How Ratan Tata is working in intersection between entrepreneurship, tech-led innovation and philanthropy

“Tata and his team have been working with us to facilitate business with customers we could not have reached out to directly,” says Paytm’s Sharma. “An introduction from Tata carries weight.”

Amit Jain, founder of Jaipur-based Girnar Software, which owns Cardekho, Pricedekho, Bikedekho and Gaadi, says Tata has intentionally helped with sharp advice on international business and deep insight into the mind of the Indian consumer. Tata invested in it this February.


"Tata's investment in us has also helped us build credibility with dealers," he adds. Tata is not just willing to bet his money on the underdog. He is also willing to lend them the personal goodwill that comes with his name. “We get calls from his team every other day on how Tata ecosystem can help us. We realise we have to prove ourselves at every step, but they have made the right introductions for us to get the foot in,” says Pegu of Swasth India.

The second theme: Tata always looks for entrepreneurs who have a big vision that can solve a big problem. And he is able to spot this in an entrepreneur in one 60-90 minute meeting. “His questions were not business plan-related, but he was listening more on what our vision was for India and overseas,” recalls Jain. “His is a simple methodology... if he likes the vision he invests.” Lastly, all entrepreneurs who have meet him are touched by his humility. “He does not make you feel uncomfortable. He is very humble and listens very patiently. He makes an effort to understand what you are saying and the problem that you are solving,” says Paytm’s Sharma. “We meet him once a quarter. He is mostly a listener. He is generally very supportive of the entrepreneurial culture,” says Gaurav Singh Khushwaha, founder, Bluestone, an online jewellery retailer in which Tata has invested in.



The Mentor

Mashelkar has several stories to tell about Ratan Tata. One of his favourite happened in 2006, when he delivered a talk on ‘Innovation as a Way of Life’ at a Tata Group offsite. Mashelkar then narrated an incident when an American executive asked him a question.

“We don’t hang a person for failing but we do hang them for not taking risks. What do you do in India?” The obvious answer was that we do the reverse here. Everyone in the audience laughed. Tata didn’t. During the break, Tata cornered Mashelkar and asked him about ways of changing the culture in India. Tata took the idea to heart and established the ‘Daring to Try’ award within the Tata Group, and it has developed into the most coveted internal award in the group. This passion and respect for risk-taking has continued into his retirement, and now drives his engagement with entrepreneurs and research students alike.

Ratan Tata had set the tone for his retirement plans even before he stepped down as chairman. In 2010, he led the Tata Trusts to give $50 million to the Harvard Business School, where he had studied business management after his degree in engineering. Daniel Nocera, professor at MIT, got an investment from the Tata Group to commercialise his invention.

After his retirement, Tata began to spend a lot of time in the US, specifically at MIT. Ratan Tata has for long been interested in low-cost innovation, something he believed was necessary to change the world. The Tata Nano was after all his idea. He has now pushed even harder at innovating for the poor, and found a good partner at MIT. He funded the frugal engineering centre at this institution.

The topics of research at the MIT Tata Centre reflects Ratan Tata’s key interests: nutrition, low-cost housing, sustainable energy and waste management, clean water. Tata spends substantial time there, mentoring students on disruptive innovation, specifically on frugal innovation. He is trying hard to bring a low-cost mindset to MIT. To boot, he is also trying to bring in a MIT-like innovative culture to IIT-B.

Tata had started the MIT centre first, but was convinced it needed a partner in India. He approached IIT-B to open a sister centre, which would work with MIT and solve problems of Indian society. IIT-B spent nearly a year in developing a plan, and the Tata Trust last year gave it Rs 95 crore, the highest ever grant for IIT-B. Students work in areas like energy, water, education, housing, and healthcare. “We at Tata Centre focus on exposing students to the problems of society,” says Sanjay Mahajani, IIT-B professor in charge of the Centre. In the meeting with the IIT-B team, Tata made it clear money will not be a constraint for progress. “He believes technology can play a crucial role in solving people’s problems,” says Mahajani.

A similar belief drives Tata’s involvement in the XPrize, a multimillion dollar prize in the US for solving big problems. XPrize will launch it in India this year, for solving problems in areas close to Tata’s heart: water, energy, waste management and food and nutrition. Tata believes some of the innovations will come from India for solving the world’s biggest problems.

Stepping back

Over a dozen current and past Tata Group officials ET spoke to say they still interact a fair bit with Tata; but those are more personal equations, not professional conversations. Soon after his retirement, Tata made his intentions to step back very clear. “I am very conscious that I don’t want my shadow hanging over the group, a ghost walking the corridors, someone giving unsolicited suggestions. I don’t consider myself in the coming years to be playing the role of mentor to Cyrus,” he wrote in Tata Review, an internal publication.

Ratan Tata led the Tata Group for five full decades and he will always be available to serve should the group need his counsel. So this might be a strong, even cruel thing to say: Tata’s life after retirement suggests the Tata Group does not fit within his ‘happy space.'