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www.dqindia.com`50

The Business of InfotechVol XXXI No 04 I February 28, 2013

92 pages including cover Special Subscription offer on page 74

Celebrating 30 Years of DQ

ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING/ 27BUDGET 2013: EXPECTATIONS/ 22

DREAM. DARE. DOThey are all IT professionals who gave up well-paying jobs to chase theirdreams. Whats driving these mid-career entrepreneurs?

Koustuv Mitra, Xecute HR Solutions

Prashant KhannaEnhance Systems

Rotnoraj DuttaSayvaa, Anvesak, Wirehead Infotech

Shivkumar Ganeshan, Exotel

Sudarshan HS, Rahul RSONZE Technologies

Mahesh Shenoy, ThoughtNet

Venkatesh IyerVyaktitva, B2R Technologies

Milind Borate, Druva Software

Sajith Achipra

ZframeZ Technologies

Vineet SabharwalEnhance Systems

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12 | February 28, 2013 visit www.dqindia.com DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication

COVER STORY

Dare toDream

A number of successful IT professionals are leaving cushyjobs to pursue dreams of start ing their own businessventures. What is driving these mid-career entrepreneurs?Is this the dawn of a new eraof innovation, inspiration andentrepreneurship?

SHWETA VERMA with inputs from JALAJA RAMANUNNIshwetav@cybermedia.co.in, jalajar@cybermedia.co.in

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DATAQUEST | A CyberMedia Publication visit www.dqindia.com February 28, 2013 | 13

Anand Krishna worked for a $1 bnIT company and had a steady careergrowth. He was earning a great sal-ary, traveling to different countries,and managing a large team. Many

of his IIT-D classmates envied hisposition, and his family was proud ofhis accomplishments. But Anand hadanother plan. He surprised everyoneby suddenly leaving his nearly per-

fect job to start his own business.

T

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 haveseen 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 dur-

ing the dot-com boom in late nine-

ties 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 reck-less talent among entrepreneurs,

this time around we are seeing an-

other breed of entrepreneurs emerge

on the radarenthusiastic, experi-

enced, 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 flour-

ishing 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 prod-

uct-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 be-

lieves a new breed of entrepreneur-

ship 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 av-

enues. Todays corporate environ-

ment 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

office politics and what not. Every-

thing takes a toll, admits PrashantKhanna, 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

The increasedpressure of the

modern day workenvironmentis creatinga burnoutsituation thatis forcing peopleto look for otheravenues. Individual

aspirations ofpeople haveremained bottledup for a long timeand now we havereached a pointwhere people justwant to open upand let go