Sunday, June 19, 2016

BUSINESS SPECIAL ...........................How married business partners make it work

How married business partners make it work

ET spoke to four couples who run businesses together to find out the secrets of their successful business partnership.

In 2013, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania published an article on husbands and wives who are also business partners. The article quoted Stewart Friedman, Wharton practice professor of management, as saying that for many entrepreneurs, being married to their business partner is an asset to both their professional success and personal relationship.

"The trust you have in [your spouse as co-manager] is greater than you are likely to have with any other business partner in your life...." he said. Yet, the same article also dwells on the headaches associated with starting and running a company" by couples such as financial pressures "not only are the fortunes of the couple bound up in one business and one (sometimes non-existent) income and the emotional strain "some couples find it hard to separate what happens in the business from what happens in the relationship".

But the "hardest thing", says the article, is how a work partnership could ruin a life partnership because "there is very little time or room in the marriage for much else besides work". Some of the findings of the article perhaps find resonance in the recent divorce announcement of data analytics company Mu Sigma founder Dhiraj Rajaram and wife Ambiga, the company's CEO.

The divorce has cast a shadow on the company's future. The estranged couple both American citizens said the development would have no impact on the running of the company. Investors disagree. A senior executive at a leading venture capital fund in India that has an interest in Mu Sigma frowns on husbandwife partnership in business.

"Conflict in one area tends to seep into another," he says. Although family owned companies are plenty in India, married couples heading different segments of the same firm are a rarity.

Till Ego Does Us Apart Still, how have the marriages endured the tribulations associated with the workplace? ET spoke to four couples who run businesses together to find out the secrets of their successful business partnership.

Turns out a mix of trust and professionalism at the workplace is critical to a successful business partnership in India. The thumb rule for couples aiming for a successful business partnership is to ensure that they do not directly report to each other, says BK Goenka, chairman of the $ 3 billion steelto-home textiles conglomerate Welspun. He speaks from experience. Goenka's wife of 28 years, Dipali is CEO and joint MD of Welspun and reports to Rajesh Mandawewala, the MD of the group.

"In the office, she is the CEO and not my wife. There is no special treatment given to her," says Goenka who went against Marwari family tradition to support his wife's decision to join the business. Goenka says he has had no involvement in his wife's career and ensured that she learnt the ropes like any other employee.

But what about back home? A few years ago, Amit Jatia, vice- chairman of McDonald's India (west and south) and Smita Jatia, who is the company's MD, got into a heated discussion about work over dinner at home. Suddenly, one of their children snapped, "Please stop it. This is not your boardroom".

The couple were stunned into silence, ate their dinner quietly and reflected on the incident later. They have since followed a rule keep their personal and professional lives separate, especially when their children are around.

That apart, a clear demarcation in work space and accepting that the spouse is an expert in the other's field are key to maintain the balance, according to the Jatias. "Having confidence in each other's abilities and having clear separate lines of responsibility where goals are aligned are critical," says Smita. When such relationships attain longevity, it could impress investors, though many VCs say investing in such firms bears the same risks as any other.

"A personal dimension to the workplace could be a positive because couples will know each other's strengths more than anyone," says Sandeep Murthy, partner at Lightbox Ventures. Take the case of GrowthStory, an entrepreneurship platform floated by serial entrepreneurs Meena Ganesh and Krishnan Ganesh. They have founded and led four green field startups, nine fund raises from institutional VCs, four successful exits to companies listed in India, UK and the US and seven mergers and acquisition transactions.

Krishnan Ganesh says it is respect for each other and complementing each other's strengths that helps them work as a team. "She looks after operations, execution, hiring and I look at strategy, funding, networking and marketing areas. These demarcations and at all times her area will be her call and vice versa," says Ganesh.

Defined, Separate Roles Most married business partners start a business together or the wife joins the husband later. But Chumbak, a startup that makes curios to clothes, was Shubhra Chadda's idea. Husband Vivek Prabhakar joined the startup nearly seven months after inception, when he saw the huge potential in the firm. It was time to make some adjustments in their lives.

"We realised our work personalities were very different from our private lives and that took some time to get used to," recalls Prabhakar. Today they have defined separate roles. As CEO and cofounder, Prabhakar looks at the big picture story the overall system, warehouses, finances of Chumbak, now a 15-store company. Chadda oversees micro aspects like design and products.

Of course, there have been arguments at work, but they are no different than the ones they have had with colleagues. "If you get professionals on board, you need to run the company like that," says Prabhakar. He says he was not hired at Chumbak because he is "Shubhra's husband".

Chadda says many employees realised that the founders are married only after working for 4-5 months. "We do not refer to our marriage even during induction because we are not here because of our spouses."

 |  ET Bureau  |  16 June 2016, 

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