Mid-career entrepreneurs: Dream. Dare. Do

Shweta Verma with inputs from JalaJa Ramanunni

shwetav@cybermedia.co.in, jalajar@cybermedia.co.in

Anand Krishna worked for a $1 bn IT company and had a steady career growth. He was earning a great salary, traveling to different countries, and managing a large team. Many of his IIT-D classmates envied his position, and his family was proud of his accomplishments. But Anand had another plan. He surprised everyone by suddenly leaving his ‘nearly' perfect job to start his own business.

The story of Anand is not new to the industry. Indian IT has always been known for its innovative spirit and talent. But the last few years have seen a sudden spurt in the number of such start-ups. According to a recent study, over 300 new start-ups were launched in India in 2012. Sudarshan HS who left Infosys about 5 years ago to start his own company recalls, "I know at least 80 people who left Infosys that year to start their own ventures."

The last time the industry saw such a splurge of start-ups was during the dot-com boom in late nineties and early 2000s. Almost every other mom-and-pop store thought it could ride on the internet to grow big. And then the bubble went bust! So, does that indicate any signs of danger? While studies do show that about 20% start-ups pull down their shutters every year, this may not necessarily point towards a bubble.

Unlike the past where we saw young ambitious and almost reckless talent among entrepreneurs, this time around we are seeing another breed of entrepreneurs emerge on the radar-enthusiastic, experienced, and expert in their individual domains. Their decisions seem well thought out and their journeys look clearly planned. These are relatively mature IT professionals with flourishing careers, or the ‘mid-career' entrepreneurs as we may call them.

After having reached a certain peak in their careers, they want to move beyond the confines of their jobs and do something ‘more meaningful.' Interestingly, each one has different reasons for leaving and a different story to tell. While some are looking for more freedom to pursue their creative aspirations, there are others who seem socially motivated. Some want to leverage their knowledge and experience to reach specific goals, while some are still trying to define their niche. "The emergence of new product-driven companies is a clear indication that India's technology landscape is poised for the next wave of growth," says Som Mittal, president, Nasscom. Speaking at a forum he said, "The societal stigma on failure in entrepreneurship has lessened over the years encouraging large number of IT professionals to start their own ventures." He believes a new breed of entrepreneurship is sweeping into the sector and the ecosystem is fast developing to sustain the new ventures.

Burnout or Burning Desire?

The increased pressure of the modern day work environment is creating a ‘burnout' situation that is forcing people to look for other avenues. "Today's corporate environment doesn't allow you to listen to your heart. You have to work within the demands of the system. You have to listen to your boss, worry about office politics and what not. Everything takes a toll," admits Prashant Khanna, co-founder, Enhance Systems. "Individual aspirations of people have remained bottled up for a long time and now we have reached a point where people just want to open up and let go."

Many of them also feel that after having attained a reasonable success in their careers, there is nothing new to drive them further. Jobs can get repetitive and boring, especially for individuals who are always charged up and looking for newer challenges. "Most of us want freedom to do things our way. You need intellectual simulation to keep yourself going," says Venkatesh Iyer who launched and spearheaded several successful initiatives for NIIT before he started a rural BPO.

While the decision to go for entrepreneurship might be triggered by the feeling of stagnation or burn out, it really needs a burning desire or

ambition to sustain in the long run. "If you start something driven by burnout, you do something not out of design but out of duress, which is not a very good thing," says Rotnoraj Dutta, who runs multiple businesses in areas like head hunting, tech training, and marketing.

Sudarshan, who runs a software product company based in Bengaluru, also agrees that you need much more than a burn out to kick-start a new venture. "It is true that many people feel stagnated in their jobs, but these are not the ones going for entrepreneurship," he points out. An entrepreneur needs a lot of energy and enthusiasm to keep him going, he says.

India has always had a history of entrepreneurship. The innovative spirit or ‘jugaad', as we often call it, reflects the ability of Indians to create something even with minimal resources. According to Venkatesh Iyer, the economic reforms of the nineties helped release a lot of latent energy that existed among people. "There are many more op- portunities available in the market now," he says, "you find more and more people get into the most innovative and unusual fields."

