Plan, passion, reinventions key to success, the entrepreneur says.
AB Wire
Prominent Indian American entrepreneur Sanjay Govil was honored by the Washington, DC, chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs on Monday at the organization’s annual gala held in Tysons, VA.
Govil, the founder and Chairman of Infinite Computer Solutions, received the TiE Legends award from outgoing TiE DC president Paul Singh and Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy, the new president of the chapter.
In his acceptance speech, Govil shared with the audience, which consisted of TiE members, technology leaders and entrepreneurs from the area, the success formula of Infinite, a company that he started with $1,000. That included, in his words, a solid plan, passion for the venture, focus on building the right kind of team, constant reinventions and rectifying the mistakes.
Launched in 1999, Infinite has presence in India, the United States, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore. According to its 2014 annual report, the company has a workforce of more than 5,100 employees — nearly two-thirds of which is based in India.
“I had a plan — I had a well-thought out plan — I had passion; I had the vision of what team I wanted to hire because more important than the qualification of the individual it is the ability of that person to be able to do what you want them to do [that matters],” said Govil, who was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in Delhi.
He added that reinventions are just as important to success. “We started out as an IT outsourcing company but now are more of a technology platform company.”
Infinite provides services to dozens of clients, among them Fortune 1000 companies, in areas as different as product engineering services, enterprise mobility and messaging products, and in sectors such as telecom, media and healthcare.
Saying that Infinite has made its “share of mistakes,” Govil — an alumnus of Wharton, Syracuse and Auburn — said rectifying mistakes is equally important for the success of a business.
In his speech, the entrepreneur also recalled his long association with TiE DC, which dates back to the early 2000s.
Over the years, he has also been a big supporter of TiE’s The Young Entrepreneur (TYE) program, which is aimed at fostering next generation of entrepreneurs, especially high school students.
Govil said he is very passionate about the educational program, having grown up on the campus of IIT Delhi, where his father was a professor. “I really believe that the impact we can have on children at this age — which is high school and early college years — is of immense benefit to them.”
Dr. Priyadarshy, who launched the TYE program four years ago, told The American Bazaar that the entrepreneur’s support was critical for its success. “Sanjay’s and Infinite Computer Solutions’ support, with a long term commitment is one of the reasons for this program’s continued success,” the new TiE DC president said.
At the annual gala, Dr. Priyadarshy, Chief Data Scientist at Halliburton, took over presidency from Singh, who headed the chapter the past two years.
Prominent immigration lawyer and TiE DC board member Sheela Murthy was the master of ceremonies at the event.
TiE DC is one of the largest chapters of TiE with more than 200 members.
2 Comments
Sanjay, Congratulations and I wish you continue success
Congratulations Sanjay for a well deserved award!