Alive For Go-Ahead Men : A Delhi Press Magazine

Since time immemorial, green pastures have lured many a people to go for new ventures, leaving the beaten tracks. The success stories of iconic achievers have opened the gate for many youngsters to follow their dreams. Today, there is a lot of movement in the job-market. Earlier, people never thought about it. Maybe, the job-market gives them so much choice, besides more money. The other factors that contribute to it are ambience, infrastructure, place of posting, work-culture and salary-hike. Every change offers a bigger pay-packet.

Sometimes, there comes a saturation point in their life, when they know that they have to stop. At that point, sometimes, they change their field of work and enter into an altogether new profession.

Many dared to take a plunge; some succeeded, some failed. Here are the real-life stories of some of them. To go in for making big money was not always their top-most priori- ty. The desire for self-gratification, to showcase their talent and to feel proud of their achievements, was also there.

L. Geeta: She is a Chartered Accountant by profession and her achievements outnumber her age. She is a visionary and knows how to fulfil her dreams.

She aspired for ownership and this drive forced her to leave her lucrative job. She invited the disapproval of some of her near and dear ones but she continued zealously. Today, she is an achiever. Born and brought up in Hyderabad, she always aspired to do something different. She worked hard for good academic records and scored 90% marks in her 12th standard. Instead of following the Engineering or Medical professions,she chose accountancy.

She did her ICA and ICWA from Abids and Articleship at the reputed P.Murali & Co. and landed a job as Company Secretary. Her father supported her in all her ventures and encouraged her to do something different in life, whereas her mother, a traditional home-maker, wanted her to get married and settle down.

She was married to Anil Rao and moved to Bangalore with him. Basking in marital bliss, a good job and social service, everything was cool but she wanted to add more feathers to her cap. She joined Inner Wheel Circle at Rotary Club. Still, she felt that her talent was getting rusted; she was capable of handling more challenging situations. Social service was also proving a damp squib. So, she took a plunge, 5 years ago, with her friend Subramaniam, and floated the ‘Ascent Consulting Services,’ in Jay Nagar, Bangalore. A computer and their knowledge of the field were their only assets. Their office comprised of a desk and 2 chairs because they could afford only this much.

They ran from pillar to post to get orders for their firm. The first 8 months were very tough. The temptation of leaving everything and going back to her job was very strong. Her father was a great source of strength for her; he encouraged her to give more time to her venture. They moved step by step; cemented their company brick by brick, putting in a lot of hard work. It was hands-on experience for them. The first order that they executed, fetched them 1,000 rupees and gave her immense pleasure and confidence.

She counted the notes again and again. It was not just money; it was her prized possession, and it signified her victory. After that, she never looked back. One company led to another and, today, she is the proud owner of 3 companies.

Gaurav Jain and Pallavi: Instead of taking up his ancestral cloth business of Urvashi Sarees, in Saharanpur, he went out to study Mechanical Engineering at MNR in Uttar Pradesh. He came over to Bangalore and joined Wipro’s sales section.

Both he and his wife Pallavi (a software engineer) travelled abroad also. While away from home, the one thing they realised was that, after putting in a hard day’s labour, the only thing a person desires is less oily, less spicy, simple, home-like food. His conviction paved the way for him to be a restaurateur. After being in the IT industry for 5 years, he decided to start food retailing. In the year 2005, he opened his first restaurant at Bannerghatta Road, in Bangalore, called ‘Mast Kalandar’. Today, he has a chain of 6 restaurants and wants to have many more.

He was not a foodie, but he realised the need of a good restaurant serving authentic North Indian cuisine.

He banked on his own savings, so he was his own master and channelised all his energies to enter the market more aggressively and keeping the rates competitive.

According to him, in this trade, the best strategy is to satisfy the taste buds and pocket of the customer because they keep the cash-registers ringing.

Customers are the biggest goodwill ambassadors and help in spreading the business through word of mouth.

The food in his restaurants is served according to the taste of the customers and their advice and suggestions are always welcome. A complaint register is ready at the counter for customers to register their complaints and suggestions.

At the young age of 35, he is excelling in his business. His staff is mainly from the North-Eastern States and the chefs are from Delhi, Bihar and Orissa. He looks up to Mahatma Gandhi and Richard Branson (of the Virgin Group of Companies) as his ideals. Like the latter, he is inclined to find the latest techniques, to serve healthier and tastier food.

