The new buzzword of the Indian Startup scene is Agripreneurship - A combination of Agriculture and Entrepreneur is someone who aims to revolutionize how farmers have inherently produced, harvested, stored and distributed their goods since times forever. But Parikshit Sampat Sai is not the newbie latching on to the buzzword bandwagon. He has been here for years - Passionately investing 17+ years in the rural agricultural ecosystem, travelling around 15 states, closely interacting with approximately 50,000 farmers, working with 300 mandies, commission agents, over 5000 seed and fertilizer manufacturers and distributors, over 100 subject matter experts, scientists etc - bringing actual on-ground insight to the table. Anyone starting out on this journey would take years to get there - that is if their patience allows them to.
Parikshit was born into a Farmer's family. A medical student and a high school dropout, Parikshit started his entrepreneurial journey with the foundation of a software company in Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. His passion for Automation and Digitalization kept him motivated to stay close to his roots. So no matter what he did, whether it was developing and executing projects for rural shopkeepers, farmers, educational institutions, health care centres, panchayats or designing projects like Irrigation automation, cashless smart cards for dairy farmers, Parikshit's endeavours remained attached to his home ground.
But not everything goes according to plan. Parikshit lost so much money in his first start-up as he was uninformed in the field He took the failure hard, and took it as a personal hit - we all do, don't we? Ask him about his resurfacing and Parikshit says, “Time taught me that there is nothing personal in the business”.
There was one thing that he never gave up on - His insight. The word 'Give Up' was not for him. When Pranam Kisan started in 2006, it was a unique project of its kind. It was a family of farmers that started out small but then grew to have over 10000+ farmers involved directly or indirectly in the mission. Their hopes pinned down on the core team that was leading the initiative - A beacon of hope in an otherwise not-so-kind world that has taken advantage of them for as long as they can remember.
But no good work starts off with a smooth sail. Parikshit and his team had to face all headwinds of a newborn venture in an underexplored, underfunded space. Not one, not two, 19 pilots failed in terms of economic viability and scalability but Parikshit kept going. Because he knew one thing was succeeding - Learnings. And then, there were 10 pilot projects that succeeded.
Today, Pranam Kisan stands tall with 29 completed pilot projects in 15 states based on the "Soil2Sale" method of sustainable agriculture. So much so, that Parikshit has actually come to be known as the 'Master of Execution' for any agribusiness-related project - his successes sure, but more so his failures have brought him here. Sharing the podium with the BRICS Business Council Agribusiness Working Group in 2017, winning the SCIFI Fin-pitch 2018 for the unique concept of microfinance and digital credit scoring for the farming community, being awarded a Grant from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Govt. of India for the upliftment of small and marginal farmers through a consumer subscription-based business model on Community Farming in 2019 - the achievement list for Parikshit has not stopped growing ever since.
It is not his success alone. His Co-founders Simple and Sumit, his advisors, his mentors, and his on-ground execution and administration team all have a piece in his growing pie of success. He doesn't dwell on his past and the mistakes that were incurred to get to this point. He believes that there is not any past and the future is the only result of today. His dream of building a sustainable agricultural ecosystem is not a day's job and he restlessly executes parts of it every day putting together piece by piece of the large picture.
Community Supported Agriculture, Agri-tourism, Advanced Barter Systems, the Optimization of resources, the Digitization of farming processes, and the streamlining of supply chains from farm to consumer - Parikshit and his team are ensuring they don't miss any aspect to bring India's farmers their long overdue.
Parikshit feels he has learned a lot from his past - but his heart preserves the innocence of a child. His family has supported him and cared for him back home as he went out solving issues of the real world on the ground.
When asked what he would advise his fellow Founders, Parikshit gives out a few words of hard-earned wisdom -
1. Think twice, act wise (Never regret your decisions, just deep think before taking any decision)
2. Never react, always respond. (The outcome from a reaction is uncertain but you can control the outcome with your response)
3. Never mix personal and professional relationships (Every point should be clear at the very first step otherwise you will lose both personal and professional both relationships)
4. Family is the priority (Spend as much as time you can with your family otherwise you will regret it)
5. Always remember that you never need a crowd of relationships, always focus on quality over quantity.
6. Health is wealth. Never skip your daily exercise. No matter if it's 30 minutes or 3 hours, it's in a gym or at your home.
7. Trust is the most expensive thing in this world. Never give it to anybody for free. Everyone should earn it.
8. Never run behind the money. Always work to upskill yourself. Identify your skill and what you love to do the most, choose that as your career and you will never lose.
9. Never confuse your dream with your skill. Always remain a student and a learner. Learning never ends. Do one thing but do it completely. Don't try to make perfect things, just do things with your best efforts.
10. Today is the only day you have to live so do whatever you want to do with the last day of your life. Don't skip any work for the future, just do it today.
That one thought that keeps him going is, ''Every day I wake up with the feeling that today is the last day of my life so do whatever best I can do with my life."
Fear is your worst enemy, Risk is your best friend.
Parikshit Sampat Sai, Founder, Pranaam Kisan
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