Dream With Your Eyes Open: An Entrepreneurial Journey
By Ronnie Screwvala
Rupa Publications
Review by Ashok Jainani

In this first book, “Dream with Your Eyes Open”, the first generation entrepreneur and UTV founder Ronnie Screwvala, tells you not one, but in many ways that the bend on the road is not the end of the journey. Ronnie’s message in the book is loud and clear that “It can be done,” if you Dream with Your Eyes Open and have the conviction and courage to follow the course what it takes in entrepreneurship and building business from basics. Ronnie has done it and built a media empire around it. Through this book, he hopes to demystify failure, inspire success, raise ambitions and help people think big.

The success, after a series of hits and misses, Ronnie’s passion to spark change has now taken him to the seemingly unglamorous field of education, infrastructure and health in rural sector through his foundation Swades. He is again “dreaming with eyes open”, this time alongwith the Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi to make an impact and improve rural lifestyles through his foundation.

The PM’s message aptly conveys the theme of the book “I hope the book will encourage the youth of India to pursue their dreams, and in doing so, devote their energies to find innovative ways to build better lives for millions of Indians. I convey my best wishes to Ronnie Screwvala, and hope his effort will serve as an inspiration to many.” The book has received supporting messages by leading industrialists like Mukesh Ambani, Kishore Biyani, Uday Kotak, James Murdoch.

IE&M Take
“If you’ve ever had an impactful, disruptive business idea, been curious about owning a business or committed to growing into an effective leader in the company you work for, this book is a good read to get inspiration.”

Throughout the book, Ronnie Screwvala, in many ways, says “Disruptive ideas sometimes come from the most unlikely places and people. You never know when you are going to discover an interesting product, a path-breaking concept or even a brilliant error that could revolutionize an entire sector. Keep yourself open to the thousand opportunities that present themselves to you daily.”The author suggests keeping an open mind to spot business opportunities, asking questions and being okay with learning some things on the job. Youth and inexperience can actually be tools in an entrepreneur’s arsenal, he says. In the chapter “Opportunity Knocks, Open The Door,” he talks about how being young can be your license to ask questions that older and experienced entrepreneurs might feel shy of asking.

The author details his vast experiences and the myriad lessons learnt over two decades of building a successful business (and some unsuccessful ventures), bringing clarity to a quickly changing business landscape and making an impassioned case for the role of entrepreneurship in the Indian’s glowing future.

The author shares failures, triumphs, thoughts and anecdotes, in a simple narrative that could help reader have better insight and encourages our belief that India can succeed in harnessing our enormous entrepreneurial energy and fills the readers with optimism and hope that “It’s all possible.”

If you’ve ever had an impactful, disruptive business idea, been curious about owning a business or an experienced professional ready to take the plunge into starting your own business or committed to growing into an effective leader in the company you work for, this book is a good read to get inspiration.

This book also comes with a Q & A, where Ronnie gives practical answers to some of the most burning questions about entrepreneurship. Packing the anecdotes and learnings from his “first innings” in the book Ronnie Screwvala shares failures and triumphs in a simple narrative that aims to inspire a generation to dream big. 

About the author: IE&M Team
IE&M Team
Indian Economy & Market is an Indian media and information platform producing data-backed news and analysis on all the vital elements at the intersection of the economy, stock markets, mutual fund, insurance, commodities, currency, technology, startups and business.

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