We Need To Move From Being Entrepreneurs To Passionpreneurs: Agnelorajesh Athade

Agnelorajesh Athade, Serial and Social Entrepreneur and Chairman of St. Agnelo’s VNCT Ventures is a self made man in all respects.

Athade started his entrepreneurial journey when he was just 13. He did a number of odd jobs till he set up his own venture in the early 90’s and since then there has been no looking back.

Speaking about his entrepreneurial journey Athade said that being a successful entrepreneur was more about passion than anything else. 

“I think more than becoming entrepreneurs we should become passionpreneurs. You should try to identify your passion and then pursue it with total focus and when you do that life becomes a picnic.”

“I also believe swimming against the tide. While the last five years have been challenging for our industry, they have been good for us because we have played it differently,” added Athade.

Athade also spoke about the need to have the right value system in place while practising entrepreneurship,  “I don't believe that we should take up every opportunity that comes our way without taking into account it’s impact. We should not be driven  by profits alone.  I consider myself to be a wealth multiplier for people and selling gold at the price of silver. So my business essentially is to add value to the lives of the people and that should be the approach to entrepreneurship.”

Since his core sector is real estate, Athade also shared what ails the sector in India and the corrective measures that need to be undertaken.

 “Real estate has become  a business of greed, if you operate it as a business of need, there are many opportunities. Also in today's times we need to look at global markets. We need to operate locally with  a global knowledge to stay competitive in the industry.”

Speaking about the gap between Indian real estate and its global counterparts, Athade added, “The way real estate is being practiced in India is different than how it's practiced abroad. In India the developer wants to buy the land, raise the money himself; advertise himself and even sell it himself. So it has become a one man show. Internationally all these are segregated activities, all this needs to change if we have to compete on a global stage.”