www.dqindia.

com

BUDGET 2013: EXPECTATIONS/ 22

ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING/ 27

`50

Vol XXXI No 04 I February 28, 2013

Celebrating 30 Years of DQ

The Business of Infotech

DREAM. DARE. DO
They are all IT professionals who gave up well-paying jobs to chase their dreams. Whats driving these mid-career entrepreneurs?
Milind Borate, Druva Software Koustuv Mitra, Xecute HR Solutions

Mahesh Shenoy, ThoughtNet

Prashant Khanna Enhance Systems Rotnoraj Dutta Sayvaa, Anvesak, Wirehead Infotech

Venkatesh Iyer Vyaktitva, B2R Technologies

Sudarshan HS, Rahul RS ONZE Technologies Sajith Achipra ZframeZ Technologies Vineet Sabharwal Enhance Systems 92 pages including cover Shivkumar Ganeshan, Exotel Special Subscription offer on page 74

COVER STORY

Dare to Dream
A number of successful IT professionals are leaving cushy jobs to pursue dreams of starting their own business ventures. What is driving these mid-career entrepreneurs? Is this the dawn of a new eraof innovation, inspiration and entrepreneurship?

SHWETA VERMA with inputs from JALAJA RAMANUNNI

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

12 | February 28, 2013

visit www.dqindia.com

DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication

The increased pressure of the modern day work environment is creating a burnout situation that is forcing people to look for other avenues. 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

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.

he 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 radarenthusiastic, 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 ourishing careers, or the mid-career entrepreneurs as we may call them. After having reached a certain peak in their careers, they want
visit www.dqindia.com

to move beyond the connes 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 specic goals, while some are still trying to dene their niche. The emergence of new product-driven companies is a clear indication that Indias 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. Todays corporate environment doesnt 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 ofce 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
February 28, 2013 | 13

DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication