SMARTEST UNKNOWN INDIAN ENTREPRENEUR

In an interesting article in Forbes titled ‘The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur’ , Sramana Mitra profiles Sridhar Vembu, the founder and CEO of an Indian firm called AdventNet. The firm today, is a ‘100%, bootstrapped, $40-millio-a-year revenue business that sends $ 1 million to the bank every month in profits’. But we have never heard of Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO of Adventnet that launched a productivity suite called ZOHO. Vembu maintains a low profile which fortifies his entrepreneur image and is cheap as hell. But we know that frugality is a virtue ad among entrepreneurs, a tremendous one.
So, what does he do is the question you get in your mind.He sells network management tools. He has a staff of 600 in Chenai, India and a mere 8 in Silicon Valley further cutting his costs. His staff doesn't include the alumni of the prestigious institutes or from the ivy league adding to his cost advantage.
Vembu says, "We hire professionals who others disregard. We dont look at colleges,degrees, grades. Not everyone in our country has come from a socio economic background that helps him/her to study in the top most schools. But many are very smart regardless. Agreed that their resumes' are not marketable as others',but they can code just as well as the others , Often well."
Vembu has first done a network management product , then he has come out with ZOHO a productivity suite. No doubt that Vembu is a rare species in India and is one of the few entrepreneurs who had a big vision and executed his plans flawlessly.