India recently moved up to the second position in the Global In- novation Efficiency Index* 2012 from #9 in the previous year. New products and innovation have led to a dramatic evolution of the society. People are exposed to more ideas and their appetite for taking risks has also increased.

The IT industry itself is reinventing and evolving at a rapid pace. The spread of the internet has also made it possible for entrepreneurs to reach out to the global market with very little invest- ment. Over the years, the entry bar- riers have been coming down. "When we started Enhance, we used to have only one desktop com- puter as our asset. I remember having carried the machine to customer locations to make presentations and demos," recalls Vineet Sabharwal, co-founder, Enhance Systems. "However it was still easier on the pockets to start an IT venture compared to anything else because the investments were manageable. Just one PC could get us started. That, I think is one reason that IT leads the race in generating entrepreneurs."

The fact that brand India has been globally established has further helped the cause of start-ups and small businesses; something that is not easily possible in other business areas. The low entry barriers make IT start-ups more lucrative for VCs too. "You just need to have a good concept or product idea. Funding is not that difficult to come by," says Sudarshan.

In fact, a lot of IT entrepreneurs prefer to go without external fund- ing in the initial stages. It is only after they have reached a minimum threshold level that they seek funds to expand business.

Who Moved My Cheese!

Although ‘mid-career' entrepre- neurs do possess more knowledge and experience compared to the younger lot, but they also have additional baggage to deal with. Having worked for large global organizations for several years, they get accustomed to certain systems and processes, and lifestyles, of course! The swanky offices and plush infrastructure equipped with best-in-class gadgets-one starts taking a lot of things for granted.

So, starting from scratch may not be all that simple, after all. "Managing basic infrastructure and operations could become a big headache if you have not prepared well in advance," points out Dutta. "You might have to deal with a lot of unexpected things in the initial stages. Therefore you need to plan your cash cycle really well," he advises.

Every stage in setting up a business could be a test of patience and perseverance. "It is important to have clarity and remain focused on what you do. There will be times when things don't work the way you plan. That is the time when you really need to stay with your idea and continue doing your bit," says Iyer. "When you step out of the comforts of a job, the first thing you should do is to keep all your medals and ego outside," suggests

Koustuv Mitra, founder, XecuteHR. "When you are associated with a big brand, people see you in a certain way. As an entrepreneur, many people are observing you. The world is going to look at you with fresh pair of eyes. After you become successful, a lot of people will join you. But till that time you have to be very patient."

Another challenge these entrepreneurs face is in attracting and retaining talent. The trick is to look for people with the right attitude and train them as required. ‘Readymade' resources are not easy to come by and training can do wonders, believes Iyer. Leveraging his experience as a trainer, he has been able to leverage the rural youth of Uttarakhand for his BPO units. "You will be surprised to see how well these people can perform. They are far more keen to learn, and are willing to put in the extra effort," he says with a sense of pride.

The Magic Unfolds

From the time the idea of entrepreneurship germinates in one's mind to the process of conceptualization, planning and execution, the life of an entrepreneur is full of ups and downs. There are no short-cuts to success, as they say. But despite the roadblocks, most of them believe it is worth all the effort. After having sailed through the initial hiccups, the journey starts becoming more exciting and fun. The tremendous joy of creating something of your own probably compensates for all the challenges. Gradually, the magic begins to unfold.

Equipped with years of experience and a deep understanding of their domains, these ‘mid-career' entrepreneurs are working in their own different ways to carve their niche. Each one has his own success mantras. Each has a fascinating story to tell...

