Professor Shivaram Malavalli: Entrepreneur Swami

Entrepreneur Meister (in this case Entrepreneur Swami) is a column that focuses on the lives and ventures of entrepreneurs. We take a close look at the entrepreneurs behind the vision, strategy, passion and action in ventures across all sectors.

Written by Damir Perge, edited by Jana Arnold, Entrepreneurdex

Professor Shivaram Malavalli is what every entrepreneur needs on their advisory board. He's like an entrepreneur preacher, prophet, sensei or perhaps an even better term is Entrepreneur Swami (TM).

A major reason I became an entrepreneur was due to my professors, Jerry White and John Welsh at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. As an elective to my Mechanical Engineering studies, I took a
course called Entrepreneurship 101, which they taught with so much enthusiasm, entertainment, education and passion that I decided to pursue entrepreneurship instead of engineering. They wrote a book called "The Entrepreneur Master Planning Guide: How to launch a successful business," which I still own, decades later. These two teachers influenced my life and I'm extremely grateful.

Professor Shivaram is one of those rare entrepreneur professors who have influenced a great many entrepreneurs to fulfill their dreams and potential.

I talked with Professor Shivaram for an hour -- to me personally – he's "the" Entrepreneur Swami: smart, passionate, wise, enthusiastic, intelligent, thoughtful, analytical and considerate. Although I've been an entrepreneur for over 20 years, I couldn't help but get excited about entrepreneurship as I listened to him speak about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs.

Passion for teaching, entrepreneurship and mentoring were the driving factors for his entrepreneur
calling. He explained that he saw a gap in skills and competency in the technocrats who were moving
from school into the corporate world. "When, out of passion for teaching and mentoring, I came to
academia," he explained, "I felt that any country needs more entrepreneurs creating wealth and
employment through innovation and entrepreneurship rather than just employees."

Professor Shivaram teaches by acting and as well as doing.

In 1981, Professor Shivaram started the first Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (STEP) in India,
which went on to win the "Best STEP" Award from the Department of Science and Technology
Government of India for creating an impact in the region. This model was adopted in Malaysia where he went as an advisor under Asian Development Bank sponsorship. He was also recognized for his
contribution to entrepreneurship by the World Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (WASME)
with a special award and a citation in China.

"When I started the first STEP in India in 1981 we were facing a myth that 'entrepreneurs are born and
cannot be made!'" he said. "We had to learn the hard way – by doing and by learning from other
developed countries." He studied the Science Park model in the rest of the world and created a
sustainable, not-for-profit model, which was much needed in India. "My industrial exposure early on,
before coming to academia, helped in understanding the discipline required to be an entrepreneur," he told me.

Professor Shivaram came from a family with no traditional entrepreneurs. During college, he was
exposed to business and trading when he and his friends represented several branded products as
dealers. His mother was a housewife and his father was an officer of the state government. "They came from a generation where taking risk and entering into business was a taboo," he said. They preferred their children to be well educated and find a secure job. "But," he explained, "my father was the secretary to the then Maharaja of Mysore in India and had traveled several times around the world and had a global perspective of entrepreneurship, and he at some point of time encouraged us to go beyond job and explore."

Professor Shivaram's brother, Kumar Malavalli migrated to Canada and later to Silicon Valley where he
started a company called Brocade Communications. Brocade became a successful IPO Venture, which
catapulted Kumar into the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame as a first generation entrepreneur.
Professor Shivaram gained his global perspective of entrepreneurship by his association with and
participating in his brother's ventures. MORE

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