Haresh B. Jhala

Parag Jobanputra’s journey reveals the hidden price every founder must pay.

Most people believe entrepreneurship begins with an idea, funding, or a business plan.

Parag Jobanputra, 53, disagrees.

After spending nearly 25 years on factory shop floors, the co-founder and CEO of IIndepro Dynamics Pvt. Ltd. believes entrepreneurship begins with a far less glamorous requirement:

“You must develop the stomach to absorb losses—financial, emotional, and psychological.”

For every startup success story celebrated on social media, there are hundreds of founders quietly dealing with rejection, delayed payments, broken promises, and sleepless nights.

From Shop Floor to Side Hustle

Born into a modest family and trained as a mechanical engineer, Jobanputra began his career in quality management at manufacturing units.

Early in his career, he learned an uncomfortable truth: talent alone does not guarantee growth.

When an expected salary increment failed to materialise, he did not complain—he adapted. He started taking up technical consultancy assignments after office hours, gradually building a second source of income.

Understanding that skills are a founder’s first investment, he enrolled at Mumbai’s National Centre for Quality Management, earning a diploma in quality engineering.

Lesson: Never wait for an organisation to invest in your future. Invest in yourself first.

The TÜV SÜD Turning Point

His consulting work eventually caught the attention of TÜV SÜD, the German testing and certification major.

Initially, Jobanputra declined the offer. However, after six months of persistent follow-up from a senior executive, he accepted—an inflection point that transformed his career.

Soon after joining, two senior colleagues exited the organisation, leaving him with the responsibility of growing the business.

Rather than competing head-on, he made a strategic move: relocating the regional headquarters from Vadodara to Rajkot, placing the business closer to Gujarat’s engineering ecosystem while expanding operations across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Madhya Pradesh.

A subsequent stint at a software startup further broadened his expertise, enabling him to bridge the gap between manufacturing processes and software systems.

Lesson: Careers are built on calculated decisions, not comfortable ones.

The Leap into Entrepreneurship

In 2023, after decades of preparation, Jobanputra partnered with design engineer Jaydeep Viramgama to launch IIndipro Dynamics Pvt. Ltd.

The company manufactures drone motors and has already developed 18 variants for different applications.

Yet, becoming a founder brought an immediate reality check.

For 25 years, money had flowed towards him as salary and consulting fees.

Now, money flowed away from him—towards salaries, machinery, rent, raw materials, and working capital.

Lesson: Entrepreneurship is not about making money quickly. It is about surviving long enough to make money eventually.

Five Lessons Every Founder Must Learn

1. Build for the Market, Not Your Ego

The company’s first order—just four motors—came from Mumbai through social media.

Their products were designed around customer requirements, not personal preferences.

Founder’s Rule: The market does not care what you want to build. It rewards what customers are willing to buy.

2. Never Depend on Existing Relationships

Like many first-time entrepreneurs, Jobanputra approached friends and professional contacts for support.

Many declined.

It was a painful but valuable lesson.

Founder’s Rule: Never include expected help in your business plan. If support comes, treat it as a bonus—not an assumption.

3. Overpromising Can Kill a Young Company

Aggressive marketing generated more orders than the startup could fulfil.

Delayed deliveries followed.

Jobanputra quickly discovered that winning a first order means little if you lose the second.

Founder’s Rule: Customers forgive your size. They rarely forgive missed commitments.

4. Budget for Losses from Day One

One of the harshest realities of the MSME ecosystem is that new suppliers are often asked to provide samples without payment or work without advance purchase orders.

Several payments were delayed. Some samples were never paid for.

Jobanputra now considers these expenses part of customer acquisition.

Founder’s Rule: Set aside a “trust-building budget.” Not every early expense will generate immediate returns.

5. Quality and Punctuality Are Your Only Moat

Over time, some customers left.

The ones who stayed did so for two reasons:

• Consistent Quality
• On-Time Delivery

These remain the company’s non-negotiable principles.

Founder’s Rule: In the MSME world, reputation travels faster than marketing.

The Bottom Line

Entrepreneurship in India is not a test of intelligence.

It is a test of endurance.

Founders who survive long enough to navigate rejection, delayed payments, and early losses eventually earn what every business seeks: trust.

And trust, unlike capital, compounds over time.

Key Takeaways for Aspiring Founders

Lesson	What It Means
Develop a stomach for loss	Early setbacks are inevitable. Plan for them.
Invest in yourself	Skills compound faster than salaries.
Build for customers	Markets reward relevance, not passion alone.
Under-promise, over-deliver	Reliability creates repeat business.
Budget for trust-building	Early losses are often customer acquisition costs.
Protect your reputation	Quality and punctuality remain your strongest assets.

For aspiring founders, Parag Jobanputra’s journey offers a simple reminder:

The question is not whether you can start a business. The question is whether you can withstand what happens after you start one.

Have a founder story worth telling? Write to us at [connect@msmebriefing.com] or share your experience in the comments below.