There should be clarity and conviction behind scaling businesses: Ronnie Screwvala at Fortune India's 40 Under 40 event

Ronnie Screwvala, a serial entrepreneur behind ventures like UTV and upGrad, said that there should be clarity and conviction behind scaling a business, as most ventures flounder during the scaling phase.

Screwvala was speaking at a fireside conversation, ‘Entrepreneurship Masterclass’, at Fortune India’s 40 Under 40 awards ceremony. “I think you need to think 10 times over before you actually look at that (scaling a business). We have a mesmerising, romantic thought about scaling,” he said. According to Screwvala, entrepreneurs should also introspect whether they are ready for scaling or if their organisation is ready for scaling the business. “I think you need to measure what you need to do in a market. Some people may just want to go for higher margins and profitability, while others go a lot more in terms of focus. I think scale is not the only idea,” he said.

He also averred that as investors, the ilk should look at problem spotters rather than problem solvers. “The world is not giving us enough time to solve problems. The sharp ones are going to be so nimble and sharp that they are going to be problem solvers,” he added. Screwvala also revealed that he is not into mentoring the founders of the startups he invests in. “I think mentoring is a dangerous word,” he said, adding that he prefers having conversations with colleagues and founders of different age groups, different sensibilities, which is important. Still, he steers clear of the mentoring paradigm. “You can’t really put yourself in someone else’s position, and you can’t take everything on that gaunt guideline.”

Screwvala also dispelled the notion that governance issues in startups are purely an Indian phenomenon. “I think governance is an issue in many other developed countries. In fact, those governance issues go even deeper,” he said. Governance, according to him, starts with the founder and the team that the founder has built. “You can’t spot governance and correct it. You have to go back to the root of it, and I think today, for startups, that’s what it’s going to be,” he said, adding that the real value, the price-to-earnings multiple ratios, are going to go up based on integrity and clarity.