CEO Insights Magazine

"Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true” says Baba Kishore Mutta.

CEO Insights' exclusive teams connect with Baba Kishore Mutta (Founder & CEO, Ealkay Consulting), a passionate professional whose story of becoming a successful business leader is an inspiration for millions of aspirants. Success did not come easy to him; he was born and brought up in a very humble background, but that did not stop him from dreaming and believing in his abilities. It was his tenacity and persistent hard work that brought him this far he is today an expert in providing strategic and sustainable business solutions. From the comfort salary of a CFO, Baba took a bold decision to become an entrepreneur to support entrepreneurs and nurture sustainable organizations leveraging his core experience in Corporate Finance & Business Strategy.

His organization Ealkay Consulting is committed to building scalable business solutions in the areas of strategy, finance, legal, and tech practice for startups and growth stage companies. Baba has two decades of unrivalled experience working with multiple reputed organizations in leadership positions and spearheading their operations. He has also worked on various Greenfield & Brownfield projects and helped raise huge funds spanning Debt, Structured Finance, Private Equity & IPO. Under his leadership, Ealkay Consulting is envisioned to become the most trusted advisory and consulting company for emerging businesses. Let's hear it from Baba as he talks about his journey and more.

Tell us about your educational journey that shaped you into a successful leader.
I have had very financially challenging situations throughout my childhood; unlike other kids, I had no access to formal education

or social ecosystem until the fifth grade. With the support of my friend's father, I was able to secure a seat in St. Joseph's Public School, which turned out to be the turning point of my life. This school gave me a lot of exposure and the first step towards formally learning English. In fifth grade, I realised that even if I have limitations on my end, I should carry the fire in me to learn from the people and surroundings. The small thought process which started as a kid helped me to become a CFO of a company and later an entrepreneur. Despite the financial challenges, my calibre and capability got me scholarships for intermediate and graduation, which eventually paved my way to pursue an MBA from Sikkim Manipal University, CA-Inter from The Institute of Chartered Accountants Of India, an Advanced Program in Corporate Strategy from IIM Lucknow, and the latest PGCP in Fintech from IIM Nagpur.

Why did you choose Hyderabad to be the breeding ground for your company?
I was brought up in Hyderabad since I was three months old; despite my socio-economic limitations, I am blessed to have a good school and graduation friends along with many people as my professional friends and wonderful Mentors, ex-bosses who helped me to build a strong network throughout my career. I never wanted to leave Hyderabad to give back the comfort to my parents for the enormous sacrifices they made for our daily Roti, Kapada, aur Makaan as a Family. With my spouse Srivalli Lalitha Deepthi Mutta, a qualified corporate lawyer, as Co-founder, I started our organization Ealkay Consulting, to give back to society by creating careers with responsibility and sustainability, bringing smiles to the young and deserving talent. This city holds a special place in my heart in many ways, and that has been the primary reason for me to start my venture here.

What are the fundamental factors you take into consideration while suggesting structured strategic solutions to startups and growth stage companies?
The moment a startup or a growth stage company comes to us, we

start scrutinizing its background thoroughly before we start the consultation process. There are a few vital areas that we take into consideration the founder's background, his/ her commitments in the ecosystem, the level of viability of the case to commercialize or monetize in the real world, his/her aspirations with the company's products or services and the company's investment in R& D. We also check through the technical department of the company and assess how strong is the support system of the company commensurating with the size of the Company; I believe if a business's core experience has to succeed, there needs to be a well-structured support system. Most importantly, I make sure to check the company's account and corporate governance standards. At last, I check the financial resources that have been raised and deployed by the company and how that is being quantified. These are a few parameters in the ecosystem I study when trying to give a structured strategic solution to startups and growth stage companies so they have the pivot ready.

What are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
India is now the third largest startup ecosystem and already has more than 100 unicorns. The startup market has created abundant jobs, has built a huge valuation, and is poised to become even more vast by 2030, when the entire startup ecosystem shall be part of the estimated $5 trillion market economy, with India itself expected to be the 3rd world's largest economy. And strategic business consulting has a vital role in rightfully guiding these businesses so that their vision and goals are achieved with long term sustainability, the pivot of Ealkay Consulting as a most trusted business companion.

Baba Kishore Mutta, Founder & CEO, Ealkay Consulting
Having multiple educational qualifications from reputed institutions Baba is a strategic business consultant with 22 years of rich experience and a specialization in Corporate & Structured Finance, Business Strategy & Valuations, Private Equity, Capital Markets, Taxation, and Company Law.