Anu Acharya, Founder of Hyderabad-based Ocimum Biosolutions, a genomics software and services company, delves deep into her past experiences to put out her formula for success

When we began Ocimum about 12 to 13 years ago, I was a Physics graduate who had started a company in biomedics. Of course, this required getting the hang of the technical expertise in the field of biomedics. But, equally importantly, it also necessitated creating a network of contacts from the ground-up in an industry I earlier had no experience in. So, I started networking—actively— from Day I understood that we even with the best product in the world we couldn’t be successful if we didn’t get to the right market, and make the right connections. So, I made a conscious effort to network, both physically in terms of attending events and conferences, and digitally. It was interesting, to say the least, people weren’t used to seeing a young woman in her 20s at all the industry conferences and forums. In fact, I had almost a regimented routine to spend a few hours a day on LinkedIN, for example. My co-founder thought it was a waste of time. But, I held on. Eventually, I began to see results. I think it’s important to be there, and to be visible. It leads to acceptance, and I had people tell me that they accepted my invite, or agreed to meet me because I seemed to know everybody they knew. These contacts helped us a lot to generate leads. Both my other cofounders who were sceptical of this approach were also convinced when we started seeing results. I’ve to say it came easily to me. I’m outgoing and very open to having a discussion. It’s a core strength I’ve brought to the company. So, yes, networking is hugely important. As a person, I’ve always been the centre point of my networks – be it friends from school and college, or former colleagues. Of course, creating a new industrynetwork is different from making sure friends meet, but I didn’t limit myself to meeting people and networking just for business, although in the beginning it began like that – to write to meet all the translational medicine professionals working in big pharma companies. But, a great network does not work one way. For example, I began a Facebook page for women in IT. These forums open dialogues. I’ve learnt early on that you don’t know what triggers off something in somebody. It’s true that most of the deals do happen at the after-conference networks, and drinks. I do believe that the difference between men and women entrepreneurs comes up here. At that stage, most women leave. There’s the challenge – you might have gone to the conference, but is that enough? How do you get the most out of the conference? Maybe, I’ve been in an industry where there are not that many women and even from that pool, I’m usually one of the few women to stay back to conference, to foster personal relationships, and talk as human beings. See, people start giving you business once they are comfortable with you, and trust you. You might have competency but the eventual sale won’t happen till they trust you. This is a vital ingredient to building a long-lasting environment. Of course, my active presence means I’ve come around many such amusing experiences. For instance, I’ve always been a furious business card-giver. And, I remember one particular professor at a conference I was sitting and talking to who refused to give me his business card. He just wouldn’t share his card with me till some other people joined in the discussion, and one of them told me I was from IIT Kharagpur. It’s only then that he began to take me seriously. It’s clear that there’s a lot of subtle bias when it comes to women, and you often need the right introduction to be able to make a big difference. I remember another time I was sitting in a stall at an exhibition we’d participated in. An older gentleman came and began talking to my male colleague who was at the stall with me, and told him how he’d met the company’s CEO at another event. My colleague was amused, and introduced me to the older gentleman. He was really taken aback. So often, I’ve witnessed that expression – that they didn’t expect to see a woman, and if they did see a woman, they didn’t expect to see such a young woman. A couple of times, these biases have been unpleasant. And, I remember losing my cool once at a gentleman. But, I’ve realised that it’s best to not get agitated by this attitude. Don’t take it personally but definitely engage in a debate and conversation that is logical, and not overtly emotional. Most importantly, continue to show up and to stay back. I’ve seen the younger women are more open to doing this, and accepting that it’s important to be around otherwise one might lose out on opportunities. Honestly, I’ve sometimes felt that I’ve lost out on certain opportunities because maybe I don’t play golf, or a round of tennis – that I’m not part of the old boys’ network. Overall, there has been some change in the number of women you see at conferences and events but the ratios are still pretty bad, in both India and the US where most of our clients are. Yes, it’s a little better in India, but it’s certainly nowhere close to being equitable. I’m hoping women can create their own girls’ network based on shared experiences and ambitions because say what you many, business also stems down to human emotions. I’ve become very conscious of this over the past. I’m trying to refuse to speak at events where younger women are not being given a chance to speak, where an effort hasn’t been made to go beyond getting the same names. I remember being quite upset at the Pan-IIT Conclave which I was involved in for the same reason. I know many women don’t want to be overtly ambitious because they think that will disturb their family life. My co-founder is like that. But, I had completely different ambitions. And, I’ve been fortunate to have fantastic support—both emotional and in raising my daughters, be it my mother, my mother-in-law or even my grandmother-in-law. Sometimes, the fear of not having this support is one of the prime reasons why people hold back. In fact, I’ve seen people get stuck at that point. Once you identify what you love doing, and have that passion for it, these challenges don’t seem insurmountable. I’ve seen the change in myself, and the way I reacted in different situations. When I had my first baby, the company I worked for gave me just a six-week maternity leave which I was extremely upset about. When I had my younger daughter, I was working for myself. Two days after having her, I was itching to use my laptop. When you love what you do, there’s a huge difference in how you react. Entrepreneurship is that passion for me. In fact, a young woman who heard me speaking at a conference in Harvard University said she wanted to be like me, and do the kind of exciting things I was doing. But, she said she was waiting to have enough money saved up before she jumped into building on her own ideas. I couldn’t help but tell her—if you want to do the kind of things I’m doing, you don’t do it for money. Entrepreneurship is about doing things with limited resources, and enjoy doing this. Just today I watched a video by British philosopher Alan Watts, the theme of which was “What Would You Do If Money Were No Object”. His point is simple – if you’re going to spend so much time doing something, it’s not possible to be good at it till you enjoy it. Some phrases get attached to women in the workplace, and work—life balance is one of them. I don't dwell on the balance much as it forces one to separate work from life. For an entrepreneur, the chosen life is of her passion and that could be construed as work by others. I do admit that my life has revolved around excesses and reaching goals that didn’t seem reachable and then resetting the goals themselves once I have reached it. Over the years, I have realised, that it is how I function. It’s the way of being and living that makes sense to me. It’s possible to build families and businesses together. It’s because there are such few women entrepreneurs out there, they get zoomed out, and their experiences aren’t visible. Today, in my new start-up, my children, 13 years and 6.5 years respectively, are as involved as I am. There’s no denying that when you follow your passion, and work hard, you carry a lot of baggage home. I come back home by 6:30-7pm, and work again after the family has gone to sleep. And, then it’s about finding the time to do things I like, such as cooking.