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I asked him to check with Purba and I was willing to accept her disapproval. To my utter surprise, she was even more excited than Anjan. I gave KK a call and told him that we were three now. We rejoiced. Yet, there remained a vacuum. Where was the money?

We needed a sensible person who would be willing to fund our dream. A US based private equity fund manager and another one from Europe had already approached KK. Informally, both had hinted that if KK ever considered starting something, they would be willing to talk. Through a professional friend, I also came to know of an India based Venture Capitalist. KK and I agreed to check all of them out.

I met with the India based VC first. In his office in Bangalore, all I could tell him was our background and our philosophy in broad terms. He knew that we did not have a business plan yet; however, he suggested that we take the discussion forward anyway. At the end of the conversation, he fumbled for a moment. How would he present the opportunity to his boss? What could I give that he could take to his Managing Director? Anticipating this moment, I had prepared my CV and had carried it in my briefcase. I took it out and with infinite grace, he accepted that as sufficient documentation to invite us for a round two discussion.

Separately, KK and I also met up with two gentlemen representing the US based private equity fund. They too were quite encouraging. Yet, we knew, beyond initial interest, what we really needed is a well-documented business plan. We were beginning to crystallize our thoughts in that direction. Between KK, Anjan and myself, we had a good enough starting point, yet there remained a void. We needed a strong Technology Leader. We decided to speak with two outstanding individuals KK and I knew. One was an excellent application person - the other was an acknowledged star in the technology domain. We wanted both.

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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