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It Is Very Inspiring Reading This Young Indian
It Is Very Inspiring Reading This Young Indian
It Is Very Inspiring Reading This Young Indian
STAR!
Here is an inspiring story of the World’s youngest CEO
.
Suhas Gopinath
When 14-year-old Suhas Gopinath started Globals Inc ten years ago from a cyber cafe in Bengaluru, he didn't know
that he had become the youngest CEO in the world.
Today, Globals is a multi-million dollar company with offices in the United States, India, Canada, Germany, Italy,
the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East and has 100 employees in India and 56
abroad.
Among the several honors that have been bestowed upon this young man, the most prestigious is the invitation to be
a member of the Board of the ICT Advisory Council of the World Bank..
In 2007, the European Parliament and International Association for Human Values conferred 'Young Achiever
Award' on him. He was also invited to address the European Parliament and other business dignitaries assembled in
the EU Parliament. He is also recognised as one of the 'Young Global Leaders' for 2008-2009 by the prestigious
World Economic Forum.
Suhas is the youngest member ever in the World Economic Forum's history. The other members include the
Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio, musician A R Rahman, Prince of Brunei,
etc.
In this interview from his office in Bengaluru, Suhas Gopinath talks about his decade long journey and his dreams
for the future.
Suhas Gopinath with former President APJ Abdul Kalam
As a child, I was more interested in animals and veterinary science. But when I saw my friends who had home
computers talk about it, I had this urge to learn and talk in their wave length.
But we didn't have a computer at home. In those days, computers were very expensive and we couldn't afford one.
So, what I did was, I located an Internet cafe near my house. With my modest monthly pocket money of Rs 15, I
couldn't afford to surf the net every day.
I noticed that the shop was closed in the afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM. So, I offered to open the shop for him after
my school hours and take care of the customers.
In the bargain, he let me browse the net for free. That was the first business deal of my life and it turned out to be a
successful one.
Suhas with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
I got hooked to open source technology after I started looking for e-books on how to build websites. They were not
available as they were created in propriety sources.
There is a freelance marketplace on the web where I could register and offer my services to build websites. I
registered myself there as a website builder.
The first website I had to do was free of cost as I had no references. It was for a company in New York.
My first income was $100 when I was 13 for building another website but I didn't have a bank account. so, I told my
father that I built a website and got paid for it.
I was not excited to get the money because money was not a factor that drew me to it. It was the passion for
technology that attracted me. I used to build websites free of cost also. I was only a 9th standard student.
After that, I built my own portal and called it Coolhindustan.com. It was focused on NRIs. It was a portal where I
wanted to showcase my skills.
In no time, I also bought one for myself. But we didn't have a net connection at home.
My spending hours in the net cafe working on websites did affect my studies. I spent the entire summer vacation
after the 9th standard in the cafe.
When I was 14, Network Solutions offered me a part-time job in the US and they said they would sponsor my
education in the US. I rejected the offer because that was the time I had read a story about Bill Gates and how he
started Microsoft.
I thought it was more fun to have your own company. Many US companies used to tell me that I didn't even have a
moustache and they felt insecure taking my services. They used to connect my ability with my age and academic
qualifications.
So, I wanted to start my own company and show the world that age and academic qualifications are immaterial. I
decided then that when I started a company, I would recruit only youngsters and I would not ask for their academic
qualifications and marks cards. I follow that in my company.
Gopinath delivering a lecture at the DLD Conference
I registered my company in the US as in India, you will not be able to start a company unless you are 18. It takes
only 15 minutes to start a company in the US.
I became the owner and CEO of the company. My friend, an American who was a university student, became a
board member.
I was very excited because that was what I wanted to do. From that day, I started dreaming of making my company
as big as Microsoft.
At home, like any typical South Indian mother, my mother made me swear on her head that I would focus on
academics.
I told my mother that the world's richest man Bill Gates had not completed his education. Why do you force me
then, I asked her. She then said, I am sure his horoscope and yours are not the same!
I come from a family where entrepreneurship is considered a sin. My mother was quite upset. She wanted me to do
engineering, then an MBA and work in a good company.
As per my mother's wishes, I took a four-month sabbatical from my company and studied for my board exam. I
passed with a first class.
I still feel that you cannot restrict yourself to bookish knowledge. I believe that practical knowledge is more
important.
In the first year, the turnover of Globals Inc was Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000). The second year, the turnover went up to
Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000).
We used to build websites and also offer online shopping and e commerce solutions. We even gave part time work
to a few programmers in the US when we got many projects but we never had any office.
When I was 16, I saw that there were enormous business opportunities in Europe as a majority of the Indian IT
companies were working for American companies.
When I contacted a Spanish company, it rejected my offer saying Indians do not know Spanish. As an entrepreneur,
you can't accept rejection, especially when you are young.
I hired five student interns from some Spanish universities and told them they would be paid based on their
successful sales.
They were the people who met the companies and bagged the projects for us. By now, we decided to have a home
office in Spain.
I replicated the same model in Italy. I contacted some Italian university students.
Suhas meeting with Sheikha Nayhan, Minister for Higher Education, the UAE
It was a good story for the BBC also. I never expected to be in the limelight. For me, starting a company was like
realising a passion of mine.
On seeing these stories, a B-school in Germany invited me to talk to its students on entrepreneurship. I was 17 then.
By now, I had completed my 12th standard and had joined Engineering in Bengaluru.
When I was 18, we set up an office -- the European HQ in Bonn. Then, we moved to Switzerland. Six months back,
we started our operations in Vienna as well.
That is how we spread our operations from a small Internet cafe to become a multinational company with significant
operations in Europe, Middle East, the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, etc.
By then, he had closed shop and joined a factory as an employee. Whenever I met him, I used to tell him, 'you made
me an entrepreneur but you stopped being one.'
It is a nasty software which students are going to be quite unhappy about! This software was aimed only at the
Indian market. I want to be the market leader in ICT in education.
Our software is being used in more than 100 schools all over India, Singapore and the Middle East.
We are now in the process of raising funds. Once we do it, we will separate the company into two -- service and
product development. I want to concentrate on products as I can't sail on two boats.
I didn't feel that I was talking to the President of India. We talked like two friends. He was sitting in his chair across
the table but after some time, he came and sat next to me. He isi such a modest person that it was a learning
experience for me.
The objective was to explore how ICT can improve the quality of education in the emerging economies, by bringing
in accountability and transparency in their financial deeds.
Robert B. Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, decided that they could not have only Americans on the board
and needed people from across the world. As they were focusing on education, they wanted young minds to add
value to the work.
He preferred a young mind from an emerging country and that was how I got the invitation in 2005. Not even in my
wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be on the board of the World Bank. The invitation was the most
unforgettable moment in my life. I report directly to Robert B Zoellick!
Some of the others on the board are the CEO of Cisco, the vice president of Microsoft and the CEO of SAP; all
Fortune 500 companies and me, the only Indian!
I am helping the World Bank set policies on ICT in university education so that employability can be enhanced. My
aim is to reduce the number of unemployed eligible youth in the world.
Right now, we are concentrating on Africa. Soon, I want to shift the focus on to India. It has been an amazing
experience for me.
But I had to discontinue my engineering education at the time I joined the board, as I didn't have enough attendance
in college!
Suhas Gopinath
When I was younger, I didn't care about money. Now that I am responsible for my employees, I care about what we
make. If I am not bothered about money, we cannot scale up our business.
When I started my company from a net cafe in Bengaluru, I never ever imagined that one day my company would
be a multi-million dollar company and I would be on the World Bank board as a member.
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