Ep 4 Renuka Ramnath on Finance as a Career
Renuka Ramnath handles a BILLION DOLLAR fund called Multiples. She speaks about why the financial sector is still full of opportunities even after she has spent more than 30 years in the sector.
Renuka Ramnath
The 4th episode of my podcast Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong brought Renuka Ramnath into the studio. She has been featured in listings such as: the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business (Business Today, India); India's most Powerful CEO's (Economic Times), the Top 25 Non Bank Women in Finance (US Banker's global list).As the MD & CEO of ICICI Venture for close to a decade, she led that firm to become one of the largest private equity funds in India. In January 2009, she quit ICICI Venture to set up Multiples a private equity fund with a billion dollars in the kitty.But before I talk about this, thanks to all of you for the overwhelming response to our podcast. It continues to be the No 1 podcast. Thanks for letting a Dreamer compete with the Unicorns and Market Shapers. That is us in the top left there. Thank you!!!!
Winning in a Man's World
What makes her achievements even more special? I found two admirable elements:
Winning in the financial sector - a sector seen everywhere as a man's world. Think of the gender stereotypes of a financial whizkid. They are almost always male. The volatility of the sector is a learning opportunity. It does not allow her to sit back. There is always something happening all the time. There is also the opportunity to grow for the next two to three decades. The opportunity to enhance financial inclusion and take it to lower down to the bottom of the pyramid is the opportunity.
Leadership styles from Dreamer to Unicorn: The insights on what it takes for a startup to grow from being a Dreamer to a Unicorn. Renuka's insights on the role of the founder(s) resonated with me. When the Founder starts the business, they do it because they see an opportunity that others cannot see.
I asked her what she enjoys more, raising money and investing it? Or running a company with the founder and helping it scale?
[audio mp3="https://abhijitbhaduri.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Bldg-a-Co-is-a-creative-process.mp3"][/audio]
What is it about the financial sector that keeps her interested even after 3 decades. Doesn't she get bored?
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There is another sketchnote given below where I doodled about things I found fascinating in her talk.The role of the leader in a start up is to bring the energy and passion.
The founder of an organization in the Dreamer stage[audio mp3="https://abhijitbhaduri.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Advice-for-Leaders-in-Dreamers.mp3"][/audio]
Here is the MUST listen episode featuring Renuka Ramnath. Don't miss the segment where she speaks about how the changing consumer behavior of the Indian Kitchen can be a big area of growth. Listen here
Don't miss the previous episodes
Have you heard the previous episode of Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong where film maker Balki speaks of storytelling, team work and creativity? <listen here>
What is the biggest life lesson that sports can teach you? Is specialisation bad for your career?
Anita and Harsha Bhogle speak about it in this episode of Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong <listen here>
In the very first episode of Dreamers & Unicorns by PeopleStrong, you can hear Pankaj Bansal speak about the downside of being an entrepreneur; if employment, entrepreneurship and gig work are the three stages that define the #NewCodeOfWork? <listen here>
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