For second generation entrepreneurs, the legacy that they have to carry forward comes with many expectations and a need to live up to the reputations that their illustrious parents have built. They also have to work harder to prove their credibility and to show that they are indeed worthy of the responsibilities and the designations that they are given. For many, it comes with the challenge of scaling up or diversifying their business but keeping the vision and the brand image in line with what their parents want. And for many it is often about striking out on their own. Often in these situations, their parents are their best mentors. We look at five entrepreneurs who talk about the advice they have received from their parents about business.

Lalit Agarwal:

Even the smallest of lessons matter

The owner of V-Mart, started out with doing odd jobs in his family’s retail shops as a child. He says that while as a 12- year-old he felt very grown-up doing those jobs, it has also helped him later on in his business.

The other thing that he learnt from his father is perseverance. When their business got affected due to metro constructions in Kolkata in 1975, his father moved to Cuttack and carried on his business there. These lessons have held him in good stead and he happily admits that his father has been his greatest mentor.

Ishant Suri:

Throw yourself in the forefront

Ishant Suri of Interarch has had to go through fire to prove his credibility in his organisation. He says his greatest learning arena and deliverable has been the Delhi airport.

He believes that as a second generation entrepreneur, whenever a big change or a big project is happening, one should throw oneself into it instead of letting someone else take the lead. Suri feels that his father and the co-owner of his company Mr Nanda have been the two greatest mentors for him. They’re both tough taskmasters who keep him in line when he falters by bluntly pointing out his mistakes.

Srinivas Kamat:

Honesty and dedication matters

Srinivas Kamat of Natural Ice Cream has been in the news since he has been at the forefront of his brand extending to the national capital after some 20 years of focusing their business only in and around Mumbai. The 30-year-old from S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, who has taken the lead on retail in his family business says that the one thing he picked up from his father is to always be honest to oneself.  He has learnt from his father that if one can show honesty, dedication and hard work, the people working with them will also get inspired.

Samantha Kochhar:

Passing on your wisdom is important

Samantha Kochhar of the Blossoms Kocchar Group, believes that it is always hard for the first generation than it is for the second. She has seen her parents work from scratch to create the Blossoms Kochhar brand and for her, her mother is a brand and she values the legacy she has.

She admits that her father had instilled in her the gravity of the responsibility that she had. Her father reminded her that the salaries of more than 1000 people depended on her capabilities. Samantha says that while she has often been compared to her mother they work rather differently. While her mother is a creative person, she is a systems and processes oriented person. The one thing though, that her mother has instilled in her is the love for teaching and training. When she was asked to initially head the training arm in the company, she felt as if she was creating her own competition but she soon realised otherwise. In her mother’s words, “There’s a time when you put down your brush and teach someone else to pick it up”.

Dipak Sanghvi:

Always hire people better than you

Dipak Sanghvi, son of Suresh Sanghvi, had to take the reins of the company right after college at the age of 24. He says that while he is always compared to his late father, his working style is very different. He has taken more risks and is more ambitious than his father ever was. They are more customer-focused with a more diversified product portfolio.

Yet, there are two things that he learnt from his father that he consciously strives to follow. One is to treat the employees with the same dignity that his father did. The other is to hire people better than him, the biggest example of which is Rajheev Agarwal, the CEO of Nilon. Rajheev and Dipak’s team has helped Nilon phenomenally grow and diversify. They have a CAGR which stands at 55 percent. Dipak often reflects on whether he is following his father’s footsteps. If not, he tries to better his performance.