Life at IMDR

Saurabh Pol

PGDM 2020-22

Entrepreneur

Prepared by: Prathamesh Hanshetti

Mr. Saurabh Pol is a young businessman. He completed his BCA in 2015 and joined in Accenture ltd. as recruiter. In 2018 he started “Vighnahar Aviation”. In the beginning, He focused on Shivneri Fort and Lenyadri Temple. These places have approximate 1000 steps each. It is really tough to climb for the old people and children. So, Saurabh felt that there was a need of a easy way for these people to reach their destination. He raised capital on his own and took help of some well-known people in that area for marketing. He found a good customer group for his Aviation business. In the first year, he reached at break-even point and that was the first success of his start-up.

Mr. Saurabh was confident about his start-up. After getting good demand of helicopter rides in Shivneri and Lenyadri, he had the thought of expanding his business. Hence, he established his second base at Lonavala. At the Lonavala base, the centre of attraction for helicopter rides was Pawna Dam, Lohagad fort and Visapur fort. Till date, 15 big events have been conducted at the Lonavala base. After getting a good response for helicopter rides in the tourism sector, Saurabh shifted his company’s Lonavala base to Balewadi in Pune.

At the newly established Balewadi base, the main centre of attraction for tourism was Pashan Lake, Oxford and Balewadi Stadium. He noticed that people really enjoy the rides but other than that helicopters can be used for much more things than rides. So, Saurabh tried to explore how he can make his helicopters more efficient. After exploring a few other sectors, he noticed that there was a good demand for flower showering from helicopters. He connected with people and got orders of flower showerings. There were public occasions as well as private occasions for flower showering which were covered by him. He is always being innovative for his business.

He doesn’t believe there is a specific age to start a business. He thinks, if you have an idea and if you can take a good follow up for your business then you can start a good business. He believes in upgradation and changes is techniques as per changes in the industry. According to him, being an entrepreneur is really challenging in today’s world. Work- life balance is difficult for start-up owners because you have to give your 100% to your business till you reach a good position in the industry.

As an entrepreneur, he advices the youth to take calculated risks for their business. Resources play a vital role in business and proper use of resources is important. Other than risk and resources, efforts are also very important in his opinion.