their ideas with full conviction. “Several people frowned at us when we explained the proposal to start ISB. But we persisted with our efforts and this (ISB) is the result,'' Rangnekar said.