Hit Desai

insanely curious.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@kshayjogani Great breakdown. I run Bull Agritech, a farm-to-factory supply chain: 2.7% gross, 1.2% contribution margin, ₹150 Cr GMV. Half runs on a 6-day working capital cycle, half is zero-capital (processor pays farmer). Through your ROIC/fragility lens, how would you view this model?

[Sanjeev Bikhchandani @sbikh]

On the Ashoka WhatsApp group there is a discussion on the convocation speech and what kind of convocation speakers we should look for. Most people are posting videos of commencement speakers from US universities.

I posted the following message

👇

A random thought on convocation speeches.

We want a convocation speech that is slick. One that is delivered by a speaker in polished sophisticated English. With the right accent using the right words.

The convocation speaker in my graduating class at IIMA was V Krishnamurthy. Chairman of SAIL. He said all the right things but guess what - thirty four years out I don’t remember a word of what he said and I don’t think what he said made any difference to the lives of any of my classmates. That speech did not change anyone’s behaviour or influence any of the choices we made in our lives.

However I vividly remember remember the speech made by the chief guest at IIMA in the previous year. Being in the junior batch I was not invited to the event so along with several others from my class I watched the function from the first floor of the building on the side.

The chief guest was Dr Verghese Kurien Chairman NDDB.

He was not polite. He was downright rude. He was condescending. He was sarcastic. He was caustic. He was insulting. He spoke a few home truths to the graduating class. He taunted us.

He opened by congratulating the graduating class. He then said that this is not the Indian Institute of Management. This is the Indian Institute of Management for Shampoo Salesmen. And that the entire graduating class could now look forward to a life where they spend their time selling soap and shampoo. For that is the limit of our aspiration and ambition he said. We just wanted to work for Multinational Corporations peddling their wares to Indian consumers. Such a collosal waste of talent he called it. And throughout his speech he repeatedly used the term “shampoo salesmen” derisively to describe the graduates of IIMA.

He challenged us to do something more meaningful with our lives and try and make a difference.

But then he lamented that his words were going to fall on deaf ears and that we would take the safer option.

Now it requires some guts to go as a chief guest to a function and then make a 30 minute speech berating and insulting your hosts. But that was Dr. Verghese Kurien. In your face. Blunt. Calling a spade a spade.

By the end of it our ears were burning.

But guess which speech we remembered.

And Some of us did do something different.

The class of 1989 has produced the most number of entrepreneurs in the history of IIMA.

Sometimes warm fuzzy convocation speeches don’t make lasting impact.

[a^🗡️ @0xnullcline]

physics gives you read access to the universe, engineering gives you write access

[Paul Graham @paulg]

Investors are eager to invest in AI companies. But some of the biggest winners from the AI revolution will be existing companies that weren't founded to do AI, but are perfectly poised to benefit from it, as e.g. Facebook was perfectly poised to benefit from smartphones.

[Paras Chopra @paraschopra]

Most ideas are inevitable because they build upon what’s already discovered or built by others.

The skill of a creator then is to select an idea whose time has come instead of pursuing an “original” idea that’s either too late or too soon to be viable.

[Nikita Bier @nikitabier]

Your only job as a first-time founder is to find undiscovered people. If they’ve already proven themselves, they’re not going to work for you.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@DivaJain2 Trying to build such supply chain in non-perishable commodities on the ground since 2 years. Anyone working on the same problem are welcome to DM.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @ValamjiRHumbal @RutamV @PrashantrTOI @NileshShah68 There was no earning source for farmers in N Gujarat and farming income was uncertain. Today around 3 mill. families are earning their livelihood thru this model built by him. Pioneers of Banas,sabar,Sagar motikaka, bhurakaka and galba kaka always admired him for his work.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @ValamjiRHumbal @RutamV @PrashantrTOI @NileshShah68 There are no corruption allegations against him neither in print nor by his contemporaries. Noone from his family joined or benefited from the Amul.
You should do your due diligence before framing such allegation on someone who has improved life of last mile men. 1/2

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @ValamjiRHumbal @RutamV @PrashantrTOI @NileshShah68 Eager to know the reference of "the kurien tax" and usurpation.
seems you are having bias of RSS view of him being a Christian.
If he was a corrupt as you say, it would be impossible to build 4 such institutions. Tribhuvankaka was a backbone but he didn't have any business sense

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @ValamjiRHumbal @RutamV @PrashantrTOI @NileshShah68 Show me a single successful cooperative brand bigger than Amul. Remember Amul was built 60 years ago, and still not even your Modi has been able to create one.
Also Shankar Chaudhary, who's feet you keep licking @UJJAVALSHAH2 is also a parasite of the legacy built by kurien.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 Reliance group it is, they become second largest exporter in India in same year of starting the business.
Piyush goyal here seems like a bridge.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 True, in a letter gandhiji wrote that sahjanand Swami and other vaishnav sainte are making their followers incapable of self defence and obedient to the rulers.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @AmitShah True, Sabar dairy from sabarkantha has even started the trend of bidding for the job, where applicants bid for the job spot, normal rates are 30-35 lac for one spot as technician.
No wander why Modi patted the chairman during his visit to sabar.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@UJJAVALSHAH2 @ShankersinhBapu @PawarSpeaks He tried to backstab modi by contacting Rahul Gandhi to become chairman of NDDB, pawar gift was because of the same reason, hence he was removed in 2016. Also it's bhiloda not bhilad. And scams stated are real, but the arrest is made to neutralise him from north Gujarat politics

[R J Desai @DESAIRjd]

@sheela2010 @BJP4India ST lady more likely.

[Hit Desai @HitDesai3]

@pradologue Existential crisis, politics, everything connected to finance

[RJ @ravijain88]

We raised cash at the end of January 2022 seeing market risks which are playing out now . We have changed our stance & have chalked out strategy for next few years. I would be sharing detailed view with limited people. Retweet this tweet to get views in inbox #stocks #Markets