Turning Rs 50 to crores

PNC Menon's success story unveiled

He began his entrepreneurial journey with the tic et to !"an with Rs 50 in his poc et# He decided to co"e bac ho"e $5 years ago to set up a co"pany that would trans%or" the way that we perceived &uality in the real estate business# He decided to ta e his co"pany public in '00( and got an overwhel"ing response %ro" the )ndian "ar et# He has built palaces in the *ul% and so"e o% the "ost "agni%icent buildings here in )ndia# He is PNC Menon+ ,ounder o% -obha .evelopers# The )n%osys global education centre+ spread over //0 acres in Mysore+ this is independent )ndia1s largest "onolithic structure# !ver $(+000 students wal ed these hallways every year "a ing it the largest popular education centre in the world# 2verything here see"s larger than li%e and it is bound to be given that a "an %or the last /0 years has been building palaces in !"an and the *ul% has brought his "asterpiece o% Modern )ndia to li%e# This clear sense o% ownership Menon %eels today is perhaps a result o% his past# 3 childhood+ that had very little# Below is a verbatim transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18 Q: I have heard that you landed in Oman with Rs 50 in your pocket with no contacts, with no idea of what you were going to do with the exception of this one gentleman that you had accidentally met in erala !efore you left" #hat was it like, take me through the key turning points that helped you esta!lish yourself to the num!er four player first in $%&' and then the num!er one player in $%&( and $%&)* 34 ) had a gentle"an who said you should co"e to !"an+ try the opportunity and he was a captain in those days in the ar"y# ) now the business a little+ but when ) went there and saw ) %elt that ) was a $/th century person stepping into '$st century# -o it was initially a shoc # How will ) "atch to a re&uire"ent o% this country which is totally international+5 ) thought# -ince ) did not have any "oney+ ) had to literally go and borrow 6 %irst capital was borrowed+ we borrowed "oney so"e /+000 rial %ro" the ban then ) bought a pic up which did not have an air condition and the te"perature goes up to 75 .egree Celsius# ) was travelling around in that pic up+ ) co"pleted al"ost $05+000 ilo"etres in that# 8y the ti"e ) did that+ ) had established "y re&uire"ent o% business and then it was a growth story# 9ithin 7:( years+ our "ost prestigious client was the .iwan o% !"an and got job %ro" the .iwan# Then %ro" that onwards till today ; we are tal ing about al"ost /5 years and ) have been wor ing %or the .iwan ; continuously doing palaces etc %or the last /0 years#

Q: +his is the story that people in India don,t know much a!out !ecause we hear you talk a!out your results -uarter.after.-uarter not even you !ut your management talks a!out your results -uarter.after.-uarter !ut your operations would continue to exist in places like /u!ai, in places like Oman, in places like the 012, we don,t know much a!out that, take us through what is going on and what are your aspirations now as far as that side of your !usiness is concerned* 34 This business is already /5 year old business and we have very highly reputed there+ we do the palaces %or the rulers o% the *ul% "ainly the <atar rulers+ !"ani rulers and currently we are also wor ing %or the -ultan o% 8runei and we are doing his palace now# There are not "any contractors around the world who does interiors %or the palaces# ) would say there "ay not be even around ten co"panies around the world+ so we beca"e one o% the ten# ) de%initely wanted to divide the ris o% a geography+ we were only in the *ul%# -o ) thought why not another geography+ ) loo ed at other countries+ ) loo ed at =nited -tates+ ) loo ed at 2urope then ) thought the best thing is to co"e to )ndia and loo at the opportunities here and we decided to be in the south in 8angalore and do not regret "y decision when ) loo at the past# Q: +hat was $5 years ago" 3rom the turnover of Rs $00 crore in $%%5, today 4o!ha /evelopers is a Rs $,500 crore company with a!out 5,000 employees" I want to ask you a -uestion !ecause I am intrigued !y this, you decided the name company after your wife, 6aptain 7air who also comes from the state as you do also decided to name his company after his wife, why do you think this has happened !ecause we don,t see this happened very often in corporate India* 34 ) have had a wonder%ul wi%e# ) believe in astrology# -o according to the astrology signs+ that ) have+ ) a" supposed to be luc y a%ter "y "arriage who" ) "arry is not i"portant but ) got "y "arried to this lady %ro" that day onwards ) have been growing# -o ) say she has been a part o% the growth also+ why not her na"e+ ) did not thin "ore than that# >P3*28R23?> Q: #hat are the charts telling you at this point in time a!out what your future looks like* 34 @ot o% growth# Q: 8ou do this every day* 34 2very year# Q: 1ny stum!ling !locks at this point in time, any !ig challenges that you are ready to get over*

