Dream With Your Eyes Open (An Entrepreneurial Journey) By Ronnie Screwvala - A Review

Ronnie Screwvala is primarily recognised as the founder of UTV. Before launching, acquiring, managing fairly successfully and profitably a number of ventures in visual media advertising; marketing; producing contents for television; movie production and distribution etc., which he exited profitably, Ronnie Screwvala had dabbled in various businesses from setting up a cable TV business to producing toothbrushes for major oral hygiene product conglomerates. This entrepreneurial journey of his was a roller coaster one with the number of failures (he calls them setbacks) equalling his successes. In his second inning, he has now entered the businesses in digital & online education and sports.

In this autobiographical self-help book, Mr. Screwvala shares his acquired knowledge on “How to succeed as an entrepreneur?” His tips on succeeding as an entrepreneur can be summed up as: Be Focussed; When Opportunity knocks, open door (Be Opportunistic); Be Innovative; have risk-taking ability; Solution-oriented approach; Hiring and Team building is crucial to success or setback; set an organisational culture; Stay the course; Stay curious and; Analyse failures. Keen students or potential entrepreneurs would have to analyse; dissect; discuss the subject, circumstances, action-reaction and; other aspects of these real-life stories to glean the secret behind the relentless success of the author as a ‘serial entrepreneur’.

He reveals the secret of his success and scatters the pearls of wisdom in his easy flowing narrative interspersed with colourful anecdotes. An example of the author’s entrepreneurial acumen is revealed in an interesting anecdote from his school days. One cannot but wonder at his keen mind when he tells the story of how he managed to sell tickets to star-gazers for a place at the balcony of his apartment to watch and gawk at film stars arriving for premiers at the Novelty Cinema situated across the street (Chapter 1; pages 2-3). Another notable anecdote is how the author, merely in his twenties, on a tour of a toothbrush factory in London, managed to buy two discarded toothbrush producing machines to establish a plant to produce toothbrushes in India. In time it became the largest producer of toothbrushes in India (Chapter 2; pages 14-20). According to the author, the key ingredients for a successful entrepreneurship are ‘being focussed’; ‘grabbing the opportunity’ and; ‘risk taking ability’. Other advice of the author are details that one learns along one’s journey. However, “Not everybody can aspire to be an entrepreneur”, cautions the author.

Not the one to let go of a potentially profitable opportunity go past by him, Mr. Screwvala published this work to coincide with ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’ initiatives of the government. He successfully roped in even Prime Minister Narendra Modi to pen a couple of lines endorsing his book!

(Dream With Your Eyes Open [An Entrepreneurial Journey] By Ronnie Screwvala. Publisher: Rupa Publications [Pages:208])