There is nothing wrong in wanting to get richer. But there are many ways to get richer, and entrepreneurs must be able to choose the right one
For most people who are looking to take the entrepreneurial plunge, one of the greatest inhibitions is the loss of security that a job provides. Even in my personal case, it was not how I had planned things initially. I grew up in a middle class Kannada Madhava Brahman family, and the most critical learning that I imbibed from my family and environment was the uncompromising focus on education and respect; a learning that I have retained throughout my life.
My journey into entrepreneurship started out very differently, and a couple of defining moments come to mind. The first defining moment was a meeting with a famous American computer scientist when I was a graduate in Control Theory at IIT. He talked to me at length on the future of computer science; and his conviction and subject knowledge were so profound that I was hooked to the field for life. The second defining moment happened during my trip to Europe. It happened in the Sofia Express, in which I was travelling on my way to India. My co-passengers were a girl and a boy. I started a discussion with the young girl in French, who talked about the perils of life in an iron curtain country. To our astonishment, a few policemen came and arrested both of us, which, I believe, was because the young man had complained that we were perhaps criticising Bulgaria’s Communist government. They confiscated my belongings and dragged me along the platform into a small 8x8 foot room with a cold stone floor and a hole in a corner as a toilet. I was made to stay there without food and water for 72 hours. Even after I was taken out, I was taken to Istanbul on a departing freight train, again without food and water, before finally being released; because I was “from a friendly country called India”, as per one of the guards. During the entire journey to Istanbul, I seriously rethought my views on communism. While I was quite a bit of a Leftist in my thought process earlier in life, my experiences in Europe started convincing me otherwise. Subsequently, over the coming years, I became more and more convinced that rather than communism, it was capitalism – and in essence the entrepreneurial spirit – that was the best way for countries like India to get rid of poverty. You can say that Infosys, in essence, was an experiment for me in entrepreneurship.
My first venture was Softronics, which only lasted for a year and a half (after which I joined Patni). I realised a few key lessons. Firstly, when you become an entrepreneur, the market has to be ready for your idea. The Indian market was certainly not ready, which is why with Infosys, I decided that we will explore the global market. Secondly, I learnt that it is important to have a team that has a common and enduring value system and the strengths of team members must be complementary and mutually exclusive. Again, these lessons came in handy when I set up Infosys. The idea of starting another software company started brewing in my mind when I was working as a lead engineer in Patni Computer Systems. I wanted to, as my upbringing had taught me, build a company that would earn the highest level of respect.
For most people who are looking to take the entrepreneurial plunge, one of the greatest inhibitions is the loss of security that a job provides. Even in my personal case, it was not how I had planned things initially. I grew up in a middle class Kannada Madhava Brahman family, and the most critical learning that I imbibed from my family and environment was the uncompromising focus on education and respect; a learning that I have retained throughout my life.
My journey into entrepreneurship started out very differently, and a couple of defining moments come to mind. The first defining moment was a meeting with a famous American computer scientist when I was a graduate in Control Theory at IIT. He talked to me at length on the future of computer science; and his conviction and subject knowledge were so profound that I was hooked to the field for life. The second defining moment happened during my trip to Europe. It happened in the Sofia Express, in which I was travelling on my way to India. My co-passengers were a girl and a boy. I started a discussion with the young girl in French, who talked about the perils of life in an iron curtain country. To our astonishment, a few policemen came and arrested both of us, which, I believe, was because the young man had complained that we were perhaps criticising Bulgaria’s Communist government. They confiscated my belongings and dragged me along the platform into a small 8x8 foot room with a cold stone floor and a hole in a corner as a toilet. I was made to stay there without food and water for 72 hours. Even after I was taken out, I was taken to Istanbul on a departing freight train, again without food and water, before finally being released; because I was “from a friendly country called India”, as per one of the guards. During the entire journey to Istanbul, I seriously rethought my views on communism. While I was quite a bit of a Leftist in my thought process earlier in life, my experiences in Europe started convincing me otherwise. Subsequently, over the coming years, I became more and more convinced that rather than communism, it was capitalism – and in essence the entrepreneurial spirit – that was the best way for countries like India to get rid of poverty. You can say that Infosys, in essence, was an experiment for me in entrepreneurship.
My first venture was Softronics, which only lasted for a year and a half (after which I joined Patni). I realised a few key lessons. Firstly, when you become an entrepreneur, the market has to be ready for your idea. The Indian market was certainly not ready, which is why with Infosys, I decided that we will explore the global market. Secondly, I learnt that it is important to have a team that has a common and enduring value system and the strengths of team members must be complementary and mutually exclusive. Again, these lessons came in handy when I set up Infosys. The idea of starting another software company started brewing in my mind when I was working as a lead engineer in Patni Computer Systems. I wanted to, as my upbringing had taught me, build a company that would earn the highest level of respect.
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