He took the untrodden path of an entrepreneur, leaving behind his cushy job in England, to set up shop at Bangalore, close to his idol, the legendary Narayana Murthy. Meet the enthusiastic, Dr Santanu Chattopadhyay, Founder and CEO of NationWide Primary Healthcare Services. He believes in the “purpose of life” ideology and wishes to leave behind a mark in the society like his idol. Dr Chattopadhyay’s altruism is influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Rabindra Nath Tagore and a heightened sense of righteousness. A true Bengali, who has an affinity for a cup of “chai” and anything intellectual, Dr Chattopadhyay is quite modest—I discover—as we settle down to talk at his simple Koramangala office.
Early life
Born and brought up in Kolkata, young Dr Chattopadhyay enjoyed growing up in a joint family. A big turning point in life came at the age of 10 when he was packed off to a residential school. It was here at the Ramakrishna Mission school that he imbibed the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Dr Chattopadhyay enjoyed the freedom of being away from parents and used his time at school to indulge in extracurricular activities, topping the competitive ones. Having finished his schooling, Dr Chattopadhyay returned home to finish his higher secondary studies and enrolled himself at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata. “I was bored of hostel life and its restrictions and wanted to be at home,” he informs.
Life’s choices
Becoming a entrepreneur had never occurred to Dr Chattopadhyay during his growing years. He came from a middle-class family and at that time a successful person was either a doctor, engineer or an IAS officer. “These professions brought respect to the person and the family and were regarded as the only path in life,” Dr Chattopadhyay remarks.
Initially, he wanted to be an engineer but his father guided him towards medicine. “He pointed to some family doctors and showed me the respect they had earned in the community. This left a lasting impression on my mind and I turned towards medicine,” Dr Chattopadhyay explains. He went on to study MBBS at the prestigious National Medical College, Kolkata.
Medicine and youth
Having acquired good grades in MBBS finals, Dr Chattopadhyay realised that he would have to go the specialist way. “At that time I realised that the GP profession was on the decline and it was fashionable to become a specialist,” comments Dr Chattopadhyay.
This propelled him towards MD Medicine and he got into PGIMER, Chandigarh. Soon after completing his MD, Dr Chattopadhyay got a job at the Indian Railways, but he did not pursue it even after repeated requests and discussion sessions from family and friends. An adamant Dr Chattopadhyay went to work for Assembly of God Hospital, Kolkata. “My first job was with Indian Railways, I rejected it as I did not want to do a government job. I do not like certainty,” opines Dr Chattopadhyay.
Stint at UK
After an year, he went to work at Bromley Hospital NHS Trust, Kent, UK as Senior House Office in General Medicine/ Cardiology/ Geriatric Medicine. He worked there from 1997 to 1998, earning his MRCP in 1997.
He then moved on to St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine & Dentistry, London to be a Research Fellow and Lecturer in Medicine and Gastroenterology, for an year. He spent the next year at Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, Norwich as Specialist Registrar, Gastroenterology and Hepatology & Internal Medicine.
Following this, Dr Chattopadhyay spent the next four years at the University Hospital of Leicester as Specialist Registrar of Gastroenterology/ Hepatology and Internal Medicine. It was during this time that he was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug.
Coming home
Even though Dr Chattopadhyay was well settled at UK he wanted to come back to India. “I was so homesick that immediately after returning from work, I would switch on Star News just to hear someone speak Hindi,” he recalls. He had already spent seven years at NHS UK and an year at J&J and he felt that the time was ripe for him to return to India.
Off the beaten path
His entreprenurial sojourn began one restless night at Leicester, UK, where the certainty of the life of a doctor was staring at him in the face. Afraid of the routine life ahead, he decided to spice it up with some risk, a business perhaps. However, at that time he did not have the skill or the experience to start on his own. It was 2003, he had already spent six years in UK and was doing well as Specialist Registrar, Gastroenterology/ Hepatology & Internal Medicine.
He incubated the idea and decided to work towards becoming an entrepreneur. The first step towards his dedicated cause was a fulltime MBA course. Dr Chattopadhyay took a sabbatical from work to go to INSEAD, France. There he honed the skills needed to be a businessman, however he still lacked experience in the real world. After completing his MBA, Dr Chattopadhyay gave up his clinical practice and joined J&J, as Territory Manager/Medical Liaison Physician, Janssen-Cilag, UK. From 2004-2006 he worked at UK. He moved to India in 2007 still working with J&J.
Having worked at a multinational firm he had gained enough experience to run a business. However, he wanted to work with a start-up company to experience the highs and lows of setting up a new business.
His search for a start-up led him to Indegene Lifesystems, a Bangalore-based KPO, which he joined in February 2007, to start a new business unit called Competitive Intelligence and Business Intelligence Practice.
He built this completely new business vertical from scratch. Under his leadership, the Competitive and Business Intelligence team scaled up from two to 95 in less than three years and established long-term business relationships with several international pharmaceutical companies. Apart from business growth, he was credited with setting an example of complete cultural transformation in terms of quality, ethics, integrity and transparency. By early 2010, Dr Chattopadhyay felt that he was ready to venture out in the business world. In March 2010, Dr Chattopadhyay finally took the plunge, and along with his batchmate Dr Shantanu Rahman, co-founded a new-age primary healthcare service provider known as NationWide Primary Healthcare Services (NWPHS).
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The Mixed Bag
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The venture and beyond
NWPHS runs a group of clinics offering complete day-to-day medical requirements for subscribers. The company is looking to revive the forgotten family doctor and home visits. “Primary healthcare is a neglected sector in India and we want to completely organise this sector,” offers Dr Chattopadhyay. At present there are three full-service clinics and four satellite clinics in Bengaluru. In the near future, the company plans to open more clinics in Bangalore and move to other cities in India. Dr Chattopadhyay is at peace now as he feels that he has fulfilled a simmering desire to work for the masses by providing a necessary service and creating opportunities.
“I feel a sense of achievement as I feel all the dots are now connected. Through NWPHS I have been able to make a positive impact on society and changed the way healthcare is delivered,” he summarises.
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