World of Entrepreneurs: Mr. Narayana Murthy

Today, I am introducing a new series on this portal which will give you an inside about the personalities of some of the renowned Entrepreneurs of the emerging India.  Entrepreneurs have always been seen with a great respect in our country because most of us know the pain of starting up a business in India and all sorts of hooks and crooks you need to do for it!! First of all, most of us don’t even think about it because we never think off the track. Amongst others, most of them who try to swim down this big ocean of success succumb to the waves and obstructions coming their way. The other lucky ones who swim successfully reach milestones that previously seemed to be unreachable. This series would highlight successful stories about some of such entrepreneurs. I wish the courage and confidence like that of these Entrepreneurs prevails in every child of this country. Let’s think differently!!

“Progress is often equal to the difference between mind and mindset.” This is what Mr. Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, the Chief of biggest Indian Corporate, namely Infosys, has to say when asked about progress. The quote seems to be simple but has a deep meaning inside especially when brought to practicality. But, this man Mr. Murthy has made it look so easy while nurturing his company, his child, Infosys. Born in 1946, an IIT Kanpur Alumni, with first job as System Programmer in IIM Ahmadabad, he dared to change his path and start his own company in 1981. As often said “Where there is a will there’s a way”, Mr. Murthy got funds from his wife’s earning for the initial investment. Along with six other friends Infosys started to flourish soon. The success story of Infosys is very long and out of scope of this portal. However, I would focus on the main events in Mr. Murthy’s life that broadened his vision and let this success story happen.

During his speech in New York University in 2007 Mr. Murthy clubbed his experiences in a total of four events. In first part I would recall his journey to Nis, a border town between Serbia and Bulgaria. Mr. Murthy recalls that he had to catch Sophia Express on a Saturday night. When he got inside he realized that only two more people were there with him in the train. He started conversation with one of them in French. After sometime Bulgarian guards came and arrested both of them. Later it was known that the third person on board had called the police interpreting their talks in French as the criticism of the communist government in Bulgaria. Mr. Murthy in fact says that the interpretation was a bit exaggeration of the conversation he was having. The other person was actually just telling him about the pains of living under communist rule.

Mr. Murthy was kept in an 8*8 lock up room for 72 hours and then dragged to a guard’s compartment of another train which, as he was informed, will take him to Istanbul. Somehow after 108 hours of starving journey he finally he came back to his hometown. But, in his dark, lonely journey to Istanbul he went into deep thinking about Communism. The piece of conversation that landed him into trouble was a great lesson for him. He realized, at this point, that entrepreneurship is the only mode which can create jobs on a large-scale thereby eradicating the poverty. With this realization, his little bit of affection for communism was also gone. Mr. Murthy says he’s thankful to the Bulgarian guards for their contribution in his experience of odds in life.

This event, as Mr. Murthy recalls, had a great effect on his thinking and his decision to start his own work and be an entrepreneur. This man has a great ability to learn from experiences and interpret them optimistically. Not only this, he continued to use these experiences in his journey at Infosys.

There’s a lot more to be discovered about the legend. Wait for the next one…….

Thanks!!