From the cushion of a high paying job to an entrepreneurship adventure

Sameer’s company is providing eLearning development, learning management systems and machine learning-based performance support to more than 150 large corporates. Has over 100 employees in offices at Mumbai, Bangalore, Gurgaon, Dubai and Joint India partnership with Skillsoft and Articulate Inc.

Sameer worked with TCS after finishing his MTech from IIT Kanpur. While at TCS, he witnessed the first wave of information technology hit India in the 1990s. His first son was born in the USA, while Sameer was working with Cummins Engine Company at Columbus, Indiana. After briefly working in India on largest income tax project that revolutionized tax accounting by issuing everyone with an IPAN card, he shifted base to London around the time when IT companies worldwide faced a shock after the bubble burst around 2002. In London he worked with P&O Nedlloyd which was the second largest container shipping organization in the world and was later acquired by Maersk, the largest.

“While working in London I wanted to get into a business role, so I enrolled into the MBA program at IIM Ahmedabad for 2004-06. Here I met some very remarkable influencers who were industry leaders, entrepreneurs, media personalities and distinguished professors.” He found a lot of time to think and experiment with career possibilities and started a consulting company with two friends while still at the campus. “This gave me some good sales experience. I found several of my doubts clarified in entrepreneurship classes conducted by Dr Handa at IIMA.” Sameer started working with Genpact after placements and stayed with them for a year and a half. 

Some of the reasons that drove Sameer to switch lanes was his “desire for adventure, a dearth of challenge in job role, and a desire to earn better and enjoy the freedom and purposefulness that comes with running one’s own business.”

He says that one of his most important inspirations toward entrepreneurship was Jayant Krishna, his boss at TCS in London who encouraged him to be resourceful. Equally influential were two professors at IIM Ahmedabad- “Dr Ravichandran who showed us how to dissect business strategy, and Dr Handa who introduced us to several entrepreneurs in flesh and blood.” In addition, Sameer’s elder cousin Somesh introduced him to the idea of tech ventures in the heyday of the dot com in the late nineties, “giving me a ringside view into his own venture from launch to exit.”

On being asked to describe his professional transition, Sameer says,

“It was not what it appeared from the outside. I had to develop sales skills and go over several iterations before a proper business model appeared. And the most important transition was to be able to create a small core team. The transition also extended a little in 2008 as it coincided with the global meltdown of markets and the sub-prime crisis. I got a lot of support and idea from my dad and wife in the initial days.”

Sameer says the principal struggles he faced were-

1. Team: Having a team of reasonable size with competent but not-too-expensive resources
2. Sales: Having few good paying customers who also take interest in his business and help with references when needed
3. Cash: Cash flow management and the ability to face cash dry periods
4. IP: Moving from services to intellectual property-based services.

“I got a lot of help from my friends and customers for sales and business-model refinement. Prasoon and Pradeip helped me with the creation of IP and Sales respectively, and they ended up being co-founders.”

Sameer advises that one should move into entrepreneurship from a steady job only if one is adventurous, since the business will throw unplanned challenges which will strain not only one’s finances but also one’s emotions and relationships. “Start a business for the right reasons. The main reason for starting a business should be to create value for customers and revenue. Prioritizing secondary ideas like wanting to be your own boss or having more freedom don’t take you far enough.”