spirit, is what Mr Vijayasimha S.K. of Akuva Infotech believes. He offers a new perspective on other aspects as well:
marketing, soft skills, mentoring, and skill development among others. He spoke to Bhushan Kudali from Industrial
Spectrum about being an entrepreneur and being a successful one at that. Excerpts:
Are you a first generation entrepreneur or was there ready ground to build akuva?
I am a first generation entrepreneur who always wanted to do something on my own since school days. Did my tool
& die making diploma at NTTF and trained at Lucas TVS, Pondicherry during the 4th year. Felt a need to take up
graduation in Engineering, so I returned to college. However the slack time available as a student was quite a lot so
I took up a teaching assignment. Got a chance to assist a scholar in his Doctorate work, which gave me invaluable
exposure to the practical considerations involved. Also, it gave me confidence that I could deliver. Hence I brought
home a computer and started designing from the 2nd semester itself. Built a team and a clientele as well, so after
graduation we could get on with the business. Mr. Sadasiva, who has been the Dy. Project Director, Propulsion
Systems at ISRO & Director at Keltech, Trivandrum, mentored me in many respects, and in 1998 Chaitanya
Graphics was launched. We did a project for an Iranian company, which brought us growth in many ways and in
Nov. 2003 Akuva was born. Chaitanya Graphics focuses on document management aspects of engineering design
and development. In this manner I never really worked in any other company.
How useful is €prior experience' outside your firm before you start your own business?
Learning is an everyday activity hence €prior experience' is a good asset to have, through your employer is actually
paying for it. However it can bring down risk appetite and affect the entrepreneurial spirit. One tends to get
conditioned by the culture or practices that prevail at that place, even in terms of approaching a challenge.
I have come across many people who are otherwise learned and well-qualified, and yet when a problem is
presented to them, there is a tendency to say, €this is not my area of specialty, not what I normally do!' I would say I
chose to venture into such areas, made mistakes & emerged with innovative solutions - perhaps, as an
entrepreneur, I could not look at it in any other way. We believe our customers approach us with the trust that we
can deliver, so we need to invest all the efforts to meet that expectation.
So starting off on your own hones your technical skills over time. How do you acquire the soft skills in the
meanwhile?
Well, if I have to share my personal experience, I would say it was my mother - a homemaker and a good
administrator - who coached me in the soft skills and showed me how to approach any situation. So at a time when
my contemporaries were preparing themselves to attend interviews, I was already very clear about what I wanted to
do and was well set on my path. Thus I started with Design & Engineering Services, followed it up with inspection
Services, and my final destination was Production. Our new plant at Jigani is aimed at realizing this vision. To sum it
up soft skills never became an issue to me as my mother had equipped me in that area fight from my childhood.
What is unique about Akuva Infotech in terms of products or services it offers?
Well, we have something called 3 - D Scanning, by which we can scan an object and the scan data can be used
for a multitude of functions. Only a handful of people have mastered this in India. We also have with us FARO Arm,
a portable inspection device capable of inspecting, reverse engineering and analyzing components, assemblies and
fixtures. We design from the concept stage, we manufacture & assemble components, then we QC component
assemblies. We validate designs, develop prototypes and take prototypes up to production roll-out.
You are into design & manufacture activities; you are also a service provider through your printing activity.
How different is the mindset between design, manufacture & service?
Talking from my experience, in India employees are overworked and equipment remains under - utilized.
Entrepreneurs try to conserve what they have rather than investing and taking premeditated risks. They do not give
due importance to design & validation processes. For example, we do something called Mold Flow Analysis for the
plastic industry which can result in a saving of 25 to 30% on operating costs; yet industrialists are not confident
enough to invest upfront in the Analysis. This is a clear example of being conservative in the wrong area and not
realizing the potential fully from their set - up.
In essence, all these three functions are aimed at optimum utilization of resources, satisfaction of customer
requirement and contribution to the bottom-line. Hence a single mindset has to govern these activities. We can
vouch for this as we are involved in all three of them.
How to manage these aspects in a small or medium business?
We have a strong internal process by which we validate every unit of work before moving to the next stage. As we
adhere to proper methodology, trials and errors are eliminated. For instance, even if we are asked to take care of
manufacturing only, we will anyway seek assurance through design validation so that inspection does not throw up
any surprises.
You mentioned a mentor before. How important is it to have a mentor? Is it easy to find one?
It is extremely important to have a mentor and also to nurture such a relationship. In my case, the mentor I chose is
quite senior to me in the field and I would say he has shaped my basic approach to work. The criticism I received in
the initial years came to me in such a way that it only prompted me to work smarter. I learnt that there was time &
effort to be saved - almost 20% - by clicking the mouse less frequently. I am sure my mentor has contributed
immensely in shaping me. I am really fortunate and I do not think every entrepreneur finds a mentor just as easily
as I could.
How easy has it been to find skilled manpower for various activities of your group?
Engineering is a tough line of activity and an impassioned engineer performs way better compared to an €engineer -
by - chance.' So my approach has been to find fresh engineers and impart to them the systematic approach that
we have adopted here. This €grooming' works to our advantage if they continue with us and against us when bigger
employers pick them away. The need for a long term view of one's career and the concept of loyalty is something
that their colleges should probably inculcate. We have no choice but to live with the times.
Yes. Many entrepreneurs lament that their companies have become €technical training centres'. There are other
exceptional cases, where people say they have retained over 90% of the people they hired. Is it really a mixed bag?
I would think retention is higher where employee skill requirement is not every high and the entrepreneur has crated
an environment where they achieve contentment quickly, so they are also happy to settle down in their jobs which
generally have a constant pattern. In contrast, if a technically competent person equipped with practical skills
including marketing oneself professionally is constantly exposed to new & different projects, people and prospects,