Mr. Prodip Mitra is one of the partners at AVE Engineers. He is real fond of establishing new contacts and getting into new networks. Mr. Prodip is also an active member at JCI Dhaka Central and part of the JCI Active Citizenship Framework team. In a conversation with Future StartUp he explored a lot of issues from personal success to entrepreneurship state in Bangladesh to Entrepreneurial success factors.
Future StartUp: Tell us about yourself and your passion?
Prodip Mitra: I am an engineering graduate and now working for an engineering consultancy/contractor company called “AVE Engineers & Consultants Ltd.” My passion ranges from researching about various topics and to cooking different things for my family.
Future StartUp: Tell us about “AVE Engineers & Consultants Ltd”, about its past accomplishment & Future plan.
Prodip Mitra: Well, our company offers consultancy and construction services for different building technologies such as Air Conditioning, Fire Fighting, Plumbing, Green Building, Hospitals, Pharmaceuticals and electrical systems. In past, we were involved in various prestigious projects, such as, Jatiya Sangshad Bhaban, Hotel Purbani, Hotel Radisson, Hotel Westin, Jiban Bima Bhaban, Sena Kallyan Bhaban, Bangabhaban, IDB Bhaban, Eastern Plaza, Novotheatre and BTV, AML Tower, Suvastu Nazar Valley and SAHIC. We are also marketing Zinga galvanizing paints. In the near future, we plan to expand our import business in the fields of industrial technologies and expand our capabilities in Green Building and energy efficiency sector.
Future StartUp: What were the biggest obstacles you faced in your journey to date? And how did you overcome them?
Prodip Mitra: In my journey so far I’ve faced quite a few obstacles. The first one was the biggest and most prominent of them. It is the gap between the required knowledge in the professional level and academic level. I gradually overcame this problem by acquiring work experiences (through problem solving and innovation on existing ideas.) Also, I had to go beyond the usual academic literature and had to pick up knowledge and hints from many books, journals, blog, online forums and experiences of others.
Future StartUp: What would you say are the biggest drivers of your success today?
Prodip Mitra: Well, my biggest motivation is my family. My grandfather was the first graduate from his village. My father, uncle, aunt and other uncles from my mother side are all brought up in village and have become successful engineers. Their successes inspire me so that I could also leave a legacy for my future generations. Also, I’d like to mention that my own work provides a lot of inspiration. Because there are a lot of scopes for innovation and each step makes me hungry for more.
Future StartUp: Tell us briefly about your biggest experiences and learning.
Prodip Mitra: It came from a one month tour to India. I went there to receive training at TATA. It was a very extraordinary experience for me. I learned a lot from people in a giant multinational company and facing life in an unknown city which reshaped my thinking in many ways later.
Future StartUp: Let’s say if you can start all over again what are the three mistakes you avoid and what are the three positive things you would do first?
Prodip Mitra: Well, you see people do mistakes and doing mistake is actually what make us. I don’t think I should start over, because the mistakes that I made make me what I am now. Also, everyone should suffer some failures as their own mistakes can be excellent tutors for them.
Future StartUp: What are the biggest obstacles for young Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh in your eyes?
Prodip Mitra: The difficulty to acquire financial assistance is the biggest problem for entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. For young and fresh entrepreneurs, it can be very difficult to have funds and loans from Bangladeshi financial institutions. They usually have to rely on friends and relatives for most of their startup funds.
Future StartUp: Advice our “Young Startup Entrepreneurs” who are just going to start their Initiatives and want to bring them to success.
Prodip Mitra: Well, is not this enough to say: "Just do it".
Future StartUp: From your perspective what are the 5 mandatory traits/capabilities for an entrepreneur to become successful?
Prodip Mitra: Well, without making things more cliche, I think the 5 things that you would always need to have/do:
Future StartUp: How did JCI help you to to do better with your business?
Prodip Mitra: Through JCI I came to meet and interact other professionals with fresh and innovative minds. Communicating with them have helped me to develop my network and understand their perception about our services.
Future StartUp: Thank you very much for sharing your story with us.
Prodip Mitra: Thank you too.
Super words...Loved it...