Entrepreneurship in DMET: A Rare Spark That Must Become a Fire
- Prateek Khanna
- 16 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Lessons From My Own Journey
Entrepreneurship within the DMET ecosystem is a rare commodity.
And this is not because we lack capability.
In fact, DMETians consistently rise to the pinnacle of leadership — in shipping, energy, operations, technology, and global corporations. We command ships, manage fleets, lead organizations, and influence industries across continents.
Yet, when it comes to building our own enterprises, the numbers are surprisingly small.
This thought has stayed with me for years.
I have been a hustler for as long as I can remember — starting with teaching tuitions from my second year of college, doing whatever it took to stay independent, relevant, and learning. That hustle never really stopped. Today, as I write this from a hospital room, I quietly complete 15 years of entrepreneurship.
And the more time I spend reflecting, the more convinced I am of one thing:
Entrepreneurship is one of the most important forces in the world.
Because entrepreneurs don’t just chase opportunities — they solve problems of the past, present, and future.
The reason I am writing this blog — even now, in a hospital environment — is simple and deeply personal. I want to see more entrepreneurs emerge from the DMET ecosystem.
And believe me when I say this: we have everything it takes.
We have seniors who have walked the path before us. We have juniors who are hungry, skilled, and fearless. We have a brotherhood that is stronger than most alumni networks I have seen — even those globally celebrated for entrepreneurship.
If the IIT ecosystem is admired for mentorship and startup culture, I genuinely believe the DMET brotherhood is even stronger in intent, loyalty, and willingness to stand shoulder to shoulder.
In fact, if I had to honestly account for even one percent of whatever success I’ve had — it would come from this brotherhood.
My entrepreneurial journey has been shaped by mentors and seniors from DMET who guided me not just with advice, but with belief:
Shailendra Sir — Co-founder, Valiance Solutions, one of the world’s leading deep-tech AI companies
Gaurav Dubey Sir — CEO, Livlong
Seniors like Mudit Sir, Kaushik Seal Sir, Anand Sir, and many others
And my own batchmates, who stood with me shoulder to shoulder during the toughest phases
If I start naming everyone who influenced me, this blog will never end.
Yet, despite all this support, I’ve also seen something worrying.
I’ve seen many young — and even senior — entrepreneurs make very fundamental mistakes. Mistakes that are avoidable. Mistakes that don’t come from lack of intelligence, but from lack of shared learning.
I usually don’t give motivational gyaan. But my next few blogs will not be motivation — they will be documentation.
Lessons I’ve learned by watching others succeed, struggle, and sometimes fail.
If someday these words help someone build something bigger than me — something the DMET community can be proud of — then writing this would be worth it.
My Own Secrets to Starting a Business
And Making It Work
Over the years, people have often asked me about business — how to start, how to sustain, and how to survive when things don’t go as planned.
There is no single formula. There is no shortcut.
What I can share are a few principles shaped by experience — across ventures, industries, failures, and moments of quiet reflection. These are not rules carved in stone, but lessons that have consistently mattered.
If you’re building something of your own, these five ideas may help you not just survive — but flourish.
If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it
Entrepreneurship demands enormous amounts of time, energy, patience, and emotional resilience. If you don’t genuinely enjoy what you’re building, the journey will exhaust you long before it rewards you.
Most meaningful ventures don’t begin with a perfect plan or a grand vision deck. They begin with curiosity — the desire to create something useful, something people value, something you can be proud of.
In the early days, the goal is often simple: Let it pay the bills. Let it grow honestly.
For me, business has always been about impact — bringing capable people together and building something that improves lives in some way. Profit matters, but purpose sustains you when numbers don’t yet add up.
A business, much like a creative pursuit, starts as a blank canvas. Every small decision matters. And unlike art, you can’t easily paint over mistakes — you learn to evolve with them.
Be innovative — create something different
Standing out today is harder than ever. The world is crowded, competitive, and impatient.
Survival requires differentiation.
You don’t need to reinvent the world, but you must do something meaningfully better or different. Sometimes that difference comes from innovation. Sometimes from execution. And sometimes, from simply caring more than others do.
If you enter a crowded space, your customer experience must be exceptional — not acceptable. People forget products. They never forget how you made them feel.
Pride of association works wonders
A business is ultimately just people. And more often than not, your people are your product.
There is nothing more damaging than working at a place you feel apologetic about. On the other hand, when people are proud of where they work and what they’re building, something powerful happens.
Pride creates ownership. Ownership creates advocacy. Advocacy creates momentum.
In a world filled with mediocrity and indifference, a team that believes in the mission becomes your greatest competitive advantage.
Lead by listening
Leadership is not about having all the answers. It’s about creating space for better answers to emerge.
A good leader listens deeply. Conviction matters, but imposing views without dialogue rarely leads to lasting success. No one has a monopoly on good ideas.
Listening builds trust. Trust builds alignment. Alignment builds results.
Praise openly and generously. Criticism, when needed, should be thoughtful and private (Learned this very hard way, my cofounders would know this).
Most people already know when they’ve fallen short — what they need is belief, not humiliation.
People grow when they feel seen.
Be visible
Leadership doesn’t happen behind a desk.
Being present — with teams, partners, and customers — gives you insights no dashboard ever will. Conversations reveal patterns. Patterns reveal problems. Problems reveal opportunities.
I’ve always believed in staying close to the ground: asking questions, capturing ideas, and listening actively. Visibility isn’t about authority — it’s about accessibility.
Even as organisations scale, the mindset must remain entrepreneurial: proactive, responsive, and human. That’s how large systems retain the soul of small businesses.
A final word on failure
Not every venture survives. That’s reality.
Most businesses don’t make it — and that doesn’t mean the effort was wasted. Failure teaches lessons that success never does.
Progress is rarely linear.
What matters is the courage to stand up, recalibrate, and keep going.
Because in the end, building something meaningful is not about getting everything right the first time — it’s about having the resilience to continue.
