Building a company is not like planting one giant tree. It is about creating an entire forest someday. You can see the entrepreneur within when Kavitha Venkatesh reads out one of her favourite lines from Subroto Bagchi’s 'The High Performance Entrepreneurs' or when she goes about doing her duties.Kavitha’s story may not sound very different for the dime-a-dozen Internet entrepreneurs, but for me it is about seeing a simple, shy girl who never thought of working transform to manage a company. Tucked inside Madipakkam is Kavitha’s flat, with her home and office on the ground and second floor respectively, where she juggles between the two.
It all started one year after marriage when her husband, Venky, motivated her to do something. “Even if it is a failure, it is fine; I will be with you,” Kavitha repeats his words. After a little prodding, Kavitha was ready to take the plunge. Thanks also to the three others (her sister proficient in computers, a friend well-versed in human resources and a computer teacher) who guided her in floating the web maintenance and development firm.
Before that, the Commerce graduate made sure she enrolled in a computer class to learn the basics of what she would be handling. “Even now I only know the basics. I bag projects and the rest is handled by my team,” she says candidly about her company, Compunet Connection, (http://www.compunetconnections.com/) for which she is the sole proprietor. How did she bag her first project? “Through a common friend I got my first client, from the Caribbean, who later referred me to others. And the chain continued.”
Kavitha also keeps a social consciousness angle when she recruits. “All my appointees, six sets of eight to nine freshers who have worked, are from rural areas like Namakkal, Salem, Tiruveneli and other districts. They have BE/ MCA degree in hand, but lack communication skills, so they lose out on opportunities,” she explains.
She has no qualms about losing them after a year or two. “I am happy that they are going to a better place after getting the initial push,” she says, explaining how she conducts personality development programmes for them. “Being intelligent is not enough, but it is essential to be smart,” Kavitha concludes. True!
The above article was published in a supplement of 'The Hindu' - Ergo on 16th February 2009.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/12403885/Ergo-February-16 ( Page 5 )
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1 comments:
Great to see what Kavitha is doing to the rural girls ; as you quoted Bagchi, small steps , but very noble thoughts reaffirmed by actions . Thoughts are very easy and commonplace , but following it through with actions to implement & seeing it blossom.....wow ! Am still in the first stage only . Congrats to the husband wife team ; also read Bala's article about Parents wishes...very true & am able to relate as well to similar instances. Keep writing !
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