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As KK and I got up to go, he called us back and gave one mantra. "When you make your business plan," he said, "underestimate the income and overestimate the expenses." In any enterprise, it is always a happy thing if your income exceeded your expectations
but if your costs ever exceed your expectations, boy, you are in trouble. Dr. Bala promised to see us whenever we needed to. He had no expectations from us and just wanted to see us do well.

When you are about to set sail for a long and arduous journey, it is not the promise of the wealthy or, the push of the powerful that helps you to cast the boat. It is the first word of kindness, a simple message, an almost frail word of detached wisdom that signals you to lift the oar.

Enter Anjan Lahiri

KK and I both had very hectic schedules. We were clear that we would not use company time and resources to create our dream. That meant working over weekends; it soon started to mean meeting at 8 or 9 every night and working till midnight. My wife Susmita and KK's wife Akila agreed that they would continue to live with us.

However, both KK and I had jobs that required us to travel overseas for extended periods of time. That invariably disrupted our planning; the Business Plan was far from making any progress. But, our first loyalties were still to our current employers and we could not complain. Time was flying for both of us. We had to make more progress! We needed more friends to sign up; we needed more believers who could help in the process of making the business plan.

In August 1999, I had to travel to the US and I landed up in the East Coast and as fate would have it, stayed with a relative of mine who knew Anjan Lahiri. Anjan and I first met in 1988, when I joined Wipro as Customer Relations Manager and he was a rookie salesman in Calcutta.

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Subroto Bagchi is co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for MindTree Consulting (P) Ltd. The "Making of the MindTree" is told in the first person by Subroto Bagchi. In condensed form, it was published by Business World, filmed by InfiniTV, and aired on CNBC, IT Hour. Websites: www.mindtree.com & www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi