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Hi……..
Here is an inspiring story of the World’s
youngest CEO
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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.
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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
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On his
childhood:
I come from a middle class family. My father worked as
a scientist for the Indian Army. I used to study in the Air Force
school in Bengaluru.
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
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On building websites
using open source technology:
Once
I got the chance to manage the shop and browse the net, I started
building websites. It became my passion in no
time.
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.
So, I
started using open source to build
websites.
On
getting the first contract to build a
website
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.
After
that, many companies approached me to be their web
designer.
Suhas Gopinath speaking to students' at a conference in
Austria
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On buying his first
computer
When I was in the 9th standard itself, I had made
enough money to buy a computer for myself. At that time, my
brother was studying engineering and my father thought he needed a
computer.
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.
On
rejecting a job offer from the US
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
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On starting his own
company at 14
Soon
after my 9th standard summer vacation, I started my own company,
Globals Inc. I wanted the name Global or Global Solutions but both
were not available, so I named it
Globals.
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.
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On doing badly in
school
In my pre-board CBSE exam, I failed in Mathematics. The
school headmistress was shocked because that was the first time I
had failed in any subject. She called my mother and said she was
horrified by my performance.
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).
Suhas receiving the Incredible Europe Innovation Award
at Vienna
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On looking at Europe as
a market
Till I was 16 or 17, I didn't tell my parents that I
had started a company. I kept it a secret because I thought they
would object to it. They only knew that I was a
freelancer.
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
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On going to Germany to
talk about entrepreneurship
The
American newspapers were writing a lot about me as the world's
youngest CEO at 14 from India , from a middle class
background.
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.
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On registering a company
in India at 18
The
day I turned 18, I registered our company in India as Globals,
opened an office and recruited four people. I opened the office
next to the Internet cafe where I started my
career.
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.'
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On moving to creating
products
We wanted our company also to be a product development
company and our focus was on education, like the software that
manages everything about a child while in school starting from
admission till he/she leaves school and becomes an
alumnus.
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.
World Bank president
Robert Zoellick
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On meeting former
President Abdul Kalam
I met
Dr Abdul Kalam when he was the President of India. I was 17 or 18
then. My meeting was scheduled for 15 minutes but we had such an
intense conversation that it went on for one-and-a-half
hours.
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.
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On being on the board of
the World Bank
As
per the wishes of my parents, I joined engineering but didn't
complete my engineering: like Bill Gates! When I was in my 5th
semester, the World Bank invited me to attend their board meeting.
I am the only Indian on the board of the World
Bank.
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
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On his dreams for his
company
I have always believed that IT is not just technology
but a tool that can solve the problems of
people.
That
is what I want to do in my company.
I
want my company to be a market leader in software solutions
concentrating on education.
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.
What
drives me is my passion and it has been an amazing journey so
far.
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