Mr. Biju Dominic, CEO FinalMile Consulting delves into the “power of the human mind” during his talk at SCMS Cochin School of Business

“Endeavor: Entrepreneurial Insights”, the workshop held by SCMS Cochin on 10^th March, 2014 brought together an interesting mix of entrepreneurs who offered students a look into their visionary minds. The idea was to encourage future entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and chart their own path to success. The contribution of Mr. Biju Dominic, CEO FinalMile Consulting, was especially important for those in the audience.

Mr. Dominic is not your regular entrepreneur. He has an interesting line of work, with previous experience in behavioural architecture and cognitive neuroscience, in particular. He shed light on how he developed a passion for his work and turned it into a flourishing business. This helped students broaden their scope when it comes to business ideas, which can stem from their individual interests and be used to set up new enterprises.

For Mr. Dominic, it was his deep passion for understanding the complex human psyche that formed the germ of his business idea. “Human behaviour can be found in every aspect of human activity: politics, advertising, sports,” he tells us. “I began to explore it further and turned it into an entrepreneurial proposition.” He added that it was his passion that made him believe that he could change the world.

To encourage the students in the gathering to go after their dreams and aspirations, he said, “You need to have faith in yourself. Have a fair idea of the context of the entrepreneurial project you have in mind as you start. It’s also important to have the freedom to pursue the context and the idea.” He also offered a way to make that happen: by associating oneself to an MNC. He also urged students to bear in mind the importance of finances, both in the best and worst-case scenarios.

His practical advice was well received by the audience that was quite keen on learning from the experiences of the renowned entrepreneur. And he did not disappoint as he talked about his rewarding career at Reliance Industries. Mr. Dominic himself had his own massive learning experience through the inspiring tales of the Ambanis and he was more than willing to share them with the gathering.

To make any entrepreneurial venture successful, the importance of having the right team to work with cannot be overemphasized. It’s a point Mr. Dominic focussed on as his talk drew to an end. “You need to work with people who share the same ideas and values. It is the glue that had the power to keep a group bound together,” he stressed. Probably just as effectively as the man with the passion for human psyche had kept the audience bound to their seats through his talk.

Athulya Menon, PGDM ‘15

“SCMS is about a brand equity that is bound to set you apart from the crowd in more ways than one”, says student Samuel John who is all set for his professional sojourn

“I want to be happy in life!” says Samuel John when asked about his life and plans.  This seemingly simple wish rides on his deep philosophy and understanding of life that guides him to live today and let tomorrow worry about itself. He has just bagged a job with Asian Paints as a Sales Officer through campus placement, and believes this position is a perfect fit for him: “I believe this profile suits me quite well; and, my skill-sets acquired at SCMS will help me contribute to the organization.” He is looking forward to starting his career with Asian Paints and is sure that he will be able to contribute in their continued success. 

Born and raised in Bhopal, Samuel received his education from Bhopal before moving to SCMS Cochin for the PGDM in Marketing and Retail Management. His computer proficiency is high, having done several courses in the field. Samuel also has many other talents. He has several awards and certifications in the field of Karate, Yoga and music, and has also earned extra pocket money by giving guitar lessons. He has been always focused. His ability to take initiatives was also demonstrated at SCMS where he was a coordinator and emcee for several events.  Samuel asserts that these platforms have enabled him to evolve as a human being, and have groomed his personality and logical thinking abilities. 

Samuel believes his success is a direct result of the grooming he received at SCMS through various interventions like the Personality Development Program (PDP), Industry Institution Interaction sessions, Corporate Outbound Training, Integrated Management Learning Program (IMLP), and Mentoring sessions. This was in addition to sports, cultural activities, social projects, management fests, seminars and conferences and, most importantly, a rigorous curriculum which continually forced him to multi-task while adhering to strict deadlines. He believes all of this also taught him time management. Another thing that built his confidence is his summer internship project: “I did my three month internship project at Second Largest Shopping Mall in India – Lulu International Shopping Mall, Cochin. On average, I worked for 12 hours a day and this time-bound workload prepared me for an industry work culture.”

SCMS Cochin Samuel believes, is one of the best B-schools in India. “Being an SCMS student has played a significant role in setting me apart from the rest,” he says. “SCMS has a brand equity that makes us stand out in a crowd, be it management fests or interviews; this was apparent during the selection process, too. Students from other institutes, 79 in total, were a part of the selection process, but being an SCMS site in addition to the learning from the institution set us apart from the rest.”

A music lover who plays the guitars and sings as well, Samuel is also a sports and photography enthusiast. Eventually, he wants to be an entrepreneur: “I have always had an inclination to serve the society, so I wish to be a social entrepreneur adding value to the lives of people, to family, friends and society.”