world's youngest CEO

2010-12-25T21:52:00.006+05:30

         In spiring. a true story on what passion can do, if you have it... please read on Here is an inspiring story of the World’s youngest CEO


Suhas Gopinath
When 14-year-old Suhas Gopinath started Globals Inc ten years ago from a cyber cafe in Bengaluru, he didn't know that he had become the youngest CEO in the world.
Today, Globals is a multi-million dollar company with offices in the United States, India, Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East and has 100 employees in India and 56 abroad.
Among the several honors that have been bestowed upon this young man, the most prestigious is the invitation to be a member of the Board of the ICT Advisory Council of the World Bank..
In 2007, the European Parliament and International Association for Human Values conferred 'Young Achiever Award' on him. He was also invited to address the European Parliament and other business dignitaries assembled in the EU Parliament. He is also recognised as one of the 'Young Global Leaders' for 2008-2009 by the prestigious World Economic Forum.
Suhas is the youngest member ever in the World Economic Forum's history. The other members include the Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio, musician A R Rahman, Prince of Brunei, etc.
In this interview from his office in Bengaluru, Suhas Gopinath talks about his decade long journey and his dreams for the future.

Suhas Gopinath with former President APJ Abdul Kalam

· On his childhood:
I come from a middle class family. My father worked as a scientist for the Indian Army. I used to study in the Air Force school in Bengaluru.
As a child, I was more interested in animals and veterinary science. But when I saw my friends who had home computers talk about it, I had this urge to learn and talk in their wave length.
But we didn't have a computer at home. In those days, computers were very expensive and we couldn't afford one.
So, what I did was, I located an Internet cafe near my house. With my modest monthly pocket money of Rs 15, I couldn't afford to surf the net every day.
I noticed that the shop was closed in the afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM. So, I offered to open the shop for him after my school hours and take care of the customers.
In the bargain, he let me browse the net for free. That was the first business deal of my life and it turned out to be a successful one.

Suhas with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
· On building websites using open source technology:
Once I got the chance to manage the shop and browse the net, I started building websites. It became my passion in no time.
I got hooked to open source technology after I started looking for e-books on how to build websites. They were not available as they were created in propriety sources.
So, I started using open source to build websites.
On getting the first contract to build a website
There is a freelance marketplace on the web where I could register and offer my services to build websites. I registered myself there as a website builder.
The first website I had to do was free of cost as I had no references. It was for a company in New York .
My first income was $100 when I was 13 for building another website but I didn't have a bank account. so, I told my father that I built a website and got paid for it.
I was not excited to get the money because money was not a factor that drew me to it. It was the passion for technology that attracted me. I used to build websites free of cost also. I was only a 9th standard student.
After that, I built my own portal and called it Coolhindustan.com. It was focused on NRIs. It was a portal where I wanted to showcase my skills.
After that, many companies approached me to be their web designer.


Suhas Gopinath speaking to students' at a conference in Austria
· On buying his first computer
When I was in the 9th standard itself, I had made enough money to buy a computer for myself. At that time, my brother was studying engineering and my father thought he needed a computer.
In no time, I also bought one for myself. But we didn't have a net connection at home.
My spending hours in the net cafe working on websites did affect my studies. I spent the entire summer vacation after the 9th standard in the cafe.
On rejecting a job offer from the US
When I was 14, Network Solutions offered me a part-time job in the US and they said they would sponsor my education in the US . I rejected the offer because that was the time I had read a story about Bill Gates and how he started Microsoft.
I thought it was more fun to have your own company. Many US companies used to tell me that I didn't even have a moustache and they felt insecure taking my services. They used to connect my ability with my age and academic qualifications.
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world's youngest CEO