Srinivas TR - I Have Always Been a People Person, I Want to Meet People, Understand Them, See What Motivates Them and See How We Can Work Together (Co-Founder - The Sports School)

Companies today want people who can solve problems and take ownership and responsibility and our formal education at least in India has equipped students with this skill. As such, I think any education which provides confidence, out-of-the-box thinking, entrepreneurship is the need of the hour.

Tell us about your background, journey, and upbringing. 

Born and brought up in Bangalore, India in a middle-class family, my father was a Central government employee and my mother was a homemaker; schooling and education with local school and college till I reached my post-graduation where I managed to get a seat in the prestigious Central College campus of Bangalore in the Department of Commerce. 

Managed to complete CFA along with my post-graduation. Managed to self-fund my education from class 10 onwards by doing part-time jobs from selling photography goods to cooking oil.

The first job was - visiting the faculty at Jain College, Department of Management which helped me to understand what people expect from you, did some industrial trading business on the side along with a friend to keep me going (which helped me understand the sales process). 

TAIB opportunity came by pure luck and maybe right time - right place, but it was a huge learning curve that helped me develop my personality to suit the needs of the business and o3 was all the support and confidence about me by my Partner and go-to man Shyam to start this venture.

What inspired you to take action in your direction and what are your future plans? 

Investment banking has helped me to meet some of the smartest people in our times who have managed to build, survive and grow a different business and who always looks at things in a different way which had always a huge impact on my thought process and when I found a default Engineering college with so much of infrastructure I felt I can do something here and the quest started.

The more people I met the more convinced I was on novels and the need for something like this in our Country and the real breakthrough came after meeting Dr. Chenraj Roychand, Chairman of Jain University, he felt that I was talking about his dream and when Rohan Bopanna heard and was ready to sign up after the first meeting.

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What does your typical workday look like? 

Pre COVID: Travel, meeting people, calls
Post COVID: Zoom meetings and calls

I have always been a people person, I want to meet people, understand them, see what motivates them and see how we can work together. I have always been blessed by a team that can take my thoughts into action both in Investment banking and in The Sports School.

Several global companies have come out and thrown their support behind not needing a formal education. What is your opinion about this? 

Companies today want people who can solve problems and take ownership and responsibility and our formal education at least in India has equipped students with this skill. As such, I think any education which provides confidence, out-of-the-box thinking, entrepreneurship is the need of the hour.

How do you handle someone who has lied on their resume? 

I believe in talking to a person's face to face and to understand the suitability of the person for the job and it is also important to understand the need to lie at that point of time and if it has been a habit and which will then give rise to credibility issue of the person then we need to part ways.

                             

How has covid changed things at your workplace & which of these changes do you intend to make permanently? 

Work from home I think is the new normal and we intend to keep it as efficient as possible. Make your meetings short and to the point to fasten the decisions making. Make reviews and course corrections on a daily basis.

What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs or those eyeing the top job? 

Believe in yourself.
Build a team.
Persistence and Patience.
Transparency in all your decisions.

Which is your favorite book/show and why? 

Make your Bed by William H McRaven I think it is a must-read for any entrepreneur.


Bio:

Srinivas (“TRS”) is the Co-Founder of The Sports School and is widely credited as the visionary of The Sports School. Known for his ability to forge partnerships, Srini has been instrumental in bringing together all the Sporting and Education partners at The Sports School.

Srini is also a Founding Partner and Managing Director of o3 Capital, a leading Investment Bank with offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Singapore with strong credentials in capital syndication and cross-border M&A. 

o3 Capital has been consistently ranked amongst the top investment banks in India. Srinivas has over 20+years of investment banking experience and has advised on several M&A and PE transactions totaling more than USD 5 Bn in aggregate transaction value. 

As the investment banking practice lead at o3 Capital, Srinivas brings his expertise across Technology, Infrastructure, and Industrial sectors.

Prior to co-founding o3 Capital, Srinivas was part of the Investment banking operations of TAIB Bank in India, a Bahrain-based Investment bank, Srinivas is a Chartered Financial Analyst from ICFAI and holds an M.Com degree from Bangalore University.