Happy New Year 2015

When the decision to move out of a full-time job to entrepreneurship was taken – I did not even feel the stress or pressure at any given time. I had my calculations right – I needed Rs. 10000 for monthly household expenses, and I had to make provision for the same. I ensured that my office was set 
up and basic infrastructure was in place before I resigned. It was not an era of computers and my marketing was done only to known people. I convinced a set of known people that I was equipped to take care of their investments. No one promoted portfolio management during that period in time. No one advertised about mutual funds. It was a broker controlled market and very difficult to access or assess the direction that it would take. I tried doing technical analysis, and managed every transaction manually. I was always on the lookout for doing things that no one has attempted.

The first big boon was that I was able to afford my first computer PC AT 286, and this was at a cost of Rs. 200000. My training in computer programming using Dbase became useful for me to work with the machine and I enjoyed the experience. All was well as long as the markets were moving up… and the biggest learning came in when the markets went down. This was a nightmare as I believed that the couple of thousands would multiply and the people believed in my dream. The downtrend made me feel that I will let the people down, and this feeling made me be on my toes always. The problems were    plenty – physical share certificates, no demat accounts, no online trading – and delayed information inflow with a need to make immediate decisions. I learnt the nuances of trade and learnt how to exit and stop losses without any emotions attached.

That was the time when people went into bulk trading (off the stock market) and private placements for better returns, but I took a stand that I will trade only through stock markets. With these basic ethics and transparency in place, my clientele reached 100 numbers within the first year. I felt the need to understand the market and trade practices inside the stock exchange better, and I pushed for a sub-brokerage.

I felt a deep hunger to look into industry information, wanted constant updates on economic environment and understood the relationship between Indian Budget scenario and the share markets. One good practice I have from then till now is to share the news that I have with others. I have never felt the need to keep information close to my chest, and and I realised the more vocal I was with my perception about any economic and financial news, people were open to correct and refine my thoughts.

This openness helped me acquire many friends and brokers also called me to discuss the equity movement. My visibility grew and this helped in growing my clientele too. There were many who invested in equity just because I believed in the stock. My biggest learning at this time was that if your conscience is clear and your attempt is sincere, there will be many who follow your belief. I kept my transactions transparent – and the objective was to serve and fulfill a need that people have. I kept speculations to the minimum. My dream was to become a big trading house.

This was at the end of the year 1995. I was waiting for the new year to dawn and to have my dreams fulfilled.

Wishing all my friends and well wishes a happy holiday and a great new year ahead… May all your dreams come true… what happened to my dream? Keep watching this space www.mvsmani.com