Sudarshan HS, Rahul RS (right)

ONZE Technologies

Location based Mobile Solutions

‘I got motivated after an interaction with NRN'

When you hear a name like ‘ONZE' an immediate question that pops up your mind is: What does it mean? "Oh! It is very simple," quips Sudharshan with a smile. "Software programming is all about ‘ones and zeros' so we combined that to create ON-ZE." Whether the process of naming was simple or not, Sudarshan does come across as a simple person with a normal middle class upbringing. So, you immediately wonder how the idea of entrepreneurship came into his mind. "I got inspired after an inter- action with NRN (NR Narayana Murthy)," he elaborates. "I joined Infosys when it was a much smaller company with about 600 people. In one of our interactions with NRN he got talking about his journey-how he started, what he went through. I found that very motivating." If a simple person like him with a humble background could do it, probably anyone could. "He showed us how one could run a successful high growth business by being extremely ethical," says Sudarshan. "You know he always told us don't over promise or over commit to your customer, because that is also equivalent to lying."

After having worked in the product engineering services team of Infosys for about 13-14 years in different roles, Sudarshan and his colleague Rahul felt they had accumulated enough knowledge about running a software product business and they wanted to put their learning into practice. It took them about 2-3 years to identify a niche product to focus on. But after that the company has been on a ride. They have a rich portfolio of over 40 customers including Cafe Coffee Day, Yamaha, Havells, etc.

Venkatesh Iyer

Vyaktitva, B2R Technologies

Training, Rural BPO

‘Business for the sake of business didn't make any sense anymore'

When Venkatesh Iyer, or ‘Venki' as he is popularly known, left NIIT in 2005, he had no real plan. "I just had one thing on my mind - I wanted to do stuff that ‘I' wanted to do," he explains. While dabbling with different ideas, he came across another team of entrepreneurs who were running a corporate training company called ‘Vyaktitva.' The concept clicked and Iyer joined them as a partner.

Iyer had been a part of the initial team at NIIT and had led several strategic initiatives as global Head of Education, Global Head of Human Resources, Head of NIIT Ventures and President and COO of NIIT SmartServe. He wanted to leverage his 23-year-long experience at NIIT to do something ‘more meaningful'. "The idea of doing business for the sake of business didn't make any sense to me anymore," he says. "This whole business of building a business without any commitment to the society that you live in was appearing meaningless."

His desire to do something socially relevant led him to create another business. He decided to set up a Rural BPO company to create employment for people living in rural areas of Uttarakhand. "Instead of expecting them to come to a city, I decided to go near them," he says. His strengths in training and development helped him bring out the best in these people. "You will be surprised to see how fast they learn," he asserts.

The company is now actively looking at venture funds to expand further. "This is not a CSR initiative. The idea is to make it sustainable. You can't tell people to give money just because you are doing a nice thing. Ultimately, it has to make economic sense," he says.

Shivkumar Ganeshan

Exotel

IT solutions for managing phone calls

‘You need a reason that keeps you going'

Most entrepreneurs find their break when they get the right idea. It was not so for Shivkumar - there were many ideas. "Instead, you should look for a problem you are ready to solve. I had about ten business ideas when I quit. I took the one I believed would work best and took a chance," he states. Shivkumar started Exotel for himself to manage his phone calls and not miss any and his idea evolved into a successful business.

For those who climb the Everest, there's a fear of not getting back home, and you speculate whether the reason you begun with is worth it. "You should wait for the right reason. It could be anything - to save the world, to solve a problem, make people happier, go through terrains no one has traveled before, or even to get more time with your loved ones-but it must be a reason you believe in enough to take you through a journey. Initially, insecurity and fear surrounded me and moving on from the salary mentality took a while. The first few months of no regular income were the worst and every walk to the ATM was a nightmare. This made me question my fundamentals-do I know the job, if I'm doing it right," Shivkumar states.

There comes a day when you realize you can't grow anymore in a closed environment. It happened to Shivkumar five years after he joined Yahoo. "I realized there was not much left to achieve in the organization. Yahoo!, being a top employer made it hard for me to find a better place to work at- I didn't know which other company would offer a new, challenging experience."

