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Shailesh Kantak, Founder of MSME India Network
If there is one thing that consistently troubles most budding startups, organizations, and MSMEs, it is the founder's burnout.
Even though the beginning is filled with grit, the adrenaline begins to fade after a specific period, say six to eight months.
The founder realizes that they are only human and managing everything from ideation to execution and decision-making to day-to-day operations is neither sustainable nor scalable.
The result? Slow execution. Slow growth. Stunted momentum.
This problem needed a grounded solution. That's why Shailesh Kantak founded the MSME India Network (MINT).
MSME India Network is a learning and implementation community for Indian MSME business owners to build strong people systems and scale their enterprises with structure.
THE BACKGROUND
In 2014, Shailesh Kantak founded Flexi Ventures Pvt. Ltd., an HR Consulting and Talent Acquisition firm.
It offers multiple services including Direct Hiring - Full-Time, On-roll employment,
Staffing Services - On Contract, Temporary to Permanent Hiring, Payroll Services, Compensation Benchmarking, and Soft Skill Training.
Through Flexi Ventures, he has worked closely with multiple business leaders to solve real talent and people challenges on the ground.
This very experience has shaped MINT into becoming a learning and implementation community for MSMEs in India.
MINT: FOCUSING ON THE ‘PEOPLE SIDE’ OF THE BUSINESS
The MSME India Network operates as an execution-first ecosystem where founders learn to hire better, lead better, build better rhythms, and create clarity that spreads across each function of the organization.
Shailesh Kantak is very clear on one thing: MINT is not a community that thrives on surface-level motivation.
It operates via practical systems that business owners can apply with their teams.
But…what is the ‘people side’ of the business? And why does MINT focus specifically on that?
The MSME India Network emphasizes that people are not the “soft” side of business. They are the business.
But when hiring becomes unstructured, it sets in action a domino effect of accidental culture, unclear expectations, and unpredictable performance.
This is exactly where MINT comes in: to help founders replace guesswork with a repeatable people management system that supports both growth and stability.
Shailesh Kantak operates MINT with one clear mission: empower business owners to escape founder-dependence by building leadership capability and people systems that scale.
WHAT DOES MINT OFFER
To eliminate founder burnout and dependence, the MSME India Network offers learning, community, and implementation support.
Members get access to:
Structured sessions and guided programs
Practical real-life support on leadership clarity, team accountability, smart hiring practices, role and KPI design, performance rhythms, feedback culture, and engagement systems.
MINT’S People Systems framework that covers areas like attracting the right talent, hiring with structure, building culture by design, enabling learning and growth, and creating empowered engagement.
MINT does not believe in “doing more HR.” Instead, it advocates for systems that are structured and designed to make the MSME scale.
Every concept that is offered at MINT is tied back to templates, playbooks, and simple action steps that founders can implement within days, not months.