Modern entrepreneuralism in India

As a blog published from Bangalore, it would be remiss not to mention the significance of today's date in history. On July 2, 1981, seven first generation techno-entrepreneurs came together to found Infosys, a company that has since become a bellwether of Indian enterprise, particularly in the sphere of technology.

Infosys, in a strange - if wierd - manner that is the hallmark of coincidences in history, paralleled the founding of Microsoft in distant Bellevue, Washington in the United States, a company it would closely partner with many years later. For the record, Microsoft was actually first founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1975 but later moved, and re-incorporated, on January 25, 1981 in Washington state. Infosys, in a similar fashion, was founded in the city of Pune in western India, and later moved to Bangalore.

Infosys' place in history is perhaps that it heralded the arrival of the "professional" entrepreneur, one who did not owe his or her venture to a legacy family business. In a society where the middle class was attuned to view businesses with suspicion and disdain, it marked a significant turning point in value systems as it related to business. The company arguably has been responsible for the onset of entrepreneurship in a fundamentally differentiating way in the country: in the role of professionals as risk-takers; in engaging in activity that was not inherently mercantilist and trading oriented as with traditional businesses run by business communities; in articulating and setting standards for ethical behavior, corporate governance, and social responsibility; in creating and fostering a professional environment that benchmarked against global peers; in recruiting and rewearding employees that tied individual growth to corporate success; and instituting the idea of global scale, global branding, and global success.

Today, 25 years on, Infosys belongs to a category of Tier 1 providers of technology services of Indian origin that are increasingly recognized globally and whose fundamental business models - of far-shore and near-shore delivery - have been responsible for a paradigm shift in how value is defined and delivered to customers. Infosys was neither the first nor is it alone in this now, joined as it is in a competitive offshoring market by companies big and small. Its future success is no longer assured as in years past. It now faces increasing compettive pressures from large, deep-pocketed MNCs such as IBM, HP, Accenture, and EDS; from its peers in India such as TCS, Wipro, and Satyam; and from below with mid-size companies such as MindTree and Patni snapping at its heels. Yet, one cannot deny the legacy of a company whose founding and performance has altered perceptions, expectations, and entrepreneurial opportunities.