Take up the challenge, work hard: Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala word of advice to youngsters

What was originally planned as a fireside chat between Ashok Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras and The Hindu Group CEO L.V. Navaneeth, at the two-day Deep Tech Summit 2026 organised by The Hindu Group with the SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), turned out to be a motivational session packed with energy and optimism, inspiring technocrats, entrepreneurs, academicians and startups.

The session, titled “From Lab to Nation: How India Can Build A Global Deep Tech Ecosystem”, covered a wide arc of time—from Professor Jhunjhunwala’s return to India in the 1980s, the key principles behind the success of IIT Madras Research Park, do’s and don’ts of entrepreneurship, the need for solutions for everyday problems, two kinds of mentorship for any startup, to many things in between.

When asked what initially convinced him that India needed a completely different model, Professor Jhunjhunwala recalled his return from the U.S. in 1981 and the absence of interaction between industry and academia. Along with a bunch of students, he started building things for the industry. “That was the beginning!” he said.

And was the industry forthcoming? “I also realise that you have to actually reach the top person in the industry. They have the vision to take risks. If you go from below, you will not be able to do that,” he said.

Curious about the IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP) model, which is often cited as one of the most successful industry-academy collaboration models in the country, Mr. Navaneeth sought to understand the key principles behind its design and asked what lesson should other universities learn from it.

“First of all, we looked at IIT Madras Research Park as a startup. Yes, you can take seed money from somewhere, but beyond that, a strong business model must drive that. So, beyond the seed money, you are not going to get any grant. Beyond the seed money, you have to raise money by either venture capital or loans. For that, your business plan has to be very strong and the banks have to be convinced,” said Professor Jhunjhunwala.

The other important thing for such an institute, he added, was: “We cannot have interference either from the government or even from the institute. Because the government does things in its own manner. If you are dependent on government funding, they will, of course, interfere.” Even the institute has its own priorities, he said and emphasised: “If you allow them to interfere, they will never allow you to build.”

Professor Jhunjhunwala recalled how a newspaper article published his quote, which helped him get his first cheque of ₹1 lakh from the chairman of WS Industries. Hard work of one year led to building a prototype, he said, and further recalled how the chairman used the prototype to bring down the cost and emphasised that it was the kind of acumen that business leaders have.

On sustaining optimism, Professor Jhunjhunwala told Mr. Navaneeth, “I probably will stop living if I am not an optimist. A lot of things go wrong. I’m very unhappy with many things. At night, I feel horrible. Sometimes, I don’t sleep. The next morning, however, you have to get back to your work and get going. And you cannot work hard without optimism.”

Regarding real-world challenges, the professor cited how heavy rains affected vehicular traffic on his way to the summit. “And we haven’t found a solution. Who is going to solve this problem? It is we who have to solve it. So, today I am building a consortium of scientists around the country, along with 8-10 startups. So, we will find a technology solution. That’s a kind of thing that we need to do. I am not afraid of failing.”

On entrepreneurship, Professor Jhunjhunwala said he usually asks startup enthusiasts for their background. “Basically, I ask them two things. First, I start getting to know them and their family and try to understand their economic situation and family obligations. I want to understand whether they are in a position to take risks. Because entrepreneurship is about risk. For at least two to three years you will earn zero.”

The second thing he asks them is about their failures. “Tell me about your failures, and what did you do after failures? How do you get up, overcome the failure and restart? Because entrepreneurship is also about failures, getting up and restarting. I have not seen any startup succeeding without two, three, four, five failures.”

He told Mr. Navaneeth, “There are two kinds of mentorship that any startup needs. One is a technology mentorship, where they have a technical problem to solve, and the people in technology can help them mentor that. The second is a business mentorship. Anybody who has run a business, essentially, who has gone through the difficulties of handling cash flows.”

On mentorship, Professor Jhunjhunwala said: “Your experience, your listening to them, will help. Be very clear. You are not going to tell them what to do. In fact, it will be foolish if they listen to you and do exactly what you say. You are a mentor. You will advise. It is up to them to decide whether to take the advice or not. The other important thing about is that the mentor doesn’t feel offended if their advice is not taken.”

For the youngsters, he had this to share: “Take up the challenge. Work hard. This is what you have been trained for. You can do wonders. If you believe, take the impossible things and do that. That’s what I will advise. Nothing more than that. And be truthful to yourself. You will enjoy life. Money will come. Don’t run after money. That’s what I will do!”

Published – April 06, 2026 10:56 pm IST