I believe you misinterpreted his words. Being an 'Indian businessperson' itself is not done much because of the 'play it safe' attitude. Yes, Indians are that risk-averse.
Well, most people around the world are averse to business. Is there really a bigger proportion of Chinese or Russian or Egyptian businesspersons than Indian? (In fact, India has a handful of extremely business-minded communities -- the Marwadis and the Gujaratis, and to a lesser extent the Punjabis, Sindhis and Malayalis. If anything, India does relatively well on this metric.)
Interesting point ... Do you think the geography of the region played a big role in keeping the tradition alive? I'm always surprised to see how my community (Bengalis) are so resistant to business - even though I have read Bengali traders ventured into overseas trading way back in history. What I felt was Calcutta becoming the capital during British India, generated a lot of government jobs for 200 years. That growth led to the downfall of the entrepreneurs in our region.
Growing up in Calcutta my Mariwari and Gujrati friends were always excited to talk about business. It was clear how their parents encouraged it. I was clearly taught business is a strict NO-NO. Get a stable job and settle down. When I look back, in a class of 60 odd people in my computer science undergrad class 95% "settled down". Only two dared to kick their job and go for a startup.
Perhaps... I'm not entirely sure why this is the way things are. The histories of specific Indian communities are often completely fascinating, and I wish there was more literature on the subject and I had more time to read it. :)
Well the Marwadis and Gujaratis have been traders and businessmen since ancient times. It's kind of like the son of a farmer being a farmer himself. How many daily wage labourers have started their own businesses? Or for that matter, how many IT MNC employees have?
I do not know if there is a bigger proportion of Chinese/Russian/Egyptian businessmen, but I do know that the amount of social stigma attached to leaving a well paying job to do a startup is significantly higher in India than in most other countries.
Chinese are also massively risk-adverse (despite having a massive respect for businessmen). The only Chinese who start businesses are those who have the luxury of being able to afford to take risks (rich parents), and those who can't afford not to.