34 ) thin it is all over+ the tur"oil or the recession o% last recession was very pain%ul but ) thin that is over# Q: One of the other things I have noticed and I wanted to ask you a!out it, I understand you carry a calculator in your pockets with you all times* #hy you need to !e sort of punching in num!ers constantly to figure out what is going on in which township* 34 ) have believed throughout "y li%e business is nothing but nu"bers even the whole li%e is nothing but nu"bers# 9hen you tal about nu"bers in a business+ large nu"bers and ) a" not very good in arith"etic# -o ) have decided+ ) need a calculator so ) can get all the nu"bers# Q: It is with you at all* 34 Not with "e# ) have insisted that all the "anagers o% -obha carry a calculator# Q: 8ou don,t trust them, is it* 34 )t is not about trusting the"# 9e can be "ore e%%icient in ter"s o% whatever nu"bers we deal with# 9hen we ca"e bac ho"e it was a cultural di%%erence also# 2ven though ) belong to this country+ ) grew up here# The "ethod o% doing business is co"pletely di%%erent# Here when ) ca"e to )ndia especially in the real estate business+ there was a lot o% eAaggeration# Q: +hat is what I was going to ask you, doing !usiness in India is one thing !ut doing !usiness in India within the real estate !usiness is another thing completely !ecause you are talking a!out transparency, you are talking a!out !eing a!ove !oard, you are talking a!out sticking to what you have promised, delivering on what you have promised, those are things that is not accepted as part of the real estate culture in this country" 34 That is one good advantage we had because ) ca"e with a di%%erent culture to the business and when ) started+ the culture was co"pletely di%%erent and it was highly appreciated# ) thought there was a gap between what is being done internationally+ what is being done in )ndia both product and the transaction "ethod# Q: It all !oils down to !ureaucratic wrangling9 it all !oils down to in a sense connections, contacts, how have you !een a!le to steer clear of all of that* 34 -o long as you buy private land+ you don1t have a proble"# Bou should not loo %or a govern"ent land# *overn"ent land probably "ay bring proble"s with you# -o -obha has a policy+ we never loo %or govern"ent land# 9hen we buy a private land+ we will go to the details o% the legal re&uire"ent o% land then we go %or the design+ we generally

do not deviate %ro" the re&uire"ent o% govern"ent when it co"es to design+ we will deviate us+ we have a policy not to deviate# Q: 3or the last $5 years, 4o!ha has concentrated on the market in 4outh India !uilding luxury and super luxury residential spaces and !ig scale commercial complexes" 7ow, 4o!ha is moving north" :ow are you gearing up for this !attle !ecause it is going to !e a challenging one, isn,t it* 34 ) don1t thin it is a battle because all people have their own spaces and -obha will have its own space# -o we are doing a township which is about $50 acres+ we have got about "ore than /00 villas co"ing up in a beauti%ul township# 9hen ) ca"e to )ndia+ ) ca"e to )ndia with a drea" o% doing a very proper in%rastructure# -o ) %eel that as an )ndian we have got that ind o% eAperience %ro" outside+ ) have wor ed outside %or "any years "ore than /5 years+ ) thought the ti"e has co"e %or "e to give it bac to the country+ o%course ) a" going to "a e "y "oney# Q: 4o has the reception in /elhi !een a warm one or has it !een cold !ecause it is a very competitive market and we are all well aware of the competition that exists* 34 9e are very s"all so people ignored us#
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