Role of Entrepreneurial Torque and Original Startups

The 186th anniversary of Jamsetji Tata's birth in Navsari would have been celebrated (March 3, 1839) by the time this article is published. I visited Navsari for the city's celebration, visited his birth home, and launched the Gujarati version of my co-authored book, Jamsetji Tata.

- R GOPALAKRISHNAN

It is forgotten that Tata was a startup at one time! Physics students understand torque as the extra power required to crank up a machine. For example, your body needs coffee or yoga when you wake up, or a cold car starts slowly for the daily run. Startups also require torque to reach a running mode before accelerating.

This torque phase of entrepreneurship is heavy-duty and frustrating, requiring tinges of luck. This phase brings a danger of early mortality. Torque demands tangible resources plus the untiring commitment of the founder(s), and one thing more—the overcoming of hurdles by competition, regulation, and administration. Tata faced them in the early years, like the government's opposition to steel manufacturing or the Indian Institute of Science. They failed to set up a passenger car joint venture with Honda in the 80s, they failed their proposal to run airlines with Singapore Airlines in the 90s, and their attempt to manufacture Nano in Singur in the 2000s.

The logistics business is highly relevant nowadays, though shipping is less important now than a century ago. During the late 1800s, the pre-eminent shipping line was the British Peninsular & Orient Lines (P&O), which the colonial government heavily supported. Since P&O had a virtual monopoly, the firm charged exorbitant rates to Indian exporters. Jamsetji's textile exports to Japan were affected, as were the export activities of other Indian and Jewish merchants from India.