It was just a name. But it was compelling enough to make 27-yearold Jay Chopde register “Infospectrum” as a company with the Santa Ana county office in 1992. Still working with Tulsa-based The Williams Companies, an energy and communications firm, he had no business blueprint for it.
Only a dream of doing something big. Fifteen years later, Infospectrum is a software company with a clientele spanning three continents and an annual revenue of over $11 million, projected to touch the $20 million mark in 2007-8. Specialists in the aerospace and defence sector, their clients include the Norwegian multinational company Kongsberg Gruppen and US-based Northrop Grumman.
But Infospectrum’s story doesn’t start with a quirky fancy for a name. It begins with a young Indian’s frustrations at the bias against his age and nationality in a family-owned business in the United States. “As an IT manager in the communications division, I had reached a glass ceiling,” says Chopde. Wanting to switch to the corporate side, he raised the issue at successive performance reviews.Each time the answer was the same—10 years before he would be even considered for the position. “Its fun being a techie but I wanted a profile which allowed me to strategise and innovate. Despite proving my skills in successful initiatives, no one was listening,” he recalls.
Chopde brooded over his options. Hunting for the right job was out. Other firms were only willing to hire him as a technology professional. “Around that time I had started thinking of starting out on my own. And the risk excited me,” he admits.JAY CHOPDE, 42 |
| Education: BE (Electrical & electronics), BITS, Pilani |
| Last job: IT manager, The Williams Companies, US |
| No. of years as employee: Seven |
| Age at starting business: 29 years |
| Initial investment: $1,60,000 |
| Source of fund: Savings |
| Company: Infospectrum (software) |
| Turnover: $11 million (in 2006-7) |
| No. of employees: 275 |
By the time Chopde quit Williams in late 1994, Infocon, his first foray in business had passed the drawing table stage. In partnership with an ex-colleague, the company built integrated software that tracked equipment installation, repair of defects, etc.
This was one of the many ideas steamrolled in Chopde’s ex-workplace. They got their first client from personal contacts. From then on it was word of mouth. In five years Infocon had started earning $4 million annually when Chopde’s partner bought him out. “We looked at the future differently. It was an amicable parting,” he says.
After a gap of three months came his next venture: Concretio. Chopde and two friends built a telecom gateway called Complete Suite that helped carriers exchange data seamlessly. In just four years profits hit $8 million. Then was the encore. Chopde sold his stake in the company and moved on. And what was happening with Infospectrum? Till 1999, nothing. A phone call from close friend Suresh Radhakrishnan, put things in gear. Radhakrishnan was working in the aerospace and defence industry and the friends exchanged notes on the possibilities in the sector. Most companies use Managistics software as their enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool. But the company making the software wasn’t doing well. The industry was therefore saddled with an inefficient vendor.TIPS FOR ASPIRING START-UPS |
| Full attention: Don’t try and start your business as a part-time occupation. Success requires all your time |
| Weigh risk: Think carefully before committing your money. You may lose all the capital if the business fails |
| Select team with care: The organisation’s success depends on the quality of your team. If possible, choose people smarter than you are |
| Put your skin in the game: Do not have an exit option in your business plan. It shows you are unsure of the business idea |
Chopde spotted the opportunity immediately. The timing couldn’t be better. As he points out: “In addition to hard work you have to be at the right place at the right time and spot opportunities.” Together, Chopde and his friend had the experience, know-how and contacts to bail out the industry by improving on Managistics.
So even while continuing with their other commitments, the duo started work on Infospectrum. The challenge was pitching their case right. Chopde presented their company as one that would handle systems integration as well as provide professional services to their clients.
“I kept asking myself, ‘Will I buy this product?’ while preparing the presentation. If I wasn’t convinced, who would?” he asks. Working on Infospectrum while still involved with Concretio effectively meant that Chopde was on two jobs. “It was extremely tiring. After a full day at Complete Suite I was either on phone or online at night assembling people for the offshore office of Infospectrum,” he says.
Chopde swears by his family’s support during tough times, especially that of his wife, Aarati. It was just a few months after his marriage in 1994 that he had decided to quit his job for his own venture. “My wife had married an engineer from BITS Pilani who was working with a Fortune 500 company. That sense of security flew out of the window,” he laughs.
But Aarati had seen him fume at home after his job. When Chopde told her about his plans she merely asked whether he would be happy. “I said yes and that was it,” he reminisces. At that time Chopde had to nearly empty his savings account. Along with his partner, he had decided to stay off the payroll for the first two years of their venture.
By the end of the first, his bank balance dipped to only $6,000. But probably the worse of times was in 2000 during the dotcom bust. The telecom industry was badly hit and so was Complete Suite. This was the time when Chopde was involved with two start-ups. Nearly bankrupt, even his house was on the line. “Bankers called daily and I had no answer,” he says. In fact, Chopde did not take home a salary for eight months.
It was strong business relationships that came to his rescue. When all chips were down, one client had the faith in Chopde and his team to suggest a new addition for their software and even provide the initial capital for it’s implementation. The idea was successful and by late 2001 the company was back on track. Meanwhile, he and his friend had zeroed in on Nagpur for Infospectrum’s offshore office. In 2003 they added another dimension to Managistics—MobiTRAK. An innovation that integrated all ERP platforms and allowed the clients to track inventory inspection at the warehouse level, record defects, etc.
By 2005, the workforce in Nagpur swelled to over 100. This was when Chopde decided to exit Concretio and move to India to head operations. Getting the right people proved to be difficult. “It took me seven years to put together 250 people in India with the right work ethics. I taught each programmer how to answer every mail and give a timeline for their work,” he says.
Infospectrum has lately acquired a maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) called InfoTRAK which is doing very well. The company has set its eyes on the Indian aviation sector too. So any plans to return to the US? “No way,” says Chopde emphatically. “Where else could I take a postdinner stroll for a paan? I wouldn’t trade this for anything,” he says.
