Seek Opportunity in Adversity

In late 80s, Tulsi Tanti a young entrepreneur moved to Surat with dreams to start his own textile unit. Like other entrepreneurs in India, Tanti faced a lot of infrastructural bottlenecks. The biggest problem was the power supply, which also accounted for 40% to 50% of the operating cost. Electricity was expensive and unpredictable. All other means of fuel were even more expensive. With a profit margin of 5% he could not afford it.

Instead of giving up and accepting whatever he has, he decided to experiment with various boilers and generators. But he soon realized that all of them might give him a better result but they all required some sort of fuel. He though why not find a solution to the fuel itself. This launched him into a search for an alternative source of power that was both reliable and sustainable.

In 1990, he invested in two wind turbines to supply electricity to his textile unit. It soon became clear that this was the solution he had been looking for. After the initial investment in turbines was recovered, his fuel came at no cost and there was plenty of it.

After this success he realized the potential that wind electricity held. Wind had the potential to power more than just Indian textile factories. It could meet the global demand for a steady supply of affordable and renewable source of energy. In India its self, 44% of 120 crore people live outside the electricity grid. He saw this as an opportunity and started manufacturing will mills under the name “Suzlon Wind”. Suzlon today is the fifth largest wind energy solution provider in the world.

It was Tanti’s way of thinking that transformed his adversity into opportunity. Jugaad innovators like Tulsi Tanti are adept at taking on the arduous challenges that emerging markets pose. Jugaad innovators face adversity from the beginning, if they are unable to apply the principle of seeking opportunity in adversity, they cannot apply the other five principles of jugaad.