Stallion Realty & Translink Roadways - The Man behind it All !

In conversation with Abhishek Dasgupta or ‘Stallion’ as he is referred to by the team of the The Potter’s Earth.

What’s the story behind Stallion?

Stallion is the Realty and Roadways business that I started a few years ago. I began with real estate in Mumbai, and once that had grown and flourished, I was on the look- out for a new avenue to venture into. Two years ago when my mom came up with the idea of getting into roadways, I thought it was great, and a few months of research later came the birth of Stallion Roadways. Our research included speaking to current bus owners, manufacturers, agents etc. and once our initial apprehensions were mitigated, we were excited to get started. We picked the Pune-Nagpur route to run our buses because not only did it make sense revenue-wise, but my dad was in Nagpur so it would make operations more convenient. 

 How did entrepreneurship happen for you?

Well, I did my executive MBA in Pune and worked with various banks after that. While I was working, one of my friends started a real estate firm in Bombay and offered me a job - about 2 years before I started Stallion. But I had different ideas back then and didn’t want to get into business at that point. I was doing very well for myself in my banking job. Two years down the line, when I thought I had made enough money for the bank, I realized it was time for me to start making some money for myself! I decided to contact the friend who had offered me a job at his company. I could have started out on my own but that would have taken 6 extra months of research. I thought it would help me if I joined him first. But I found out that he had moved on from that business and started a chemical business. His real estate firm was almost a dead business. I convinced him that if he gave me his brand, then together we could revive his company. I was confident that I would be able to turn it around. I told him whatever profits we made would be split equally between us. I selected the Realty business because at that time I didn’t have that kind of money to put into a business, so I wanted to do something that did not need a very large initial investment.  So that’s how we started.

Can you tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur?

It all began when my friend and I started working together. We took up a tiny space approximately 110 sq. ft. in size in Navi Mumbai. We were right at the back facing a creek and nobody knew of our existence. Our office comprised of one table, one chair, one laptop and one fan. It was just the two of us doing everything. My friend had already done a lot of research previously, but didn’t know how to put it to use. At least we had something to begin with. We first began with identifying the prime areas. We put up listings and with the help of our channel partners we did very well in the first 6 months. We did amazing business. But it was not an easy ride all the way through. We did everything ourselves and faced a lot of challenges but now when I look back it was fun. We had to do all the posting, calling, and attending to the customer ourselves. We decided that the one thing we won’t compromise on is our clientele. We stuck to a niche segment. We didn’t want to spend time doing small sales because they wouldn’t work out most of the time and did not get us much returns. We stuck to an investor base.  I got a lot of leads from the banks I worked with. Then we gradually expanded through word of mouth. We hired more people and while we both stuck to our customer base, our employees took care of all the other customers.

Once all this happened, I decided that I wanted to get out on my own. I wanted to operate alone. I believe that working on your own helps in maintaining relationships. If you fail, the only person you can blame is yourself.

Is this what you always wanted to do?

Being part of a family of army officers, I was attracted to the field. Back then, all the children of army officers aspired to get into the armed services. In school, we were the privileged ones.  As I started growing up and entered college, in 2001-02 was recession and the markets crashed. I didn’t understand much about it then but I was fascinated by the dynamic nature of the market. It made me wonder that if the markets can crash like this, the extent of their rise could be absolutely fascinating.   I am an ambitious person and wanted to be part of it. I wasn’t a very studious kid and started working at an early age. I got called in by All India Radio (that’s a different story!) and Tata Finance on the same day. But I picked Tata Finance. I started out with a salary of 1500 rupees.  I was made to stand outside the dealership to sell my finance scheme. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because I used to catch customers from outside itself. I made it seem as though I was outside because I was the best. I got people to believe that it was a great honor to be the one standing outside instead of inside the dealership! The strategy I used was to pretend like I was a salesman and show clients around and then present the finance scheme. As for the salesmen themselves, let’s just say - I made them an offer they could not refuse!! I did very well there. Then, I received an offer from HDFC and took it up. I was the first person to get on the roles of a bank without having a degree. The banks would only recruit people from MBA institutes. From then on started my colorful journey of working in various locations as part of different banks and also doing an MBA.

Let’s hear about your All India Radio story? How did that happen?

Well, music has always been my passion and I sing, play the guitar and am also a percussionist. In my childhood I was a big movie buff and would buy 5 movies from the 100 rupees my dad would give me every month. I also loved listening to audio cassettes. When my dad was posted in Pune, he wanted to start a band. My father recruited people from Darjeeling and other parts of the Northeast who were really good with music. But just knowing music wasn’t enough, if you’re part of the army. You need to speak well, sing songs like Spanish Eyes, as well as play Harry Belafonte’s songs etc. Since pronunciation was a challenge for these men, my dad wanted them to have Speech Training and set me to the task. So I started training them and singing alongside! I taught them English songs and really enjoyed it. After our first big show, which was a big flop, my father asked me to stay back and train them some more. I did and soon we started getting contracts outside the army as well. I freelanced after that and played with different bands. That’s how I went and interviewed at AIR. But like I said, I picked Tata Finance because my view was that I didn’t want to mix my hobby with my work. These days it’s different and people say that you should convert your passion into work but I didn’t know that then!

Who or what is your inspiration?

My mother and father have been the driving force and inspiration behind everything I’ve done. They’ve always supported me, even through their apprehensions. They believed in me and let me do what I wanted. They never tried to kill my ambitions.

What advice would you give budding entrepreneurs?

To be an entrepreneur, you have to be very patient. They say your tongue should be coated with sugar and your head should be coated with ice. Be very cool- headed. I would say entrepreneurship is basically relationship building.

Be at the right place at the right time. Timing is very important. Don’t wait and think too much. The minute you think you have a window of opportunity, just go for it. You may not get the chance again.

You should be ready to do anything. Fold up your sleeves and really get in there. Clean the floors if you have to, because it’s all yours in the end. You must have confidence in yourself. People will join you and leave you, believe in them but in the end trust only yourself. People might hurt you but your business should not suffer.

Listen to everyone but always take your own decision. Because then, there is no blame game. If you fail you can only blame yourself and if you do well you can also give credit to yourself. 

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About the author

Aditi, a double Masters in Psychology, finds working at The Potter’s Earth extremely exciting and fulfilling. Aside from teaching and conducting academic research, Aditi is passionate about counseling and coaching teenagers and young adults. She loves dogs and music  and her new found love for Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art/dance form, keeps her occupied in her free time!