Vineet Sabharwal, Prashant Khanna (right)

Enhance Systems

Learning solutions

‘We had to borrow a laptop to give our first demo'

The passion for learning got Prashant Khanna and Vineet Sabharwal together. When they started their journey almost a decade ago, they were only driven by their desire to do something on their own. They didn't even have the money to set up an office or buy a computer. "You might find this funny, but when we start off we didn't even have a computer of our own," says Khanna. He almost bursts out laughing when he recalls their first ever presentation to a client. How they borrowed a laptop for a day and somehow was no looking back. "The perks of being on your own are so many that there is no reason to go back. Even money making becomes secondary after a while," he says.

Khanna has worked in the managed to give demos to 2 companies back-to-back. But once they clinched their first deal, there sales & marketing units of various IT companies, while his partner Vineet Sabharwal has experience in areas like application devel- opment, e-learning, and project management. Their knowledge and skills complemented each other and together they created a company that provides IT based learning solutions.

Khanna who is also an avid follower of the Bhagwad Gita says he uses the lessons from Gita as his guiding light. He wants to merge his spiritual learning with the modern business practices to create a company with a strong value system. "You need to have a strong value system to be able to create a good learning environment," he says.

Koustuv Mitra

Xecute HR Solutions

HR outsourcing and automation solutions

‘I wanted to follow my dream of creating an institution'

ith almost 2 decades of experience as an HR professional, Koustuv Mitra had the perfect blend of experience and expertise to set up an HRO business. But running a business requires much more than domain expertise. Mitra got a chance to step into a business role when one of his employers was facing a severe crisis. "I got dragged into a situation where I had to help pull my com- pany out of a crisis situation. That gave me that confidence that I could also run a business." His entrepreneurial decision might have been triggered by cir- cumstances, but his journey seems meticulously planned. "There is no magic in life. Success requires a lot hard work," he says. "The journey of an entrepreneur is a very lonely journey. You have to have a long term vision and plan out each stage clearly. Do things step by step."

Mitra worked across different verticals with some leading companies like Coke, Electrolux, Convergys, and airtel before he finally set up his own. His experience in the retail sector helped him understand the nuances of customer orientation and productivity, while IT and telecom gave him insight into technology-led value creation. "I realised that any HR activity that needs no discretion or low discretion should be automated. I decided to create an HRMS that could be used to effectively manage HR processes," he explains.

Having worked for several MNCs, Mitra had exposure to some world class systems and process that he wanted to leverage. "I wanted to follow my dream of creating an institution," he says. "Creating something of your own gives you a joy that no job in any large corporation can provide."

Mahesh Shenoy

ThoughtNet

Software solutions for education

‘IT start-ups don't require much capital, the entry barriers are low'

The motivation factor for Mahesh Shenoy was a wish to help people around him. There were things he wanted to pursue which he could not do with a IT job. "Most importantly, I wanted to create software that would touch the lives of people around me like my neighbors. My job allowed me to work only for multinational clients. As a result I co-founded a company that created software for education. Today, many of my neighbors use the software we create," Shenoy proudly says.

According to him, there are various reasons why IT professional turn entrepreneurs. "For a few, this becomes an option when they hit the ceiling, for others it is about creating something on their own and something original. One thing about offering an IT solution is that creating a technology start-up doesn't require a lot of capital and the entry barriers are low. Moreover, the technology sector is ever-changing, giving rise to market gaps and hence providing opportunities," Mahesh notes. His company provides solutions in the area of learning and development.

We asked for his tips to entrepreneurs and he quips, "The world is full of opportunities for those wanting to start their own ventures, not just in IT but other areas as well. The important thing is, one has to figure out why he/she wants to be an entrepreneur, in other words the purpose. Having skills, experience and safety money will provide during the initial period but when things become tough it is the ‘why' that will keep one going."

‘I wanted to generate value for the society and self'

Milind Borate

Druva Software

Data protection & disaster recovery

Milind Borate was driven by an urge to do something that could generate value for the society and self. "Solving real life problems creates value for the customer. The process of building such a solution creates jobs and thus generates value for the society," he explains. "Add to it the urge to push my own personal boundaries to handle stress, excitement, failure and success."

