How important is the success saga of a realtor in today’s India? Is his success a part of Bangalore’s growth story? How did he manage to overcome two recession periods? Through his book Sushil Mantri-Big Bets, Big Rewards, Sushil Mantri, chairman and managing director of Mantri Developers, takes you to a world where perseverance coupled with luck transforms one’s life. The book is a celebration of indomitable entrepreneurial spirit of a man who believes that destiny is a choice.
With the country fast developing as ‘urbanised concrete jungle’ and more people migrating to cities, this book underlines the importance of an ‘organised’ realty sector. It serves as an inspiration to the young new generation of real estate entrepreneurs.
His was not a regular rags-to-riches story or nerve-wracking tale of biographical contextualization, but a unique entrepreneurial journey with unusual business lessons. The book gives a sneak peek into his own career path and a glimpse into hardships, success, challenges, and hinges around his growth in business.
It is an inspiring story of Mantri, a self-made business man, who started from scratch in 1999 in Bangalore and built a billion-dollar firm, braving customer cynicism, government hostility and financial ups and downs. It offers a vision and roadmap for reforms in real estate sector in the country. It released at the right time, as the Union Cabinet cleared the Real Estate (Regulation and Development)Bill aimed at cracking down unscrupulous realtors recently.
A ‘practical idealist’, Mantri considers customers as ‘uncrowned king’. His management philosophy of ‘punctuality, quality, reliability, speed and transparency’ is expected to inspire youngsters and budding businessmen.
A handy reference for anyone who aims big in business, it deals with the practical difficulties in building a new brand which is a slow and tedious process. Though coming from a Pune-based business family, he struggled hard in Bangalore to build his business empire. Hardwork and dedication finally payed off; the completion of innovative Mantri Altius, high-end villa in the sky, changed the perception and became one of the landmarks of the city. There was no looking back then, many successful real-estate projects, attracted Morgan Stanley’s `300 crore investment in the firm.
Living in the recession period is hell, people say, but for Mantri it was an opportunity to start a business and appreciate the value of cash; this approach can be part of any new business curriculum as it speaks on the ways and methods to be adopted to overcome this ‘harrowing period’. Take his words, “Our recession strategies may appear grossly aggressive. In fact, they can be termed as aggressive defence, the way some sports personalities like Rahul Dravid and Rafael Nadal play their game.”
The book may inspire many to start their own ventures. K V Kamath, chairman of ICICI Bank and Infosys Ltd, rightly puts it; “A primer for budding entrepreneurs and all those who seek to capitalise on the India growth story.”
This easy reading book is written jointly with journalist Benedict Paramanand.