A BUMPY JOYRIDE

To become a journalist was an accident or choice?                 

By accident, of course. I was a wayward child, spent most of the time with my friends and got into occasional fights with neighbourhood kids. My late father Pulimootil Tharyan, who was a seasoned political journalist, got me my first job. I always felt I had a natural flair in writing.

Can you share the journey of your career?                                                                                                                              

I began my career as a sub-editor in The Hindustan Times in Patna in 1987. I got transferred to its New Delhi branch as a reporter in the economic bureau, then I moved to Indian Express, as Principal Correspondent and then finally to the Pioneer in New Delhi as Special Correspondent in the economic bureau. That was the last of my jobs in a mainline daily. In 1996 or so I joined Auto India as a Special Correspondent in New Delhi and in 1999 I became the Delhi Bureau Chief of Autocar India, the year the UK based magazine was launched. By 2009, I had had enough as a worker, and decided to become an entrepreneur. It was then that I started my own company, Motown Publications Pvt Ltd.

What were your high points as a journalist ?                                          

The high point was doing a story in the Hindustan Times wherein I broke an economic story of great consequence. The story appeared on page one of HT. Because the story had inputs from a couple of my seniors, they decided not to give me a byline. I felt miserable and wondered why a person of the calibre of an editor should feel threatened if I had a byline for my hard work.

So you were disillusioned and therefore quit?    

Journalism for me had reached a stagnation point in Autocar India. A lot of real work was being done in Mumbai at the head office while I was left to do a lot of administrative work. I was terribly disillusioned by the whole thing. Moreover, the money was limited and I was not getting younger. I was in my late 40s and I knew I had virtually no savings and my employer had no intention of sharing any of his profits with me. While working with Autocar India, the editor who also owned the company once told me, “Punnoose, you are not just a journalist here, but a business partner too”. I thought that I would get a little share of the profit. The profit came big time after a few years, but I got the boot!

Was becoming an entrepreneur a natural progression from being a media person?           

Very much. As a journalist I had interacted with a lot of CEOs and was inspired by them in certain ways. May be, their enthusiasm rubbed off on me and I got into doing business. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I finally got my chance when I was shown the door in 2009 at Autocar India.  There is a silver lining to every cloud.

What was your learning experience as a journalist and also as an entrepreneur?

Journalism is great but entrepreneurship is a different ball game altogether. For me now, it’s a heady concoction of both! Being an entrepreneur is a massive struggle, especially when it comes to finances. Since I started off with limited money that I got from a few of my well-off relatives, I have been facing very tough times. But I am determined to make it big and it’s just a matter of time when I shall get into the big league.

When did you start your first venture?                

The first issue of Motown India and the Car N Style magazine came out in October 2010. We are still bleeding as a company but a break-even is expected soon. I am very, very hopeful. We started with a limited money from family and friends and that was the only investment I had. I am thankful to them and I know, I have a long way to go before I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

 How does it feel to sign cheques for your employees, now that you are yourself not getting cheques?  

It’s a great feeling to sign cheques every month for my employees. It gives me a great sense of pride, happiness and accomplishment signing these cheques. To not have delayed a single salary cheque, to not to have defaulted even once, to have paid my taxes regularly and to have managed my business with limited resources so well, I think I can be proud of myself. Moreover, I have also learnt the real value of money and how one needs to be prudent enough to run a successful business.

What kind of difficulty did you encounter as an entrepreneur?           

Getting support from your friends and well wishers is really difficult. At the time of crisis it’s just you, alone. Big corporates shun you because they consider yo to be nobody. I know when I make it big, the same people would love to put their arms around my shoulder to show their friendly gesture.