Having worked in Veritas for almost a decade, Borate had got a good insight into product development and storage technology. In 2008 he got together with Jaspreet Singh and Ramani Kothandaraman to start Druva Software. The key functions of marketing, finance and technology were distributed among the three of them.

Being a techie at heart, Borate took charge as CTO, Kothandaraman took up finance, while Jaspreet Singh focused on sales & marketing. The ecosystem in late 2000s looked mature enough to build a product start-up from India, says Borate. He agrees that IT is very conducive to start-ups because it is possible to build a prototype with comparatively lesser funds. "We're seeing start-ups even in other sectors like food, travel, and retail.

Though in most cases, IT is the enabler or game changer," he says. An entrepreneur's journey is full of challenges, says Borate. "At a personal level, the first challenge is to handle the perceived lack of professional stability. And then you have to overcome the reluctance to give up a fat salary." As an advice to other entrepreneurs Borate says, "Do it only if you believe that solving the problem in question would generate a real value."

Rotnoraj Dutta

Sayvaa, Anvesak, Wirehead Infotech, Head Hunting, Marketing Process Outsourcing, IT Services

‘I always had a business model ready in my head'

Rotnoraj Dutta was always brimming with business ideas in his head. "Even in a job I used to keep thinking how will do this if it was my own business. I used to keep making my own strategies, always had a business model ready," he says. After working for over a decade in the sales & marketing function at HP, Dutta believed he had also gathered understanding of the practical aspects of running a business.

He decided to begin his entrepreneurial journey with a head hunting business. The reasons for choosing this line of business were fairly straight- forward. The cash cycle in this business was faster and would take care of his immediate business needs. He also wanted to use his strengths in under- standing people needs, maintaining relationships and networking. "Many people make the mistake of making their business plans for the best case scenario. But the trick is to plan for the worst case scenario," he suggests. "If you plan your cash cycle well, you are the king of your own destiny."

As the cash flow stabilized, he decided to venture into two other busi- nesses related to IT training and marketing. His ability to understand customer pain points and build business models has always worked for him. "You need to identify the business gaps and create a service that addresses them," he says.

Dutta feels he could have done better if he had started before the re- cession. At the same time, he also believes that once you kick off, never think of going back. "A lot people think they will wet their feet and go back if things don't work well. But that is a very wrong attitude. A perfect recipe for disaster," he asserts.

‘Recession was our best learning phase'

Sajith Achipra

ZframeZ Technologies Testing services

Sajith Achipra was an employee at Juniper Networks when he realized what lay ahead of him. Working as an employee was a comfortable place to be in-it gave a steady income and you know what to expect almost every single day. "However,

I realized soon it was not the way for me. I knew I'll be more satisfied if I started something on my own, that I could be passionate about," he reveals. When you start a business, you cannot expect a routine. IT gives you an opportunity to take a chance on a variety of things that stretch your capabilities. Of course, I was anxious initially and I kept questioning myself, but the thrill of starting something new excited me," he reveals.

Sajith, along with his friends, started ZframeZ Technologies before the recession in 2010. They faced challenges in the early stages but they took it in their stride and consider this phase as the best learning period of their lives. "The recession forced us to make plan targets clearly, work extra hard to meet deadlines, and we were willing to experiment with different options for the cashflow. The first three years were like a roller coaster ride, but with some hard work and luck we managed to overcome them and grow."

Top 10 Tips for Budding Entrepreneurs

1. Do business because you ‘want' to do it, not for money or fame

2. Be prepared to wear multiple hats, and work round the clock

3. Believe in your idea, make others believe in you

4. Don't let the initial failures bog you down; never look back

5. Have a unique value proposition

6. Identify the gaps and align your idea with the customer's business needs

7. Create a sustainable business model and plan your cash cycle well

8. Break your target into smaller, achievable goals

9. Keep innovating and evolving with changing market conditions

10. Patience, perseverance and discipline are essential ingredients of success