You can't foresee anything. Take the plunge: Hari Menon

To Hari Menon the skill and ability to organise and plan things matter the most in life Unfortunately for him his friends at BITS Pilani didnrsquot quite agree ldquoI organise myself and my belongings all the time So during my hostel days at BITS Pilani friends would secretly come into my room and mess things up just to annoy me They knew I would lose it if things werenrsquot where they were supposed to be That is how much I hate being disorganisedrdquo laughs MenonHari Menon is a selfconfessed music enthusiast and hopes to be a member of a rock band and play in small pubs somedayBut the Bangalorebased entrepreneurrsquos love for order came in handy when it was time to launch Indiarsquos largest online grocery store BigBasketcom which Menon claims stocks over 10000 products and 1000 brandsBecoming an entrepreneurMenon was born into a middleclass family in Bandra Mumbai in 1963 ldquoWhile growing up I was completely influenced by my parents and their ideology about lsquosettlingrsquo in life I was expected to study and get a stable job Thatrsquos your first sign towards making it bigrdquo he recalls But it was an urge to experiment that prompted him to try out something new It was during a client call that he and his colleague VS Sudhakar went on to build Indiarsquos first online store fabmartcom as far back as 1999 ldquoTwo years later both of us along with four other friends started a chain of physical grocery stores called Fabmall which was later sold to the Aditya Birla Group in 2006rdquo explains Menon Post 2006 the group parted ways to pursue their own individual dreams and goals only to get back together in 2011 to launch BigBasketcom And then there was no looking backItrsquos all in the familyAt a time when Menon decided to venture into a business that was considered unconventional his wife and principal of Bangalorersquos The Deenrsquos Academy Shanti Menon stood firmly by his side ldquoIt was difficult back then No one supported me as they didnrsquot know where I was heading and it was only my wife who understood and motivated me to move forwardrdquo he says adding that he considers her his biggest support even todayMenon considers his fatherinlaw E Shreedharan the man behind the Delhi Metro his role model ldquoHe is an inspiration to many I would say He always believed that no matter how much the bureaucracy and the corruption makes it difficult for someone changes can be brought about in the country He has always pushed his agenda and fought for what he believed inrdquoIn the race to the finishBy his own admission Menon is an emotional man ldquoEmotions can drive you to wrong decisions sometimes and I have taken many in liferdquo he recalls Does that make him nervous about competitors ldquoTo be honest no I think India is a huge market and one online grocery store cannot serve everyone So itrsquos great that others are venturing into this line because business will thrive if more customers are satisfied Did we ever think about buying furniture online Or clothes and shoes But now the online clothing industry is one of the fastest growing ecommerce industries Itrsquos all about trusting the retailer You start by buying a few items from a particular retailer and only if the items impress you will you go back to them It takes time to build trust You canrsquot foresee things you need to take the plunge As it is popularly said entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people wonrsquot so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people canrsquotrdquo he elaboratesA man of many interestsA selfconfessed music enthusiast Menon loves to sing and fondly remembers the jamming sessions at home with his wife and three musically inclined sons ldquoI also play the guitar At BITS Pilani I was a member of the rock band and we went for intercollege competitions That time my passion was retrorock but off late I have been listening to Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi songsrdquo says Menon He is also an avid cricket fan a member of the Karnataka Cricket Association and a keen follower of Indian Premier League IPL where he supports the Royal Challengers BangaloreSo is there anything left to achieve in life ldquoOh yes I want to be a part of a rock band and play in small pubs use vocational education for skill development in the country devise ways of using money to help our country and get rid of my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder I keep checking whether the lights in my house are switched off before leaving As a result I keep delaying thingsrdquo he laughs