For him, every customer is valuable. He enjoys providing good customer- service and it gives him immense pleasure to watch his customers enjoy their food.

Prabhakar: He did B.E. in Mechanical Engineering from B.M.S.College of Engineering in Bangalore. He took up his first assignment as a mechanical engineer in Protocol Systems, and worked there for 6 months. His friends insisted upon him to change his domain, as the IT sector was rising, and offered better scope of overall development.

He joined Kingfotech Private Ltd and then moved to Trident Technology, a Mumbai-based firm, where he was appointed as Regional Manager for Southern India. Then, he shifted base to I Wire Networks and worked there as General Manager.

One fine day, he realised that, in order to tap his potential, he needed to start his own business. His friends and family, though initially apprehensive of this change, supported him.

So he took the plunge. Narayan Murthy of Infosys Technologies was his ideal. His energy level was very high and he was full of fantastic ideas but money was a great constraint.

Chidambram, CEO, Cyber Technology, and Venkatesh, his deputy, who were very close to him, and had seen his style of working as well as his sincerity, gave Prabhakar his first break — an order along with financial assistance.

He is a great devotee of lord Ganesha and prayed to Him to lend him support in his new venture. On Ganesh Chaturthi, in the year 2006, he started his new venture, though he did not have a business background.

He got his flat registered as his office and started working from there. Since then, there has been no looking back for him. Such is his level of commitment, professionalism, and his personal relations with the companies he works for, that once they hire his services, he is their only consultant; they do not go to any other vendor.

Highly specialised, technical staff has been employed, along with specialists in the field on the Board. His prestigious clientele includes big names like Prsi Syber Technology, Sasken Communications, Consero Global, Analogue Devices, a Hyderabad-based company, and Global Take-off. In the Government segment, LRD and Postal Training Centre, Mysore, are his clients.

Of course, every customer is equally valuable to him. He is ready to provide services in the field of Information Technology to all. He is also associated with loading Mcaffy anti-virus for Madalion, Sonic Wall and IBM.

In the last one year, after taking into account all the expenditure, he is fortunate enough not to have any liabilities.

The surplus funds have been utilised to buy and set up an office in Jay Nagar. His hard work has paid off and he is satisfied with his success.

Deepak Srinivas: The only son of Srinivas and Padma, this entrepreneur is the owner of Pneucon Brakes at Kanakpura Road. He belongs to an upper-middle-class family from Jay Nagar, Bangalore. He was brought up in a joint family. As both his parents were working, his grandparents devoted quality time to him, and he is very close to them.

He had put in 11 years’ service in 2 companies. Being an expert in his field, he was paid handsomely.

Though the companies he worked for were small, it never bothered him.

When the company, D Two Forging, was acquired by some bigger company, it was a turning-point in his life.

He decided to start manufacturing and took up the most challenging project. He owns a company that manufactures automotive, electrical and electronic parts used in the automobile industry.

He knew that the road ahead, in the already established automobile industry, will not be easy for him to tread. But, at the young age of 35 he had the courage to take the plunge.

The TVS group of companies is his ideal. He has modelled his enterprise on their ethics, their team spirit, their aggressiveness.

At present, his turnover is quite satisfying but his dream is to make it the best multi-crore, manufacturing company in Bangalore and India. He believes that a good entrepreneur should have good, sound ethics and must abide by them.

He did his graduation from R. V. college of Engineering and his postgraduation in Industrial Engineering from IOWA State University, USA. As a student there, he joined a literacy focus group called SANKALP.

Many Indian students there would collect funds and channelise them towards the education of women and orphans back home. They successfully completed 6 projects. One was for a small village on the outskirts of Bangalore, and others for Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa.

He has formed his own charitable trust and supports 2 orphanages — Belaku and Shishu Nivasa. He manages to take out time for them from his busy schedule. He gives credit to his grandparents, his parents and his teachers at Aurobindo Memorial School in South Bangalore for inculcating these values in him.

He believes that there is Supreme Power, who wants us to lead a pious life and do something worthwhile for the poor and downtrodden in our society. According to him, education is not only about imparting the 3 R’s but inculcating right values in a child.

No child is bad or criminal from birth. Sometimes, there is no one to give them proper direction or teach them moral values. If the parents are educated, especially the mother, they can guide them to be enlightened citizens.