As part of our ongoing effort to spotlight inspiring startup journeys from the community, this week we spoke to the founder of Business Enablers, Vivek Anand, to learn more about his journey, vision, and what lies ahead. Ahead, read more experts from our exclusive conversation with the founder of Vivek Anand:
Tell us about your startup Business Enablers and the problem you are solving;
After spending two decades as a training and learning professional, I developed a deep interest in HR. Despite my passion and foundational understanding, I struggled to transition into HR roles — largely due to not having a formal HR degree. I pursued international certifications and dedicated time to mastering HR strategy, yet I still found doors closed because I lacked relevant experience.
This challenge inspired me to start a training initiative — initially to help HR professionals avoid the very gaps that held me back. The response was encouraging: I trained and mentored talent from premium institutes in India and Ireland, and supported professionals across 9 countries. My LinkedIn content also began to attract a following.
A turning point came after the second Covid wave when a small business from a tier-2 city in Jharkhand approached me. They were struggling to find good talent and had recently seen a wave of attrition. On working with them, we discovered that the issue wasn’t just hiring — it was systemic, rooted in broken people processes.
We first worked on fixing these internal leaks before recruiting. As a result, several former employees rejoined and the business expanded significantly — now operating in 5 locations, including Kolkata and Bengaluru.
This experience was a revelation: highly unstructured MSMEs desperately need strategic HR and organisational design support. What began as a training company — Skillhub Consulting — evolved into Business Enablers, an OD consulting firm dedicated to empowering MSMEs.
In the last two years, I’ve supported businesses in manufacturing, real estate, construction, edtech, HR-tech and more — helping them strengthen talent systems that drive performance, retention, and growth.
What are your expansion plans?
We are currently focusing on the manufacturing sector — a key growth engine for MSMEs — which informed our strategic relocation from Bengaluru to Pune.
Our vision is to become a leading OD and strategic HR consultancy for MSMEs, supporting growth-stalled businesses to grow faster and stronger.
Parallelly, we are building an AI-enabled Talent Assessment Platform designed specifically for MSMEs. This tool will empower SMEs with data-driven decisions around hiring, training, performance evaluation, promotions, incentives, and succession planning — something that is currently absent in most small and mid-size workplaces.
What are some best practices you advise your clients, and how do they help?
Every business is unique, so we never use off-the-shelf solutions. Our approach focuses on:
a) Aligning people processes with business goals
b) Strengthening accountability and team ownership
c) Building HR frameworks that enable scalability and adaptability
This helps our clients reduce attrition, improve engagement, strengthen leadership pipelines, and grow sustainably.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in life?
As an entrepreneur, the three lessons that have shaped my journey the most are:
1) Have a clear strategic roadmap
2) Build a strong, diverse team
3) Adopt the mindset of a mentor, not just an owner
Too many MSMEs struggle because leaders are trapped in day-to-day operations instead of strategic thinking. They lack teams that challenge them, add perspective, and take accountability. Making the shift from owner to CEO mindset is critical.
What approaches do you follow in your programs?
Our programs are grounded in building frameworks where teams contribute meaningfully and take ownership. We focus on processes that:
> Define purpose and accountability
> Build capability, not dependency
> Foster leadership at every level
Rather than quick fixes, we build systems that strengthen culture, clarity, and performance.
What about your journey makes it most exciting or satisfying?
The impact we’ve been able to create is deeply rewarding.
For example, a small business in a tier-2 city struggling with talent and productivity has now expanded into five cities, including two state capitals. Beyond expansion, we’ve seen measurable improvements in:
Productivity
Profitability
Employee engagement
Those tangible transformations are what make this journey exciting and meaningful.
What is more necessary for a successful startup — a great idea or a good team?
Both are essential — but a proven idea backed by a strong team is when the magic truly happens.
An idea without execution stalls. Execution without a guiding idea scatters. But when vision and team align — that’s when sustained growth and impact become possible.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
